This year, two Hidden Valley High School students have committed to playing sports at a Division I level. Caleigh Ponn (11) announced her commitment to Kansas State for volleyball, and Sarah Thomson (12) also announced her commitment to Virginia Tech to play lacrosse.
Both Caleigh and Sarah had multiple offers to choose between. Therefore, they had to make tough decisions and find the right fit to continue their careers.
“I visited and it looks exactly like Roanoke, which is so scary, but it made me feel like I was at home. Since I went there, I knew it would be my first choice,” Caleigh Ponn said about Manhattan, Kansas, home to K. State University.
Sarah Thomson says,” It was in state, pretty close to home, which I like. The culture was really good, and I enjoyed the new coaches,” about why she chose Virginia Tech.
To get to this point, both student athletes have put in a lot of hard work. Whether it was travelling hundreds of miles to compete at a high level or countless hours in the driveway, honing their skills or sticking to a regimental workout routine, these two Hidden Valley High School students have spent an incredible amount of time dedicating themselves to their sport of choice.
“It’s just always playing and always getting touches,” Caleigh says. “I play travel in North Carolina so making the big car trip down there three times a week to play and a bunch of work that I put in.” Sarah says, “Not only work and the lacrosse part of it but also just recruiting. You do a lot of talking to coaches and film and making your public profile always look good for coaches,” about the work she put in to achieve a division 1 scholarship.
Both Sarah Thomson and Caleigh Ponn have put in a tremendous amount of work and time to achieve their D1 scholarships.