Senior athletes announce commitment
Senior Mateo Althouse stands in front of the Lincoln bleachers last winter. Althouse recently committed to Georgetown University for cross country.
Lincoln athletes have recently been announcing their commitments for collegiate sports.
Senior Jasmine Sells announced in late August that she will be playing volleyball for Washington University in Saint Louis. Sells has been playing volleyball since middle school.
“I started in sixth grade with the West Sylvan team.. so, it’s been a long time,” said Sells.
Her practice and expertise led to Sells’ success on her school and club teams. This did not go unnoticed by college coaches as she had a number of schools pursuing her .
“I had a lot of interest… and options from D-I to D-III schools,” said Sells.
Sells had to make the difficult decision of which school to select. However, she always had a clear criteria for picking a school, which helped her during the selection process.
“Throughout my entire volleyball career I was just trying to go to the best academic school possible, [while] still finding a good volleyball fit,” said Sells.
Her criteria helped her narrow down her list and eventually, she selected Washington University, due to the positive community dynamic at the school.
“The people are really competitive, but it is also a super collaborative environment there,” said Sells. “Every time I was comparing another school to WashU, I didn’t think it topped what I have there, athletically and academically.”
The university accommodations also impressed her when she attended a volleyball camp on campus.
“When I was there the food was so good… and I slept like a baby on their mattresses,” she said.
Sells is excited to start practice next fall.
“I’m really looking forward to having a home court,” said Sells. “And honestly, I love the grind. I love waking up for early practices and having a full day filled. I love being busy.”
Another athlete who is excited to get his college athletics underway is senior Mateo Althouse. Althouse committed in mid-September to run cross country and track for Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
“I’m excited to try to compete at a national level… It’s a really cool thing to be able to say,” said Althouse.
Althouse is appreciative that his hard work over the years has paid off. He started running his freshman year after a knee injury and reconstructive surgery ended his soccer career. He is grateful that he was able to continue competing.
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s not the most fun sport all the time,” said Althouse. “But the community it generates and the fact that you are on the line with people who know what [the grind] feels like [makes] it a unique place.”
As a high school runner Althouse experienced considerable success in both cross country and track & field. Most notably, Althouse won the Foot Locker West Regional race in 2019.
“[Footlocker West] is such an historic race and it’s crazy to think about [winning it],” said Althouse.
His win and other strong performances brought him a lot of attention from college coaches. Out of all his choices, Althouse selected Georgetown.
“Location was big… [I liked] the idea of being in a big city,” said Althouse. “On the athletic side, [Georgetown] has a really rich history of track and field and competes at a national meet. It’s really exciting to be on a team like that.”
Althouse knows his new role at Georgetown will come with pressure.
“Everything is exciting but at the same time it’s also a lot of nerves. To be a recruit, you feel a kind of obligation to perform,” he said.
Running at a Division-I school like Georgetown may be more prestigious than for the Cardinals, but Althouse will miss the running community here at Lincoln.
“It’s always tough to leave your high school coaches and teammates who you build a relationship with,” says Althouse. “But I’m glad it’s led me to a new chapter.”
Sells and Althouse are both currently preparing for the jump from high school sports to collegiate athletics.
“From what I’ve heard, it’s just harder to do everything.” said Sells.
But they are both looking forward to getting started with the next stage of their athletic careers.
“It’s definitely scary,” says Althouse. “But I think it’ll be really fun.”
Note: Senior Mia Kane also announced her commitment to UCLA for cross country this past Thursday. Senior Jolie Maycumber committed to the University of Arizona last fall for soccer.
