Four Blind Brook graduating seniors will be continuing their athletic careers this upcoming fall as they become college student-athletes. Jake Suesserman, Meghan Comstock, Hannah Schaenman, and Oliver Kleban have all committed to colleges to play their respective sports.
Suesserman has committed to Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania to pursue lacrosse on the Division III level, and the process has been a rollercoaster. He says, “The process was extremely up and down for me. I didn’t decide I wanted to play in college until the summer before junior year, so I was very late on the recruiting scene. I didn’t have many options until about mid-July before senior year. It was definitely a humbling experience for me because I had to swallow my pride after a coach would tell me he was no longer interested in recruiting me. In the end, I picked the school that combined the ability to play and succeed in the classroom, and that I felt most comfortable at.” Suesserman has dedicated a lot of time and has worked extremely hard to achieve his goal of playing college lacrosse. Training has been an essential part of his success. “To train, I would shoot about three buckets of 40 balls almost every day for the past two years,” he says. “Lately, I’ve been working more on my strength and conditioning, lifting weights and working on my cardio and stamina to get ready for college.” Before going to college, Suesserman has set many goals for himself, on and off the field. “I’m looking to excel both on the field and in the classroom. I want to be the best student I can be and the best player and teammate I can be.” He is also looking to reach the team’s goal which is to ultimately “win a Centennial Conference Championship as soon as possible.” Suesserman is grateful for the opportunity and excited to take his talents to the next level.
Comstock and Schaenman both have committed to college to compete on Division I crew teams. Comstock has committed to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and Schaeman has committed to Princeton University in New Jersey. Both have been rowing for RowAmerica Rye.
Comstock has had interests in various schools to continue her rowing career and various colleges have reached out to her as well. “I was looking at other schools too, like George Washington and Miami. I have been talking to multiple coaches since the beginning of junior year. In the summer, I went to Club Nationals in Ohio, which is a regatta, and won 2ndin my race. After that, I got offered something called an “official” which is where the college invites you down to look at the school and rowing program. I just loved Bucknell’s program, and when they offered me the spot I didn’t hesitate to say yes and took it!” says Comstock.
She has been rowing for a very long time, which has contributed to her success. “I started rowing in 7th grade but moved teams from Greenwich Water Club to RowAmerica Rye in 9th grade. I was on the novice team there for freshman year, then moved to varsity sophomore year. I practice every day except for Sunday from 3:30-6ish after school and sometimes before school in the fall and spring.” At Bucknell, Comstock is focusing on “trying to be one of the best rowers at Bucknell while still striving to succeed in academics.” Comstock’s hard work and time has paid off to bring her to the next level.
Schaenman found the recruiting process difficult along with stressful. However, Schaenman had a lot of options to choose from. “The recruiting process is very exciting! All of these elite universities reach out to you and tell you they’re interested in you. The part of the recruiting process when you have to pick your school is definitely stressful. You have created a relationship with all of these amazing coaches from various top programs and then after a year of talking to them you have unfortunately made your decision and tell most of them ‘no,’” says Schaenman. She has spent a lot of time training, having practice about 6 times a week, for 2 and a half hours each practice. Schaenman has high expectations for herself and the team going to college. “At Princeton, I am looking to add to the team’s speed and hopefully help them win an NCAA championship,” she says. Schaenman wants to continue with crew after college as well. “Unfortunately, there is no professional rowing but I do have a dream to compete in the Olympics, and competing for one of the top rowing programs will definitely help me to achieve this goal.” Schaenman is looking to carry her success from the club level into the collegiate level in order to be the best rower she can be.