Yelm High School hosted its annual signing day ceremony on Friday, April 21, in the school’s commons as seven student-athletes were celebrated for signing with a college athletic program.
The students included Anzley Wevodau, Trinity Levine, Alysah Forde-Nihipali, Meridee Hill, Pavaan Bankston, William Snodgrass and Kyler Ronquillo.
Levine, Forde-Nihipali, and Hill all signed to their respective schools after playing soccer for Yelm High School.
“I’ve had the good fortune of being able to coach these three young ladies, who on top of being great athletes are just great people in general,” soccer coach Jay Dorhauer said.
The coach said it was unfortunate that he only had one year to coach Levine, who signed to Centralia College.
“As soon as she showed up, I knew what kind of athlete I had in her. She’s a solid defender, a smart soccer player who plays above her years,” Dorhauer said. “I think she’s going to have some great success moving forward at Centralia.”
Forde-Nihipali, who is heading to Edmonds College, was coached by Dorhauer for four years. The coach described her as a solid technical player.
“She’s really good at all the fundamentals and basics. She plays the defensive bit really well, she knows where to put the ball,” Dorhauer said. “About halfway through her senior year, she turned to another level where she started to get more offense in her game, more physical. I’m really excited to see her continue on in her career.”
Dorhauer then spoke about Hill, who signed to play soccer at Saint Martin’s University. Hill was a four-year starter as a Tornado.
“She’s an extremely physical player, which you don’t see a lot of in girls games,” Dorhauer said. “She can take over a game, and she not only is a great defender, but she was our leading scorer for three years straight. She has the deadly combination of physical skills, she can score, and she can defend.”
Yelm High School’s defensive backs coach for football, Tim Tsugawa, spoke about his athlete Bankston, who will head to Linfield University to continue playing the defensive back position.
Tsugawa highlighted Bankston’s game-changing 3A state championship interception in December during Yelm’s win against Eastside Catholic.
The coach added that due to prior film study, he and Bankston both knew what was likely to happen when Eastside Catholic’s offense came out with three wide receivers to the left side of the formation, and one wide receiver to the right.
“The wide receiver he’s guarding is probably a future division one slot receiver and he (initially) gets by Pavaan, but because (Bankston) trained so well and worked so hard in the off season, he knew exactly what to do in this instant. … He forced the receiver to go to the sideline where it’s hard for the receiver to get the ball,” Tsugawa said. “Pavaan was poised under pressure and he doesn’t fold under pressure.”
Tsugawa added a lot of people rightfully talk about Ronquillo’s game winning play, but he said there were many moments in the state championship game the athletes worked hard for, which included that interception.
Brian Foote, the football program’s offensive line coach, spoke about Snodgrass. The 6-foot, 5-inch and 360-pound athlete signed to continue his education and football career at the University of Montana Western.
Foote said Snodgrass didn’t “really” start playing football until his sophomore year of high school.
“In a two-year period, we see him go from a kid who was struggling on the field to a kid who was dominating on the field and destroying kids,” Foote said. “But the whole time he’s always the first to go over and offer to help them up.”
The coach described Snodgrass as a hard worker, a good listener, and a great addition to Montana Western’s football program, but Foote said Snodgrass’ most impressive trait is one that can’t be physically measured.
“You see how big he is … but the most impressive thing to me about Will is how big his heart is,” Foote said. “I just know whatever he does in life he’ll be great because he’s such a good person.”
Yelm’s head football coach Jason Ronquillo spoke about his son, Kyler Ronquillo, who signed to Princeton University.
“I love the hell out of my son. He’s made me so proud because of how he takes care of business. He makes me look great because of how well he does things,” Coach Ronquillo said. “He’s always done excellent in the classroom, on the field, (and) he just does everything to the best of his ability.”
Coach Ronquillo added his son’s talent for football was first recognized when Kyler Ronquillo was in third grade and threw consecutive touchdowns to his teammate Bankston, which included the game winning run.
“I always say I’d rather be obsessed than talented. I think he’s talented, but he’s obsessed at the same time, which makes him an ultra competitor,” Coach Ronquillo said. “He would do whatever it takes to win. The leadership, the willingness to commit when nobody else was willing to commit, his attitude, is why he’s sitting at this table right now. I’m so freaking proud of you. Keep those characteristics, you’ve gotta have that grit to make it through.”
Yelm Athletic Director Rob Hill, who hosted the signing day event, spoke about Wevodau, who will head to the University of Washington, where she will be a member of the university’s rowing program.
“Anzley was a track athlete, cross country athlete here,” Rob Hill said. “Through those sports, she was recruited to go to the University of Washington to row on their crew team. We’re excited to see what the future holds.”
The seven athletes will head to their new destinations sometime after Yelm High School’s graduation on Sunday, June 11.
