by Jared Block

Of The Gleaner

Being a collegiate athlete is a challenging task, but the following student athletes at Wahlert have decided to face the challenge head on. Drew Watters, Luke Schockemoehl, ‘19,  Aliyah Carter, ‘20, and Ian Moller, ‘21, have all committed to colleges or universities for their respective sports.

Drew Watters will attend Clarke University to play for their new football program. He will be majoring in business administration and minoring in sports management.

“I decided to go to Clarke mainly because I got a scholarship,” said Watters.

He expects to play his freshman year on special teams, but is ready to step into different positions on defense if injuries to other players occur. However, he is expecting some challenges.

“I think my greatest challenge will be balancing my time between my studies and football,” he said.

Although only a junior, Aliyah Carter has committed to Kansas State University to play volleyball and is very excited for her future at KSU.

“The people I was surrounded with when I visited made me feel that I was making the right decision,” said Carter.

Carter hopes to play right off the bat freshman year, but she knows she has to work hard for it. She understands that being a D1 student athlete will not be easy.

“I expect to have long days with hard workouts, but I still need to make time for homework and my personal life,” said Carter, who hopes to major in a physical therapy course of study.

Luke Schockemoehl decided to stay local and attend Loras College to play basketball and golf.

“I played for Coach Gabe Miller (the associate men’s basketball coach at Loras) in AAU (American Athletic Union) for four years, and he helped me with my decision,” said Schockemoehl. “Coach Miller is also the head men’s golf coach, and he just recently picked up on my game.”

Schockemoehl realistically believes he can play sophomore or junior year for basketball and golf, but is not entirely sure about his freshman year. Schockemoehl knows that being a dual sport athlete and a student at Loras will not be easy.

“It will be difficult to balance studying biochemistry, which is hard enough by itself, and playing two time-consuming sports,” said Schockemoehl.

Lastly, Ian Moller will be attending Louisiana State University to play baseball. Moller committed his freshman year, earlier than most.

“I’ve always been a fan of LSU because my dad went there, so I always wanted to go there,” Moller said.

He expects to play right away freshman year. Understanding that being a D1 student athlete will not be easy, he predicts time management will be the toughest part of his time at LSU. Ian plans to major in business or sports management.

These athletes have pushed themselves in their sports and academics to be able to play at the collegiate level. They all know that being a student athlete will not be easy, but they are ready to take on the challenge.