Stevens, Spearfish athletes celebrate National Letter of Intent Day

At several points of the academic year, several student-athletes gather together with their families in an open space. They take a seat at a table adorned with their desired colleges' colors, ready to pick up the pen and make the commitment official.

On Wednesday at Rapid City Stevens High School and at Spearfish High School, a combined 14 students inked their commitments to continue their sporting careers.

The Raiders celebrated 10 college commitments, while the Spartans presided over four signings.

Of the lot, four athletes will move on to the NCAA Division I realm. Six are baseball players, with three declaring their allegiance to the Dakota State University baseball program.

At Stevens, highly touted baseball prospect Jackson Dial signed his NLI to Washington State University, while Marissa Renaud inked with the South Dakota State University swimming team and Emily Sabers will go on to perform gymnastics for Southeast Missouri State University.

Joining them are Ian Beer, Mason Brooks and Brody Thompson, who will play baseball for Dakota State University, and Blake Olmstead will play baseball and get into shotgun sports at Mount Marty University in Yankton. Morgan De La Pena will play baseball with Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Fate Neal will play volleyball for Friends University out of Wichita, Kansas, and Lauren Knapp will take her golfing talents to Chadron State College in Nebraska.

From Spearfish, Madi Donovan will play women's soccer for Boise State University. Donovan, who had been a harrier for the Spartans' cross country team, linked up with the Broncos through soccer ID camps and the Sporting Iowa ECNL U19 team, based out of Des Moines, Iowa.

Running cross country enhanced Donovan's mental prowess.

"I'm grateful for cross country," Donovan said. "It helps round out my soccer game from a mental aspect, like toughness and resilience, and the grittiness that it takes to finish your cross country meet. It's helped shaped me in the soccer player that I am today."

"Even when talking to my cross country coaches, they tell me about proud they are of me," added Donovan. "How I've been so consistent and that he can always count on me. I've had to balance soccer with cross country, and it's something that has helped me so much."

Alongside Donovan were Casey Nauta, who will run cross country and track for Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. Mya Kochuten will also head over to Orange City, playing basketball for the Red Raiders.

Parker Reede will golf at Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

Earlier this summer, Dial had locked onto a verbal commitment with Arizona State University. However, Dial stepped away from the Sun Devils in October, before announcing that he'd be joining the Cougars this past Monday.

"There's a lot going on, especially with baseball, the new settlement, rosters and a bunch of scholarship stuff," Dial said of the switch from ASU to Wazzu.

On Oct. 7, the NCAA agreed to pay out approximately $2.8 billion in damages to current and former college athletes.

"At the end of the day, things didn't work out with me at Arizona State," said Dial. "But I'm more than happy with Wazzu and after talking with (WSU head baseball coach Nathan Choate), I feel like it's a really great fit for me."

Donovan had an interesting path to "The Blue," spending her last two years going the camp and club route.

"My sophomore year was when my recruiting process started to get super serious," Donovan said. "I picked 10 schools that I wanted to go to, and I attended their ID camps. I just hoped that I got noticed. When I went to Boise, (the Broncos) noticed me."

"They reached out and I went to a few more ID camps," continued Donovan. "They also told me that I needed to find an (Elite Clubs National League) team to play on. So, I had to give up high school soccer to play for Sporting Iowa. Now, I'm playing at the highest level possible, as a high school athlete. It was just getting me ready for college."

South Dakota is one of several states in the country without high school swimming. In its place are several swim clubs who compete all throughout the year, such as the Rushmore Swim Team in Rapid City.

For Renaud, there was mutual connection with the Jackrabbits.

"I kind of just applied and filled out a questionnaire," Renaud said. "I wasn't really serious about it, until I went to (Brookings). Then, I fell in love with the team, the campus and nursing program."

"There's an app called Swim Club Connect," added Renaud. "That's where you can put in all of your times, and where coaches can reach out to you."

To all three athletes, the weight of the recruiting process is off of their shoulders. Once the ink is dry, there's a feeling of reassurance for, at least, the next four to five years.

"It feels really good," Renaud said. "Before, I didn't know where to go. Now, it's like, this is what I'm doing and this is where I'm going."

Dial was relieved.

"It feels amazing," Dial said. "You know you've done the work. Now, I can just enjoy playing baseball."

There's some enthusiasm, too.

"I'm really excited," said Donovan. "This has been my dream since I was little. I've always known soccer was the sport that I wanted to turn into something serious. Finally having my dream of being a D1 soccer play is unreal."

Donovan also said there was no pressure to making the jump to high caliber intercollegiate soccer. Instead, Donovan has a drive to take on the challenge and continue to get better on the pitch.

Now, the real work will begin.

Renaud will compete in the Laramie Fall Harvest swim meet, slated for Saturday in Laramie, Wyoming. Dial will play baseball for the Raiders this spring before taking off for Pullman, Washington.

Donovan will forgo basketball and track, enrolling to Boise State for the upcoming spring semester.

With the number of baseball players going on to play the sport at the collegiate level, the impression of Rapid City being a baseball town is a known fact.

"It says a lot about the coaches and community that we have here," Dial said. "They have been pushing for kids going to the next level. It's a testament to the work that they do behind the scenes. The coaches have grown up with us and have built us up as players. I really respect that, and I appreciate all of the work that they've done."

In the ranks of schools throughout West River, there are many more student-athletes who are sharing their highlights and talking to colleges. At the same time, younger kids look at the current college commitments with adoration and envy.

Reflecting on her path, Donovan's desire to play travel ball and enhance her game has paid dividends. She also provided a roadmap for others to emulate.

"I was super happy with the way I did it," Donovan said. "Pick your top 10 to 15 colleges and make sure that you attend the ID camps. Also, always make sure that you're emailing college coaches when you're going to events. Communication is really huge."

"A lot of people don't realize how much goes into the recruiting process, especially when living in a small town," Donovan continued. "Reaching out to college coaches is a big thing, and you have to make sure to stay on it. The ID camps are super, super important."

Dial and Renaud had words of wisdom to share with aspiring young athletes.

"The game is in your hands," Dial said. "Don't take 'no' for an answer. Instead, take it as an opportunity. The stuff that you do behind the scenes, when nobody is looking, is honestly what's going to drive you to that next level. You have to sacrifice your time, as it takes a lot. If you keep at it, it's definitely possible."

Renaud echoed Dial's words.

"Just keep working hard," Renaud said. "Even when it's hard, keep that mindset. When you don't want to show up to practice, that's when you need to go practice. Then, just try to have fun."

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