“Finally! After all the tournaments, long practices, emails, meetings, and visiting schools, I did it! I am now going to a school that I love.” Senior lacrosse player Alex Gromacki is a step ahead of many of her fellow classmates in JC. She chose Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA last July.

In the senior class, Gromacki is not the only one to get a jumpstart on college through sports. There are “10 seniors [who] signed in the early signing period in November,” Athletic Director Larry Dukes said. According to Dukes, “only girls lacrosse and boys basketball are seeing verbal commitments made prior to the senior year.”

Gromacki picked Dickinson for “a variety of reasons,” including the academics, the distance from her house, and the sports.

“I went [to Dickinson] overnight, [and] I could see myself going there,” Gromacki said. During that trip, she experienced the “‘this is my college’ feeling.”

Because Gromacki was on the radar of Dickinson lacrosse coach Kim Lowry, she will be playing Division 3 lacrosse in the spring, after two hard seasons of keeping in shape at college.

“I was first drawn to [Gromacki] after watching a dominating performance on the lacrosse field. But, it was after having conversations with her and learning about her as a person and the priority she placed on academics, that I knew I wanted [Gromacki] to be part of my program at Dickinson College,” Lowry said.

“I have played on the same defensive line with [Gromacki] for a few years now, [and] she is a very hard worker in and out of practice,” senor Emily Dees said. Dees will attend Mt. St. Mary’s this fall, and has committed to playing lacrosse there.

Fellow player junior Nicky Clauter agrees, saying that “[Gromaki] hustles every practice and every game [and] is never out of shape.”

Gromacki started looking at Dickinson in the early fall of her junior year, but was not allowed to commit until just before the start of her senior, since she is playing Division 3.

Every year, students commit for what they wish to undertake in college. Some juniors have even signed to colleges, including Clauter. In the fall of 2015, she will be attending York College for lacrosse.

Elizabeth Driver is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.