By Eric Stock and Greg Halbleib

BLOOMINGTON – Several Central Catholic High School student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent on Thursday to continue their athletic careers in college.

McKahl English has family ties to her choice, Saint Ambrose, for volleyball.

“My brother went there, so junior year I was all about going to Florida far away but as a kid I always loved St. Ambrose,” English. “But then senior year I kind of got scared and thought I don’t think I can do Florida anymore.”

Noelle Ghrer said attending Central Catholic led to a natural choice of Loras for track.

“I’ve always gone to a small Catholic school so Loras I went and visited the summer before my junior year and the environment was just incredible,” Ghrer said.

Max Moews chose Illinois, where he will be a preferred walk-on in football.

“It’s a great academic school,” Moews said. “I love the atmosphere over there and I think the team is on the rise. I think Love has got a great thing going there and I like my chances to play in the future.”

Austyn Ellison is one of 10 freshmen signing to play basketball at Coe.

“They were right around .500 last year but the year before that they were really good,” Ellison said. “I’m really looking forward to competing for a starting guard spot.”

J.C. Micklich is headed to Northwestern of Minnesota to play baseball.

“I like the atmosphere up there,” Micklich said. “The people were really good to me, the campus is beautiful and the academics are also really good. I thought it would be a good fit for me in the future.”

Thomas Smith won’t travel far from home as he signs to play baseball with a resurging program at Eureka College.

“They beat Webster and they also beat a 25-ranked team in the nation this past season so they have really grown and it’s been fun to see the success they had this past season,” Smith said.

Jack Gilmore also signed to play baseball at Heartland Community College.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].