This month, a trio of Golden Hawks finalized their future plans with a signing event at Mid-Prairie high school. Seniors Thaddeus Shetler, Jack Pennington and Will Cavanagh made it official by putting their names on the line to continue their athletic and academic careers at the next level. Shetler, a track and cross country standout for the Golden Hawks during his career, will continue running at UW-Platteville. He spoke following the event with KCII sports about the decision. “I was looking into electrical engineering as my major. They’re one of the schools that offered it that was semi-close by in the midwest so that was ideal. Their small size compared to Iowa State was a lot more beneficial for me I felt like. I wasn’t quite sure if I would run there or not, however, this last year the coaches showed a lot of support there and I felt like that was a signal that I should run this next year. They also told me that I would be able to build relationships with the team while running and I felt like that was true, seeing it in my past experience that I have built some of my strongest relationships through running.”

During his time with the Golden Hawks, Shetler has been a state track and field and cross country qualifier. While in college he plans to study electrical engineering. Pennington will play basketball at Cornell College in Mount Vernon and has plans to study finance while Will Cavanagh will play football at Central College in Pella and study education.