Twenty-one Williston Student athletes officially signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic and academic careers after high school. Family, friends and teammates were there to show their support.
The ceremony took place Monday, Feb. 9 at 5:30 in the Chapel, and saw athletes in Diving, Girls Lacrosse, Girls Field Hockey, Boys Cross Country, Girls Ice Hockey, Boys Lacrosse, and Football put pen to paper to commemorate the intention to play college sports.
The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a form high school athletes sign to play sports at a collegiate level. When they sign it, they agree to attend that school. The signing day officially connects the athlete to the college team.
The Wildcats participating in the signing ceremony were: Cole Cavanaugh, who will be diving at Trinity College; Francesca Gionfriddo will play lacrosse at Colby College; Zola Piekarski will play field hockey at the University of Pennsylvania; Brenna Ziter (Colby College), Yasmine McKenzie (Amherst College), and Caroline Doherty (College of the Holy Cross) will all play ice hockey; playing lacrosse: Owen Converse (Muhlenberg College), Barrett Clark (Springfield College), Bryan Moore (Connecticut College). Nick Guay will attend Middlebury College and play both football and lacrosse.
Playing football are Dean Ruksnaitis (Boston College), Chris Oswitt (Princeton) University, Ayo Adeniyi (Dartmouth College), Atticus Snow (Yale University), Buddy Collins (Georgetown University), Ryan Elloras (Colby College), Evan Sood (Williams College), Brooks Connors (University of New Hampshire), Lucas Guay (Monmouth University,) and Zeke Jackson (Fordham University).
University of New Hampshire Football commit Brooks Connors is happy the recruiting process is over and he can think about the future.
“Definitely a relieving feeling,” Brooks said.
Brooks grew up just a 20-minute drive from UNH. He got the offer in Oct. 2024, and will play at the FCS Division 1 level in the CAA league.
Brooks has spent all of his football career played running back, but after talking to the coaches at UNH he decided to play on the defensive side of the ball as a linebacker.
“The coaches at UNH sat me down and we talked about my future there and said they saw me at LB,” he said “At first I was unsure if I wanted to switch to other side of the ball, but I trusted them and believed in their process.”
Princeton Football commit Chris Oswitt is excited for the future now that the long, tiring recruiting process is over.
“It feels great, It is like the final step in the recruiting process,” he said. “Being able to sign with all my teammates was a great memory that we can all share together for the rest of our lives.”
Oswitt, a captain, committed to Princeton June 5, 2025; he received an offer from them after an unofficial visit March 21. Princeton was just one of his 14 offers.
Chris, from Princeton Mass., fell in love with Princeton, located in New Jersey, from just one visit. He said his parents were right by his side through each visit.
“On the car ride back from my visit to Princeton, I automatically knew this was going to be the place I called home for the next four years,” he said. “My parents were very supportive throughout all of my visits and were happy with wherever I went.”
Athletic Director Jade Morris, opened up the ceremony and congratulated the athletes on their achievements.
“Tonight is about celebrating hard work, perseverance, and passion,” Morris said. “We’re so proud of each of you and can’t wait to see all that you accomplish at the next level.”
