MANHASSET, N.Y. — Bright and early (7:30am!) on November 21, Manhasset High School’s Recruited Senior athletes and their families gathered in the gym for one of the most important and exciting events of their sports careers: the National Signing Day Ceremony! (FYI: What they signed was a Letter Of Intent, which is a binding agreement to play a collegiate sport at the school to which they have been recruited.)

“It was such a special day for them!” smiles Tonia Zacharia, whose son, Theo, was recruited to play baseball at Bates College. “It’s wonderful that Manhasset High School recognizes and acknowledges the athletes for this great accomplishment that they all worked so hard for.”

“The Signing Day event is such a nice way for the school to honor all of the athletes that have earned the opportunity to play sports in college,” concurs Sean Haggerty, whose son, Aidan, is following in his brother, Brendan’s, footsteps and playing lacrosse for Villanova University. “They have all worked tremendously hard and taken so much pride in representing Manhasset over the years. All these athletes are going to incredible schools and we look forward to watching them compete at the next level.”

The athletes and their families weren’t the only ones enjoying this eventful morning—for Athletic Director Christine Raffo, who began her tenure earlier this school year, this was her first Signing Day at MHS. “It was very exciting,” she shares. “To see all of the families there at 7:30 in the morning; you could just see that they were really proud of their child. It’s so exciting for the student-athlete, but it’s also exciting for the whole group. I was just incredibly impressed by the number of student athletes who play at the next level from Manhasset High School. People don’t realize that it’s approximately one to three percent of that population that’s playing college-level sports. And so, it’s just such a huge accomplishment. It speaks to their hard work and their level of commitment to their sport. These kids are balancing so much and doing a wonderful job. So I am just very impressed by our students.”

Enthuses Muhlenberg University recruit Isabella D’Arienzo, “I am very happy to continue pursuing my passion of playing soccer at the collegiate level! It was so nice to be a part of the Manhasset Signing Day and I can’t wait for what the future holds.”

ATHLETE         SPORT           SCHOOL

Caitlin Barrett    Lacrosse      Duke University

Patrick Broderick   Swimming    Purdue University

Matthew Cargiulo    Lacrosse    University of Massachusetts

Eric Carlson     Wrestling     Cornell University

Isabella Chin    Fencing    Harvard University

Julia Chiovitti   Tennis      Stevens Institute of Technology

Liam Connor     Lacrosse    Colgate University

Isabella D’Arienzo   Soccer   Muhlenberg University

Jillian Gangaram   Lacrosse  Washington & Lee University

Sofia Giordano    Swimming    Kenyon College

Calum Girard     Lacrosse     Duke University

Tatum Goettelmann   Lacrosse    High Point University

Aidan Haggerty     Lacrosse    Villanova University

Isabella Knapp     Rowing    Columbia University

Sofia Lago    Rowing    Cornell University

Jack Lamarca    Lacrosse    Siena College

James Lapina   Lacrosse    Boston University

Joella Linder    Lacrosse    Pomona College

Kelly Mack    Field Hockey    University of Scranton

Alexandra Maliagros  Lacrosse   Dartmouth College

Jack Petersen    Lacrosse    Harvard University

Michelle Powers    Lacrosse   Marist College

Alexandra Schneider   Lacrosse    University of Virginia

Theodore Zacharia    Baseball   Bates College

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