National Signing Day occurred during the third week of November, where athletes from various sports all over the country signed their National Letter of Intent. The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete’s commitment to take part in athletics at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. It is a huge accomplishment to be able to sign a National Letter of Intent, and on November 13th, 12 of Oakton’s athletes signed their NLI to finalize their commitments to Division 1 colleges and universities to continue playing their sport the following year in college.

Within a year, there are two official “signing” periods per NCAA Regulations. In the November signing date, Oakton athletes from various sports such as swimming, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, and cross-country all signed their NLI. Varsity lacrosse player Shane Brummand signed to continue his career at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fl. Varsity Girls Lacrosse players Kelsey McWilliams and Lydia Montanino signed for their respective colleges, West Point University and Winthrop University. Connor Jones signed to continue his baseball career at Lafayette College. Karlie Cronin signed to continue playing basketball at Southern Methodist University, while teammate Lindsey Abed signed to play for the University of Hartford. Runner Allie Klimkiewicz signed her National Letter of Intent with Princeton University. Five Oakton swimmers signed to continue playing competing in their sport at the next level, including Laura Branton with Georgia Tech, John Shebat with Texas A&M, Michael Pettinichi with Xavier University, Nathan Pawlowicz with Virginia Tech, and Julia Capobianco with the University of Delaware.

“Signing, to me, was very emotional and very exciting. It was the end result of all of the hard work I had put into swimming over the years, but at the same time, it’s not the end, it’s an exciting new beginning,” said swimmer Julia Capobianco who signed to swim at the University of Delaware. “I am proud of all of the athletes who signed today. I know each one of them has worked hard and they deserve this recognition.”