Four Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School athletes signed college letters of intent Nov. 17, as friends, family and school officials looked on with pride.
Rory Salvesen will play softball at the University of Minnesota. Melaina Granquist will play basketball at Western Illinois University. Bryson Schmid agreed to play football at University of Minnesota-Duluth. Finally, Reese Dickman will swim at Oklahoma Christian University.
Joe Ladika has coached softball at Wittenberg-Birnamwood for six years with the past four as varsity head coach.
“She (Salvesen) is not only one of the best softball players I have coached or seen play, but she is one of the best athletes as well,” Ladika said.
He talked about her love of the sport as well as her empathy and willingness to help others, traits that make her a great leader and teammate.
“My plan is to become a physical therapist, so my undergrad will be kinesiology,” Salvesen said. “It would be a dream come true to work with athletes, but I also think it would be really special to work with children with disabilities and special needs.”
“She is one of the most hardworking, dedicated, passionate and humble players I have ever had the privilege to coach,” Ladika added. “A player and person like Rory does not come around very often, and I know she will do great things in the next chapter of her softball career at the University of Minnesota.”
For the past nine years Jason Rieck has coached football at WBHS. The past four years, he has been head coach, working toward the goal of building a strong culture so athletes have a good, positive experience learning teamwork, communication skills and leadership qualities that will help them in life.
“Bryson is a very talented athlete,” Rieck said. “He is very coachable and a hard worker on and off the field.”
Rieck believes Schmid’s leadership skills gives him the “it” factor that separates him from others in his position.
Schmid, who has been playing football since the pee wee league, will pursue an electrical engineering degree.
Dickman has been in the local swimming program for 10 years.
“I’m going to study mechanical engineering at Oklahoma Christian University,” she said. “I was glad to be recruited by them as they have a good swimming program and a good mechanical engineering program.”
Of the 23 seasons of his coaching career, Nick Mechelke has spent the past nine years as head coach for the girls basketball program.
“Melaina is a very versatile player. She has the ability to play inside and outside,” Mechelke said. “She has a lot of passion for the game of basketball. She knows the game well and is able to put that into game situations.
Granquist has long dreamed of going pro and believes this is a big first step of turning that dream into reality.
“I’m happy to be going to Western Illinois and majoring in physical therapy,” she said.
