Despite having only 21 seniors and 121 students total in high school, Trinity Classical Academy will have four graduates playing sports at the collegiate level in the fall.

Three members of Trinity’s CIF-SS Div. II 8-man championship football team will be playing football in college:

Defensive lineman/linebacker Eli Skorich was named 1st-Team All-CIF and will play at NCAA Div. III St. John’s University of the Minnesota Collegiate Athletic Conference. Skorich recorded 71 tackles, 32 solo, and 9.5 sacks in the 2013 season. On the offensive side of the ball, Skorich caught 6 passes for 129 yards and 1 touchdown.

“Eli is the kind of student-athlete we are looking for at St. John’s,” said St. John’s Head Coach Gary Fasching. “What we first noticed about Eli was his academics and then we were very impressed with his highlight reel. He’s a good football player and we’re looking forward to his contribution to our program.”

Skorich also received an academic merit award and will study psychology at St. John’s.

Wide Receiver Caleb Durst will play football at NCAA Div. III Chapman University of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Durst caught 7 passes during the 2013 season, 3 for TDs.

Durst received an academic award scholarship and will major in Kinesiology.

“We saw Caleb at one of our camps at Chapman and we noticed right away he had great speed, good hands and lot of potential,” says Chapman Recruiting Coordinator and Offensive Coordinator, Casey Shine. “Trinity has built a great football program in just a short amount of time and we are always looking for athletes who come from great programs. We expect Caleb to be a big contributor at Chapman.”

Linebacker/running back Patch Kulp was named NCAA Div. II 8-man Player of the Year. He will play football at NCAA Div. III Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, of the Northwest Conference. Kulp led the Knights in tackles on the season with 142 and 58 solo tackles, 12 for loss, and 4 sacks. He also accounted for 6 caused fumbles and 3 interceptions.

Kulp was also a standout on the offensive side of the ball. He rushed for 774 yards on 115 carries for a 6.7 average and 8 TDs. He caught 7 balls over the season for 2 TDs and amassed 190 return yards for a total of 1052 all-purpose yards.

Kulp also filled in as kicker with 38 kickoffs and 15 touchbacks.

Kulp received academic merit awards from 14 colleges including Whitworth where he will study athletic training.

“We feel Whitworth is a special place and we look for special people and Patch Kulp is just that,” says Whitworth University’s Head Football Coach Rod Sandberg. “We were first attracted by Patch’s high character. Then we realized what a great leader he was at Trinity. Finally, he is an excellent football player. He’s a smart player and very instinctual, which is what you want in a linebacker. He also likes to hit and mix it up and that is something you really want in a linebacker. We are looking forward to Patch’s big impact at Whitworth as a student, a leader and a great football player.” 

Pitcher/infielder Jacey Massetto will play softball at NCAA Div. III Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA, which plays in the USA South Athletic Conference.  Last season Jacey batted .400 with 20 hits and 9 RBI and 7 stolen bases. This season she is batting .500.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Jacey is joining our program next fall,” says Sara Russell, Head Softball Coach at Covenant College. “She is not only a talented athlete who will contribute towards our program’s success, she is also a strong, Godly woman who is academically minded and wants to excel in all aspects of her life.”

Jacey received several academic merit awards from various colleges including Covenant, where she will major in community development.

Jacey will join her sister, Kaeli Massetto, in the collegiate softball ranks. Kaeli is completing her sophomore season at Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Oregon where she plays catcher.

We wish much success and blessings on all of our seniors as they embark on the next chapter of their education.