Seniors Brittney Loney, Lauren Salerno and Sage Porter signed early to play sports in college Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Loney was recruited to play softball by NAIA Hastings College. She has been on the varsity softball team for Westside for the past four years, started for two of the seasons and was the team captain this past season. Varsity softball coach Kevin Dunn sees Loney as a leader with a bright future in softball.

“She’s a competitor,” Dunn said. “I think that’s going to be her biggest asset when she get’s to college.”

Although Loney decided in spring of her junior year to go to Hastings, it seemed as if she always knew she was going to go there.

“I’ve wanted to go there since I was like two,” Loney said. “My dad went there and I like how it’s a small campus.”

Loney is excited to go to Hastings, and feels it will be different than high school softball in the sense that it will be more relaxed and not as many games.

Salerno committed to a Division I school, Southeast Missouri State, on a full-ride scholarship at the beginning of her senior year.

After four years on the varsity volleyball team at Westside, she believes this is the next step to a higher level.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Salerno said. “I’ve always wanted to play volleyball in college. It’s kind of a different culture down there.”

Porter decided on going to College of St. Mary’s on a scholarship for swimming.

Porter contemplated between going to University of Nebraska-Kearney and College of St. Mary’s until the week of her signing, but in the end she is excited with her decision to attend the College of St. Mary’s.

“It will be really different than high school,” Porter said. “It’s a smaller team and you will get to know each other a lot better.”

Varsity swimming coach Nicholas Joslin thinks Porter will be successful in college swimming since she has been borderline qualifying for state or has qualified for state the past three swimming seasons.

“I think her background with club swimming will put her in good shape for swimming at an NAIA school,” Joslin said.

Correction (10:43 a.m. Nov. 20): The story has been edited to reflect that Hastings college is an NAIA college. The story had previously said it was Division II.