Special moment for senior, school

In my eight years as the sports editor for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, I’d bet I’ve written nearly 100 stories about local high school seniors who have signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in college athletics.

That covers every sport our schools offer — everything from football to hockey to running to cheerleading. There was even one story about a local girl who earned a spot on a collegiate equestrian team.

These athletes have come from just about every school. Many attended Colony, Palmer and Wasilla. There have been a few home-schooled students. I recall a Wasilla volleyball player who attended Burchell. I even wrote about Glacier View School student who went to UAF to play volleyball. Glacier View doesn’t even have a volleyball team.

But the long list of NLI stories I’ve written did not include a student from one school — Houston High.

That changed this week.

Houston senior Zack Qual signed his National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Jamestown College, an NAIA program in North Dakota.

Qual could be the first Houston student to officially sign a letter of intent. Even those who have been at the school the longest aren’t quite sure.

“This is the first time I can remember something like this,” said Houston principal Mike Vrvilo, who has been at the school for 14 years.

Houston activities director Norm Bouchard has been at HHS for 19 years and can’t recall another Houston student who signed an official intent.

Houston athletes have gone on to compete at the college level. Jared Barrett, now the defensive coordinator of the Houston football team, was a college football walk-on. Former HHS boys’ basketball player Jeff Huston enjoyed a nice career at Warner Pacific College. But Bouchard does not remember Huston signing an intent either.

Former HHS runner Linnea Pudwill walked on a Colorado State and made the Rams cross country squad. Ryan Thamm, a recent graduate and multisport athlete at HHS, is now playing college soccer.

There have been a few Houston athletes to hit the next level, but when Qual signed his name across the dotted line Tuesday afternoon, it could have marked a first for HHS. If it’s not the first time in history for a Houston student, it’s certainly the first in decades.

While that is certainly notable, what strikes me most about this story goes beyond the potential historical significance for the school. It’s the reception Qual received from his coaches, teachers and peers.

The typical NLI ceremony is fairly routine — trust me I’ve attended plenty of them. There’s a table set up with the pen and paperwork, and a cake off to the side. There may be a jersey or banner on display. A small group of friends and family attend. Teammates usually show up for a slice of free cake. A coach or administrator will make a short speech. The whole thing is done in less than a half-hour.

I’m not trying to downplay these ceremonies. Each time a student signs an NLI it represents an important moment for that student, their family, team and school. If I didn’t see any significance to these stories, I

wouldn’t attend so many of these ceremonies.

But there was something truly special about what I witnessed Tuesday afternoon.

There was the pen and paper, and cake off to the side. Houston jerseys were on display. Qual’s coaches and family were there. But all of this was done during a school assembly in front of about 100 of Qual’s classmates.

Each of three boys basketball coaches — Dave Porter, Curt Youngberg and Colton Conner — made speeches. Youngberg reached the point in which he had to choke back tears, recalling a letter Qual had written to Youngberg’s family after the death of Youngberg’s grandmother.

Each had tremendous, heartfelt things to say about Qual. Qual spoke about achieving a goal he’d set years ago. Afterward, Qual said he felt honored his coaches and classmates joined his family to take time to celebrate his moment.

“This just goes to show, Houston is a great school,” Qual said. “We’re a tight-knit community and school. We’re real close. To have all my classmates come out and show how much they appreciate my hard work and what I’ve done is really great.”

Porter, the head coach of the Houston boys’ program, said he debated whether to keep the ceremony small or give it the assembly-style setting. In the end, Porter wanted to both celebrate Qual’s accomplishments and show other students at Houston that achieving these types of goals are possible.

“This is huge. Our kids, we haven’t really heard them talk about the opportunity to play college ball, because I don’t think they felt they could do it,” Porter said. “This is a great opportunity for kids to see

that it is possible.”

Vrvilo said Qual’s efforts could inspire other Houston students. He voiced his pride for Qual and the reception Qual received from the Houston staff and student body.

“We love our own. We’re a family,” Vrvilo said. “That’s one of the neat things about being from a small school. That kind of atmosphere makes the small school the kind of place I want to send my own kids.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.