Mid-August can't come soon enough for Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Andrew Nagle '18, who signed a Letter of Commitment April 30 in the Athletic Center to run track and cross country at Division II High Point University in North Carolina next school year.
"I'm blessed to have this opportunity," beamed Andrew. "Coach (Mike) Esposito and Coach (Scott) Hall (at High Point) have been very kind, giving me the opportunity to compete with them in the limited amount of experience I've had so far. I've really only gotten into competitive running for two years now. It's been a quick process and hard but they're giving me a chance. I'm really happy about today.
"I love the atmosphere at High Point. They're a competitive bunch. They go out and compete to the best of their ability every day. That's the kind of team and the kind of attitude I want to be part of. The coaches are very experienced and know what they're doing."
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Andrew impressed the coaching staff despite not having a lot of running experience compared to other college-bound runners, with just two seasons of cross country and one outdoor track season to his credit.
"I'm very happy and grateful for everyone who supported me," Andrew said. "I'm happy to get this opportunity and can't wait to get started."
Andrew joined the outdoor track team this season after playing golf in 2017 and four seasons of lacrosse prior to that. He's made an immediate impact on the program.
"Every coach wants a piece of him, and I was really happy he came out for outdoor track," WMA Track Coach Tom Iannacone said. "We talked about it last year but he went out for golf. He came out this year and the kids recognized his talent and charisma right away, naming him a captain by an overwhelming amount even though he had never been on this team before.
"I'm glad everything has worked out for Andrew and I'm excited to see how things go in the future at High Point. It's exciting and a little overwhelming."