Four Wildcats sign to play college athletics

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 2, 2017

Four Oak Harbor High School seniors signed letters of intent this week to play college sports next fall.

Two signed to play Division I soccer, Mary Johnston with the University of Maryland and Jennifer Turnek with Boise State University.

The other two, Princeton Lollar and Sam Zook, will play college football. Lollar committed to Hutchinson Community College (Hutchinson, Kan.) and Zook to Central Washington University.

Because of injuries and commitments to club teams, Johnston played only a partial season for the Wildcats.

As a sophomore, she led Oak Harbor in scoring and received All-Wesco honors even though she missed much of the season with an injury.

She chose Maryland because she liked the campus and that the team had “a close-knit family feel.”

Johnston also has family in the area. Her parents, Gregory and Cheryl Johnston, are from North Carolina.

She knew she had the potential to play college soccer when she attended showcase events as a freshman.

“That is when the recruiting started,” Johnston said.

She plans to pursue a degree in business.

Johnston also received offers from the University of Washington and Notre Dame.

Turnek played for Oak Harbor High School and received all-league honors as a freshman and sophomore. After a year of playing only club ball, she returned to the OHHS team but missed the season because of a knee injury.

Turnek also tried out for and made the Philippine national team.

She chose Boise State because it “is close to home” and has “the feel of a small college in a big city.”

“I like the mountains, the campus, the girls on the team and the coaches,” she added.

The University of Washington and Portland State University were among the schools that recruited Turnek.

Turnek, who is the daughter of Frank and Josephina Turnek, is still recovering from her knee injury and should be able to start playing in three months.

She hopes to major in sports medicine or kinesiology.

Lollar, a four-year letter winner in football at Oak Harbor High School, dreams of playing football in a Power 5 conference and said going to a community college offers the best chance to reach that goal.

“Hutchinson has a really successful program,” Lollar said.

This year, 21 players signed with four-year schools; 25 former players have reached the NFL.

Lollar said he has watched film of his new teammates and said, “We have a nice squad.”

Lollar, a two-time, first-team All-Wesco running back, set school single-season and career records in rushing and touchdowns for Oak Harbor.

Lollar, the son of Princeton Sr. and Cassandra Lollar, wants to continue to play running back in college, but “if they put me in the line, that is OK.”

Zook, the son of Everett and Wendy Zook, was a two-time, first-team all-league selection as both an offensive and defensive lineman his final two years at OHHS.

“They offered me a lot of money,” Zook said with a smile in regard to his choice to attend CWU.

“My sister goes to school there, and I like the campus and the environment,” he added. “There is something about the campus that sticks out for me. They are building and improving on what they have.”

Another reason he chose Central, Zook said, is because the program emphasizes core covenants much like the Oak Harbor High School wrestling team.

“Covenants bring the team together; it’s a family thing.”

Zook, who was also recruited by the University of Montana, is undecided on a major.

Zook said he will redshirt next fall and is unsure if Central plans to use him on offense or defense.