Swimming was always Saara Sheth’s sport of choice. Until, that is, the Central Bucks South senior gave rowing a try in eighth grade.
“A lot of my teammates at swimming started to transition into rowing, and I thought it was a pretty interesting niche sport,” Sheth said. “We have a huge river – the Schuylkill – nearby, and I gave it a shot.”
That “shot” paid big dividends. Sheth recently signed a letter of intent to compete in rowing at Northeastern University, choosing the Boston school from a final list that included Boston University, Villanova, Rutgers and the University of Pennsylvania.
“Ultimately, it came down to location and the major I was going with,” Sheth said. “I have always loved the city of Boston ever since I was a young kid.
“With the amazing chemical engineering program that Northeastern offers, I knew that overall it would be a really amazing fit for me.”
Sheth was one of 11 CB South seniors recognized on Thursday, Nov. 9, for committing to compete in collegiate sports.
Steph Bendzlowicz will continue her softball career at Saint Peter’s University where she will major in exercise science. She also considered Mount St. Mary’s, Rider and West Chester.
“Saint Peter’s felt so homey, and everyone was so welcoming – the players, the coaches, and I just love the environment,” Bendzlowicz said. “I’ve played softball since I was 4 and my older brothers play baseball, so I just wanted to be like them. I always wanted to play in college.”
Three members of the girls soccer team – Brooke Commins, Brooke Hall and Bella Smouse – will continue their careers at the collegiate level.
Commins will play soccer at Lafayette College where she will major in bioengineering. She also considered Stevens Institute of Technology and Case Western.
“I chose Lafayette mainly because of the academics since they’re an engineering school now,” Commins said. “I liked the location because it’s close to home, and overall, I liked the girls on the team and the coaches.
“I’ve been playing soccer for the majority of my life, so I feel this was kind of my end goal.”
Hall will play soccer at St. Mary’s College of Maryland where she will major in biology and marine science. She also considered Virginia Wesleyan and Frostburg State.
“I chose St. Mary’s for the size of the campus, and it’s so beautiful,” Hall said. “I love the coach and the team. It was just such a positive environment. I knew it was the right place for me.
“I always had an idea I wanted to play soccer in college – it was just what type of school and division. I knew St. Mary’s had everything I wanted.”
Smouse will continue her soccer career at Ursinus College where she will major in neuroscience. It was the draw of the school’s science program that made it her top choice from the outset.
“I loved the campus, I loved the area, and they had a great soccer team, so that really drew me to Ursinus,” Smouse said. “I started going to some ID camps this summer, and I decided to take the process more seriously because I realized I want to keep playing soccer.”
Richard Scholer will continue his swimming career at Pennsylvania West Clarion University, choosing PennWest Clarion from a final list that included Niagara and Fairfield. He plans to major in secondary education.
“It’s a good school for my major,” Scholer said. “I also fell in love with the coach and the team in general. It’s also a small campus, which I’m a fan of.
“I have been swimming since I was a little kid, but I didn’t actually enjoy my time swimming and think I should consider going further until sophomore year. That’s when I really locked in.”
Jillian Jefferys has committed to continue her volleyball career at Lebanon Valley College where she will major in psychology. She also considered Charleston, James Madison and West Chester.
“Some of the schools I was considering were some of the bigger schools, not necessarily for volleyball,” Jefferys said. “Lebanon Valley has a beautiful campus, and everything is very new. When I did my overnight stay, the girls were amazing. I got to explore the dorms and understand what the day-to-day activities are. Everything just ended up falling into place.
“I have always loved playing volleyball, and I just knew there was no way I’d go to college and not play.”
Braeden Black and Michael Liu committed to play collegiate baseball. Black will continue his career at Mount Saint Mary’s University where he will major in biology. He also considered Dartmouth and the University of Massachusetts.
“I chose Mount St. Mary’s for the size of the school and also the atmosphere the baseball team had – it was great, it was perfect,” Black said. “My freshman year I devoted myself fully to baseball. I stopped playing soccer and decided baseball was my sport, and that’s what I wanted to pursue.”
Liu, who will major in computer science, chose the University of Mary Washington from a final list that included Siena, Ithaca and Elizabethtown.
“I wanted to go to a place where I knew I could get on campus day one and have an impact,” Liu said. “The coaches at Mary Washington were the only coaches that checked in on me every three or four days, so I knew they wanted me.
“Honestly, when I started playing baseball, I always knew I wanted to play at a higher level.”
Keith Conner and Dominic Varacallo have committed to play collegiate lacrosse. Conner chose Stockton University from a final list that included Scranton, Albright and Wilkes.
“A lot of people told me Stockton is a very good school to go to and has good athletics,” said Conner, who will major in business management. “Once I started realizing I was pretty good at lacrosse – I was doing good on the team and my team started doing better. That’s when I started looking at colleges.”
Varacallo will play lacrosse at Lebanon Valley College where he will major in accounting. He also considered Albright and Wilkes.
“The campus is very nice, and it’s a smaller school, which is what I was looking for,” Varacallo said of Lebanon Valley. “My main sport was always ice hockey. I’d played lacrosse my whole life, but I quit to focus on hockey. They needed a goalie last year, so I decided to play. I liked it so much and I wanted to keep going.”
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