The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Lady Mamba’s going to Colgate.
Christina Midgette, the 5’11” forward looking to lead the Lady Warriors basketball team this season, made it official during a short Letter of Intent signing ceremony November 10 in the Franklin High School library.
Midgette, who lost the entire 2019-2020 season to a knee injury, has been heavily recruited since her freshman year. (You remember that year, when all the Lady Warriors did was go 34-0 on their way to their second Tournament of Champions championship in three years.)
But the upstate New York school seemed the best fit for her, Midgette said.
Midgette said she had a “great connection” with the Colgate coaching staff.
“And the academic rigor was something very high on my list, as well as the situation they’re in right now, they’re in a build-back stage, so I’d love to be a part of that and really make my own mark there,” she said.
Midgette’s offer from a Division 1 school seems more improbable when one considers what she’s been through in her high school career.
Her freshman year was really the only “normal” season she’s experienced so far. A season-ending knee injury took her out of the 2019-2020 campaign early on, and the 2020-2021 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
There hasn’t been a Tournament of Champions series since Franklin won it in 2019.
Still, Midgette has racked up 424 points with 295 rebounds, 65 assists, 60 steals and 30 blocks.
That year off taught her a lot about herself, Midgette said.
“It was definitely an interesting time,” she said. “It taught me a lot about asking for help, learning to take breaks so your body can build back the way it’s supposed to. It taught me a lot about my body and how to perform better.”
Getting back into shape and strengthening that knee “was definitely hard at first mentally, but knowing I wanted to come back better and my end goal was what kept me going to PT, working out, getting up early, staying late to get back where I wanted to be,” she said.
Midgette’s parents, Jerry and Lisa, said they were proud of what their daughter has accomplished.
The recruiting process was “a long journey,” Jerry Midgette said.
“It was very long, interesting, sometimes stressful,” he said. “But all worth it. It takes everybody pulling together on the same track, and this is the end result.”
Lisa Midgette said the whole experience was “absolutely surreal.”
“It’s a process that we went through for the first time, and we really didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “And in your heart you say, she went through so much, she deserved this. I’m so proud of her.”
Midgette’s coach, Audrey Taylor, said Christina was “one of the hardest workers that I’ve had come through this program.”
“More than anything, her character is amazing,” Taylor said. “She handled adversity, she kept her head high, she always supports her teammates, and she never finds an excuse not to show up, and that to me is one of the biggest things for a young lady to have.”
“To go to college with that kind of mindset, that kind of character … she’s going to be able to do whatever she sets her mind to,” she said. “Your journey was beautiful, and you deserve everything you get.”
Ken Margolin, the high school’s athletic director, said that he was struck by how intellectual Midgette is.
“She’s a thinker,” he said. “That, coupled with her athleticism will, I think, take her to great heights.”
“I look forward to this season with you and I really look forward more to what you’re going to do after graduation,” he said. “I think a lot of that is a tribute to your parents and your upbringing, and you following the blueprint and just being the person of high character that you are.”
FHS principal Nicholas Solomon said he met Midgette in the 6th or 7th Grade, and that, “to see the young lady that you have grown up to be from the outside looking in was a pleasure.”
“Continued success, we are all so proud of you,” he said. “We look forward to this year and years beyond.”
Here are some scenes from the day:
