Recently, Montrose saw three seniors, Kenzie Cassler, Vivian Krawiecki, and Shannon Mahoney, sign their National Letter of Intent. The National Letter of Intent is a contract that all future college athletes sign in the fall of their senior year, officially committing them to their schools. NCAA collegiate sports have three levels: Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3, with Division 1 being the highest. Regardless of Division, playing a collegiate sport is a huge honor, which only around seven percent of the approximately eight million high school athletes get to have, with less than two percent of high school athletes playing at the Division 1 level.
Our first signee is Kenzie Cassler ‘24, who committed to play lacrosse at the Division 3 level at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, just South of Boston, where she’ll be majoring in business and entrepreneurship. Kenzie’s lacrosse career began at age thirteen, and soon after, she began playing for Gold Star Lacrosse Club. Outside of lacrosse, Kenzie has also done soccer, field hockey, basketball, dance and gymnastics. She chose Babson lacrosse because it gave her an excellent opportunity to study business. In terms of athletics, Babson gave her a chance to play for a Division 3 powerhouse. In college lacrosse, she is looking most forward to playing with new people, and playing on the higher, more intense level that college has to offer. After college, while she doesn’t intend to play lacrosse professionally, she looks forward to getting a job in business, and also traveling.
Kenzie’s recruiting process began in the summer before junior year. At this time, she began to travel nationwide to both tournaments and college clinics. When asked what her recruiting process was like, she said: “It was a great learning experience to be able to communicate with coaches and grow as a player.” Her largest setback came last summer, when she injured her leg due to overuse from so many tournaments. This caused her to have to take an unwanted break from lacrosse. However, she returned stronger than she was before, and was right back to work!
Our next signee is Vivian Krawiecki ‘24, who committed to play Division 2 lacrosse at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, which is just under a hundred miles Northwest of Columbus. Vivian began playing lacrosse at the age of seven, before beginning her club career with Gold Star Lacrosse Club at the age of fifteen, while also competing in both soccer and swimming. Swimming created one of her larger sporting setbacks, causing her to suffer from tendonitis in her shoulder, which thankfully, has not hindered her play in the sport of lacrosse, but did mark the end of her club swimming career.
Vivian chose Findlay because of the family-like atmosphere that radiated from the team, along with the University’s prestigious pre-veterinary program, which would help her reach her post-college goal of being a veterinarian. At first, she was a bit apprehensive about attending Findlay, as she didn’t know how to feel about being around a thirteen hour drive from home. However, after taking a few visits, she truly felt at home there. Her process to get there wasn’t impacted much by COVID, as we’ve seen with the prior few recruiting classes. She began with reaching out to a variety of colleges, and also began to have colleges reach out to her, including Findlay, which wasn’t initially on her radar. In collegiate lacrosse, Vivian most looks forward to the increase in difficulty and intensity, which at times, is more scarce at the high school, and even the club level. She is also looking forward to continuing in a family-like atmosphere which being on a sports team provides.
Last, but certainly not least, Shannon Mahoney ‘24 committed to continue her lacrosse career at the Division 2 level at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, just an hour North of Boston. Fun fact: Montrose teachers Mrs. Nicholson and Mrs. (Isabelle) Ortiz also attended St. Anselm! Shannon began playing lacrosse in kindergarten, and began playing for Gold Star Lacrosse Club in seventh grade. Growing up, she also did basketball, volleyball, and swimming, before deciding to push to play college lacrosse in freshman year. She chose St. Anselm because she really likes their nursing program, and the small size of the school, putting emphasis on a community feel. She also loves the players and coaches there, along with the fact that it’s close, but not too close, so her parents can come to her games, and she also loved the dining options on campus.
Shannon’s recruiting process was very long and a lot of work, which consisted of constantly emailing college coaches regarding academic and athletic updates. She also spent many weekends away from home and family in order to play in tournaments nationwide. In college, she’s most looking forward to college life as a whole, and to be apart of a family – in other words, an athletic team. After college, Shannon would love to play lacrosse professionally, but is also hoping to become a nurse, and have a family.
While interviewing all three signees, I ended with one final question, “What’s your advice for younger athletes who want to get recruited, or just younger athletes in general?” and while they all had very similar ways of answering the question, each answer was very different, and they all were great pieces of advice that any younger athlete should hear. Vivian said: “My advice for younger athletes is to always push yourself to be the best you can be and never let people discourage you. It is important to recognize what goals you have for yourself and pursue them and remain positive and enjoy the sport.” Kenzie said: “Trust the process… and practice!” Shannon said: “Be persistent in the recruiting process. It takes a while and it is draining, but it all is worth it in the end… and be patient. It all works out!”
Congratulations to Kenzie, Vivian, and Shannon – we can’t wait to see you all do great things in both college and lacrosse!
By Kristina Klauzinski ‘24, Sports Editor
