By Bruce Karnick

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If there is one word to be said about this class of graduating seniors, it has to be ‘supportive’. This resilient group has been through the ups and downs of nearly two years of sports and activities changing, being cancelled, home school, masks, cancelled dances and pep rallies, and they have come out of it with a stronger bond to their classmates than many classes normally do. Their support of one another is incredible and that was shown at the recent college signing event that took place at HHS.

Five students, Kendal Jenkins – softball, Bella Meier – soccer, Lilly Nyutten – basketball, Jackson Schaffer – baseball and Maggie Schlottman – basketball were center stage, committing to their college to continue their sports careers while earning a degree toward their actual careers. The unique piece of this signing day is the support they received from their peers. Several hundred students looked on and cheered for their classmates’ successes.

Trent Hanson kicked off the festivities and said it best about the crowd. “I want to start by thanking Kendal, Bella, Lilly, Jackson, Maggie and all their family, their friends, their coaches, for allowing our Hastings High School community to join in their celebration. And so, we certainly thank all of you for your attendance today. This is one of the treats for me, I would invite you to do the same thing. Let’s just look to your right and look to your left. And from the front look behind you. There are a lot of people here. All right. This speaks volumes about our community support, and the shared investment that we all have in the success of each other, which is fantastic. This does not happen at every school.”

He’s right, students at other schools certainly show up to events like this, but not by the hundreds. Hanson introduced each of the coaches in attendance to give them a chance to tout their athletes’ abilities and contributions to Raider athletics. First up Jen Thesing for Kendal Jenkins.

Thesing spoke of the accomplishments of Jenkins on the field. “Kendal is a phenomenal softball player. First Team All-State shortstop as a freshman, all state nominee her junior year for catching defensively last year, she had 96 Point outs 11 assists in turn to double plays, sharing the Silver Slugger award, with the highest batting average on the team of .549. Seven doubles, seven triples, four homeruns and only two strikeouts during the regular season. Not shockingly she was voted team MVP by her peers. Not only is she a great softball player, but she is also a quality human being. Kendal is a grounded individual she’s dedicated and a hard worker, volunteers in her community and as a steadfast leader. She is a total package in any college program would be lucky to have her because I can certainly say that I’m lucky to be your coach.”

Jenkins will be attending the University of Minnesota Duluth where she will play softball for the Bulldogs.” I chose University of Minnesota Duluth because I just love the town of Duluth. The culture that the team created was super awesome, too. And it just felt like home when I stepped on a campus.”

Jenkins then spoke on what it means to have the support of her classmates. “It’s awesome. Just knowing that you have so many people behind your back and just supporting you along the way is just an awesome feeling to have.”

Next was Girls Soccer Coach Scott Meier on his daughter Bella. “There’s a number of different attributes you could use to describe Bella Meyer. Focused, driven, committed, max work rate, highly competitive, team player and a teammate, role model, leader, reliable, trustworthy, and responsible. She’s a very humbled individual. But she’s one of those individuals that you want in your corner, or you want her by your side. She’s received a number of different recognitions throughout the conference section and state level. She’s a four time all conference four time all state nominee and all state represent recipient as a junior in 2020.”

Meier is going to St. Thomas University to play soccer. “Most people when you ask them, why or how they pick a college essay just feels like home. And I don’t think a lot of people know that until they really step on and actually feel that. Over my process, I visited a lot of colleges, and I hadn’t really felt that emotion until I stepped on to St. Thomas. I love the coach. I love the teammates. Everything just felt like a great fit.”

Regarding the crowd of students, Meier added, “It’s an awesome part to be part of Raider Nation. I just want to shout out to Jake the head guy who brings everyone here and it’s been a great year senior year to have a lot of this school experience.”

Trent Hanson spoke on behalf of the girls basketball program and he introduced Lilly Nyutten. “She’s got tremendous work ethic. She brings it every single day in practice and competition. And she’s someone who leads first with her actions, and then follows up with words when necessary. She’s all conference the last two consecutive years leading the conference and rebounds and blocks per game.”

Nyutten will be attending Minnesota State Mankato for basketball, here is why she chose to be a Maverick. “I would say definitely the location and just the community around it Mankato, I really loved all the teammates that are there right now and the coaching staff and I really love the facilities.”

Nyutten echoed Jenkins’ take on what the support of Raider Nation means to her, “This is just so fun to do. This is family. Thank you guys.”

New head baseball coach Ryan Stoffel spoke about Jackson Schaffer. “As we progressed and grew up and got older, Jackson was with me pretty much the whole way. The one thing that stood out to me with Jackson is that not only was he a good ballplayer, but you could just see the passion he had for the game. And the way that he approached it he was very serious about it. And you know, just the way he looked and dressed, he looked apart every day he showed up at the ball field, and then you could see that he was starting to take off. And then you know, high school came around, he got better at the plate and winter ball and clubs, stuff that kinda brought on that desire to get better as a ball player. He was voted all conference honorable mentioned last year, and then he was also voted to the All-Section team last year.”

Schaffer will be headed to Bemidji State to play baseball and he talked about why he chose to be a Beaver. “For me, it feels just like Hastings, you are right on a lake. The weather might be a little colder up there, but you know, it’s got good hockey. The school size was also a big deal to me.”

Having his classmates there meant a lot. “Especially to the senior class. I feel like a lot of us have realized this year that we’ve all gotten to know each other better. And that’s just something that not many grades get to say we’re family and even after this year, I think we’re still gonna be in touch with each other.”

Finally, Hanson introduced Maggie Schlottman. “Maggie is a four-year letter recipient in basketball on varsity for a long time and has enjoyed every moment on the court and off with their teammates and has had a chance to learn from everyone. She’s particularly thrilled to continue her basketball career at the same school as a brother Matt, which is pretty awesome.”

Schlottman will be attending Valley City State University in Valley City North Dakota and she gave some insight as to why she wants to be a Viking. “I chose a school because my brother goes there. So, I knew the community. I already knew all the girls in the team and just felt like home once I stepped in there.”

What does it mean to have her classmates there? “you guys being here shows how great our community actually is. So, thank you guys so much for being here.”

The clear common thread all five spoke about as to the “why they chose their school” is the feeling of home. It just felt right, and that is why college tours are so important. The school needs to feel right.

The Journal would like to wish each and every one of our students the best as they move into the next chapter of life. Luckily for Raider sports fans, four of the five still have their seasons to get through yet, so there is still time to watch these wonderful kids compete in blue and gold.

Left to right; Kendal Jenkins signs to play softball at UMD, Bella Meier signs to play soccer at St. Thomas University, Lilly Nyutten for basketball at Minnesota State Mankato, Jackson Schaffer for baseball at Bemidji State and Maggie Schlottman for basketball at VCSU. Photo by Bruce Karnick