BUCKHANNON – Four Buckhannon-Upshur High School seniors will continue playing soccer at the collegiate level.
Gracie Boyles, Maggie Queen, Kennedy Samargo and Lane Tenney all signed on to join collegiate soccer programs Nov. 11 at B-UHS.
Boyles singed on to Concord University and plans on majoring in exercise science.
“I just took my visit there and I really like the coaching staff, the small-town community and I really like the campus too,” Boyles said. “It’s really exciting, and it just shows all the hard work I’ve put in for the past few years paid off.”
Boyles always hoped to play collegiate soccer and has been playing the sport for most of her life.
“I’ve always wanted to play collegiate soccer,” Boyles said. “It’s always been the goal, playing club soccer leading up to this, I like the competitiveness and I like that there’s always room to get better.”
Queen signed on to play for Fairmont State University, where she will major in business administration.
“It was a tough decision, but I really like the coach and the program, and I think I’ll really excel there,” Queen said. “It’s just a whole other world for me, to be able to get the opportunity to play another four years of soccer is just a great opportunity.”
She said she enjoys playing with a team and getting to know all her teammates.
“I started playing soccer when I was a little girl, and it’s just something that I’ve loved for a long time,” Queen said. “I like the way that you have a team and it’s not really an individual sport – everyone gets to come together, and you get to play with other girls.”
Samargo signed on to stay in Buckhannon, at West Virginia Wesleyan and she plans to major in physical therapy.
“I’ve always loved soccer and it’s always been a dream of mine to play college soccer,” she said. “I decided to be close to home, and Wesleyan is 10 minutes down the road from my house so it’s real close. One of my major main reasons I wanted stay close to home is because I always love having my family support me and being close to home, they can come to my games easily.”
She encouraged anyone playing at the high school level to continue working so they could also play at the college level.
“I love it, and I think every kid who plays a sport should always look ahead and look for their dream,” Samargo said. “I’ve played since I was younger and I’ve always grown up playing on a boys’ team, and in middle school, I had this super bad injury that I didn’t really think I was going to be able to overcome, but after I got over that, I really think anybody can do what they want.”
Tenney also signed on to play for Wesleyan, and he had not picked out a major yet.
“It means a lot because I’ve always wanted to play for Wesleyan,” Tenney said. “I’ve been around the campus all my life and it’s really special for me.”
Lane’s father, Michael Tenney, happens to serve as the volunteer assistant coach to head Bobcats coach Gavin Donaldson.
Tenney said he felt a sense of responsibility to represent B-UHS athletes at the collegiate level.
“I means a lot, knowing that I can represent them in a good way and help bring positivity to local players who want to go on to the next level,” Tenney said. “It means a lot, also, knowing that not all players get the opportunity to go to the next level and that I have the opportunity to go.”
