Five athletes from Elyria Catholic make college choices

ELYRIA — Having a seat at the table on national signing day isn't always just about hard work and dedication to your sport. In many cases the decisions you make along the way keep the dream alive. That was the case for Elyria Catholic's Jake Hill and Zachariah Gaines, who were among five Panthers who made their college decisions official in a ceremony Tuesday at the school's James E. Terrell Performing Arts Center. Hill, a wrestler, made the decision to transfer to Elyria Catholic prior to his junior year and it paid off, as he was a 138-pound district qualifier and finished the year with a 30-8 record. Hill is headed to Mercyhurst, which is making the transition to become a full Division I program. "This is great. I never really expected to be here," Hill said. "I started wrestling when I was eight, but I didn't take it seriously for a long time. If feels good to finally get here. "The main reason I transferred here was the coaching. The coaches are great and they know what they're talking about. I'm really excited for my senior year. I know I have a lot to prove, but I put the work in." A change in scenery was also crucial to Gaines' success. A transfer from St. Edward, Gaines joined the Panthers' baseball program for his junior year, leading the team with 22 runs while also striking out 35 batters over 37 1/3 innings. Gaines will continue his career at Division III Baldwin Wallace University. "It felt amazing to be sitting on stage today. It's my dream come true," Gaines said. "EC has been amazing. I had the opportunity to start right away and I loved it." Gaines said he had a list of schools he was interested in but Baldwin Wallace checked off all the right boxes. "BW just felt like home to me," Gaines said. "it was reassuring to me that Baldwin Wallace was interested in me. It made me feel like I really was that good. It felt nice to feel like that." Gaines had the opportunity to share the day with two of his teammates — Luke Doss and Izaiah Amarise — who are both also headed to play college baseball. Doss, a middle infielder, who hit .286 with 15 runs and 12 RBIs last spring is headed to Ashland. Amarise, who will play collegiately at Walsh University, led the Panthers with 13 stolen bases last season. As a pitcher, he also averaged a strikeout an inning. Joining Amarise at Walsh will be golfer Nicole Ferguson. A decision Ferguson made her in her time at Elyria Catholic led her on the path to playing college golf. "When I started playing freshman year, I thought it would be for fun and to get my PE (physical education) credit out of the way," Ferguson said. "Then I fell in love with the sport." Ferguson was a two-time district qualifier and finished fourth in the North Coast Conference tournament, earning first-team All-NCC honors for the second consecutive year. "Today was great. It was everything I've been looking forward too," she said. "I put in the time and practiced a lot to get here, but when you love it it's not hard." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@choniclet.com.