High School Sports

Dozens more Alaska high school athletes commit to competing at collegiate level

Twin brothers James and Billy Reinbold were standout athletes and students at Dimond High School and have intentions of doing the same at the collegiate level. Both recent graduates, Billy Reinbold will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and James is heading to Cornell University in the fall. Both will play on their respective school’s football teams.

The Reinbold brothers join more than 60 graduating high school student-athletes in Alaska who are committed to play sports at the collegiate level.

[More than 25 Alaska high school athletes commit to competing at collegiate level]

The Reinbold siblings did look at colleges together but decided to attend different schools because of their unique life interests as well finding football programs and academic curriculum fit them best as individuals.

“I chose to attend MIT because I think it perfectly embodies who I am as a person,” Billy Reinbold said in an email. “The attribute that I was looking for was a school with an emphasis on STEM and one where I could possibly play football. After meeting with the coach and the team, I felt I found the perfect school for me.”

James took a recruiting visit to the East Coast last summer in search of an institution that allowed him to play the sport he loves while gaining an Ivy League education.

“Once I stepped foot on Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field, I knew that’s where I wanted to go,” James Reinbold said in an email. “I had an instant connection with the linebacker coach and knew that I wanted to spend the next four years of my life under his wing. I enjoyed the historic and traditional feel of the football program, being one of the oldest and most storied programs in the nation. Moreover, I fell in love with Cornell’s campus, with its beautiful gorges and waterfalls.”

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While they will be attending different schools, the Reinbold brothers will still be on the same coast in fairly close proximity. The distance between Ithaca, New York, where Cornell is located, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, where MIT resides, is 328 miles via Interstate 90. That’s a roughly six-hour drive, a short flight or just under a 10-hour train ride if one of them decides to make a visit.

ADN asked coaches, parents and student-athletes to report individual college commitments. The following list is a compilation of those responses along with reporting from the ADN’s Josh Reed.

Bartlett

Ariel Gonzalez will be playing soccer at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.

Nyakoat Ruot will be playing basketball at Siena College in Loudonville, New York.

Chugiak

Morgan Grant will be competing in track and field at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Colony

Addison Dobbs will be playing soccer at Walla Walla University in College Place, Washington.

Dimond

Logan Smith will be playing baseball at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Alex Bruce will be playing baseball at Chandler Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Arizona.

Billy Reinbold will be playing football at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

James Reinbold will be playing football at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Joseph Butzke will be playing soccer at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Rebecca Shaw will be playing soccer at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon.

Mara Chavez will be playing soccer at Northern Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

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Keegynn Applegate will be playing soccer at Division I George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Malia Ogee will be playing softball at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Trinity Miller will be playing softball at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.

Arianna Alirez will be playing softball at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin.

Shelby Wholecheese will be playing softball at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois.

Brenna Flannery will be playing softball at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

Ava Baldwin will be playing volleyball at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.

Danielle Milo will be playing volleyball at University of Antelope Valley in Lancaster, California.

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Malia Iloilo will be playing volleyball at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.

Hunter DeWall will be competing in track and field at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

Aliyas Sargento will be competing in bowling at Division I Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

Eagle River

Lily Singleton will be playing soccer at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.

Kaycee Chavez will be playing soccer at Northern Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Kiara Borchardt will be swimming at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado.

East

Zyiah Mikes will be playing soccer at Division I at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Alabama.

Avery Northcutt will be playing volleyball at West Texas College in Snyder, Texas.

Benjamin Pope will be competing in wrestling at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas.

Alena Glover will be playing hockey at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Sydney Leonard will be playing hockey at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts.

Riley Castro will be playing soccer at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington.

Matthew Theriault will be playing football at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

Laila Tosi will be playing hockey at Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Chavous Kuamo’o-Malama will be competing in bowling at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas.

Isabelle Jolin will be playing softball at Trinidad State College in Trinidad, Colorado.

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Grace Christian

Lily Hulst will be playing volleyball at Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Kodiak

Ian Rocheleau will be swimming for Division II Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan.

Nick Carver will be swimming for Division II William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.

Mat-Su Central School

Bailey Brunnhoelzl will be playing hockey at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Redington

Cort Sandefur will be competing in track and field at the DI University of Montana in Missoula, Montana.

Lexi Seymore will be playing basketball at Simpson College in Indianola, Indiana.

Charlie Severance will be wrestling at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Wayde Bowman, Logan Seymore, and Mason Brouillet will be playing football together at Simpson College in Indianola, Indiana.

Jaden Spaulding will be playing football at Wagner College in New York City, New York.

Service

Ashley Hayes will be playing volleyball at Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon.

Autumn Kirkpatrick will be playing volleyball at Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon.

Collette Carpenter will be playing volleyball at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington.

Jordan Hayes will be playing volleyball at Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon.

Seward

Lydia Jacoby will be swimming at DI University of Texas in Austin, Texas.

Soldotna

Rhys Cannava will be playing soccer at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Nate Johnson will be competing in running at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado.

Jordan Strausbaugh will be competing in distance running at UAA.

Isabella Valenzuela will be competing in dance at DI University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

Jolie Widaman will be playing soccer at Bellevue College in Bellevue, Washington.

South

Dot Tieszen will be playing soccer at DI at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Kaushal Riedman will be playing soccer at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Beau Daily will be wrestling at Minnesota State University Moorhead in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Alison Ulrich will be playing softball at the University of Minnesota Crookston in Crookston, Minnesota.

Thunder Mountain

Preston Williams will be playing baseball at Lassen Community College Cougars in Susanville, California.

Wallace Adams will be playing football at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.

Noah Chambers will be playing football at Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota.

Wasilla

Bella Hays will be playing basketball on a full scholarship at DI Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington.

Brennan Lackey will be running Cross Country and distance track at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida.

West

Charlie Rush will be playing tennis at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

George Sholton will be competing in swimming at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Elizabeth Hoak will be playing volleyball at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Washington.

Filipina Maugaotega will be playing volleyball at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.

Hazel Allen will be playing volleyball at Houston Baptist University in Sharpstown, Houston, Texas.

Lumen Christi

Brenden Gregory will be playing basketball at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Other Alaska athletes

Anchorage’s Ian Bruchhauser of Great Oak High School in Temecula, California will be competing in Division I golf at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

Josh Reed

Josh Reed is a sports reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He's a graduate of West High School and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

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