NEW PARIS — Alexus Acton, a standout athlete at National Trail, signed her letter of intent to become a multi-sport athlete at Hiram College during a ceremony at the high school on Friday, Feb. 19.
She will play both volleyball and softball for the small liberal arts school on the northeastern side of the state.
“I’ve (played multiple sports) my entire high school career. It’s actually been more than just two, so I feel like I could handle it in college,” said Acton. “When I go up there, I don’t ever want to be bored. I always want to be active in my community and I want to be active in my school. I feel like doing two sports will get me more involved as a freshman.”
Acton was a four year starter for volleyball and is expected to be a three-time captain on the softball diamond. She has played varsity softball since her freshman year for the Blazers while starting for two seasons in volleyball.
This season she was named to first team All-CCC for volleyball, long with first team District 15 honors in volleyball while earning second team All-CCC in softball as a junior.
“She is one of the hardest working girls on the team. She was a real leader for us this past year,” said Joy Yeazel, the team’s volleyball coach this season.
That statement was also echoed by Trail’s softball coach as well.
“She’s done a great job. I have looked to her for almost anything and I’m going to miss her when she’s gone,” said Krista Smith.
Acton said Hiram just felt like the right fit when she visited their campus after being invited by the school’s softball coach.
“It seems like home. It is small, there are a lot of kids that are there that want to be there. They all enjoy it,” she said. “Everybody there was so nice to me when I went on the visit. They were welcoming me without even knowing me.”
The new college athlete also plans on doing a pre-med biology degree and will technically arrive to Hiram as a sophomore because she enters the program with 30 credit hours already completed, including many of her prerequisite courses.
