Senior athletes move on

Four high school seniors from Troy and Libby will soon be graduating to higher levels of athletic competition in their various fields of play.

This year’s seniors advancing to college-level sports include Gabe Hickman and Luke Haggerty from Troy High School and Jared Winslow and Jason Schnackenberg from Libby High School.

“We are very proud of them,” Troy Athletic Director Rich McElmurry said. “It is flattering for the schools, and it is always nice when students get to move on and play at the next level.”

Wayne Baker, Libby Middle/High School athletic coordinator, said these young men exemplify the best characteristics of student-athletes.

“It takes those seniors’ leadership and maturity to post good teams that are competitive in nature,” Baker said.

Gabe Hickman:

Hickman played football, basketball and track all four years of his high school career. His senior year, he earned All-State honors for his guard play in basketball as well as his exploits at quarterback and safety in football. Hickman also placed sixth at the Class B state track tournament in the javelin competition.

Hickman received football scholarship offers from four colleges: Benedictine College in Canada; Platte College in Oklahoma; Graceland College in Iowa and Bethany College in Kansas. Hickman signed a letter of intent to play football for the Bethany College Swedes and will receive $12,000. He plans to study athletic training.

“Bethany College seems like a better fit for my playing style compared to the other schools,” Hickman, a dual-threat quarterback, said.

Luke Haggerty:

During his senior year, Haggerty played football, basketball, tennis and is currently playing for the Logger Legion baseball team. He was awarded second-team All-Conference at cornerback in football and took fifth place in the state Class B tennis tournament with his partner and fellow multi-sport senior athlete, Bruce Metz.  

Haggerty said he received a scholarship offer from Robert Morris College in Illinois to play baseball. The college offered to cover 40 percent of tuition costs, but Haggerty declined the offer because he wanted to stay closer to home. He plans to attend Miles City Community College to study elementary education and play baseball for the Miles City Pioneers.

“I will probably get redshirted my first year because all I really do is hit well,” Haggerty said.

Jared Winslow:

Winslow played football and basketball during his senior year. Due to an arm injury, he is unable to participate in Logger Legion baseball this season. Winslow was selected as an All-State basketball player for his second consecutive year and was selected for All-Conference in football. He will be inducted into the Logger Hall of Fame once he graduates, Baker said.  

Winslow received scholarship offers from five Montana schools: Montana State University-Billings, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, University of Montana-Western and Montana State University-Northern. Winslow made the decision to attend Montana State University-Billings to play baseball as a Yellowjacket and study pre-sports medicine.

“I chose MSU-Billings because they offered me money for baseball,” Winslow said. “I like baseball; it’s my favorite sport.”

Jason Schnackenberg:

Schnackenberg had a successful year in sports and as a result, will be inducted into the Logger Hall of Fame upon his graduation, Baker said. He was selected as an All-State player for soccer and tennis and received an invitation to play in the annual Shodair Soccer Classic in July.  

Although he was not offered any scholarships, Schnackenberg received requests from two schools asking him to play soccer. He declined the offer from Lincoln Christian University in Illinois and made the decision to attend Johnson University in Tennessee, where he will engage in biblical studies and play soccer for the Royals.

“It’s a really nice school,” Schnackenberg said. “Plus it’s a Christian university, which is what I was looking for.”