Athletes announce college decisions

LAKEWOOD RANCH — This past fall, Out-of-Door Academy seniors Chris Ragone and Jake Siciliano spent their afternoons squaring off on the practice field.

And in November, Ragone and Siciliano will once again go head-to-head on the gridiron after signing national letters-of-intent Feb. 2 to play football for rival schools some 20 minutes apart.

Ragone, a wide receiver, is headed to Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., while Siciliano will play for Wesleyan University.

“I decided a month before Chris, and it just worked out that way,” Siciliano said of playing in the same conference as his former teammate. “It’s a funny coincidence.”

Ragone and Siciliano are just the second and third ODA players to sign national letters-of-intent to play football at the next level. Last year, Jamie Onufrak, who now plays for Marshall University, received the program’s first scholarship.

“It’s creating a pipeline for our program,” coach Brett Timmons said. “Your hard work has paid off, and hopefully it’ll open doors for other players in the future.”

Siciliano, who plans to major in political science, chose Wesleyan University over Holy Cross, Lafayette, Dartmouth and Harvard, among others.

“It’s a relief,” Siciliano said of signing. “We’ve been talking about this since we were freshmen here. It’s awesome, and to be able to play against each other is really cool.

“I fell in love with the academics and the athletics,” Siciliano said. “It seemed to be the (right) fit. I’m from Williamstown, Mass., and I grew up watching (Wesleyan University). I knew that was where I wanted to be be.”

Ragone also looked at a host of schools, including Lehigh, Colgate and Lafayette, among others, before deciding to play for Trinity College.

“It came down to the difference between the D-I and D-III lifestyle,” said Ragone, who plans to major in economics. “I wanted to be a student-athlete, and with D-I, I felt like I was a football player who (may or may not) go to class. I want to prepare for my future other than football, and I felt like (Trinity College) would (better) prepare me for life outside of college.”

Ragone and Siciliano now will spend the next few months enjoying the rest of their senior year before preparing to head up to Connecticut to begin their collegiate careers. Both Ragone and Siciliano are hoping to see some playing time at some point during their freshman year — especially when the two rival schools meet in the final game of the season.

“The (Trinity College) coach said if by two weeks into the preseason he wasn’t sitting down saying I was an impact player, then he would be disappointed,” Ragone said. “They want me, and knowing I can make an impact very soon was attractive to me.”

BRADEN RIVER
Three weeks ago, Braden River senior Dillon Romine took an official visit to the University of New Mexico and liked what he saw.

On Feb. 2, the Pirates offensive tackle made his decision official when he signed a national letter-of-intent to play football for the Lobos.

“It’s exciting and a relief,” Romine said. “Now, I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to play or how I’m going to pay for college.

Romine, who plans to major in anatomy, chose New Mexico over Charleston Southern because of the players, coaches and the facilities, among other reasons. Romine will red shirt his freshman year, which will allow him to learn the system while working toward his target weight of 300 pounds.

“It’ll give me a chance to improve myself physically and educationally,” Romine said. “I get my five years paid for, and if I take classes over the summer then I can get my master’s degree. And I’ll be 300 pounds of muscle physically, so I’ll be healthy.”

“Obviously, his size speaks for itself, but I think it’s his character overall that’s an advantage,” coach Don Purvis said. “He’s had three coaches in three years, and he’s had to learn different systems. He’s very coachable, and in many ways, I think that makes him better.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].