By Nicole Shapiro ’18

Over the last few months, Staples athletes have been committing for various sports to many different colleges. The listings below are the most recent students who have committed.

Josh Berman

Josh Berman ’17 committed to Emory University for soccer this past summer. Berman started playing soccer in kindergarten on the Westport rec league and played center back for three years on Staples’ varsity soccer team. “Staples soccer has a long and rich history, and I’m very happy that I’m part of that. Soccer has also been something that I can always look for,” Berman said.  Berman is looking forward to taking advantage of what Emory has to offer and being part of a team that is made up of a really close group of friends. “I chose Emory because it has outstanding academics, I got along with the coach very well and the student body and soccer team are very welcoming,”  Berman said.

Imi Ratcliffe

Imi Ratcliffe ’17 committed to University of California, Berkeley (U.C.B.)  for rowing last month. Ratcliffe started rowing in the London at Tideway scullers school but then joined the Saugatuck Rowing Club. She currently rows in seat 4. “I’m excited to be a part of a big team at a big school,” Ratcliffe said. “I’m also excited to meet people from other sports.”  Ratcliffe will be following in her mom’s footsteps who also attended U.C.B. “Rowing is a very hard sport which I don’t think many people understand, but it’s a sport that is very rewarding,” Ratcliffe said.

George Goldstein

Committed about a month ago for baseball, George Goldstein ’17 will attend Middlebury College next fall. Goldstein started playing baseball when he was three with his dad in his backyard. In his high school career, he has been on Staples varsity baseball since sophomore year. “I absolutely love playing varsity baseball. The senior leadership has always been top notch. You really feel like you are part of a family,” Goldstein said. According to Goldstein, the Middlebury campus felt very comfortable and just like home. He not only loves Middlebury for its top-notch baseball and athletics programs, but also loves the school for its quality academics. “I am excited to join a program that has a new and very invested coach with good young talent where I can attempt to make an impact from day one as a freshman,” Goldstein said.

Chad Knight

Chad Knight ’19 committed to Duke University for baseball as a pitcher and corner infielder on Sept. 2, 2016. Knight chose Duke because he thought it was the right combination of academics, baseball, weather, location and student life. “Duke has a culture where sports are a major part of the school’s atmosphere, so you don’t have to sacrifice being respected as a student to be an athlete and vice versa,” Knight said. He said he is definitely excited to play the sport he loves on the next level, but he is even more excited to create amazing friendships. “While I have loved playing baseball throughout my life,” Knight said, “I have loved even more the fact how it has introduced me to some of my closest friends.”

Katharine Johnson

“I knew in my heart that Notre Dame was the school for me,” Katharine Johnson ’17 said. Johnson started to row as a novice in the spring of my freshman year at the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club. She moved to Westport the summer before sophomore year and at the beginning of her sophomore year, she started rowing as a varsity rower at Saugatuck Rowing Club. She currently rows in bow seat of the varsity 4+. Johnson committed to University of Notre Dame for rowing on Sept. 5, 2016. Johnson is especially looking forward to the tradition and spirit that is embedded in the culture of the school. “I am excited to see where the positive environment will take me in the future,” Johnson said.

Robert Stone

Robert Stone ’17 has been playing baseball since he was three when he was on the t-ball team. Stone has been on Staples varsity baseball since sophomore year as a pitcher. “As a sophomore, we had a strong senior class that guided me and made me feel a part of the family and ever since then, I’ve been able to incorporate that into how I interact with the younger players on the team,” Stone said. He committed for baseball to Holy Cross University around mid-August. Stone said he connected with the coaches and loved the campus like no other college he visited. Among all the colleges that were looking at him, Holy Cross was the best academically. Stone said he loved the sense of family that the college team had and he said he is most excited for, “living with and spending every second with my teammates.”