Howell’s Rori Gregory has never rowed, but will for Michigan State

HOWELL — Years of dedication and experience in their chosen sports were reflected when 27 seniors were featured in Howell High School’s annual college signing ceremony Thursday.

Then there’s Rori Gregory.

She received her scholarship to Michigan State University in rowing, a sport in which she’s never competed.

Gregory’s story is fairly common in collegiate rowing, which takes athletes from other sports and molds them into competitive rowers.

A noteworthy example is Ellen Tomek, a bench player for the 2000 and 2001 Flint Powers Catholic state championship basketball teams who started rowing at Michigan before competing in three Summer Olympics.

Gregory’s primary sport growing up was gymnastics. She has been a sprinter and jumper on Howell’s track and field team the last two years.

Rowing wasn’t on her radar until she saw something on social media during January of her junior year. The MSU rowing team was holding a webinar for aspiring rowers to give them insight into the program.

Gregory’s interest was piqued. She was eventually offered a spot on the team.

“I wasn’t really thinking about going for athletics,” she said. “Kids don’t get recruited out of high school gymnastics for college gymnastics. In the last few years, I started exploring track and field options. After getting this offer, I was really just excited to try something new.

“It’s crazy. I never thought I’d be a college athlete, let alone a D1 college athlete.”

Being a life-long gymnast turned out to be a plus for Gregory.

“It takes discipline to succeed in gymnastics,” said Gregory, a state qualifier in floor exercise. “That was something they like, which I’m grateful for.”

Many of the incoming freshmen joining Gregory are in the same boat, so to speak. Only a handful of Michigan high schools have rowing teams.

“A lot of girls in my recruiting class have never done it before,” Gregory said. “It’s exciting to know I’m not going to be alone in that.”

RELATED: Record-setting Howell running back Justin Jones commits to Division I football program

RELATED: Howell’s Bobby Kanka signs with Michigan to end lengthy recruiting process

A different path

Another Howell athlete taking an unconventional path after high school is offensive lineman Tanner Baidel.

Baidel will compete next year for LEAD Prep Academy in Brighton, a transitionary program at the Legacy Center for players hoping to boost their college stock after high school. The program has partnered with Washtenaw Community College, allowing players to take up to nine credit hours so they begin working toward a degree without burning a year of eligibility.

“I was trying to put a lot of film out there to coaches,” said Baidel, a first-team all-Livingston County selection. “I really wasn’t getting that many bites. Legacy contacted me and I did some research into Legacy. They had 115 D1 commits in four years and the roster is about 40, 50 guys. Statistically if I go there, I’ll have a lot better likelihood of playing where I want to be, the bigger D1 level.”

Baidel is one of five players from Howell’s KLAA and district championship football team that were part of Thursday’s ceremony. The others were Aiden Horvath (Adrian), Justin Jones (Western Michigan), Grant Stewart (Indiana Wesleyan) and Shawn Turpin (Northwood).

Bobby Kanka had a signing ceremony on early national signing day in December and enrolled at the University of Michigan in January.

Kicker Luis Maldonado is going to Schoolcraft College to play soccer.

Baseball, golf well-represented

During the ceremony, each athlete had a moment for photos with coaches, parents and teammates.

That meant the baseball team had to stand by to make frequent trips to the table at which photos were taken. With seven players moving on to college, the baseball team had the most athletes advancing to the next level of any Howell squad.

Baseball players who are moving on to college are Neko Hall (Madonna), Nick Hoorn (Northwood), Caleb Park (Spring Arbor), Gavin Pejakovich (Kalamazoo College), Josh Soneral (Alma), James Steakley (Defiance) and JT Thomas (Saginaw Valley). Jones is a member of the baseball team.

“It’s awesome, especially since I’ve grown up with most of them since I was 7, 8 years old,” Hoorn said. “It’s great to see all the success they’ve had and just over the years having fun with your buddies.”

The boys golf and lacrosse teams each had three athletes take part in the ceremony. It was a particularly impressive number for the golf team, which can use only six players for most varsity events and five in the postseason.

Jacob Dault will play golf for Cleary University, Lucas Downing for Kalamazoo College and Zach Spencer for Ferris State.

“Three and hopefully a few more,” Spencer said. “It’s iron sharpens iron. We battle hard every day in practice. Five people play in the starting lineup. That’s a grind to get in there. It’s fun working with guys who want to move on and play hard and compete.”

Lacrosse players who will play in college are Caleb Edwards (Trine), Nolan O’Dea (Alma) and Gage Overton (Lawrence Tech).

Other Howell athletes who signed with colleges are Addison Caldwell (Oakland University, softball), Marleigh Chapman (Albion, soccer), Alison Farr (Lansing Community College, basketball), Maurisa Mikus (Aquinas, basketball), Colton Ralko (Lake Superior State, swimming), Estie Sura (Hillsdale, tennis) and Addison Wonnacott (Cleary, bowling).

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan