This spring, Boston Latin School boasts 13 student-athletes who have committed to pursuing their sports after their high school career.

The skills a student-athlete must possess to balance maintaining a healthy lifestyle while completing a rigorous academic course load are a significant achievement in itself. Collegiate athletes are known to have busy schedules, with practice six days a week. Graduating student-athletes from BLS, however, are prepared to take on this juggling task.

Recruitment is a difficult and long process, involving contacting the coaches of prospective colleges. While not always successful with each coach, it is important for the athletes to not give up. Some prospective students are recommended by high school coaches, while others directly reach out to the colleges. Then, the colleges make offers to the athletes.

Joining Brown University’s crew team is Ellora Bhatt (I). She loves the BLS crew team, where she gets to “spend time with super cool, intelligent [and] dedicated people.” After receiving the news of her recruitment in early August, she was in shock, wondering if the coach would rescind the offer. Bhatt was grateful to not undergo the pressure of college applications in senior year and is excited to row with her new team. She believes that more people should join the crew team, since the group has produced many collegiate athletes currently rowing for their school teams.

Bilal Elhaji (I) will attend Northeastern University for cross country and track and field. He says, “I want to get to the point where I’ll eventually be competitive on the regional and the national level to hopefully try and compete well at the National Collegiate Athletic Association […] championships.” After having already competed in national championships for BLS, we have high hopes for Elhaji’s success in the future.

Lucy Dorigan (I) will go on to play lacrosse at Drexel University.

Northwestern University’s fencing team will be welcoming Bridgette Ouyang (I). Ouyang felt accomplished when she got recruited, realizing that “all the countless losses and practices led to this moment where [her] hard work finally paid off.”

Emily Jing (I) will also be competing for fencing on Harvard University’s team. She felt immense relief after spending a lot of time contacting the coach of the Harvard team and is excited to be joining such an amazing group of fencers.

Yakub Fiin (I) will be on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s basketball team.

Tristan Spiess (I) looks forward to attending Virginia Wesleyan University for golf.

Lily Murphy (I) has been accepted to St. Lawrence University for soccer. She has been playing the sport since she was only four years old, and is excited to gain confidence on the field. Lily took a relaxed approach to the recruiting process, unsure if she wanted to play in college, but ultimately fell in love with St. Lawrence University. After getting a few offers from coaches and touring schools, she found the university to be the best fit for her.

Violet Collier (I) has committed to University of California, Los Angeles and will be a coxswain on the crew team.

Eva Harvey (I) will go to Bentley University for volleyball. She fell in love with the sport’s competitiveness and cherishes the friendships she made through the sport. While the recruitment process was stressful, she is grateful to have found the perfect college.

Joining Middlebury College’s swim team is Cal Hale (I). He has been swimming competitively since he was eight, and he loves competing and being in the water. Hale reached out to the coaches of schools he was applying for, hoping to use swimming as a pathway into a competitive school. He says that he “talked to a few schools, but ultimately decided on Middlebury because [he] liked the team and the school.”

Alex Matthews (I) will be attending Tufts University for crew. He says that the best thing about being an athlete in D3 is “being able to balance athletics, join clubs and pursue passions outside of the sport.”