Riverdale Seniors Plan to Continue Their Athletic Careers at the Collegiate Level

Riverdale offers over 30 different sports teams that students can play for, ranging from ultimate Frisbee to water polo. Many young athletes aspire to continue to play their sport after high school, and Riverdale’s experienced team of college counselors, athletic staff, and coaches are great resources for students as they go through the college recruitment process. The Review recently spoke to three talented student-athletes—Maddy Davis, Sophie Klessel, and Ethan Kriss—who recently experienced this process.

Senior Maddy Davis has been rowing since her ninth-grade year at Riverdale. Davis says that she knew she wanted to pursue collegiate rowing as soon as she started to make sacrifices for the sport. For example, Davis had to be “willing to wake up at 4 a.m.” for crew practice. Davis also mentioned that it was “really important to [her]” to be “captain ... for the Riverdale rowing team” and that she was focused on “giving back to the family.” Davis’s favorite thing about rowing is that it provides a sense of structure for her. Riverdale played a huge role in Davis’ journey with the sport, starting with her very first high school season. She said, “Had I gone to any other high school, I would have never found the sport.” Davis mentioned how helpful Athletic Director Mr. John Pizzi, all the athletic staff, and her college counselor, Ms. Karyn Blaser, were in guiding her throughout the process. Next year, Davis will continue her academic and athletic career at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Senior Sophie Klessel will be joining Maddy on the UPenn crew team. Similar to Davis, Klessel started rowing as a ninth-grader. However, she did not come to Riverdale until her sophomore year. Klessel had played basketball for a long time, but as soon as she began taking  rowing more seriously, she had to leave the court behind. The Riverdale program affected her decision to continue this sport because of the experiences that she shared with the team. Klessel said that she really enjoys rowing because “it’s both a mental and physical sport.” For many high school athletes over the past year, the recruitment process has looked different due to Covid-19 restrictions. Klessel spoke about how the recruitment process for crew normally takes place later than the rest of the sports. The spring of junior year is the typical time period where athletes visit different college campuses. However, due to the pandemic, Klessel was not able to attend these visits in person. Klessel also spoke with former Riverdale student Julia Sesler (‘14) who Klessel said, “helped [her] through the process with … what information I should send in emails.” 

Senior Ethan Kriss has played lacrosse since he was in first grade, and he was recently recruited to play for the University of Denver. Kriss said that he knew he wanted to continue lacrosse when “not a lot of kids played as much as [he] did.” He also mentioned that in “seventh grade, there were two lacrosse players whom I lived next door to and they started training me.” Riverdale supported Kriss throughout his journey and helped him continue the sport he loves. He said that he does “like the team ambiance” in addition to “the physicality” of lacrosse. In terms of the recruitment process, Kriss said that the “college counselors and John Pizzi really helped me out.” He also mentioned that he was able to accept his offer from Denver over the phone in his dean’s office. Lacrosse has played a huge role in Kriss’ life for a long time and he will now be able to continue playing next year at the University of Denver. 

All three of these seniors worked incredibly hard to continue their athletic careers. Each of them had a unique experience with their recruitment process, but one thing was for sure: Riverdale was supportive and helped each athlete be the best version of themselves. These three athletes suffered a tough loss in that they will not have a complete season their last year; however, we wish them luck, and we are excited to see what they do next!