Four Kentwood, six Tahoma athletes sign letters of intent

Four athletes in four different sports at Kentwood High have signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college.

Marley Prothero and Chris Selvar will do so at the NCAA Division 1 level. Prothero, a state champion swimmer, will attend Nevada-Las Vegas. Chris Selvar, the defending state champion in the 800 meters, will run at Washington State.

Western Washington University, a Division 2 power in multiple sports, will welcome Alison Fairchild to its volleyball program next fall, and add Nick Varelia to its men’s golf roster.

Prothero won back-to-back Class 4A state titles in the 200-yard individual medley. As a junior, she posted a winning time of 2 minutes, 8.46 seconds. She went even faster last fall as a senior, winning in 2:06.87, good enough for All-Ameican consideration.

Selvar sprinted down the closing yards to win the 800 meters at Star Track last spring.

Fairchild was an All-South Puget Sound League North first-team selection as a junior. A knee injury kept her out of action last fall as Kentwood cruised to the league championship and went all the way to the state semifinals, where it fell to eventual runner-up Lewis & Clark of Spokane in five games before bouncing back to finish third.

Varelia was the captain of Kentwood’s golf team last fall.

Kentwood wasn’t alone among locals signing letters of intent. Six Tahoma athletes signed letters last week: Kaytlyn Aust (volleyball, University of Dakota), Jonathan Lafler (track, Washington State), Amy Rochowiak (basketball, Bellevue Community College), Evan Denmark (soccer, Concordia College), James Schmid (soccer, Saint Martin’s College) and Tyson Ellis (soccer, Olympic Community College).