By RYAN WALKER
Norwell’s Trevon Stoppenhagen signed his letter of intent with IU Kokomo on his birthday at the high school Thursday morning.
The sprinter just finished his junior season making it to the state meet at Indiana University and said he can finally take a deep breath now with the recruiting process.
“It’s a good question because there were a lot of options,” Stoppenhagen said after signing the papers. “There were probably five of six schools that all offer good benefits and good things for me. But, when I visited IU Kokomo, I already had friends down there and got better connected with the coach. It already felt like home to me.”
Of one of his friends at Kokomo already is Trevon Hess, and will see a few familiar faces as Southern Wells runners Nick and Nathan Lozoya are also on the team.
The Cougars compete in the NAIA and will be participating at Indiana Tech’s indoor track meet Friday in an all-day Invitational.
Their first outdoor meet of the season will be at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational in March.
For IU Kokomo, Stoppenhagen hopes to continue running sprints but says he is versatile and willing to try new things. He also plans to study criminal justice.
Before he steps foot on campus, he wants to finish out his senior season with a bang.
“One of my goals is going back to state I didn’t place or anything last year, but that’s the No. 1 goal this year,” Stoppenhagen said.
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