This year’s Fall Sports Signing Day will be after school Thursday for Archbishop Carroll athletes who will be committing to colleges for their athletic achievements. The athletic department will be hosting the event while saying goodbye to the future college athletes. 

Thomas Quintois, the athletic department head, said that it will be a “bittersweet” moment for him. 

“It’s actually my favorite thing that I do as an athletic director,” Mr. Quintois said. “It’s the time where all the hard work of the kids culminates. It’s where parents, where kids, where coaches get to celebrate their achievement, and that’s playing at the next level.”

The athletic department has been known for sending student athletes off to play sports in college for quite some time now. 

“Over my 25 years in high school athletics, I don’t ever remember, year in and year out seeing as many kids as we put in college,” Mr. Quintois said  “It’s awesome–and this is just the first half of it.”

The second half will happen next semester: Spring Signing Day.

One of the student athletes who will participate in Fall Signing Day is senior Ella Wright.

“It’s kind of weird,” Wright said. “I don’t think I would’ve known I would be in this place freshman or sophomore year. It was definitely hard to get here. It took a lot of work.” 

Senior Ava Bleckley said she is excited for this upcoming event. 

“I’m excited for signing day–and seeing my friends sign off to their colleges because they deserve it,” Bleckley said. 

Both Wright and Bleckley will be signing off to colleges for their athletic achievements in lacrosse. The girls won the PCL championship last spring and will be back this year to finish out their Carroll careers. 

Not all of the students committing are seniors. Some are juniors. However, there will be a huge impact left by this Class of 2023, according to Quintois. 

“You build relationships with the kids over time,” he said. “Some of these kids, you know, are really special to me. I’ve gotten to coach them, watch them play, and be a very small part of who they are. Their relationships will carry on for years.”

“It’s a celebration of achievement,” Quintois said. “It’s a celebration of hard work. It’s a celebration of commitment and I really enjoy the day because at this event everybody is happy. Watching the kids and their faces, how excited they are, brings a lot of joy to me personally.”