In this year’s winter media day, Southern Lehigh was represented by seven athletes advancing to the college level.

“It’s an honor and pleasure to have such high level student athletes that continue to come through Southern Lehigh,” Director of Athletics Kate Miller said.

Volleyball player Melann Amory will be taking her talents to Stony Brook University, a Division I school in upstate New York.  At Southern Lehigh, she was captain for three years, won three District XI championships, and one Colonial League Championship (the first possible one was this year). In her sophomore year, the volleyball team was state runner up. Amory has been named first team All-Area, District, and All-State the past three years, along with being named District MVP in 2013. She has also won three Colonial League championships in basketball and one in soccer.

“I just want to state that Melann only won one Colonial League Championship because this was the first year we had a league championship,” volleyball coach Don West said.

Matthew Dicker will be attending Lafayette College. He will major in economics and play for the men’s soccer team. Dicker was first team All-League as a senior, as well as second team All-Area. His most memorable athletic experience was beating Salisbury in the league finals in penalty kicks after tying the game with less than five seconds left.

Kaitlynn Kassel will be playing soccer at Shippensburg University. Going into her junior year, she had to make a big decision: choosing between volleyball and soccer when PIAA moved the girls’ soccer season from spring to fall. Kassel’s ultimate decision to stick with soccer instead of volleyball was clearly the right one, since she is now taking her athletics to the next level. Her favorite soccer memory is beating Saucon Valley her freshman year to win the Colonial League championship. She also earned herself honorable mentions in the Colonial League and All-area team during her junior year.

Joining Kassel at Shippensburg University is swimmer Rhyan Rodriguez. Rodriguez was captain of the girls’ swim team her senior year and named the Lehigh Valley Swimmer of the Year in 2013. She has also been a recipient of multiple All-State awards. She placed third in states in the medley relay in 2013, and in 2011 she placed seventh at states in the 200 IM. Overall in her district career, Rodriguez has 15 gold medals, with five in her senior year, two in relays, two individual, and one overall team. The girls’ swim team has won districts each of the past five years, and their best overall placement in states has been fifth.

Isamarie Ramos will play field hockey at Rider University where she will major in nursing. Since coming to Southern Lehigh in her sophomore year, she has won three District XI championships, one Colonial League championship and has made is to the state quarterfinals in 2011 and 2013. Ramos also runs track at Southern Lehigh where she placed second in leagues in the 4×800 meter relay, setting a personal best time, along with setting a personal best at the Penn Relays.

Madelene McDonald will play basketball at Loyola University. During her career here at SL, McDonald has scored over 1,000 points, and won three straight Colonial League titles. As part of the basketball team, she was first team All-Area and All-League. In field hockey, McDonald earned first team All-League and All-Area and honorable mention All-State. She also has won three District XI championships and one Colonial League championship as part of the field hockey team.

Baseball player Alex “Petey” Long will be pitching at Chestnut Hill College. Pete has started all four years for the Spartans at first base and pitcher. He has started every game except two throughout his career. Long aspires to become the winningest pitcher in SL history when he tries for 20 wins this upcoming season. While this might not seem like a lot, 20 wins in baseball is equivalent to scoring 1,000 points in basketball.

“I’m thrilled to be attending Chestnut Hill,” Long said. “The coaches are so welcoming and I’ve already gotten to know some of the team members. It truly feels like the perfect fit for me.”