As Eureka’s athletes careers come to an end, many have been tasked with the decision, to play or not to play in college. There are many variables that factor into this decision, such as the size of the school, the cost and preference in the college experience. Katie Criswell, Logan Basler, Blake Stanley and Casey Hobelmann are all multi year varsity starters in their respective sports, soccer and football, and lacrosse. All of the mentioned athletes decided to attend an S.E.C. school, for academics only. There are many reasons for athletes to retire from their sports, including the desire to attend a bigger school, better academic opportunities, and even sometimes majors that prevent them from being student athletes at the next level.
Basler was a multiple year varsity starter in soccer, and also played varsity basketball for the Wildcats. He had Division One and Division Two interests for soccer, but decided that the University of Arkansas was the best fit for him, where he will be studying in the business field. He hasn’t decided on whether he will play club soccer or basketball in college, but will probably participate in intramurals. “After my injury, I came back and started playing soccer and I just didn’t have the same motivation as before, and figured I’d go to a big school and just have fun and not have to worry about sports,“ said Basler.
Hobelmann started the past two seasons for Eureka at quarterback and like Basler, had many college interests. Despite this, he decided that attending a bigger school would be better for his college experience, and he still has the opportunity to keep fit with intramurals. At the University of Missouri, he will be studying sports management.“College athletics is a big commitment and can turn into almost a job sometimes, so for me it wasn’t worth dedicating that much time and effort for the next four years,” said Hobelmann.
Criswell has played both varsity tennis and lacrosse for the Wildcats, but decided on Mizzou for college. She liked the idea of being able to attend a bigger school and plans on studying Health Sciences, with the goal of becoming an Ultrasound Technician in the future.
“I decided not to play in college because I really only like lacrosse when I’m playing with the Eureka team, because they make the experience worth it,” said Criswell. “I wanted to go to a bigger school and get the whole experience, and I wouldn’t get that if I played a sport.”
Blake Stanley has played varsity Lacrosse at Eureka for the past two seasons. Stanley was able to pick up offers from smaller schools during the summer for his club team. He always knew however, that he preferred the idea of attending a bigger university. “I want to enjoy my time in college and on top of lacrosse practice, and a fraternity, I wouldn’t know how to do it,” said Stanley. “ Plus I’m going to attend a big school.”
Despite these athletes ending their competitive sports career after high school, they still all accomplished a lot during their time at Eureka in a variety of sports. The opportunities that large schools had were large deciding factors in their decisions, such as more specialized majors and bigger campuses. Despite tough decisions having to be made, the future looks bright for these athletes in college.