By Alexis Galarza Posted June 9, 2022
From the first day these athletes stepped on the Lowry gym floor, they knew they wanted more. They reached for the stars, and instead grabbed a galaxy. Jovi Kuskie, Emily Backus, McKenzi Petersen, Hannah Whitted, Joseph Garcia, and Giovani Sapien have all gone to the next level and signed for a collegiate sports team.
Lowry prepared these athletes in a plethora of ways. For Joseph Garcia, Lowry’s support guided him the most. He will be attending Finlandia University.
“Lowry has helped me prepare for this level of athletics by dedicating support to their athletes not only on the field but also in the classroom,” said Garcia.
For McKenzi Petersen, she became prepared due to Lowry’s level of experience. She will be attending Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana.
“Throughout these four years I have been able to grow my skills so much and learn so many things,” said Petersen. “I have come so far from where I started and Lowry athletics has brought me to where I am.”
Hannah Whitted knew since she was little that she wanted to play at the collegiate level.
“I’ve always wanted to play at the college level and take my skills as far as they could go,” said Whitted.
Throughout her high school career, Whitted had many strong influences that helped improve these skills. She will be attending Finlandia University.
“Melanie and Dwayne Thurmond have guided me the most, they were my basketball coaches the first three years of high school,” said Whitted. “They gave me the confidence I needed to know I could become a college athlete.”
For other athletes like Giovani Sapien being a collegiate athlete is something new. Sapien has only been playing football for about two high school seasons. He began his football career in the midst of a COVID-19 season. In other words, his “season” only consisted of six weeks of restricted playing. Lowry coaches pushed him to be the best he could, but ultimately his biggest motivator was himself.
“Lowry’s coaches have all prepared me in such a way that will benefit me for this next level,” said Sapien.
Sapien’s biggest influence was Mr. Calvin Connors. Connors was a receiver like Sapien; he was always showing Sapien tips and tricks that helped with his position. Sapien will be attending the football program at Culver-Stockton College.
Emily Backus signed to play basketball for the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes.
