by Dennis Dalman
Five Sartell High School Sabre athletes were recently honored at a “Sign-Up Day” ceremony at the school after they made it known which colleges they have signed up for and will play sports for.
The five senior students are the following:
Gack
Kennedi Gack has committed to play for Division II, Northern State University (Aberdeen, S.D.), which is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
The NSIC is affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which operates in the Upper Midwestern United States. The NSIC sponsors 18 sports, 10 for women, eight for men.
Gack will play soccer at Northern State University. She is a three-year varsity letter player, a two-time All-Conference athlete and a Central Lakes College Player of the Week. In 2022 and 2023, she helped the Sabres soccer team to back-to-back conference championships.
Gack has racked up 32 goals and 18 assists in soccer during her years in Sartell.
Simones
Braydon Simones, baseball player, has committed to Division II at St. Cloud University, also a member of the NSIC.
He started on the varsity team as a sophomore and helped lead the Sabres to a section championship and a berth in the state tournament.
Last winter, Simones suffered a torn meniscus (knee injury) during basketball season, but since then he has worked very hard in rehab and will be playing basketball again this winter. Come spring, he’ll be able to play baseball again as a pitcher and hitter.
Lain
Zoe Lain has signed up to play track-and-field at the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse.
Lain broke a two-year-old school record by two seconds in the 400-meter race. She was a two-time All-Conference player and a two-time All-Section player. She is a team captain and a team anchor in the 4 x 400 race.
Lain was also honored as a state finalist by the Minnesota State High School League.
Latunski
Gwen Latunski has committed to playing golf at the University of Sioux Falls, S.D., which is also an NSIC member.
At SHS, for two years she was captain of the golf team, a two-time All-Conference player, a varsity player when she was a ninth-grader and she will be a four-year letter winner, as of this year.
Last spring, Latunski helped lead the Sabres golf team to the Central Lakes Championship – its first such title in SHS’s history.
Lunde
Sam Lunde, an expert golfer, signed up to study at Concordia College, St. Paul, and to play golf on its Golden Bears team. That college is also a member of the NSIC.
Lunde was a golf-team captain at SHS and a key member of the varsity team that won the Central Lakes Conference title in 2023, the first time since 1970 the SHS team scored that honor. He is a three-time letter winner and a three-time All-Conference player.
The five Sartell High School students-athletes who were honored at the school’s recent “Fall Signing Day” are (left to right) Brayden Simones, Sam Lunde, Gwen Latunski, Kennedi Gack and Zoe Lain.
