As graduation nears, many seniors are finalizing their plans for after high school. Some will go on to start college, and some will go straight into a career, many to never see each other again. One group of seniors, though, plans to stick together by going to the same college and competing in the same sports.
Cross country teammates Ellie Hines, Christian Rutherford, Katie Rutherford, Thea Bordeaux and Walker Jones have all signed to West Liberty University to continue school together for the next four years. Hines, Christian Rutherford, Katie Rutherford and Jones all signed for cross country and track and field; Bordeaux signed for acrobatics and tumbling.
“It was not intended to sign together,” Christian Rutherford said. “Fate led us to the moment.”
Bordeaux signed towards the end of November, followed by Hines who signed Dec. 2. The Rutherford siblings were the next to sign, Christian on Jan. 2 and Katie on Jan. 3. The final commit was Jones on Jan. 5. The group had discussed wanting to go to college together and each individually decided on WLU after being approached by scouts.
“I’m excited to experience some of the sports I’m going to do and experience the academics, but I’m also scared of how I’m going to perform and how the atmosphere may change,” Katie Rutherford said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know people on my team and around the campus that will be like a family to me.”
All five student athletes made good grades throughout their high school careers and expressed their excitement for continuing their education and beginning to learn their majors. They look forward to pursuing degrees in nursing, political science, health science, speech pathology and more.
“West Liberty offered me the opportunity to do collegiate athletics but not need to change what major I had been planning on going into,” said Bordeaux who plans to major in dental hygiene. “West Liberty was the only school that offered my major as a bachelor’s degree and also had an acrobatics and tumbling team.”
As their remaining days in high school dwindle down, the seniors prepare for college while continuing to practice and savoring their remaining days of high school. As they move on to college sports, they expressed appreciation for the coaches that have gotten them to this point.
“I’d like to thank my coaches, friends and family for helping and encouraging me throughout the whole entire process,” Hines said. “I’m thankful for all of them, and excited to be a Hilltopper.”
CORRECTION Jan. 24, 2025: In the original version of this story, it was listed that the date of Ellie Hines’ signing was Nov. 2 when it was actually Dec. 2. We apologize for the error.
