Pair of Flames sign to play college sports
A pair of Lodi High athletes signed to play sports at the next level recently, with Olivia Grim signing to play water polo with Long Beach State, and Ben Prentiss signing to play baseball with Greenville College.
Long Beach State finished the 2016 season ranked No. 11 in Division I, and Grim is champing at the bit to get started.
“I’m so excited. It’s going to be such a challenge, but I can’t wait,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so to have an opportunity to play at the college level, it’s so exciting to me.”
Grim, the driving force behind a Lodi high squad that went 16-12 this fall with a second-round playoff exit, scored 91 goals as a senior, with 17 assists. She said her choice came down to Long Beach State and a couple of other D-I colleges in California, with the choice so close that she compiled a pros/cons list before settling on Long Beach State.
“They are very competitive, so it’s going to be really fun to play against different schools like Davis, Hawaii, places like that,” Grim said. “I’m probably going to have to totally step it up. I’m really excited for the opportunity to see what I can do.”
Prentiss will play with Greenville in the NCAA’s third division, but first he still has his senior season to play with Lodi. He said he’s played mostly a utility role for Lodi, bouncing from spot to spot, but that Greenville’s coaches see him in center field.
“When I went down there, they have really good community, and they’re supportive, they come out to all the college games,” Prentiss said. “The community is around the college.”
Prentiss batted .196 as a junior for a Lodi squad that went 11-17, and he has high hopes for his senior year.
“Last year, we only had five seniors, the rest of the team was juniors. It was a really new team,” he said. “This year, we have all these players who have played together growing up. We know each other, and I see my team going far with the
help of the coaches. I feel that we have a chance to make the championship at UOP.”
Both athletes have their education planned — Prentiss plans to become a physical therapist, and like Greenville’s exercise science program. Grim plans to major in English with a minor in political science.