Recent Graduates Ready to Make Mark on NCAA

With preseason officially underway at GSB for fall sports and the new athletic year officially underway, we wanted to take a look back at our recent graduates who will continue their athletic careers at the college level.

Featured in photo
Back Row from Left to Right: TJ Chaney; Ryan Morash; Alex Schachne; CJ Licata; and Bailey Gano. Front Row from Left to Right: Amelia Kirby;Nicole Johnson; Ava Diggins;Sabrina Yekta;and Dani Towle.Not Pictured: Ariel White

Chaney will be continuing his basketball career at Virginia Union University. Chaney graduated from a GSB basketball program that earned four Delaware Division and Somerset County championships. Chaney was a big contributor to that success, being named Honorable Mention All-Area by The Courier News his junior and senior seasons. He will look to continue that team success as the Panthers are the reigning CIAA champions and have won 20 titles in their program history.  

 

Morash will be competing at the Division I level when he takes the baseball diamond for Hofstra University next spring. The infielder/outfielder had a remarkable career at GSB; he was named 1st Team All-Conference four times and 1st Team All Prep-B three times. His excellent play on the field helped lead the Knights to four consecutive Skyland Conference Mountain Division titles and the Prep B Championship in 2015. He also set the school record for career hits during his senior season and was a NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete honoree. 

 

Schachne looks to continue his winning ways on the basketball court as he joins Johns Hopkins. He was a three-time 1st Team All-Conference and a 3rd Team All-State member while at GSB. His efforts helped lead the program to four straight Somerset County titles. He also recorded his 1,000th career point this last winter and was a Somerset County Scholar-Athlete honoree. The Blue Jays are the reigning Centennial Conference Champions and Schachne should be a huge help in keeping the program at the top.

 

Licata will be continuing his incredible throwing career at the Division I level for Princeton University. Licata leaves Gill as one of the best athletes in school history and one of the top throwers in the nation. In his senior season alone, Licata won both the Indoor and Outdoor NJSIAA Meet of Champions Shot Put title, was named the NJ.com Indoor Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year, was a High School All-American, and was the top American in the shot put at the prestigious Penn Relays. He was also the recipient of the Harold D. Nicholls Memorial Award, given to the best senior male athlete, at GSB Commencement. The Tigers have won six out of the last eight Men’s Track and Field Championships and adding Licata definitely helps their championship aspirations.  

 

Gano heads off to Hoboken to continue his soccer career at Stevens Institute of Technology. Gano is coming off a remarkable senior season as he was named 1st team All-Conference, Prep B and All-County while also being named 2nd team All-State (Non-Pubic). His spectacular play on the field helped lead the Knights to three straight Valley Division titles, a Non-Public B state championship in 2016 and a Prep B championship in 2015. He was also recognized as a Skyland Conference Student-Athlete honoree. Gano is joining a program that had a tremendous season last fall, as the Ducks were the Empire 8 regular season and tournament champions and they also advanced all the way to the NCAA Sweet 16.  

Kirby heads off to Connecticut College to continue her athletic career. She was a dual-athlete standout while at Gill, excelling in both soccer and lacrosse. On the soccer pitch, Kirby was a two-time 1st Team All-Conference and All-County player and was an integral part of the Knights’ late tournament runs in recent years. She accomplished the same feat on the lacrosse field, being named 1st Team All-Conference and 1st Team All-County two times and provided a solid foundation for a new and growing program at the school. Kirby was also the recipient of the Joyce Creasey Memorial Award and was a NJISAA National Girls & Women in Sports nominee. 

 

Johnson will be competing for both the Middlebury Field Hockey and Track teams this upcoming year. She will be joining an already strong program as the Panthers are the reigning Division III champions in field hockey and boast one of the top track programs in the nation.  Johnson enjoyed an especially successful senior season at Gill as she received 1st Team All-Conference and Prep B honors for Cross Country and was also named 1st Team All-Conference, 1st Team Prep B, and 2nd Team All-State (non-public) while qualifying for NJSIAA Meet of Champions during her Indoor Track season. Outside of Gill, she competed with the Total Dutch Field Hockey club year round. 

Diggins will continue her career on the soccer pitch in the highly competitive Big Ten Conference. She should be just fine in the Division I level as she achieved a remarkable career while at GSB. Diggins was an All-State Non-Public 1st team selection her senior year and a 2nd team selection her junior year while also being to the All-Conference team four times. She served as team captain her junior and senior years while also being listed as a Top-20 Defender in New Jersey by The Star Ledger. Her skills and leadership helped bring the soccer program to back-to-back semi-finals appearances in the Non-Public B state tournament.

 

Yekta will continue to display her horse riding skills as she joins the Marist College Equestrian Team. She joins an impressive team of riders as the Red Foxes won the Zone 3 Invitational in 2017 and placed 8th out of the Top-20 teams in the country in 2016. Yekta brings a strong background of success in the sport, as she won the championship title in the New Jersey Horse Show Awards, placed second in the Children’s Hunter Classic and won a reserve championship at the Atlantic Equitation Festival. 

 

Towle will look to continue her winning ways on the softball diamond when she joins Providence College this year. Division I softball should not pose a problem for her as Towle was a two-time 1st Team All-Conference selection and also a 1st Team All-Prep B honoree as well. She helped lead a resurgence in the softball program as they have captured the past three Mountain Division titles and won the 2015 and 2016 Prep B championships as well. She was also a Skyland Conference Scholar-Athlete honoree. 

White joins the Concordia University Women’s Basketball team in Canada. White played a key part in helping the girls’ program to a 13-9 record and helping the team advance to the South Jersey, Non-Public B semifinals this past season. 

 

Congratulations once again to our recent graduate scholar-athletes as they begin their college careers. Go Knights!