Four Shady Side Academy student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to continue their sports in college.
They are Adam Lauer, Madison Recker, Melissa Riggins and Nyla Rozier.
A signing ceremony and celebration was held outdoors at Michael J. Farrell Stadium, with coaches, college counselors, families and friends.
Lauer, a golfer, lettered all four years in high school and committed to Davidson College in North Carolina.
He helped the SSA boys’ golf team to four section titles and four Top 4 finishes at the WPIAL Team Championships. Lauer qualified for the WPIAL Individual Championship three times, placing third in 2019 and second in 2020 to advance to the PIAA Championship both years.
He finished fifth in the state in 2019 and sixth in 2020. Lauer also runs on the cross country team, and in 2020 he placed 10th in the WPIAL and 21st in the PIAA races. The golf team is coached by Mark Hessler.
Recker, a lacrosse player, signed with Rhodes College in Tennessee. A transfer to SSA in her junior year, Recker hasn’t yet played her first WPIAL game in a Shady Side uniform because of the covid-19 pandemic. A midfielder and attacker, she plays with the True Lacrosse club team, where she is a member of the 2021 National Team. Recker also plays field hockey at SSA. The SSA girls lacrosse team is coached by Katy Phillips.
Riggins, a track and soccer player, will attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Riggins won nine WPIAL and PIAA gold medals in track and field in her freshman and sophomore years, sweeping the 800-meter and 1600-meter events in 2018 and 2019 and also winning WPIAL gold in the 3200-meter relay in 2018. She currently holds the PIAA Class 2A record in the 800 meters and is undefeated in every race she has ever run in Pennsylvania.
The SSA girls’ track and field team is coached by Paul Bodnarchuk.
In soccer, Riggins is a center midfielder who helped SSA to its first PIAA state title as a freshman in 2017 and to a WPIAL title as a junior in 2019. The team is coached by Mary Lynch.
Rozier, a basketball player, committed to St. Francis University in Loretto.
Rozier helped the SSA girls basketball team to its first appearance in the WPIAL championship game as a sophomore in 2018-19. As a junior in 2019-20, she averaged 19.8 points per game and had a 37-point performance in a game against Carlynton.
The SSA girls basketball coach is Caroline Fitzgerald.
