Lady ’Hawks sign for college sports
Two Lady Blackhawks — Katelyn Swope and Emma Stein — signed letters of intent in sports for college Thursday in a ceremony in the media center at Pea Ridge High School as classmates and teammates watched.
Katelyn Swope signed to play golf at College of the Ozarks, Hollister, Mo. Swope said she plans to major in nursing.
Emma Stein signed to run cross country at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Mo. Stein said she plans to major in inter-cultural studies and become a missionary teacher.
“Katelyn has worked extremely, extremely hard for this accomplishments,” coach Dalton Palarino said Thursday during the signing ceremony. “Katelyn’s one of those kinds of kids who’s the first one on the range, the last one off the range.
“She was always helping the younger kids — and that was just not the girls side of it. She’d have some of those ninth-grade boys out there teaching them things… She put in the time. She put in the work and it definitely showed,” Palarino said.
Swope’s golf highlights and awards:
Freshman Year
Most Improved Avg. 9-hole score of 55
Sophomore Year
Number 1 spot in all matches
Second Individual at the District Match
All Conference State Tournament qualifier
Avg. 9-hole score 49
Junior Year
Number spot 1 in all matches
First Individual at the District Match
All Conference State Tournament qualifier
All State (eighth overall at the State Match) Awarded MVP Avg. 9-hole score of 45
Senior Year
Also played number 1 spot in all matches
District Champ and first Individual at the District Match (79)
All Conference State Tournament qualifier All State (sixth Overall) Shot an average ninehole score of 39 for the year
“Emma Stein is signing with Ozark Christian School in Joplin to run cross country,” coach Heather Wade said. “Emma’s been a part of our program for four years, she came as a ninth-grader. Honestly, I wish I’d found her earlier and had her from seventh through 12th. She made an immediate impact.
“She went to State all four years. She was very consistent. I told her I was looking at her times the other day … within 20 seconds all years combined and that was with mud, it was hot, one year I was not there (I was pregnant),” Wade said. “Emma’s been a great runner for us.”
“Watching her through the years, she’s encouraged all the kids. She’s kind of a silent leader, she doesn’t say a whole lot… she works very hard at every practice. She doesn’t complain and I hope that one day my daughter grows up to be like Emma,” Wade said.