Advertisement

Four Ramona High seniors sign with colleges

Share

Ramona High School seniors Hayley Brinker, Marco Cobian, Zach Sherman and Grady Vazquez committed to college athletic programs on Feb. 3.

Brinker was one of 160 athletes who either signed an actual letter of intent or participated in a ceremonial signing at the Hall of Champions ceremony that morning. Cobian, Sherman and Vazquez signed at the school.

Hayley Brinker

Brinker will play softball at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. Cobian will be on the University of Chicago football team, Sherman committed to the University of Arizona baseball program, and Vazquez will be part of the San Diego State University football program.

“I’m just excited that I get to sign. All the hard work has finally paid off,” Brinker said.

“I’m relieved that the whole process is kind of over,” Cobian said. “I know where I’m going to go, and I’m excited about the next four years of my life.”

“I’m really excited for it,” Vazquez said.

“I’m happy,” Sherman said. “I’ve been waiting for a while now and I finally got something.”

None of the four actually signed a National Collegiate Athletic Association letter of intent, which is for an athletic scholarship. NCAA Division III schools, which include Lewis and Clark and the University of Chicago, do not offer athletic scholarships.

Sherman currently has an academic scholarship only, although if any potential future Wildcats or current Arizona juniors on scholarship receive suitable offers in baseball’s June draft, an athletic scholarship may become available for Sherman.

Vazquez will initially be a priority walk-on, meaning that he will be accepted to San Diego State based on academic qualification rather than competitive applications and will have priority for class enrollment.

Brinker, who plays third base, will have an academic scholarship. She was also considering Vanguard University in Costa Mesa and Arizona Christian University in Phoenix before deciding to attend Lewis and Clark.

“The campus is beautiful and when I walked on the campus I knew it was the right college for me. It stands out,” Brinker said.

“It’s awesome. It couldn’t go to a better kid,” said Cori McDonald, who was Ramona’s varsity coach for Brinker’s first three seasons.

In 2012 Brinker began her freshman season on the Bulldogs’ junior varsity team but later saw action on the varsity. She was on the varsity only as a sophomore and junior, although a staph infection limited her playing time as a junior.

Brinker’s sophomore season ended with the CIF Division I championship game, and she earned Valley League second-team honors that year. “That was my favorite year,” she said.

Her illness deprived her of all-league recognition as a junior, although Ramona won the Valley League championship for the second year in a row. Brinker was a team captain as a junior in 2015.

“She’s a leader in the classroom and on the field,” McDonald said.

McDonald noted that the Bulldog program stresses academics as well as athletics.

“I think she exemplifies that,” she said of Brinker.

Brinker plans to major in political science and hopes to work in a governmental capacity after her graduation.

“She does a great job in the field,” McDonald said. “She’s just a great kid.”

Brinker has been playing club softball since she was 12. She began her club career with the San Diego Blazers and has most recently been with the San Diego Legacy.

Marco Cobian

Cobian played quarterback for Ramona High School, including three years as the varsity starter, and is also a point guard on the Bulldogs’ basketball team. He will play football at the University of Chicago.

“I like the idea of being able to focus on one sport in college,” he said. “I love basketball, but I want to see how far I can go in football.”

A combination of an academic scholarship award and financial-based aid will provide tuition money for Cobian.

“They offered me help getting into the school,” he said.

Cobian was also considering Azusa Pacific University, William Jewell College in suburban Kansas City, and Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction before making his University of Chicago decision.

“I loved the atmosphere,” he said of choosing the University of Chicago. “I really felt comfortable.”

Cobian also cited the academics. “It’s hard to beat what you get at the University of Chicago,” he said.

“He’s such a competitor,” said Damon Baldwin, Ramona High’s athletic director and head football coach. “Probably has gone down as the most prolific passer to come out of Ramona.”

Cobian, who played Pop Warner Football from 2002 to 2011, was a sophomore in 2013 when Ramona reached the CIF Division I semifinals. In 2014 Ramona competed in the Open Division playoffs.

“He led our team into the Open Division,” Baldwin said. “He did some things here to help bring Ramona football into some uncharted areas.”

The Bulldogs lost in the first round of the Division I playoffs in 2015, but Ramona’s Palomar League season included a victory over Poway when the Titans were ranked among the top ten teams in the CIF San Diego Section. Cobian threw a touchdown pass against Poway and Vazquez ran for the other touchdown in Ramona’s 14-10 triumph.

Cobian and Vazquez consider the win over Poway to be their Ramona football highlight. That contest constituted Ramona’s homecoming game, and Cobian was in the homecoming court.

“The whole week was really fun,” he said.

Cobian and Vazquez earned Palomar League first-team honors for 2015, and both were on the all-league second team as juniors. “Both those kids tried to help out kids and just really good teammates in general,” Baldwin said.

Cobian will likely major in political science and will determine a career preference while he is in college.

“I’m not really planning on playing any pro football,” he said.

Grady Vazquez

Vazquez played three games on Ramona’s junior varsity in 2012 before Baldwin needed a varsity linebacker and selected Vazquez for that role. “That was a big thing for me,” Vazquez said.

Vazquez has an older brother who graduated from Ramona High School in 2012, so some of Grady Vazquez’s 2012 teammates played with Chandler Vazquez in 2011. “It was cool to play with all the players that he played with,” Grady Vazquez said.

In addition to playing inside linebacker for Ramona, Vazquez would also play fullback, tailback, tight end and defensive end for the Bulldogs.

“He was capable of doing that,” Baldwin said. “He’s a good football player. He was a big contributor to our team the last three, four years at the varsity level.”

San Diego State University head coach Rocky Long prefers players who can play multiple positions, so Vazquez has his options but he also has his preference.

“The fullback position’s wide open,” he said. “I’m excited to go in there and work on getting that spot.”

The NCAA limits Division I football programs to a total of 85 scholarships, and many walk-ons eventually receive scholarships. “I think, with hard work, in a year or two Grady can earn himself a scholarship,” Baldwin said. “He’s a good football player. I’m just glad that something very positive like this happened.”

Baldwin also noted Vazquez’s off-field attributes. “You can’t win without character, and Grady’s character,” Baldwin said. “He does things right. He’s a great person off the field.”

Baldwin added that Vazquez has mentored younger players.

Vazquez plans to major in criminal justice and hopes for a law enforcement career if he doesn’t follow his college football with National Football League experience.

Vazquez expressed his appreciation to the Martin family at Brand X. “I wouldn’t be able to be at the physical playing level where I am now without their help,” he said.

Zach Sherman

Sherman was also considering Fresno State University and University of California, Riverside before opting for Arizona.

“I was hoping for a PAC 12 and I got PAC 12,” he said.

“I’m really happy for him and his family,” said baseball coach Dean Welch. “He put a lot into not only being the best baseball player he can be but also the best student. He’s put himself in a position to not only get that opportunity to get to that level but to be successful.”

Sherman was in kindergarten when he began his organized baseball career with the Ramona Pony League. The most recent summer involved Sherman playing travel ball on the San Diego Longhorns team and also playing with the San Diego Padres’ scout team.

Sherman was on Ramona’s junior varsity as a freshman and joined the varsity as a sophomore. “He did a really good job out there,” Welch said. “He followed that up with a tremendous junior year.”

Sherman was one of Ramona’s outfielders during his sophomore season in 2014 and also pitched and played third base as a junior in 2015.

“It worked out really well,” Welch said.

Ramona won Valley League championships in each of Sherman’s first two varsity seasons.

“My big highlights have been winning league both years and to play with this coaching staff and this group of guys,” he said.

Sherman hopes to have an even bigger highlight than a league championship in 2016. “I want to win CIF with the high school team,” he said.

Sherman also hopes to be selected in this year’s June draft. “If not, I’ll stay with Arizona and hopefully develop and get drafted out of college,” he said.

“I’m going to look for a lot from him this year,” Welch said.

Sherman earned second-team Valley League honors as a sophomore and was on the league’s first team as a junior.

“Just really proud of the kid,” Welch said.

Sherman expects that he will both pitch and play a field position with the Wildcats. He has not yet decided upon a major or a post-college career if he is not drafted out of college.

The four Ramona High seniors who signed ceremonial letters of intent Feb. 3 are all lifelong Ramona residents. Brinker and Sherman attended Barnett Elementary School prior to their years at Olive Peirce Middle School and Ramona High School. Cobian attended Ramona Elementary School through second grade and then Hanson Elementary School. Vazquez was homeschooled through various programs until completing seventh grade and utilized the Mountain Valley Academy curriculum in eighth grade and the early weeks of ninth grade before opting to be on the same Ramona High School campus on the football team after he was promoted to the varsity.

High school seniors can sign letters of intent for sports other than football, soccer and boys water polo in November, and three Ramona seniors signed letters of intent on Nov. 11. If Dylan Spacke is not selected in this June’s baseball draft, he will play for Cal State University Long Beach, and during the early signing period Ashley Dowers and Izzy Ekstam signed softball letters of intent with Thomas University in Georgia.

Advertisement

At a time when local news is more important than ever, support from our readers is essential. If you are able to, please support the Ramona Sentinel today.