MONTAGUE — It was a special National Signing Day at Montague High School Wednesday, as five Wildcats made their college decisions official with a ceremony in the school cafeteria.
Riley Mulder, Jocelyn Rodriguez-Perez, Jaelyn Sundberg, Ava Pumford and Braylyn Bultema each signed collegiate paperwork.
Mulder signed with Division II Saginaw Valley State University for football. Mulder has been committed to SVSU for some time now and was able to get on the Cardinals' radar despite missing much of his sophomore and junior football seasons due to his performance at a camp in Jenison.
"I
went to their camp and performed really well, ran a really good 40-(yard dash) and
performed well on my other tests, and that's what got me on their radar," Mulder said.
The new Cardinal, who will play tight end and study business administration, said he got along great with the coaches and liked the program's focus on player development. He added that SVSU is excited about its class, including a highly-rated quarterback, Lawrence Wells, who was previously committed to Central Michigan.
"They play Grand Valley (State) and Ferris (State) every year, Davenport, the best teams in D-II. It's great competition," Mulder said.
Rodriguez-Perez signed with NAIA Aquinas College for softball. Likely ticketed for first base or left field in college, Rodriguez-Perez said she couldn't imagine attending college without the opportunity to play on a team.
"The
coaches were a really big (factor)," Rodriguez-Perez said. "They were really nice. They
felt like home in a way, because when I'm here playing softball with my
teammates and with (coach Randall) Mikkelsen, it felt similar to that. I really liked that."
The Montague senior said she will pursue studies in sociology and criminal justice so she can become a criminologist.
Sundberg and Pumford will both continue their volleyball careers after successful four-year runs at Montague. Sundberg, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday, is attending Glen Oaks Community College, while Pumford is staying local and going to Muskegon Community College.
Pumford will likely play middle hitter at MCC and is hoping to become a physical therapist someday, so it's possible she ends up playing at a four-year school if the volleyball bug still has a hold of her after two years at MCC. For now, she's thrilled to be a Jayhawk.
"I play volleyball year-round," Pumford said. "It's so much fun. I love being competitive.
It's a sport where it's all mental and I love that. I get to
be myself but also play such a fun sport, and the better I get, the more
fun it becomes and the more addictive it becomes."
Bultema signed with NAIA Lawrence Tech to play soccer. She also had - and still has - offers to play golf after an impressive time as a Wildcat, but it's long been her dream to play collegiate soccer and she was determined to pursue it.
Bultema is likely to play left forward for the Blue Devils and will be pursuing a career in nursing with an emphasis on patients with cancer. Her long-term plan is to secure a job in the Detroit area once she is licensed.
"I love the campus," Bultema said. "It's
not necessarily a bigger college. It's big but not super big. They have really good connections
with the athletes and they really care about athletes and
their program is really good.
"This is a really big opportunity for me, and it makes me emotional because it's something I never thought I would get to do."
