Signs of the times: Stanislaus District athletes make college choices official

Georgie Dancer wants to play professional basketball, stateside or internationally, but not before he earns his MBA.

Symone Jacques has ambitions of earning All-America honors on the tennis court, but her ultimate dream is to fill the world with brighter smiles as an oral surgeon.

On Thursday, before a standing-room only crowd inside the Little Theatre, Beyer High celebrated four superior student-athletes who participated in the early signing period.

From left to right, smiling and cradling pens in their hands: Dancer, the school’s first Division I basketball recruit; Jacques, a former Bee All-District Tennis Player of the Year; slugger Jack Large, the Modesto Metro Conference’s reigning MVP; and Jessica Wisuri, an all-MMC softball pitcher.

Dancer is headed to Sacramento State, joining former Stanislaus District stars Jeff Wu (Modesto Christian) and Joshua Patton (Sierra). Jacques will attend Westmont College in Santa Barbara, while Wisuri committed to Holy Family University in Philadelphia.

Large is staying close to home. He’ll follow best friend and former Beyer teammate Micah Hall to Stanislaus State.

“This next challenge is going to be awesome. I’m excited to go explore,” Large said. “This is what I’ve worked hard for my whole life.”

Principal Dan Park thanked each of them for their contribution to sport and school and then wished them well at the next level.

For thousands across the country, this is what the signing period represents: the culmination of one dream and the birth of another.

Dancer began playing basketball in the sixth grade and quickly developed long-range goals.

“Ever since then I knew I wanted to go to college with it and I wanted to go probably further than college,” Dancer said in between photographs and well-wishes. “But I’m just happy I made it to college for now.”

In the same breath, he began laying the foundation for the next phase in his life. His hoop dreams are sprinkled with real-life career goals. He wants to achieve his MBA, so that when the game stops, his life won’t.

Through this process, he’s gained a deeper appreciation for education and his work ethic in the classroom. Dancer learned on Wednesday that he passed his ACT, a qualifying exam. He prepared for the qualifying test with multiple two-hour study sessions with Beyer assistant coach Ron Weltmer.

“It’s 100 percent about academics,” he said. “If I didn’t have the academics, I wouldn’t have received this scholarship.”

Here’s a look at how Day 2 of the early signing period took shape around the Stanislaus District, through the eyes of Bee sports reporter James Burns and editor Joe Cortez:

9 a.m.: While dropping his kids off at school, Burns receives a flurry of emails. There are two new names to add to the Signing Day honor roll: Modesto Junior College’s Buddy Reeder, a former Manteca High catcher has committed to Sacramento State; and Gregori third baseman Jasmine Temple, a prized recruit of Iona College in New York.

10:51 a.m.: Escalon volleyball standout Taylor Laugero finalizes her commitment to Santa Clara. A doting father shares the news in an another email to Burns.

11 a.m.: Burns’ phone chimes. There’s a new message from Ripon swim/water polo coach Erik Zador, who has scheduled a signing celebration for Bee All-District Swimmer of the Year Scott Tolman of Sierra and Gregori’s Christian Britton. Both are headed to Cal Baptist University. “Can you make it Monday?” We’ll try, coach. Coach responds with a thumbs-up emoji.

11:15 a.m.: Burns arrives in the parking lot at Beyer High for the school’s first-ever Signing Day celebration. With no idea where the Little Theatre is, Burns follows the well-dressed crowd from the parking lot to the main office.

11:25 a.m.: The theater fills up quickly with family, friends, coaches and curious students. Burns recognizes a few faces: Micah Hall, the 2014 Bee All-District Baseball Player of the Year; Beyer football coach Doug Severe; and NorCal Valley coaches Danny Ayala and Steve Marks. “We’ve got to hustle over to Central at noon to see Sam Mundt,” Ayala said afterward.

11:30 a.m.: Beyer principal Dan Park is at the podium and the festivities have begun. Activities secretary Tasha Hutton can finally breathe a sigh of relief. She coordinated the event, leaving no stone unturned. She even provided cookies and drinks for family.

11:34 a.m.: Beyer basketball coach Kyle McKim drops a little knowledge on the capacity crowd. McKim says Division I scholarships in basketball are rare and he backs it with numbers: 500,000 kids play basketball each year and roughly 700 get D-I scholarships, which means .0001 percent of all high school basketball players go D-I. The crowd looks at Dancer and marvels.

11:46 a.m.: Cortez arrives at Central Catholic High School, where golfer Matt Robinson will sign with UC Davis and baseball player Sam Mundt will sign with Utah. Miraculously, Cortez finds a parking space right in front of the administration office.

12:05 p.m.: Central Catholic’s lunch period begins and students begin flooding into the gymnasium. The Rev. Michael Brady, the school’s chaplain, begins the ceremony with a brief prayer, and athletic director Billy Hylla introduces Robinson and Mundt, who sign on the dotted line.

12:15 p.m.: Walking backward while snapping photos, Cortez nearly nearly trips over 4-year-old Anna Mundt, causing Sam’s young cousin to do a face-plant on the gym floor. She gets up and continues unfazed on her trek to join her cousin for photographs.

12:25 p.m.: Cortez begins interviews with Robinson and Mundt. Sadly, Robinson reveals that his stepfather, Brent Hamilton, passed away Tuesday after battling ALS. “He wanted to make it to see me sign, but it didn’t happen. He’s here in spirit, though,” said Robinson.

1:25 p.m.: Burns eats his lunch – cold leftover baked chicken pasta – during his walk from the newsroom to his car. He’s got to be in Oakdale for the Mustangs’ signing party.

1:30 p.m.: Cortez heads back to the office to download photos off a borrowed camera. Then it’s off to Turlock for a 3 p.m. signing at Pitman High School, where baseball players Colton Evans (UC Davis) and Matt Carrigg (University of Portland) will make it official

2:29 p.m.: In Oakdale, the matriarch of the Hackbarth family clears up any confusion. Her twin daughters’ names are Kindra and Maddi. Their names, along with softball teammate Scarlett Brock’s college of choice, have been misidentified on the poster put together by the Leadership class. Oops.

2:30 p.m.: It’s a proud day for Oakdale softball coach Larry Loger, who has skippered the Mustangs for 17 years. He has four players signing letters of intent to Division I colleges, a record for the program. Those four are: the Hackbarth twins and Haley Fuller to Fresno State, and Brock to Southern.

2:36 p.m.: Oakdale girls water polo coach Diane Kline has come to show her support of goalie Caitlin Golding (UC Davis), but with ball in hand, her mind is clearly on Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II final versus Del Oro.

2:40 p.m.: It’s picture time. All six of Oakdale’s student-athletes collect around the statue of the Mustang, which greets the women of the hour with hooves up.

2:45 p.m.: Kendelle Messersmith continues a rich tradition for the Sierra softball program, signing a letter of intent for Cal State Dominguez Hills. She is the fourth softball player from Sierra to accept a hefty scholarship, joining former teammates Ally Walljasper (Louisiana State), Iyana Hughes (Virginia) and Sommer Wilson (UC Riverside)

3:05 p.m.: Athletic director Dave Walls begins the ceremonies at Pitman High.

3:10 p.m.: Pride baseball coach John Acha tells the crowd assembled in the Pitman library that while everybody knows Evans and Carrigg are good baseball players, they’re even better young men.

3:15 p.m.: Michael Evans and Mike Carrigg say a few words about their boys. It’s wholly obvious that they are proud of their sons.

3:25 p.m.: Cortez pulls Carrigg aside for an interview that lasts about 90 seconds. Carrigg, who committed to Pacific, only to change his mind when coach Ed Sprague resigned, said he’s happy to be headed to Portland. “The area, the school, the coaches are all great.”

3:30 p.m.: Interview with Evans does not go as smoothly. Cortez makes mistake of conducting interview near main entrance. Everybody leaving ceremony stops to wish Evans the best. Still, it’s great to see the smile on Evans’ face every time he thanks the well-wishers for their support on this special day, made more special by the fact he could sign alongside his best friend. “When we were little boys we wanted to play in the major leagues and in college. It starts with Wiffle Ball in the back yard and turns into this.”

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Signs of the times: Stanislaus District athletes make college choices official."