For many years now Southern Lehigh has existed as a pinnacle of academic and athletic success throughout the Lehigh Valley. This February, fifteen of Southern Lehigh’s best competitors announced they will be taking their academic and athletic careers to the next level in college sports. From DIII to DI Southern Lehigh students are going far and wide to represent the Spartans.

Blake Levengood’s ascension to the top of Southern Lehigh football is unprecedented. He backed up starting quarterback Travis Edmond for three years, and when his turn finally came to lead the Spartans his senior year, he quickly created his own identity, finishing the season with 2417 yards and 28 TDs on 128 of 215 passing all single season passing records. Levengood committed to play for the Bloomsburg University Huskies who were ranked 14th out of 16th in PSAC passing.

The Colonial League first-team inside linebacker Dylan Niedbalski will play football this fall for the Millersville Marauders. Niedbalski was one of the driving forces to one of the top defenses in our area. During the 2015 season, the senior captain accrued 26 total tackles and one interception and was voted team defensive MVP two years in a row. Niedbalski could make an instant impact on the struggling Marauders who finished 2015 with a 2-9 record.  

Ethan Price will leave Southern Lehigh as one of the most productive and dominant receivers in school history. He broke the record for most touchdown receptions in a season with 16, most touchdown receptions in a career with 22, and receiving yards in a season with 1281. His 2015 season earned him a unanimous spot on the first team All-Colonial league team, first team all-area, first team in the Eastern PA football conference, and second team all-state. Price will join Levengood at Bloomsburg University and could be a critical piece to fixing the Huskies’ struggling aerial attack.  

Few athletes at Southern Lehigh have enjoyed the level both academic and athletic success that Bridget Cerciello has. During her time at Southern Lehigh she was first-team all area as a sophomore and junior for lacrosse, a team captain her junior and senior year on the lacrosse team, lacrosse MVP as a sophomore, and named to the Philadelphia Under Armour All-American lacrosse team her junior year.  Cerciello will become a member of a Saint Joseph’s University lacrosse team that struggled in 2015, going 5-11.  

Four-year starter Cameron Arnold will attend New Jersey City University where he will play golf for the Gothic Knights.  As a freshman, Arnold was the runner-up in the Colonial League championship, and he followed with a championship run as a sophomore. As a junior, he posted the third lowest average score in the Colonial League before an injury cut his season short. In his senior year, he returned as a team captain.  Arnold will be join a small team of golfers who have progressively improved under former NJCU grad and head golf coach Brian Ferrante.

One of the most unusual commitments this year is by Olivia Searfass who will rugby at West Chester University. Since Southern Lehigh does not have a rugby team, Searfass played for the Doylestown Rugby Club, winning several state championships and tournaments as a standout defensive player on one of the most decorated women’s teams on the east coast. At WCU, Searfass will be joining a stellar defense on one of the top rugby teams in the nation.   

One of the biggest recruits to come out of Southern Lehigh this year, two-time lacrosse team captain Michael Nelson had already committed in 2014 to play at the University of Vermont. In his junior year, he exploded into the spotlight when he put up 62 goals and 22 assists en route to a berth in the 2015 Morning Call All-Area first-team for boys lacrosse. In Nelson the Catamounts will gain a physical midfielder with incredible shot power and accuracy. His presence will be a welcome one for a team that went 6-10 last year and had a mediocre offense.

Wyatt Noone is a leader on the Spartan boys lacrosse defense, letting up only 97 goals during the entire 2015 season. A starter each year he has been on the team, Noone never missed a game. For his outstanding performance during the 2015 season he was selected for the Morning Call All-Area first-team in boys lacrosse. Noone will continue his lacrosse career with the Long Island University Pioneers, widely considered to be one of the top teams in Division II lacrosse, and perennial contenders for the National Championship.  

Hans Deutsch is a starter on the Spartans’ rock solid defense that has for the most part played together since the fourth grade and ultimately took the team to the District XI championship.  He was named an honorable mention all-area defenseman in 2015. Deutsch will attend Eastern University where he will join a Division III lacrosse powerhouse who went 15-4 last year and won their conference with a 6-0 record.  

Baleigh Bradley is one of two girls lacrosse players heading off to the world of college athletics. Bradley is known as one the best passers Southern Lehigh has ever seen, creating incredible passes that lead to wide open goals for her teammates. Bradley was a member of the 2015 undefeated regular season lacrosse team that went on to win a District XI title. Throughout her career she has 105 assists, and in her junior year she was named the Morning Call’s lacrosse player of the week as well the all-area first team. Bradley will attend York College, where she will play offense for a lacrosse team coming off the most successful season in program history, going 15-6 and making it to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament.

The second Spartan girls’ lacrosse player to sign with a college team is Lauren Wolfe who will play for the Division I Davidson lacrosse team in North Carolina. Wolfe was selected to the All-Area first team every year since 2013, was named an Academic All-American, and was selected to play on the 2015 Under Armour uncommitted team. Considered a natural lacrosse talent by her coaches, Wolfe’s skills should be welcomed by Davidson’s team that went just 6-10 in 2015.  

Senior girls’ basketball leader Sydney Cyr will play for Division III Arcadia University. Cyr has been one of the pivotal players that lead to the success of the 2015 girls basketball team the 2015 season ranked number two in the area, and she is a captain of the 2016 Colonial League championship team, still in post-season play at the time of this publication. This season she is ranked second on the team in points with 267. Cyr’s scoring abilities should come in useful for Arcadia University who had an underwhelming 10-15 record last season.

Solehi softball player Courtney Herr was a member of the 2015 Colonial League championship team and was voted as a first-team All-Colonial League selection and a second team all-area selection in the same year. Herr will play for the Hawks at Messiah College Hawks who have been one of the most dominant forces in Division III softball since their national championship victory in 2009. Last season the team went 16-0 in regular season conference play.

Steffan Lindsay has been an influential member of the boys track and field team since his first season as a sophomore when he was the team MVP and led the team in points. In his junior year, an injury prevented Lindsay from reaching his peak, but he still managed to earn a fourth place medal in the Colonial League 4×1 relay. His coaches regard him as the top 100-meter and 200-meter sprinter in their tenure. Lindsay will be compete for East Stroudsburg University next season.

Shannon Livezey came to Southern Lehigh as a junior and made an instant impact on the women’s track and field team. She participated in numerous events and was influential when it came to points scoring. During her first season on the team she qualified for districts and the Colonial League meet in which she scored 14.5 of 133 en route to a Colonial League title. In 2017, Livesey will participate in track and field for the University of California Pennsylvania Vulcans who had a successful 2015 season that saw the team go all the way to the national championship meet in Alabama.