Six students commit to collegiate sports

Kate Calhoun

Writer/Intern

Six student athletes from Fallbrook High School were recognized May 21 for signing letters of intent to participate in sports at the collegiate level.

Keller Hagen will be joining the golf team at Westmont college in Santa Barbara, California. Harrison Brown will also be attending Westmont to play baseball. Darriale Yarbough will be participating in track and field for Cal State San Marcos in San Marcos.

Miguel Diego Rojas will be playing football for the University of La Verne in La Verne, California. Jalen Webb will also be attending La Verne to play football. Skyler Traut will take the volleyball court for Ottawa University in Surprise, Arizona.

Fallbrook High takes immense pride in these student-athletes, who have shown so much dedication to their sport. Both the principal, Dr. Farkas, and the athletic director of Fallbrook High, Patrick Walker, began the event with a few words to congratulate the athletes.

"Less than 2% of students receive a college scholarship so this is incredible," said Walker.

"Congratulations on being elite," said Farkas. "We wish you the best as you move forward."

Traut has played volleyball for seven years and also earned Athlete of the Year her senior year at Fallbrook High. At Ottawa, she plans on studying either business or psychology.

"I'm super excited and grateful for my scholarship opportunity," said Traut. "I think it will be a great experience to play for Ottawa."

Hagen is also excited to continue his athletic career at Westmont. After playing golf for six years, he plans on continuing his passion while majoring in mechanical engineering.

"The campus is beautiful and the golf courses nearby are phenomenal," said Hagen of the location of his new school in Santa Barbara.

Brown is joining Hagen at Westmont to play baseball. He has played baseball for 13 years and his favorite memory is having seven consecutive strikeouts against Point Loma, while also completing an immaculate inning. Immaculate innings occur when the pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning using only nine pitches.

"I love the location," said Brown of Westmont. "I'm excited to get involved in a community that will challenge me both academically, spiritually, and physically and make great memories along the way."

Yarbough is thrilled to continue her running career at Cal State San Marcos. During her time at Fallbrook, she excelled as a runner while participating in the 100, 200, 4 x 100, and the long jump. She won the CIF championship her sophomore year for the 100 with a time of 12:24 seconds. She will be studying criminology at CSUSM.

Rojas will be majoring in psychology at La Verne. He has played football for four years and his favorite high school memory was kicking a 40 yard field goal against Sweetwater in addition to only missing one kick the entire season.

"It's a beautiful campus," Rojas said of La Verne."I like how it's very family-oriented, and incredibly diverse and cultured."

Webb will join Rojas at La Verne in the fall to also play football. He has played football for 11 years and plans to study business management. His favorite high school memory is going against El Camino his junior year, which is known as one of the best football schools, and running the ball over 100 yards.

"It's a smaller college, so it's a much more close-knit community," said Webb. "I'm grateful for the opportunity and excited to get a brand-new start."

Coach Darius Pickett is excited to see two of his football athletes commit to playing at the next level.

"It's awesome for them. They are both very deserving of it after all the hard work and dedication they put into it. I'm extremely proud of them both," said Pickett.