Parkland's team success over the past few years has led to individual recognition for many of the school's athletes. Five players from the Trojans' championship baseball and lacrosse teams signed college letters of intent recently.

The back-to-back District 11 champions were represented by seniors Justin Afflerbach (Kutztown), Connor Higgins (Arizona State), and Rhett Jacoby (Millersville), along with the Lehigh Valley Conference champion boys lacrosse players Blaise Fugazzotto (Chestnut Hill) and Jonathan Warg (Hofstra) in signing college letters of intent last Wednesday afternoon.

Higgins will continue his career at the Division I level and he will also be going the furthest from home. The Arizona State commit has been a varsity member since his sophomore year.

In his junior year, Higgins went 6-1 with 3 saves, striking out 80 batters and giving up only a .137 opponent's average. For Higgins, he knew he wanted to be a Sun Devil even before stepping foot on campus.

"I loved their coach [Tracy Smith],"said Higgins. "He won coach of the year two years ago and is a great recruiter.". "The campus was amazing. It was huge, and it's a lot warmer and everything is organized."

Higgins will study business in college.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference will be the landing spot for Afflerbach and Jacoby.

Afflerbach has been a starter since his sophomore year and was an all-star this past summer during legion play.

Jacoby has been a pitcher, catcher and first baseman in his two years on varsity. He picked up his first win as a sophomore. As a junior he shutout one of the top teams in the state in Governor Mifflin.

Jacoby also looked at Penn State and Saint Joe's.

For Warg, the journey to playing in college has not been an easy one. The senior defenseman suffered a knee injury before last season. After intense rehab, heg came back for the Emmaus game in April, but reinjured the same knee.

"I did a lot of rehabbing," Warg said. "I just really wanted to come back, and my team wanted me back. Last year was supposed to be our year to win districts and I wanted to be a part of that."

Warg has been a three-year varsity member, and head coach Brad Shifko used the word speed when talking about his defenseman. Warg made the Fab 40 All-Star team in Philadelphia and has won the Jake Reed Nike Blue Chip award.

Fugazzotto will become a four-year varsity starter this season for the two-time conference champions. He made the Fab 40 All-Star team in Philadelphia and was a member of Parkland's District 11 runner up cross country team.

"The campus is beautiful. It looks like a castle," said Fugazzotto. "I have two old teammates that are playing there now, Josh Pope and Dylan Klusaritz, so I will have familiarity with the program."