In 2022, Ashli Edmiston was one of the star players on the Wilsonville Wildcat Volleyball team before she graduated.  She is now playing D1 volleyball at Abilene Christian University in Texas. She thanks the Wilsonville community for supporting her along her athletic career, “High school and club really prepared me and gave me a strong community that I knew supported me,” said Edmiston. 

Ashli’s college volleyball career has been going well, and she has been earning lots of playing time. “It’s been a great experience; I felt very prepared for what I was walking into. College sports are a huge commitment. It’s very exhausting, however, it’s also a really fun and rewarding process,” said Edmiston.

Edmiston suggests that if you are interested in playing a college sport, you absolutely should. She strongly recommends finding your “why.” She mentioned that finding her “why” has helped push her to work harder. “Doing the same thing every day can become very mentally and physically taxing; knowing why you’re doing it helps give you the motivation to do it, even when you don’t want to,” said Edmiston.

Lindsey Antonson, who graduated in 2022, is currently playing women’s soccer for Oregon State University. Lindsey has always excelled in soccer, but the college workload has proved itself to be more difficult than high school. 

“It takes a lot of time management skills and hard work to keep on top of assignments which were different for me from high school to college,” said Antonson.

Antonson believes mental strength has been one of the biggest things that has helped her with her athletic career. “Mental strength allows me to push through things that are hard and stressful. College soccer has given me this strength not only physically but mentally,” said Antonson. She intends to carry these skills through all aspects of her life. 

“Time management is also a huge part of being a student-athlete in college. Obviously, as an athlete, you have a lot of things to juggle while also dealing with school. Time management skills will help me deal with life after my playing career is over.” added Antonson.

Dalton Mermis, who is currently a sophomore on the women’s soccer team at Seattle Pacific University, graduated from Wilsonville High School in 2022. Dalton’s favorite memory during her soccer career so far was winning the state championship in 2022.

“Winning state that year was so incredibly important to the whole team because the year before was the COVID season, and there weren’t any playoffs,” Mermis said, adding, “It was also just an amazing way to end my senior year.”

Mermis strongly recommends going above and beyond if you really want to play in college. “I think that working out outside of high school soccer and club was the main thing to get me in physical strength for college soccer.” According to Mermis, it is important not only to go to practice with your high school or club team but to include individual practices, weight lifting, or whichever exercise will help you achieve your goals in your sport. 

In 2019, Trevor Antonson was a senior and held many of the records for Wilsonville baseball, including home runs, RBIs, and doubles. Now, he is in his final year of eligibility for Seattle University and has continued to exceed expectations on the field. 

Antonson describes his experience playing collegiate baseball as “the most fun, exciting, challenging, and life-changing experience. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Antonson believes that participating in college sports leads to the best college experience. Playing a college sport builds friendships that you’ll keep for a lifetime and all the great memories that accompany it.

Antonson also touches on another benefit of playing a college sport, “Playing college baseball has helped me gain skills in time management, leadership, and hard work. These skills will help me find success in the real world once I’m done playing baseball and find a job.” said Antonson. Future employers will love your being on a team and hearing what you learned from it. 

The recent 2023 graduate, Jacob Ogden, is now a freshman on the baseball team at Chaminade University in Hawaii. Ogden was an important leader on the Wilsonville High School team last year as one of only two seniors on the roster.

Although he hasn’t spent much time in college, Ogden has already learned a lot from being on the team. “We haven’t played any games yet, but I already feel like the team’s a family. All the coaches and players really care about one another.” 

Ogden also stresses the importance of having great time management skills. “The hardest part has definitely been the school work; the quantity is so much more. Once you get a good routine, I think everyone can succeed, athlete or not,” said Ogden.