As Joe Wengerd, East Holmes superintendent, stood off to the side listening to Hiland girls coach Dave Schlabach praise the work ethic and skills of his senior basketball players, Wengerd smiled like a pleased parent.

"When I think of this group, and I did have three of these young ladies all through elementary school as their principal, I feel I know them quite well," Wengerd said.  "This is just awesome.

"They had their struggles in elementary school," Wengerd continued.  "They were an active, energetic bunch of kids that were extremely competitive with each other.  You add Noelle (Yoder) to that bunch and they're an awesome group.  We have them for a short time and then we'll be missing them.  They will move on and make their mark in another way."

The Hiland quartet of seniors, Noelle Yoder, Hilary Weaver, Katelyn Stuckey and Mykeila Mast all signed their National Letters of Intent to college, accepting basketball scholarships to further their careers, in a ceremony Thursday, Nov. 12, in the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.

Yoder accepted a scholarship to Bowling Green State University.  Weaver signed on to play for Lehigh University, and Mast and Stuckey will team up at Ohio Dominican.

The only cloud to put a damper on the event was the news that Mast had torn her ACL in practice earlier in the week and she would be lost for the season.  She is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to play for the Panthers next season.

"I like to call today a life-changing day, and for our four seniors, it truly is," Schlabach said.  A lot of things went into this day.  The amount of sacrifice that go into these things are amazing."

Schlabach thanked the parents of the seniors for bringing their kids into the program.  "They have made my job so enjoyable," he said.

"A lot of our parents, a lot of our players, and a lot of our community think that college signings and state championships are an automatic thing to happen because of our program," Schlabach said.  "These kids are sitting up her not because of our program, but because of hard work.

"Some of our kids coming up think that this is going to be them some day because they're in the program, but that's not the case at all.

"It comes down to each one of these four making those sacrifices and dedicating their extra time and effort, giving up a lot of things to be sitting up here today," Schlabach continued.  "None of this comes very easy, and I hope some of our young kids sitting out there realize that."

With the four scholarships this season, the Hiland girls have sent 32 players on to play college basketball, earning more than $3 million in scholarships.

There are currently six former Lady Hawks playing in college and one playing pro basketball in Europe.

"What I love about the list of kids who have gone on to play college basketball is that our kids on that list are no different than any other high school kid around here," Schlabach said. "They aren't any bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic or anything like that, it is a tremendous list of hard workers.  It is a phenomenal feat this class has put forth.

"And if it wasn't for Jessica Stutzman's compartment syndrome, there would definitely be a fifth chair right here," Schlabach added.  "Jess is one of the best players in the state of Ohio.  She epitomizes everything our program is about:  the effort and hard work.

"I could call 20 colleges right now that would sign her today if it weren't for the unknown of how she could handle a college season," he continued.  "She's done everything she could possibly do and we appreciate that."

Compartment syndrome is caused by repetitive muscle use in which pressure (caused by inflammation) in a confined space (fascial compartment) impairs blood supply, which leads to nerve damage and muscle death.

Stutzman will play limited minutes and help out wherever she can.  "We found out this week that we can't control everything with Mykeila's injury," Schlabach said.  As hard as this group has worked, they've also battled through a couple things here this week.  But they're tough kids, and I'm sure Mykeila will get an opportunity to get back on the floor."

"I just want to stay happy.  I want to be an encourager.  I don't want to bring everybody down because I can't play," Mast said.  "Hopefully, our team can use this as motivation to work hard.  I know they will.

"It's really cool to think about all of as seniors signing," Mast added.  "We've played together so long.  A lot of credit goes to Coach for putting us in the right place at the right time.  The campus is nice and not too far away.  I was looking for a place to go to school where basketball didn't demand 100 percent of my time."

Schlabach said Bowling Green is getting a complete player in Yoder.

"Noelle's skill level is really getting good and BG is a great spot for her," Schlabach said.  "They're an exciting team, among the top 30 in the country."

"I was recruited as a 2-guard.  My goal is to play my freshman year," Yoder said.  "I loved the coaching staff and the other players.  I got that homey feeling.

"Coach Schlabach means so much to me.  Even though I've only been here a couple years, the reason I got the opportunity to play for Bowling Green is Coach Schlabach," she added.  "It's awesome and I'm excited."

"What hurts the most about Myk is seeing all the hours she put into the gym," Yoder said of her teammate's injury.  "It's disappointing for our team, but I don't think it's going to affect how we play.  She's a strong kid, and I think she'll come back ready to play next year."

"I talked to the team yesterday when we got the news on Mykeila.  I mentioned how three years ago, Myk was in a spot where most of our younger kids are at now," Schlabach said.  "We didn't think she was tough yet and we didn't feel she was reaching her potential.  At that time, she decided she wanted to change her life and play college basketball, and see how good she could be."

She turned out to be pretty good.

"Every team needs a workhorse, and Kate is ours," Schlabach said of Stuckey.  "We've got three college point guards up here, and that's not you, Kate.  Kate is one of the best post players we've ever had. She's really good at specific things."

"It's hard to believe how much Coach has done for us," Stuckey said.  "He's always been there for us.  He gets on us in practice when we need it.  I can't imagine a better coach.

"I really like the players, the campus and the location," Stuckey added.  "It's in Columbus, so it's close enough to home.  It's really nice that we'll both be on the team.  It should help the adjustment."

"I'm not surprised that Hilary is sitting here," Schlabach said.  "After her eighth-grade year, she told me she was going to be our starting point guard next year as a freshman.  It is refreshing to be around kids who have the ability to look down the road.  For most kids, it's about this weekend.  Lehigh is an amazing school.  The position she has put herself in is just awesome, it's life changing."

"We were just talking about watching Leah and Launa sign at Valpo six year ago," Weaver said.  "I just feel so blessed to get this opportunity.  I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those girls and their efforts."

The total package of a great coaching staff, a family atmosphere and amazing academics is what drew Weaver to Lehigh.

"They have a great point guard who will be a senior while I'm a freshman," Weaver said.  "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to watch and learn from her and then ease my way in."

Regarding her injured comrade, she said:  "As a player you never expect something like that to happen to you.  My heart goes out to her.  It is her senior year, and she's put in so much time and so much hard work over the past six years. For it to end like this is really disappointing."

Schlabach cut the ceremony short.

"I could talk about these kids forever, but in a half hour, I've got to go out and yell at them, to keep them a little bit humbled," the Hiland coach said.  "But they know what we think about them."

A feeling shared by the administration.

"It is such a thrill to know our young people will leave here and make a mark in other ways," Wengerd said.  "They take character, ethics and hard work to another level.  No matter how things work out for the kids in the college setting, they still have those attributes that they carry with them.  It builds in them something that sticks."