Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Parking lot serves as signing site of 5
SPRINGDALE — A large crowd gathered Tuesday to honor five Shiloh Christian athletes who signed letters of intent to play college athletics.
With a microphone in his hand, and wearing orange reflective sunglasses, athletic director Jeff Conaway lauded each of the seniors with a laundry list of their accomplishments in football, baseball and track.
All while standing in the middle of a black asphalt parking lot.
Because of covid-19 issues, the spring signing was held outdoors with the home side pressbox at Champions Stadium serving as the backdrop. The athletes sat at tables separated by empty parking spots to follow social distancing guidelines.
“We plan three of these throughout the academic year,” Conaway said. “We really wanted to honor the date, we know we have some family that wanted to come and be a part, so we said a few weeks ago that we were going to continue to honor this date and just find a way to make it happen.
“So, we’re mostly restricted. We’re trying to hang in there with the rules. We’re trying to limit the handshakes
and stay six feet apart. But we wanted to honor our kids. They’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point and I think that’s what is great about our administration. They wanted to make a way so that we could do this, not make excuses for why we couldn’t.”
On a sun-drenched afternoon, there were balloons, music pumping from a sound system set up on the second row of the parking lot and classmates greeted each other like they had not seen each other in weeks, which they probably haven’t.
Three of the signees were from Conaway’s state runner-up football team. Truitt Tollett, who tied a state record last fall with 30 receiving touchdowns, signed with the University of Arkansas as a preferred walk-on. Lineman Dylan Gregory signed with Northeastern State University and defensive back Keaton Carter is headed to Samford.
Cole Oswald signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Henderson State University, and track standout Grace Sluyter is headed to John Brown University to start the first leg to what she hopes is a future as a pediatric oncologist.
“I picked John Brown for the medical program. I was really excited about that,” said Sluyter, who competes in the middle distance events. “I want to take the pre-med program there because I’ve heard it has a very good success rate to get into medical school.”
Oswald was recruited to Henderson State as a pitcher. He visited the campus in Arkadelphia and felt an immediate connection to the coaching staff.
“This is a big day for me,” Oswald said. “All my years and work is finally paying off and I get to sign in front of all my friends and teammates.”
Gregory is an inspirational story and one that Conaway said is proof that players with physical issues can find a way to excel. Gregory is without his left arm from just above the elbow, but found a way to be a big contributor on a team that played for the Class 4A state championship.
“He came to us in the eighthgrade, frustrated because he didn’t feel like he was being given the opportunity to be an athlete,” Conaway said. “Just to watch him grow and mature and develop and have the confidence to play football. Not just be on the team, but to play, to earn the opportunity to get on the field.
“We learned a lot from Dylan. He proved that excuse-making is not an option. He wanted to be treated like every other football player, and I could not be more proud of him for the way he persevered.”
Gregory, who plays with a prosthetic, said he was recruited as an interior lineman and deep snapper at NSU.
“We went to visit a couple of months ago and really liked it,” Gregory said. “Being close to home was kind of a factor.”
A family connection to Samford led Carter to select the Bulldogs, located in Birmingham, Ala., over several other offers.
“It was really down to two schools,” Carter said. “Samford came in late and that’s my dad’s alma mater as well, and I have family there. About a month ago they offered and after we talked about it, that’s where I felt like I needed to go.”
Tollett had several scholarship offers, but the chance to play at Arkansas was what he wanted. The record-setting wide receiver had a stellar senior season for the 14-1 Saints. Tollett caught 134 passes for 2,046 yards and 30 touchdowns, which tied a state record.
He also was a factor in special teams, averaging 18.8 yards on punt returns.
“I did an official visit not long ago and we sat down with coach (Justin) Stepp and coach (Bobby) Allen and they went through the options,” Tollett said. “After the visit, I knew that’s where I wanted to be. You can tell something special is coming to Arkansas and I want to be a part of that.”