The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Eight Franklin High School athletes signed letters of commitment to play for colleges around the country at a special ceremony May 6, held in the high school’s events lobby.
The students honored were:
- Raquel Garces, who will be playing soccer for Wheaton College
- Kwaku Owusu, who will be playing soccer for Kean University
- Ilyas Jaber, who will be playing soccer for Kean University
- Brandon Cogdill, who will swim for Stevenson University
- Lee Twombly, who will run cross country and track and field for Grove City College
- Nasan Colson, who will play football for Delaware Valley University
- Isaiah Cotten, who will play basketball for Penn State
- Joshua Mingledolph, who will play basketball for Penn State @ Berks
- Jasmine Jackson, who will run track and field for Johnson C. Smith University, could not attend the ceremony.
FHS Athletic Director Ken Margolin said the even was “a celebration.”
“It’s great to see when we have eight or nine student athletes who have first of all, committed to go to an institution of higher learning, and then agree to participate in athletics,” he said. “That’s what today’s about; it’s acknowledging all the hard work that their family members have done in supporting them, their friends, and then all the hard work they have put into it, to academically achieve and then athletically achieve at the collegiate level.”
“It’s one of the most enjoyable things that I get to do as an athletic director,” he said. “You want to see what they’ve learned in high school continue at the next level. This day exemplifies that for our student athletes.”
Margolin said the day can mean more to the student than they initially realize.
“I think it’s very important to them,” he said. “I think some of them don’t realize how much joy they’re going to get out of it, and you’re surprised when you’re done with it, even though it’s not a grandiose spectacle, a lot of them come up to us and say, Mrs. (Susan) Burd (the high school’s academic athletic facilitator), Mr. Margolin, thank you so much, it really meant a lot to be able to come up and get to rep where I’m going to school and to have family there and my loved ones.”
“I think it means more to them than they think it’s going to,” he said.
Here are some scenes from the event:
