Five Viking athletes sign to college teams
/Mazama High School hosts National Signing Day ceremony
Five Mazama seniors signed national letters of intent to play for college teams. From left to right are: Cole Brosterhous, football, Western Oregon University; Hudson Bacchetti, soccer, North Park University, Chicago; Caleb Waits, baseball, Northern State University, Aberdeen, S.D.; Tristan Lee, football, Eastern Oregon University; and Dominic Hankins, football, Western Oregon University.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Five Mazama High School student athletes on Wednesday signed their national letter of intent to play for college teams next year.
Three Viking football players – Cole Brosterhous, Dominic Hankins, and Tristan Lee – will go on to play college ball as well as Viking soccer center back Hudson Bacchetti and Viking baseball catcher Caleb Waits.
Family members attended the National Signing Day ceremony in Mazama’s gym, where student athletes wore college gear and officially signed intent letters.
“We are proud of these student athletes,” said Vic Lease, Mazama’s athletic director. “These young men have persevered through an extremely difficult time and never lost sight of their goals and aspirations. They have provided the Mazama community and other student athletes with a bright light of hope in an otherwise unfortunate situation.”
Overall, about 5-7 percent of high school athletes go on to play for college teams, according to statistics from the NCAA.
Mazama senior Hudson Bacchetti signed to play soccer for North Park University in Chicago. He is pictured with is parents John and Jadea Bacchetti.
Bacchetti will play soccer for North Park University in Chicago. The senior plays center back for the Vikings and has played soccer since he was 3. He plans to study business administration.
Brosterhous and Hankins both signed to play football at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
Brosterhous, a receiver, jumped at the opportunity to continue the sport at the college level. He plans to study sports medicine and kinesiology.
“I liked the coaching staff and what the university could provide me both athletically and academically,” he said.
Hankins will play defensive end for Western, joining his older brother on the team. He plans to study physical therapy. “I feel like it’s going to be a good fit for me,” he said.
Lee, who plays quarterback for the Vikings, signed to play football at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande where he will also study health and human performance.
“I’ve always loved football, and Eastern Oregon gave me the opportunity to play quarterback,” he said. “That was a big deal for me.”
Mazama senior Caleb Waits, a catcher for the Vikings, signed to play baseball for Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. He is pictured with his parents Morri Smith and Anne Roberts.
Waits, a catcher for the Vikings, signed to play baseball for Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D.
“It was a goal and a dream to keep playing baseball,” he said. “I’m excited about the team and the school.”
Waits is leaning towards studying criminal justice, but has not yet declared major.
The seniors are facing a truncated sports season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.