RCS QUARTET MAKE DECISIONS OFFICIAL
Standout athletes celebrated while confirming college choices
Four Resurrection Christian athletes made their college choices official Wednesday during a celebration in the school’s gym.
Volleyball player Reagan Mcwhinney, lacrosse player Erin Chartier, softball player Alexis Knapp and swimmer Karter Mcnutt will all continue their athletic careers at the next level.
Mcwhinney, who recently led the Cougars to a third-place finish at the 3A state tournament, will be attending UC-SAN Diego. A four-year starter for RCS, she finished her high school career with 725 kills and was named first-team all-state by CHSAA after her senior season.
“It is so exciting,” Mcwhinney said. “I have been looking forward to going to play in college for the past four years. Now that it’s finally happening and I can feel all the excitement coming, I am so ready to go.”
“I started playing volleyball when I was nine. Ever since then, it’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of commitment. I have never taken time off from volleyball, high school or club volleyball all year round, just working super hard and focusing in on my recruiting and narrowing down what I wanted. Finding UCSD was the perfect fit.”
Chartier, who plays for the Thompson Valley lacrosse team still has her senior season left to go but has signed to play at Belmont Abbey college in Belmont, North Carolina.
She helped lead the Thompson Valley team to the state championship match last season. In her two full seasons with the Eagles, she has scored 44 goals with 13 assists.
“It’s definitely a very exciting day,” Chartier said. “This is something I have looked forward to since my freshman year of high school, so it is definitely a big moment.”
“The recruiting process is long, and it is very hard, but it’s also really rewarding. Once I picked my college, kind of going through all the factors, it was really the best decision I could ever make.”
Knapp, who led the Cougars to their first state tournament appearance last fall, signed with Mccook Community College in
Mccook Nebraska. She was instrumental in turning the program from a onewin team in 2021 to a 13win and state tournament team in 2022.
She went 7-7 in the circle with a 2.23 ERA her senior season. At the plate, she batted .569 with two home runs, 10 doubles and 30 RBIS.
“My recruiting process was actually pretty easy for where I decided to go,” Knapp said. “The coach is actually the assistant coach at Sterling High School, so I have been in contact with him for a couple of years and he just took the job at the school I will be attending. So, it is kind of just a given.”
“It’s always been a dream. I am so excited that I get to continue that dream and move forward with it.”
Even though Mcnutt goes to RCS, the school doesn’t have a swim team, so he swims for a club in Fort Collins and for Fort Collins High School. A returning state qualifier, he will swim collegiately at Biola University, a Christian college in Southern California.
Last season at the 5A state meet, he was part of Fort Collins’ 200-yard medley relay while also swimming the 200 IM and the 500 freestyle.
“The recruiting process started pretty early; junior, sophomore year, kind of when I started getting fast in the pool and whatnot,” Mcnutt said. “I just went out there on a family vacation to see what it was all about. It was a great Christian community, Christian swim team, Christian college, great education, great location in California. That’s kind of what led me there.
“I’m stoked. This has been my goal for a long time, ever since I have been swimming, ever since I was seven years old. I always knew I wanted to pursue swimming in college. That was the goal.”