Highland, Aurora class of 2022 graduates finalize college athletic plans

Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal
·3 min read
Highland quarterback Aaron Filips, left, rushes past Tallmadge linebacker Collin Dixon during the first half of a football game at Highland High School, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in Medina, Ohio.
Highland quarterback Aaron Filips, left, rushes past Tallmadge linebacker Collin Dixon during the first half of a football game at Highland High School, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in Medina, Ohio.

Highland athletic secretary Amy Grissom announced that 17 members of the class of 2022 have finalized their college academic and athletic plans.

The group of 17 graduates features four football players, including Aaron Filips (Case Western Reserve), Dominic Konopka (Connecticut), Jon Lima (Mount Union) and Bryce Turek (Ohio Northern).

Highland Hornets coverage:Aaron Filips helps guide Highland to a football victory

Filips earned All-Ohio, All-Northeast Inland District and All-Suburban League American Conference honors as a senior quarterback for the Hornets.

Alessandra Goyette
Alessandra Goyette

Highland 2022 graduate Alessandra Goyette is joining the women’s golf team at Walsh University after being a three-year captain for the Hornets.

Goyette competed in three Division I state golf tournaments, was named the 2020 Suburban League American Conference Player of the Year and is a four-time Suburban League All-Academic selection.

Highland Hornets coverage:Highland senior Callen Antonius brings crowd to its feet with 3-pointer in basketball win

Highland's Henry Wilkes swims to a first place finish in the 100 yard backstroke event during the Suburban American League Championships swim meet at the Ocasek Natatorium on the University of Akron campus.
Highland's Henry Wilkes swims to a first place finish in the 100 yard backstroke event during the Suburban American League Championships swim meet at the Ocasek Natatorium on the University of Akron campus.

Highland 2022 graduate Henry Wilkes will attend St. Bonaventure University and continue his career as a swimmer. Wilkes placed ninth in the 100-yard backstroke at the Division I state meet in a time of 50.4 seconds in February.

Former Highland softball standouts Kennedy Steinbacher, Emma Hetkey and Keirsten Trayte are slated to continue their careers at separate colleges. Steinbacher is joining the softball team at Cleveland State, Hetkey is headed to Wooster and Trayte is going to Cottey College in Missouri.

Julia Shaw
Julia Shaw

Highland graduates Julia Shaw and Grace Smith are committed to play volleyball in college with Shaw going to Clarion and Smith heading to Heidelberg.

The other Highland graduates committed to an athletic team are: Derek Evans (baseball, Lake Erie); Corey Haney (wrestling, United States Merchant Marine Academy); Griffin Albright (basketball, Mount Union); Baily Tessena (gymnastics, Simpson College in Iowa); Gabi Miller (rugby, American International College in Massachusetts) and Emily Perhacs (rugby, at Queen’s University of Charlotte).

Aurora athletics coverage:Aurora shut downs Twinsburg in backyard football rivalry game

Twinsburg linebacker Peyton Jones tries to pull down Aurora’s Jack Cardaman during a football game at Aurora.
Twinsburg linebacker Peyton Jones tries to pull down Aurora’s Jack Cardaman during a football game at Aurora.

Aurora athletics update

Aurora athletic administrators Paul Powers and Mary Beth Tuma said 14 graduates from the class of 2022 are set to compete in a sport in college.

The list includes five football players: Derek Blum and Kevin Paul at Mount Union, Jack Cardaman and Joe Felice at John Carroll and Alex Moore at Findlay.

Aurora athletics coverage:Schmitt among Akron-area athletes in 2022 OHSAA State Track and Field Championship Meet

Aurora Morgan Schmitt runs to the finish line in the Division I Girls Cross Country Championship at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park in Obetz.
Aurora Morgan Schmitt runs to the finish line in the Division I Girls Cross Country Championship at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park in Obetz.

Aurora 2022 graduate Morgan Schmitt is set to compete in cross country and track and field at Ohio State University after succeeding in Suburban League American Conference, district, regional and state meets.

Schmitt finished 14th in the Division I girls cross country state meet as a senior with a time of 18:31.5 at Fortress Obetz.

Schmitt also competed in the Division I girls track and field state meet as a senior, placing sixth in the 1,600 in 4:59.51 and 12th in the 3,200 in 11:28.67 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

Hunter Lane and Tyler Fernandez are both headed to Saint Vincent College to play baseball.

The other Aurora graduates committed to an athletic team are: Mitchell Curtis (tennis, Allegheny); Jon Hybil (swimming, Hiram); Brooke Fishback (volleyball, Hiram); Ava Ryncarz (basketball, John Carroll); Kaden McGohan (wrestling, Ottawa University in Arizona) and John Ugran (basketball, Mount Union).

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.

Aurora's Ava Ryncarz puts up a shot in the paint as Barberton's Antaniyah defends on Monday March 14, 2022 in Norton, Ohio, in the Women's Tri-County Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game.
Aurora's Ava Ryncarz puts up a shot in the paint as Barberton's Antaniyah defends on Monday March 14, 2022 in Norton, Ohio, in the Women's Tri-County Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Highland, Aurora advance 2022 graduates to college athletics