Four Wildcat athletes made their college plans official at a signing ceremony held at Oxford High School last Wednesday.

Those signing were OHS senior student-athletes Sarah Liford, Shae Walters, Matthew Mielnicki and Lauren Yankee.

Senior softball players Hannah Vachon and Lauren Donaldson, who recently signed to play for the University of St. Francis and Rochester College respectively, were not present at the ceremony.

Yankee has played at the varsity level at OHS since her freshman year and has played golf since she was seven-years-old.

Yankee served as one of her team’s varsity captains in her junior and senior years and carried a scoring average of 102.22 in the fall of 2017.

Yankee signed to play golf at Adrian College starting in the fall, where she plans to pursue a degree in health sciences.

“Lauren was a true joy to coach,” said Head Coach Gretchen Gabler. “She made a commitment to the team and worked every day to better herself and her teammates. Lauren was admired by the other coaches in our league and was a shining example of sportsmanship… winning and losing with grace. I am confident that she is mentally tough enough to compete at the college level, on the course and in the classroom. Her teammates and I are so very proud of her accomplishments.”

Walters signed to play baseball at Madonna University, where he plans to study accounting or finance. He has played baseball for the Wildcats since his freshman year and serves as a pitcher for the team.

Last season he achieved the lowest earn run average (ERA) for a starting pitcher on the Wildcats baseball team.

Head Coach Dave Herrick described Walters as “one of the hardest working student-athletes” he has even coached.

“Shae has a team-first attitude and is willing to do whatever is best for the team. He loves to compete and is extremely humble when he is successful. . . I expect Shae to have success both in the classroom and on the diamond as he heads to Madonna in the fall. He is willing to be the first to arrive and last to leave any practice. Shae will have a great career at Madonna,” said Head Coach Dave Herrick. “They are lucky to be getting such a high character kid. From myself and the other coaches in the baseball program, we wish him nothing but success as he heads off to Madonna in the fall. He will represent himself, his family, and the Oxford community well.”

Sarah Liford, an OHS senior, has signed to Rochester College’s cheer program.

She plans to study nursing or education as she continues her education.

Head Coach Christie DeSano said Liford has proven herself to be a strong athlete throughout her time at Oxford.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed coaching her and watching her grow in this sport. I was her coach in middle school and now in high school. It has been an amazing experience to watch her skills develop,” said DeSano. “She is a talented flier and has solid tumbling. I could not be more proud of the ways she has pushed herself to excel. I’m looking forward to see the amazing things she will accomplish at Rochester.”

Senior Matthew Mielnicki signed to play soccer at Niagara University in New York, which is a division one school for soccer.

Mielnicki served as a midfielder for Vardar Soccer Club Michigan’s 99-00 Academy (U18/19), a travel soccer club in Rochester Hills.

Vachon, who serves as a pitcher for the Wildcats varsity softball team and Donaldson, who serves as the All-League catcher for the team recently signed their letters of intent to continue growing as softball players.

Both have been longtime athletes with Oxford’s various softball programs.

Head Coach Kenny Allen said he has worked with Vachon and Donaldson since they were in elementary school.

“Both (Hannah and Lauren) started as freshmen in a team that went undefeated in the league and won the league championship. They played in every single game and they’ve been instrumental… to turning softball into something great,” Allen said. “Lauren has been phenomenal as far as playing catcher and doing whatever we’ve asked of her and hitting. Both Lauren and Hannah are two of the hardest workers on the team.

“Our seniors are really setting the stage for the team going forward. I hope they will continue to work as hard as they’ve worked these last four years of high school and continue to pursue excellence both on and off the field like they have been and set the stage for whatever endeavor they choose to pursue. It’s been a privilege coaching them.”