Editor's note: This is the tenth in a weeklong series of stories providing tips and forecasting the future for soon-to-be college graduates.
As the academic year draws to a close, the time approaches for Ohio's senior athletes to hang up their green-and-white jerseys for good and say goodbye to Athens.
Sports have been one of the biggest parts of these Bobcats' lives for many years, and for many of them, graduation means the end of athletic competition. But a few of Ohio's elite will test their luck in taking their game to the next level.
The baseball team's jack-of-all-trades, Anthony Gressick, has a good shot at becoming the next Bobcat athlete in the pros. Collegiate Baseball named the pitcher/outfielder/designated hitter the Mid-American Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Although NCAA research estimates that only about 10.5 percent of collegiate baseball players get drafted into the majors, Gressick is upbeat about his odds.
I feel like I have a decent opportunity
he said. It's been my dream for a long time.
If a trip to the big leagues as a player does not pan out, Gressick plans to use his double major in recreation and sport management to stay close to the game in other ways.
(I chose those majors) so that I can kind of hang around the game he said, where I can be involved in sports specifically baseball ' maybe in the office part.
Another award-winning Bobcat athlete, 2005 MAC volleyball player of the year Julia Winkfield, has chosen a very different path. She and former Ohio football player Rob Stover will be married in July.
I'm really excited
and we've been really busy
she said. We just got our first apartment.
Winkfield, a recreation management major, completed an internship with a parks system during Winter Quarter and has begun looking for a job. While she has no designs to follow former teammates Laura Hageman and Briana Adamovsky and compete overseas, she said she plans to play for fun in an adult league next year with Stover's sister-in-law, who formerly played at Bowling Green.
One thing cross country and distance runner Jason Linton is looking forward to being able to make some cash from his talent. Free from NCAA restrictions that prohibit amateur athletes from receiving money, Linton said he wants to compete in some races that could earn him up to $1,000 for a first-place finish. Until then, he will stay in Athens to train with fellow runner Kevin Dean and search for jobs in electrical engineering.
After that
it's hard to tell
he said. It just depends on where I move
the climate and stuff like that. I still plan on running
but I'm sure about competitively.
Their college careers are nearly over, and Gressick, Linton, Winkfield and their fellow seniors will soon leave their home of the past four years, but these Bobcats are ready to tackle their futures.
I'm really looking forward to taking the next step in my life
Gressick said. College is the greatest time in my life so far
but new challenges are always welcome.
