Thirteen Panther athletes made it official to play at the collegiate level as Permian held its annual Signing Day ceremony in the auditorium Wednesday morning.
The athletes ranged from different sports including football, golf, softball, soccer, baseball, volleyball and cheerleading as the seniors gave their signatures in front of friends, family members and classmates.
The Permian players that took part in Wednesday’s signing included Ella Veretto who will be attending Odessa College to play golf, Nyssa Dunn (Mid America Christian University for softball), Bryan Pry and Parker Haynes (both for Eastern New Mexico in football), Julio Madero (Navarro College for football), Juzstyce Lara (UTPB, football), Preston Grizzell (Wayland Baptist, football), Noah Adams (McMurry University, football), Anahi Lopez (UTEP, soccer), Zujeily Romero (Missouri Southern State, soccer), Hayden Ramage (Seward County Community College, baseball), Katelynn Ratliff (Navarro College, cheerleading) and Jade Workman (Lubbock Christian University, volleyball).
After the ceremony, some of the athletes reflected on being able to play at the next level.
“I feel very blessed,” Adams said. “I’m glad to have this opportunity and I can’t wait to go play football with them.”
The Warhawks, who play at the NCAA Division III level in the American Southwest Conference, are coming off a 6-4 showing from last fall.
Adams is thankful for the support his friends and family have shown him over the years.
“It means the world to me,” Adams said. “It means I have the right family and the right support. I’m grateful for my friends and family for always pushing me to do my best.”
He said the experience from playing at Permian has helped prepare him for college football.
“I went through a lot of hard work and I have to be grateful for our coaches,” Adams said. “They always pushed us to do our best and never gave up on me when I was down.”
Staying close to home, Veretto is eager to play at Odessa College.
“It’s definitely an honor to get to play at the next level,” Veretto said. “I love golf and the sport itself and I’m also excited to get to work with the new girls and the new coach.”
The Lady Wranglers are under the direction of first-year head coach Brad Stracke who previously coached at the Division I-level at the University of North Texas before coming to Odessa College last summer.
“Their coach produces Division I golfers and I feel like that’s where belong,” Veretto said.
After producing a plethora of individual awards over the years at Permian, including this year’s District 2-6A Volleyball MVP, Workman is looking forward to playing at Lubbock Christian University at the NCAA Division II level in the Lone Star Conference.
“I’m really excited to be able to sign to play at the next level,” Workman said. “I’m happy I got to share it with the community at Permian and all my teammates.”
Workman said she was drawn to Lubbock Christian after seeing the friendly atmosphere from the players to the coaches.
“I really like the community over there and the coach seemed really good,” Workman said. “When I got to go visit the players, they were really sweet and I felt like I was fitting in there.”
However, as Workman reflected on the last four years of playing for Permian coach Gillian Herrera and all the different teammates, she won’t forget the time in high school.
“It was definitely the coaching, the players and the atmosphere we were able to create each year because every year, playing with them was so exciting and there was never a dull moment,” Workman said.
