Nine Overlake School students owned the room during a college-bound senior athletes reception on Jan. 5.
Sitting at tables on the gym floor in front of their classmates up in the grandstand, the athletes were all smiles as athletic director John Wiley spoke highly of them and baseball coach Mike Davidson offered inspirational words to the group.
Men’s soccer players Blaise Beachman and Matt Slee will both take the field at Whittier College in southern California next year.
“I am excited to make a difference on the team as well as push myself to the next level,” said Beachman. “I am very hard working and I bring a great attitude to the team.”
Added Slee: “I hope that I can help the team continue to rebuild in any way that I can.”
Slee’s top Overlake soccer memory was scoring a last-minute, game-winning goal against Seattle Academy.
On the girls’ soccer front, Taylor Olson — whose team won the 1A state title this season (the first in school history) — is headed to Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.
“I look forward to not only striving to reach my athletic potential, but also representing Dartmouth while challenging myself with an entirely new level of the sport,” she said.
Her favorite soccer memory was when she and her best friend juggled a ball in the back yard until they had worn holes in the grass.
A pair of baseball players, Peter Dudunakis and Ryan Long, will hit the diamond at College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.) and Pomona Pitzer College (Claremont, Calif.), respectively.
Dudunakis set a goal for himself when he was young to play college baseball.
“At Holy Cross, I’m going to bring a good baseball work ethic, which I’ve learned from playing under captains who have the same goal as I had,” he said.
Long, a pitcher, hopes to utilize the skills he learned at Overlake to help his future school win a championship.
“Through my development over the past four years, I have developed four solid pitches and the command that I believe necessary to start a college game and help my team win,” he said.
Ben Fujinaga will further his lacrosse skills at Haverford College (Haverford, Penn.), which he described as an ideal athletic and academic fit for him.
“I am very hard working and I believe that my attitude and desire to be the best that I can be will greatly benefit Haverford’s program,” he said.
In the equestrian realm, Lucie Lundquist will compete for Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas), which boasts a nationally ranked program.
“I see myself bringing energy, commitment and a passion for horses and the sport to this team,” she said.
Two Overlake athletes will take to the water in college: John Spencer as a men’s crew member at Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Talia Toland on the women’s sailing team at Tufts University (Medford, Mass.).
“My favorite memory of rowing is being a coach in the Sammamish Rowing Association’s adaptive rowing program. It is so fun and rewarding to see the kids grow as athletes and gain confidence on the water,” Spencer said.
Toland is excited to be part of hard-working team that trains hard in order to win.
“I see myself being a strong women’s skipper and contributing to success in single-hand and double-handed regattas,” she said.
Photos below: Andy Nystrom, Redmond Reporter
