TRAVERSE CITY - A half dozen athletes from the two public high schools in Traverse City signed national letters of intent to compete in their chosen sports at the college level.
Traverse City West had five athletes sign, including football standout Kyler Brunan, who was originally committed to play at Army before deciding to instead go to Michigan State and compete at the Big Ten level.
“It’s a little surreal,” Brunan said. “My whole life this has been my dream, Big Ten, especially Michigan State. So, it’s kinda cool, a dream come true. I just want another chance to prove myself.”
Brunan’s high school teammate Adeyo Ilemobade also signed a letter of intent on Wednesday, committing to join the division two Davenport University football program.
“It means that all of those years that I’ve been working for making it to the big leagues has paid off,” Ilemobade said. “All those days getting picked up by my Grandma from Pop Warner Football, it’s kinda paid off.”
A pair of track and field athletes from West joined the football players at the signing day event. Wallace Tupper II committed to compete for Liberty University at the division one level, while Avery Lahti is joining the Grand Valley State program as a shot put, hammer throw and javelin athlete.
“I had choices to go to other schools,” Tupper said. “But I just chose this one because it felt like home when I went and visited there.”
“It was a really stressful process,” Lahti said. “Especially deciding between schools, because I liked all top three of my schools. Now that I’ve kind of figured out where I belong, the stress has toned down quite a bit.”
The finally Titan signee was boys soccer standout Jackson Cote. He did not have a commitment before his season came to an end this fall, but he was offered an opportunity at Eastern Illinois, and after visiting the school, jumped at it.
“After my last high school game, Coach [Matt Griesenger] told me that there was nothing to be upset about,” Cote said. “Because he knew there was a place for me at the next level. It’s super exciting, and definitely a dream of mine to keep playing after high school.”
Across town at Traverse City Central, the Trojans recognized offensive lineman Anderson Farmer, who made the tough decision between Grand Valley State and Ferris State, eventually settling on committing to the Lakers in Allendale.
“I think the coaches kind of sold it to me,” Farmer said. “They were always reaching out. Besides that, I met a bunch of the guys on the team. They’re all super cool. And it’s just like a big brotherhood, and that’s exactly what I had here. So, it just felt right. It felt like home.”