Prose and Kohn: The old college try

It’s a funny thing, covering high school sports.

We cover athletes extensively for four years, then wave them goodbye and only check in periodically afterwards. Then the cycle continues. I wish we could talk to them more often, but the nature of the business makes it difficult.

This is one of those check-ins though, and a necessary one, because area athletes crushed the collegiate scene in 2017-2018.

University of Michigan running back Karan Higdon, a Riverview High grad, had a stellar junior season. Higdon rushed for 929 yards on 147 attempts (6.3 yards per attempt) and 11 touchdowns. He also added seven catches for 120 yards. Higdon was so good for the Wolverines, he flirted with entering the NFL Draft before decided to return to Michigan for his senior season.

Another Riverview Ram, Middle Tennessee State wide receiver Richie James, did enter the NFL Draft after an injury-plagued junior season. James only played in five games thanks to a broken collarbone, but still caught 31 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the setbacks, James proved he could play, and the San Francisco 49ers rewarded him with a seventh-round selection. Early reports say he’s making a good impression with his new team, too.

Booker High grad Artie Henry III made the most of his junior college opportunity, playing wide receiver for San Diego Mesa College. The sophomore’s 25 catches for 505 yards and four touchdowns got him noticed by D1 programs, and he’ll ascend to that level in the fall after transferring to Marshall University.

Area athletes found success on more than just the gridiron. Sarasota High is known for baseball, and collegiate Sailors proved that their success goes beyond high school. Nick Derr, for example, is an infielder for Florida State University. The sophomore saw action in 50 games, starting 32 of them. Derr hit just .212 on the year, but smashed seven home runs and had 24 RBIs. He’ll likely be a big-time player for the Seminoles next season. Jordan Gubelman is a junior reliever at my alma mater, the University of Missouri, and posted a 4.03 ERA over 22.1 innings. ERA can be inflated for relievers because of the lack of innings, but Gubelman’s 30-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio speaks for itself. Fellow Sailors grad Brandon Chapman starred as a senior catcher at George Washington University, especially defensively, where he posted a .983 fielding percentage. His glovework earned him a free agent contract with the Atlanta Braves organization.

On the hardwood, Cardinal Mooney girls basketball grad Camille Giardina averaged 19.9 points a game as a junior at Florida Southern University, and shot 43.4% from 3-point range. She was named a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American honorable mention and made the Sunshine State Conference First Team. Sarasota’s Madison Pack, a freshman at Columbia University, started 20 of Columbia’s 29 games and finished fifth on the team in scoring (5.8 points per game) and third on the team in blocks (12).

Riverview boys tennis grad Antoine Sanchez found success as a freshman at Stetson University, going 12-8 in singles

and 12-1 in doubles when partnered with senior Loic Blanco (14-3 overall in doubles). And on the links, Riverview golf grad Nicole Povlichak completed her freshman season at the University of Northern Colorado with a stroke average of 75, and finished 12th (+7) at the Big Sky Championship tournament on April 22, the best finish on the Bears.

There are dozens more area athletes in college, too. If I had the space to highlight them all, I would. Going through the stat books for these studs has made me realize, once again, how lucky we are to witness all this athletic talent in its infancy. There’s more success to come, too. Some grads were stuck behind prolific seniors this season, and will look to have break-out campaigns in 2018-2019.

Some of these people — and probably a few from this year’s graduating class, too — will make it pro, or represent their country at an international event. You’ll be able to tell the next generations you saw these players in high school, and that’s a pretty cool thing.