Seven student-athletes gathered at LHS to sign their National Letters of Intent to commit to a university on Nov. 17. Participating at the collegiate level for any sport is recognized as an amazing achievement and according to ScholarshipStats.com, only around 7% of high school athletes get the opportunity to take that route. 

While some of our seniors are headed out of state to continue their athletic journeys in 2021, Pacers Luke Basso and Anna Michie plan to stay closer to home.

 Basso, a football player, will be attending the University of Oregon next fall to join the football program as a long snapper. “I chose Oregon, pretty much because of the environment and where it is, it’s kind of close to home,” Basso stated while also explaining that staying near family was another reason to attend the University. 

Basso had a dream goal in mind from the beginning when he started playing tackle football in third grade. “I started playing because my dad played college football and that was always kind of my dream. I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Basso said. 

Not only was his dad his inspiration, but also his biggest motivator said the future Duck. “My dad was a big contributor to my success, just because he pushed me to go out and practice a lot and go to the camps. . . and get recruited. . . he’s always been there for me throughout the process.”

Although Basso attended the Lakeridge High School ceremony last month, he will officially sign in December. In the next coming years at Oregon, he has the hopes to gain a starting spot on the team as well as further his studies in sports marketing and sports business. 

Instead of joining Basso in Eugene, Michie plans to go the Beaver route in Corvallis at Oregon State University. Michie will be joining the Beaver collegiate rowing team next fall and is very excited to be filling the Coxon position on the Division I team. “That kind of environment, I really love. So, I guess to just be on a strong team that hopefully wins lots of races too,” Michie answered when responding about what she looks forward to when rowing at the next level.

 The future Beaver started rowing her freshman year, taking after her older brother, who rowed at the Lake Oswego Rowing Club as well. Michie has been a part of the Lake Oswego Rowing Club along with the Rose City Rowing Club and has contributed a lot of her success to those who’ve helped her along the way. “I definitely think all my coaches gave me a ton of information and support. And also my teammates too, always being there for me because rowing is definitely a team sport. And my parents who are always very supportive.”

After meeting with a few of the team members and the recruiting coach, Michie discovered how nice the people in the program were, ultimately leading to her decision to sign to Oregon State. While spending half of her time rowing next year, Michie looks forward to spending the other half of her time furthering her studies in one of the top oceanography programs in the country.

In alignment with the four other student-athletes who are leaving Oregon next fall, senior Cody Hart plans to venture to the east coast and play for the University of Virginia men’s lacrosse team. While he signed his intent to commit back in September 2019, he attended the ceremony as well this fall, joining the rest of the seven Pacers.  

Hart began playing lacrosse in first grade and has been dedicated to the sport ever since. Spending almost every day either exercising or practicing Lacrosse, he is looking forward to bringing his talents and drive to the collegiate level. In terms of why Hart chose Virginia, he stated that “it was the most well-rounded school. . . it had a good education system, great lacrosse team, [and] I love the campus.”

Attending a school that was successful in other sports as well was also a huge factor in his decision due to his love of watching sports like football and basketball outside of lacrosse. Throughout high school, Hart has been a star on the field, playing midfield for the Lakeridge Varsity Lacrosse team as well as the West Coast Stars club team. 

“My parents were a huge part [in my success]. My parents, my brothers. They were there with me every step of the way. And I had the honor of being coached by some great coaches who have great reputations. And I did the best that I could with all they gave me,” said Hart. Next fall, Hart plans on furthering his studies in business while contributing to the University of Virginia lacrosse program and ultimately achieve his goal of getting a starting position.

Along with Basso, Michie, and Hart, other senior Pacer athletes also attended the ceremony in November. Those students that signed were Cam Clayton, University of Washington, baseball; George Eisenhardt, Xavier University, baseball; Josh Schleichardt, University of Utah, baseball; and Derek Seneker, Claremont Mckenna University, baseball.