The Northwestern Lehigh High School Athletic Department held a college commitment ceremony last month to honor 19 senior Tigers who have plans to continue their athletic careers at the next level.

The group included two Division I recruits, two athletes who are headed to Division II schools and 15 that will play in Division III.

Northwestern Lehigh senior twins Olivia and Sophia Motolese will join their sister Maggie this fall at St. Francis of Brooklyn.

“St. Francis was always our main pick,” said Olivia. “Our older sister Maggie plays there. We only got to play with her [one season] during freshman year and it’s always been a dream for all three of us to play together.”

Sophia and Olivia are the third and fourth siblings from their family to reach the Division I level. Before Maggie, Angela Motolese went to Fairleigh Dickinson University right after high school before finishing her career at Kutztown.

“We all made it to Division 1 programs and we’re just excited to make our parents happy,” said Olivia.

Another part of their college decision that didn’t take a lot of thought was whether the twins would go to the same school or split up.

“We’ve been on the same soccer team our whole lives,” said Sophia. “We’ve been together our whole lives. We do everything together. We go every place together. Our decision from day one was always to go to school together.”

“We’ve always started soccer games right next to each other in the midfield,” said Olivia. “We could never split up. Playing 15 years of soccer together, splitting up just can’t happen.”

They have been two of the best players to come through the Colonial League in recent years. Sophia has scored 43 goals in her career and assisted on 48, with 20 goals and 16 assists coming last fall in her senior season. Olivia scored 24 goals and assisted on 48, with 10 goals and seven assists in her senior season.

Northwestern’s girls soccer team has won league and district titles in each of the past three seasons.

“My time with Northwestern soccer program was amazing,” said Olivia. “Four years we made it to league playoffs. We lost that freshman year and then ever since we won leagues and districts back to back to back. And making it to states three times is amazing. I’m happy for all my coaches who took us there and I’ll never forget it.”

“I loved it,” Sophia said of her high school soccer career. “It was the best soccer of my life and I was so close to the girls. I loved it so much.”

Tiger soccer senior Colin Coffield is headed to Millersville University to join the Marauders soccer team.

“I really like the lifestyle down at Millersville,” said Coffield. “It’s not much different from around here. It’s not really a change of scenery, but it feels like a second home. I know the players down there are going to push me to make me better.”

A four-year varsity player and four-year starter for the Tigers, Coffield was part of two Colonial League championship teams and three District 11 championship teams. What he remembers most from his Northwestern athletic career goes back to when it all began.

“The greatest memory is simply making the varsity team my freshman year,” he said. “I really was nervous. I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it. It happened and I’ve made memories ever since. To play at Northwestern is a huge gift. I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else.”

Tiger senior Jakayla Holmes will compete in track and field at Mansfield University over the next four years.

“I really just liked the environment at Mansfield,” Holmes said. “The coach was super nice. I met with the team and they were all really nice. It came down to Mansfield and East Stroudsburg. I ended up picking Mansfield.”

Holmes, who also played soccer at Northwestern, ran sprint races in high school, the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter, along with the 400 relay. In college she expects to mostly run the individual 400.

Gerald Coleman is one of four boys lacrosse players who were part of the college commitment ceremony, which was held on May 23 in the high school gym.

Coleman will attend Maine Maritime Academy.

“I chose Maine Maritime Academy because of the majors that are offered and the opportunities that it brought,” said Coleman, who plans to major in vessel operations technologies. “And I’m very familiar with the area up there. It’s very beautiful there.”

Coleman played defense for both of his years on the Northwestern varsity team and plans to continue playing that role in college.

He was part of the Northwestern boys lacrosse program’s first playoff win this past spring season. The Tigers, which had their inaugural varsity season in 2019, reached the District 11 title game last month before falling to Central Catholic.

“It was nice to have four people [going on to play in college] from such a young program,” Coleman said. “We made history this year.”

Andrew Collins is going to Eastern University to continue his education and lacrosse career.

“I got to meet all the guys at Eastern and just spending the day with them was great,” he said. “It just felt like the place for me.”

Collins played two seasons for the Tiger lacrosse program after transferring from Central Catholic before his sophomore year. His first season as a Tiger lacrosse player got canceled because of the pandemic.

Collins, who also played golf and football for the Tigers, attended Northwestern Lehigh schools until fifth grade, then came back five years later for his last three years of high school.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “Being able to grow up with all these guys and then here we are, last year we get to play together.”

Drew Sabo is going to Pennsylvania College of Technology to continue his lacrosse career. He had the opportunity to play at a few other schools and chose Penn Tech for the programs it offers.

“Penn Tech had welding, the blue collar jobs I’m into,” said Sabo, who also played football at Northwestern.

Sabo played midfield in high school but plans to see more of a role as an attack in college. He was a member of Northwestern’s first varsity team as a freshman in 2019.

“It was awesome, the two sports in fall and spring and getting that break in between for the rest,” he said. “Football was awesome. I always enjoyed football. And lacrosse, same. I’ve been playing both since second grade. I was in the inaugural season of NYAA [lacrosse] too.”

Taylor Wikert also played football and lacrosse for the Tigers. He looked at a few Division III schools before settling on one close to home.

“When I toured DeSales I kind of knew,” Wikert said. “I liked the campus a lot. Their academics are really good. I did some training with the coaches when I was younger, so I got to know the coaches and they became my club coaches.”

Wikert, who played longstickman in high school, expects to play a more defensive role for the Bulldogs. He was also part of that first Tiger lacrosse team in 2019 and has been a varsity player his entire career.

“My dad started the youth program, which helped a lot,” Wikert said. “Me, Drew and Andrew Collins all played through youth. We finally got the high school team and now this is our senior year and it’s probably the best year we’ve had.”

The Tiger girls lacrosse program was started the same year as the boys program and sisters Emilee and Sarah Schultz were both part of that first team in 2019. They remained part of the team throughout their four years of high school.

They are both continuing their athletic careers at King’s College.

“Kings just felt like home,” said Emilee. “It had my desired major, felt secure, and isn’t too far from home.”

“King’s stuck out to me the most because it had my major (Biochemistry), which was very important in all the schools I was interested in, as well as a lacrosse program in which I could grow in,” said Sarah. “As a plus, Emilee and I could continue to play together at a school not too far from our family and friends.”

They were both attack players in high school and will likely be in that position in college.

Sarah Shultz played four years of field hockey at Northwestern and was part of District 11 championship teams in 2019 and 2020.

“I have very much enjoyed my high school athletic career here at Northwestern,” Sarah Shultz said. “Between both field hockey and lacrosse I have made great bonds with some of my teammates that will hopefully carry on into college. I have also had great coaches who taught me how to be a good teammate and how having a hard work ethic gives you results on the playing field.”

Emilee also played two years of field hockey as they shared the district title in their sophomore season in the fall of 2019.

“Being able to play high school sports has enabled me to stay in shape and play with teammates who I enjoy playing with, along with making new bonds,” said Emilee.

Two Tiger football players will continue their careers at the next level.

Ben Dunstan, a defensive end and offensive guard in high school, will go to Wilkes University where he expects to be utilized as a passing rushing outside linebacker/defensive end.

“Wilkes had a really good, homey feel,” Dunstan said. “I bonded a lot with the players when I was there. The coaches are really nice.”

Zach Fry was an offensive left tackle in high school and expects to play somewhere on the offensive line other than center at Dickinson College.

“Dickinson was my personal favorite just because of the coaches and the recruiting,” he said. “I love the campus. It’s a great community. Everyone knows each other. It’s a smaller school. I fell in love with it.”

Fry made the varsity team as a sophomore and got one start. He started every game as a junior but missed his senior season with a torn ACL.

He played a few years of lacrosse but chose not to for his senior season because of the ACL injury.

His favorite thing about playing Tiger sports was just being around people he enjoyed.

“Just hanging with the boys honestly, teammates and coaches,” Fry said. “Getting all together.”

Tiger pitcher and infielder Dylan Witkowski came to Northwestern before his junior year after two years of high school at Emmaus. He was one of the best players on both the basketball team and baseball team during his two seasons as a Tiger.

Witkowski will continue his baseball career at Lancaster Bible College, where he will play short stop and pitch for the Chargers.

“I went down there for two nights and stayed with the guys and they were definitely my type of group,” he said.

Despite spending just two years as a Tiger athlete, Witkowski made a lot of friends and memories.

“I definitely love everybody at Northwestern,” he said. “I love the community and it definitely helped me grow as a person.”

Joe Chukoskie is headed to Lebanon Valley College to compete on the cross country and track and field teams.

“I picked Lebanon Valley,” he said, “because they have a good doctorate in physical therapy program and I really liked the campus.”

Chukoskie was part of a history-making Tiger cross country team that won Colonial League titles the past two seasons and three straight District 11 titles. The team finished third in the state in Class 2A last fall, the highest state finish in program history.

“I really just liked being a part of all the different teams,” Chukoskie said of his Northwestern athletic career. “It feels like a family. We also did pretty well, which also makes it great.”

Brynn Balliet will continue her field hockey career at Washington College in Maryland.

“Washington just spoke to me the most,” Balliet said. “The campus is beautiful. It’s right on the water. I had the ability to be coached by my college coach, so that was a big factor. I was able to understand her coaching style.”

Balliet was a three-sport athlete at Northwestern and won titles in all of them during her career. She was part of a district title team in field hockey, won a league title in basketball and was part of the 2021 Colonial League championship softball team.

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” Balliet said of her high school athletic career. “I made so many memories on all the sports I played. I was lucky enough to be on successful teams throughout my four years. So it’s always fun to win. The team chemistry and everything is just a plus”

Soccer player Katie Browning is headed to Geneva College.

“I chose Geneva because the campus is beautiful, there is a family feel between students and professors,” Browning said. “It’s a smaller school with small class sizes, and it has good nursing and athletic programs.”

Browning also competed in two years of track and field in high school and was part of the Tiger marching band.

Browning was part of league and district championship soccer teams three straight years from 2019-21.

“I enjoyed my athletic career at Northwestern a lot,” Browning said. “We had a really good team all of my high school years and the seniors on the team this year were very close, which made playing a lot more enjoyable. It was nice going through the program with the same group of great teammates because it allowed us to really bond together and play very well. Obviously coming away with three district and Colonial League titles made my career at Northwestern even better.”

Charlize Bobbyn is headed to Elizabethtown College to continue her track and field career.

“I liked Elizabethtown because it’s a really welcoming community,” said Bobbyn, who will compete in long and triple jump in college. “There’s a lot of people there and a lot of stuff to do. You can get involved in the community there really easily there. And it’s a really nice area and it’s really pretty.”

Bobbyn competed in track for two years at Northwestern. She also played field hockey and lacrosse.

“I made a lot of new friends and a lot of new memories,” she said. “I wouldn’t have known I liked to do track if I didn’t listen to my friends and go out for it. I had a lot of fun here.”

Olivia Silfies is just the second Northwestern girls volleyball player to continue her career in college since the program began in 2012. She is going to Marymount University.

“Mainly Marymount I loved because of the campus and the coaches and I really felt at home with the team,” she said.

Silfies was also a member of the Tiger lacrosse team for four years and played on year of high school basketball.

“I feel like I was always at home when I played sports here,” she said. “I always got a chance to be out on the field or the court to get better every day. Overall I feel like my experience here really built me as a person.”

Northwestern softball senior Olivia Stofflet is headed to Penn State-Harrisburg to continue her career.

Stofflet, a catcher, and the Tigers won a Colonial League title in 2021 and were district finalists in 2019, ’21 and ’22, which accounts for all three seasons this year’s class of spring sports seniors were able to play.