Fort Calhoun seniors Kaitlyn Thalman and Luke Gustafson made their college sports commitments official Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
First, Thalman signed with the College of Saint Mary cross-country and track programs before Gustafson signed with Grand View University's esports team.
Thalman joins Flames
College of Saint Mary cross-country coach Derek Fey was in attendance Tuesday morning for Thalman's signing ceremony as was her friends, family, teammates and high school coaches.
“They said they're looking for somebody like me on the team,” she said after officially signing with the Flames. “They know I have a lot of potential.”
The FCHS athlete plans to compete in both cross-country and track. After a campus visit, she's looking forward to joining the roster.
“They seem like they're all together,” Thalman said. “They're supportive of each other.”
The Pioneer runner has one main objective when she graduates and enrolls in Omaha:
“My goal is to train more,” she said. “Work harder in the gym so I can get fitter for running.”
Thalman will aim to set personal records and chase a 21-minute cross-country finish.
“It might not be like that at first, but I just need to work hard,” the senior said. “I like working hard.”
She'll study in hopes of one day becoming a veterinarian at her new school, too.
Gustafson to compete in Iowa
Gustafson signed with Des Moines, Iowa, based school Grand View University on Wednesday morning.
The FCHS senior will major in graphic design there, while minoring in game design and interactive analytics. His sport is esports, competitive video game play.
“It's, honestly, just like any other sport,” Gustafson explained. “Just two teams who'll play off against each other.”
The high school student-athlete, who has experience running on the Pioneers' cross-country team, sought out a spot on Grand View's team — which has its own designated gaming facility, sponsors and coaches. He provided his stats from Valorant, his video game of choice, and shared with the Vikings his streaming experience and following.
“They said, 'Yeah, this looks good. This is what we want,'” Gustafson said.
The Fort Calhoun senior is college-esports ready, ranking highly in his game with a lot of effort behind it. He had to prove himself successful to garner a spot at Grand View.
“A lot people don't understand how hard it is,” he said. “Typically, you'd think it would be pretty easy, but, from a personal experience, it's pretty hard to learn a lot of the functions that a game does and requires.”
After signing, the newest Viking has advice for high school gamers who enjoy what they do, too. He said they should put in the work to excel and look for a college future in it.
“It's free scholarships at this point,” Gustafson said.
