Next Level Athletes

Sam Frank

Sport: Basketball

College: University of Rochester

I am just excited to keep playing basketball. I love this game and I am not ready to stop playing it. I just don’t want to let go. Going to a great school and also being able to play basketball is a dream of mine.

Emma Marquis-Kelly

Sport: Soccer

College: Denison College

Clayton has been a really great experience for soccer because I get to play with girls who came from all different skill levels and learn from them but also help them become better players. The most rewarding part was being able to play soccer with my friends from school but also meeting girls from different grades who play soccer. The most challenging part of high school soccer is getting the team to work as a whole rather than individuals.

Maddy Vaughn

Sport: Lacrosse

College: Ursinus College

I first started playing lacrosse my freshman year of high school and after my freshman year I started playing year round. I have loved playing with my teammates and coaches at the high school because they have helped me grow as a player and as a person. I am very excited to continue playing with teammates who have grown up playing the sport. The pace of the game is a lot faster on the East coast. At Ursinus I am able to do everything I want to do and continue playing lacrosse.

Will Lerwick

Sport: Rowing

College: Northeastern University

Rowing has opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I have met a lot of new people and traveled to cool places. In addition, winning races and being able to compete on the national stage is very rewarding for me. The most challenging thing for me overall is having to balance school and athletics while giving both my full attention. I am excited to compete at a DI level and having the experience to compete against some of the top rowers in the world. I really enjoyed Boston as a city. I really like the business school and the co-op program. The school had also offered me an athletic scholarship

Max Hunter

Sport: Baseball

College: Dartmouth College

High school baseball has been a good time. It’s rewarding to win playoff games, but challenging to lose a group of seniors every year. I’m just excited to pitch at the next level and play with and against very talented players. Dartmouth was a good fit because the coaches know the game very well and how to develop players. I also have the opportunity to get a great education.

Bryant Thompson

Sport: Baseball

College: Case Western Reserve University

I’d say my experience playing baseball in high school has been exciting and unpredictable. The most rewarding was making it to the state quarterfinals my sophomore year. Most challenging was getting injured and missing my whole freshman year. I’m excited about getting to face new competition and getting to improve as a player. It’s a good fit because it offered a lot of the education opportunities that I was looking for in a college.

Grace Monshausen

Sport: Soccer

College: Lake Forest College

I would describe my soccer career at Clayton High School as a learning experience. The most rewarding aspect of Clayton soccer is definitely knowing that the other girls on the team look up to me. It’s really exciting when I give people advice on the field and they apply it and when I organize team bonding and the girls get psyched about it. I am so excited to play with girls who all have the same incentive as me next year. A primary focus on academics, (most of the girls on the Lake Forest soccer team are also majoring in a science) and a shared level of dedication to soccer. I’m also excited to know I’m in a place where I will have the ability to make a strong impact on the team as a freshman, I think it’ll be an equally challenging and fun experience.

Lily Ciampoli

Sport: Horseback Riding

College: William Woods University

I have been riding horses for the past eight years of my life. The most rewarding part of riding is knowing that every horse you get on, you have an impact on it. The most challenging part is the mental factor. There are about 100 different things you have to think about when riding. You have to know what the horse is doing underneath you. I am excited to see the progress I make and see where I end up in the equestrian business. Meeting a whole bunch of new people and horses and learning new things along the way is something that makes me very happy about the direction I am taking for my future. I chose to go to William Woods University in Fulton, MO because I knew that they would be able to teach me the things I needed to know and help me get on course to where I want to go.

Elise Yang

Sport: Rowing

College: MIT

I started rowing in the spring of my freshman year so that I could keep in shape for the fall varsity volleyball season. Although it is extremely tough to balance academics and rowing, as rowing takes up two hours of my day in addition to another hour to drive to the boathouse and back, I have developed a better sense of managing my time and prioritizing what I need to get done. To be rowing on the famed Charles River every morning alongside the Boston skyline is a dream come true. I liked the welcoming, collaborative atmosphere at MIT and found a lot of like-minded people there as well.

Joe Taylor

Sport: Football

College: Mckendree University

My experience with Clayton football was okay. Most rewarding would be having the chance to meet great coaches. But downside to Clayton football was the lack of support especially through the recruiting stage. I’m most excited just to see myself get better and be able to compete and lead people much older than me. Mckendree is a good fit for me because they have about the best defensive in DII and working with them will keep me close to that DI level and academically they were a great choice especially with my path for pharmacy because of the access to internships.

Sarah Shepard

Sport: Softball

College: St. Louis Community College

I was only able to play for CHS for two years but both were very rewarding. Last year we won first in districts and this year we placed second, I was also able to obtain a lot of awards such as making the all-region team. One of the most challenging things was trying to keep my team up in tough situations. I am really excited to play with a group of girls that love softball as much as I do and can’t wait to see what school I will play at next once my career at St. Louis Community College is over.

Will Keller

Sport: Football

College: Clark Atlanta University

Playing football had always been fun in high school, the most challenging part of my time in high school would have to be losing in the first round playoffs my junior and senior year, most rewarding would be playing in Mississippi against an out of state team it was a different experience. I’m most excited about playing football at the next level and just having fun on the field with new teammates.