11 Kutztown student athletes committed to play NCAA sport in college
Kutztown High School recognized 11 student athletes who committed to play an NCAA sport in college during the school’s Signing Day event on May 24.
Sophia Arnold: Cross Country and Track & Field, Bard College
Ryleigh Bohning: Tennis, Kutztown University
Dylan Cortez: Football, Calumet College of St. Joseph
Grant Fitzgerald: Baseball, Alvernia University
Xavier Goodman: Basketball, Northampton Community College
Jack Kornfeind: Cross
Country and Track & Field, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
Lennon Neiman: Football, Kutztown University
Emma Rhode: Rifle, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Olivia Wanner: Field Hockey, Cedar Crest College
Gunnar Wetzel: Football and Basketball. Alvernia University
Maxwell Whitson: Soccer, Penn State Greater Allegheny
Sophia Arnold
Sophia will compete in cross country and track and field at Bard College. A cross country and track and field participant the past four years, she is a four-year varsity letter winner.
Her athletic honors include Varsity Girls Cross Country Team Captain her senior year; Cross Country County Qualifier 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; District 3 Cross Country Qualifier 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; Cross Country Berks Division II Honorable Mention in 2021; County Qualifier in Track and Field in 2019, 2021, and 2022; District Qualifier in Track and Field in 2019, 2021, and 2022; District AA Qualifier Track Medalist as 4th in 4×800 in 2021; and Track and Field County All Star in 2019 and 2021.
Ryleigh Bohning
Ryleigh will compete in tennis at Kutztown University. An honor roll student who participates in both tennis and softball, Ryleigh’s athletic honors are 2020 Berks County Playoff Tennis Doubles Qualifier, 2021 Softball Division IV Honorable Mention, 2019 Berks All Division Softball III Team for 2nd base, member of the 2019 District III Class 3A Softball Champion team, and four-year varsity letter winner in both softball and tennis.
Dylan Cortez
Dylan will compete in football at Calumet College of St. Joseph. A Brandywine Heights two-time varsity letter winner in football, Dylan has played left guard, outside linebacker, fullback, and defensive tackle for Kutztown. His football honors include All-Academic Berks Football team the past two years and the most improved player in the 2021 football season. At Brandywine, he participated on the track and field team.
Grant Fitzgerald
Grant continues his baseball career at Alvernia University. An honor roll student, high school athletic intern and a unified bocce volunteer, he also plays for Kutztown Legion Baseball and Blue Rocks Travel Baseball Teams.
A four-time varsity letter winner in baseball, his honors include member of 2019 District III Class 2A Baseball Champion team, 2022 All Berks Conference Team, and 2021 Baseball All-Division Team. A threetime varsity letter winner in basketball, he was basketball captain his senior year and Basketball All-Division Honorable Mention Team in his senior year. He received the Ron Perry Memorial Umpire Scholarship, Randall C. Miller Award, The Ron Drunkenmiller Memorial Award, and Charles Eckert Memorial Varsity Basketball Award.
Xavier Goodman
Xavier will compete in basketball at Northampton Community College. A varsity letter winner in basketball his junior and senior years and in track and field his junior year, his honors include Basketball MVP junior year, Top 10 Berks Scoring Leaders junior and senior years, Boys Basketball All Division III Team junior year, Track and Field County and District Qualifier junior year, and Boys Basketball All Division 4 Team senior year.
Jack Kornfeind
Jack continues his cross country and track & field career at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. An honor roll student all four years at Kutztown, his athletic honors include four-year varsity letter winner in Cross Country, two-time All-Berks BCIAA Cross Country team, 2021 All Berks Cross Country team (5th place medal), two-time PIAA single A District 3 individual Cross Country medalist (9th his senior year), member of 2019 PIAA District 3 Single A cross country team championship team, twotime PIAA Cross Country Single A state meet qualifier, three-year varsity letter winner in Track and
Field, 2022 PIAA 2A District Medalist in 3200 meter run (6th), 2021 All Division BCIAA team for 3200 meter run, 2021 PIAA 2A district medalist in the 3200 meter run, Cross Country Team Captain and Track and Field Team Captain his senior year. He received the Tim Trout Award.
Lennon Neiman
Lennon will compete in football at Kutztown University. An honor roll student who completed four AP classes, he is a fouryear varsity winner in football and three-year varsity winner in track and field, as well a varsity letter in wrestling his freshman year. His honors include All-Academic Berks Football Team his sophomore, junior, and senior years; 2021 All Berks Division 2 First Team Offense and Running Back; 2021 All Berks Division 2 Second Team Defense and Linebacker; 2020 All Berks Division 2 Second Team Running Back and Linebacker; 2019 All Berks Division 2 Second Team Defensive Back; 2019 All Berks Honorable Mention Defense; and Team MVP his junior year.
Emma Rhode
Emma will continue her rifle career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A four-year rifle varsity letter winner, she holds the National NRA Team Record with three other teammates on her club team. Her honors include 2022 4th place finish in Air Rifle and 9th place finish in Smallbore at the State HS Meet, 2021 State Interscholastic High School Air Rifle Champion, 2021 Women’s Junior Olympic State Air Rifle Champion, 2020 and 2021 Women’s State Prone Champion, 2021 in 3rd Place in Women’s Junior Olympic Smallbore State Championship, 2021 in 2nd Place in the CMP Virtual 3 Position Air Rifle National Championship, 2021 in 1st Place in the NRA 3 Position Smallbore Sectional Championships, 2021 in 2nd Place in the NRA National 3 Position Smallbore Sectional Championships, 2020 State Interscholastic High School 3 Position Smallbore Champion, and 2020 Junior State Prone Champion. She qualified for the USA Shooting National Junior Olympics for six consecutive years.
Olivia Wanner
Olivia will compete in Field Hockey at Cedar Crest College. An honor and high honor roll student, she is a four-year varsity letter winner in field hockey, plus two varsity letters in softball and one in Track and Field her senior year. Her honors include All Berks Division IV Team in Field Hockey her senior year, Division 3 honorable mention in field hockey her junior year, captain of the field hockey team her senior year, member of the 2019 District 3 Softball Champion Team, county and district qualifier for Track and Field in her senior year, and competed in the Penn Relays her senior year. She received the MaryAnne “Bieb” Bieber Hartline Memorial Scholarship for field hockey.
Gunnar Wetzel
Gunnar will compete in both football and basketball at Alvernia University. A three-year varsity letter winner in football at Kutztown and a three-year varsity letter winner for basketball at Brandywine, Gunnar is an honor roll student at Brandywine Heights. His honors include first year most improved football player his sophomore year; All-Berks Division 2 Second Team Offensive Lineman his junior year; All-Berks Division 2 Second Team Offense Tackle his senior year; All-Berks Division 2 Second Team Defensive Line his senior year; All-Berks Honorable Mention his junior year as a guard; team leadership award his junior and senior
years; two-year captain; All division and honorable mention; and All-Academic Berks Football Team his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Maxwell Whitson
Max will compete in soccer at Penn State Greater
Allegheny. A high honor roll student all four years in high school, he is a threeyear varsity letter winner in soccer with varsity letters in volleyball his sophomore year and baseball his senior year. He was listed on Berk’s top players to watch list for two years.