Three Hermon Hawks will be taking their athletic talents to the next level in college, and they won’t have to fly very far.
Hermon High School seniors Max Hopkins, Olivia Johnston and Braelynn Wilcox will each be attending Husson University in Bangor next year while continuing their athletic careers. Hopkins will play baseball, and Johnston and Wilcox will both be playing softball.
The Hermon athletic department celebrated these three athletes with a signing day ceremony on Tuesday, which Athletic Director Rick Sinclair said was a new approach for the school.
“I’d like to try to make this an annual tradition here at the school: our college commitment ceremony,” said Sinclair, who explained that Hermon has previously had various signing day events throughout the year for individual athletes. “What I’d like to do now is start a new tradition of having this type of event at the end of the school year where we can bring all of our future college athletes together and celebrate them.”
Johnston will study nursing at Husson, and is excited to go from one close-knit softball team in Hermon to another in college.
“They have a really tight culture there at Husson,” Johnston said.
Sinclair credited Johnston for her strong defensive play, timely hitting and aggressive baserunning.
“She will bring hard work and passion to the diamond for the Eagles next spring,” the Hermon athletic director said about Johnston.
Wilcox will be studying health sciences and looks forward to continued personal growth on and off the diamond.
“I grew a lot as a person playing softball, not just in skill,” said Wilcox.
She had a positive experience going to a Husson softball practice earlier in the season.
“I just really enjoyed the environment,” Wilcox said. “It really felt like a family.”
Sinclair highlighted Wilcox’s abilities as both a pitcher and shortstop for Hermon.
“She has been a leader on the offensive side, and she’s been a force when she takes the mound,” he said.
Wilcox and Johnston will be joining a Husson softball team that has won seven consecutive conference titles. And Hopkins will join a similarly successful Husson baseball team that has won six conference titles in a row.
“The program’s been going in a great direction. They’ve won a lot of games,” said Hopkins.
Hopkins will study business management.
“He has a very high ceiling in the game of baseball,” Sinclair said about Hopkins.
The righthanded pitcher is looking forward to taking his game to the next level.
“I’m just excited to keep going,” Hopkins said.
