by Nikitha Kamath
On Wednesday, November 13th, five of Williamsville East’s Scholar-Athletes signed their National Letter of Intent to play at the Division I or II levels for the school year of 2020-21. The signing of the Letter of Intent is indicative of a student athlete’s commitment to participate in colleges and universities that have ties with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This event on Wednesday was held in the Commons, where the athletes were recognized for their accomplishments and congratulated for their commitments. These five seniors and members of the Williamsville East Athletic Department are Joseph Amici, Gretchen Beyer, Mia Wendell, Lyla Militello, and Anna Miller.
Joseph Amici has decided to play lacrosse at North Greenville University next year. Along with being on the Varsity Lacrosse team since his freshman year, Joe has been the captain of the team for two years. In this position, he has earned First Team Class B honors twice, Character Athlete of Section VI two times, first team All-WNY Bee Newspaper team and second team All-WNY. Joe has also received the United States Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award.
Gretchen Beyer will be playing soccer and enrolling in the Physicians Assistant program at Daemen College next year. Gretchen has been on the Varsity Soccer team for four years and has assumed captaincy of the team for two years. In addition, she is the recipient of the Air Force Scholar Athlete Award.
Mia Wendell has committed to play women’s ice hockey at Yale University next fall. Mia has been playing goalie on the Buffalo Regals team for the past five years. She also helped lead her team to the USA Hockey Nationals in Anaheim, CA last year.
Lyla Militello will be playing lacrosse at The University of Akron next fall. Lyla has been on the Varsity Lacrosse team since her freshman year. Despite an injury cutting her season short during her sophomore year, she has scored an impressive total of 106 goals till date. Lyla has also made first team All ECIC last year and has received an honorable mention for All-WNY.
Anna Miller will be playing soccer at Loyola University Maryland next year. Anna is a two-year captain and has earned first team All-WNY. She currently holds the school record for most saves as a goalie.
Everyone at East congratulates these dedicated Scholar-Athletes and wishes them the best as they continue their journey with sports at the collegiate level.
