IOWA, USA — National Signing Day got started early for high school seniors around Iowa.
It's the dream of putting on that collegiate hat and signing the dotted line.
"A ton of kids dream of this, when they were young kids,” said Cole Filloon, a senior at Southeast Polk who committed to play football at Northern Iowa.
"One step closer to that next chapter of your life in college and whatnot, so it's pretty cool,” said Griffin Gammell, a senior wrestler at Waukee Northwest.
Hundreds of student-athletes across the state put pen to paper Wednesday. But for the Class of 2022, the recruiting process has been a unique one.
"If I’m being honest, I was definitely nervous about getting that exposure, but as an athlete, you just have to be consistent,” Gammel told Local 5.
"In the early stages, it was hard to believe in myself when colleges weren’t contacting me. In the end when I finally got emails from coaches wanting me to go on visits and stuff, that helped,” said Taylor Francen, a senior softball player from Southeast Polk.
From extended dead periods of no contact due to pandemic, to less available scholarships due to college players using the extra year given to them. This class has been faced with many challenges.
"Virtual visits, where they show you around the campus through a computer screen, it’s definitely different but this season with COVID settling down a little, it’s been good to actually go and see these places in person,” Filloon added.
For some schools in central Iowa, it was a day of firsts.
"Super cool to make our footprint as the first class as Wolves,” said Annie McDevitt, a senior soccer player for Waukee Northwest.
The two soccer standouts will be headed in different directions after their college decisions.
Just a small sampling of the dreams come true during a unique season for these high school student-athletes.
"It’s been your dream, for me since like kindergarten or first grade, when I would watch the older girls at high school," said Meredith Rieker, a senior basketball player at Valley High School. "I looked up to those girls since I was in like fifth grade, the next step was college basketball. So being able to sign my name on that paper was really exciting, and it was everything that I’ve worked for to make my dreams come together, so it was nice."
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