The six Trojans who honored on Wednesday, April 11 were, in the back row from the left, Kevin Carroll and Gage Rowan, and in the front, from the left, Colin Couch, Logan Harris, Jenny Howell and Austin Blair.
The six Trojans who honored on Wednesday, April 11 were, in the back row from the left, Kevin Carroll and Gage Rowan, and in the front, from the left, Colin Couch, Logan Harris, Jenny Howell and Austin Blair.

By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

Glen Este High School held their final athletic signing ceremony of the 2013-14 school year on April 16, honoring six Trojan student-athletes who have signed National Letters of Intent or have committed to continue their athletic and scholastic careers at Division III institutions.

The spring ceremony boasted three boys’ basketball players, two boys’ soccer players and one girls’ volleyball player. All six will be attending different schools when they take their next step in the fall.

Beginning the festivities in the East Café was 6-foot-7 center Gage Rowan who committed to playing his collegiate basketball at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky.

“I chose Thomas More because they have good academics and their campus is really nice,” Rowan said. “I like the smaller classes because you can talk to the professors whenever you need to.”

At Glen Este, Rowan averaged 2.3 points per game, 2.3 rebounds and just under one block per game. He was the recipient of the team’s Trojan Award, given to the player who brought the most to the team in practice.

“I chose their basketball team because they needed a big guy,” Rowan continued. “They had a first-year coach last year and he did well his first season, so I thought it would be a good place to go with it so close to home that anyone could come watch me.”

Academically, Rowan plans to study either athletic training, zoology or biology. He carries a 3.25 grade point average at Glen Este.

Colin Couch, a teammate of Rowan’s, will attend Trine University in Angola, Ind. to play basketball and tennis. Couch earned a total of six varsity letters at Glen Este, four in tennis and two in basketball.

He was named the basketball team’s Most Improved Player following his senior year and has been named the Most Valuable Player on the tennis team as well.

During his senior year on the hardwood, Couch averaged 4.0 points per game, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 block per game.

Logan Harris, the third and final Trojan hoopster to commit to an institution of higher learning, will be playing his ball at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio.

“The atmosphere and the coaches (drew me to Muskingum),” Harris said. “They were really nice and I liked them and what they have done with the program.”

Harris was a three-time varsity letter earner and was a First Team All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference selection following his senior season. The Iron Man Award winner, Harris averaged 12.4 points per game, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists as a senior. He was also a Scholar Athlete for both Glen Este and the ECC.

Harris plans to study criminal justice.

Austin Blair, the first of two boys’ soccer players to be honored, inked his deal to play at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio.

“I chose Ohio Dominican because it felt like the best fit for me,” Blair said. “Their style of play is how I like to play and I have a chance to improve under the coaches.”

At Glen Este, Blair earned three varsity letters and was selected to the Second Team All-ECC each of the past two seasons.

Blair is recovering from a tibia plateau injury that he said will likely impact him during his freshman season. While red shirting is still an option, Blair expects to make his biggest impact on the training field during his first season.

He plans to study business and coaching.

Kevin Carroll, Blair’s teammate and Co-Offensive Player of the Year recipient, will play his college soccer at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky.

“(I chose Transylvania) because it’s not really too far, but it is far enough away from home (to get the college experience),” Carroll said. “They have a great soccer program and they are a great academic school.”

Carroll scored 14 goals during his senior campaign and assisted on 11 others, earning him First Team All-ECC honors for the second consecutive year.

Planning to study chemistry as an undergrad, Carroll said that given the school’s co-op program with Lexington neighbors the University of Kentucky, he plans to earn a chemical engineering degree following his four years at Transylvania.

Finally, Jenny Howell, a volleyball player and swimmer for the Lady Trojans, committed to play her college volleyball at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky.

“(Georgetown) is a really competitive (volleyball) team, so I was really looking forward to that,” Howell said. “They also are a really good academic college. I really liked the campus. It was in the middle of a cute town. It was really nice and everyone seemed really friendly.”

Howell earned seven varsity letters at Glen Este in volleyball and swimming. She finished her volleyball career at GE with 675, including 302 during her senior season. She has been a First Team All-ECC performer each of the last two years.

Howell plans to study biology at Georgetown and hopes to go into marine biology.

For individual pictures of each student-athlete signing, you can access them on the West Clermont School District website at westcler.k12.oh.us.