Stone Ridge Christian celebrates five senior athletes signing with four-year colleges
Stone Ridge Christian High School seniors Max Friedman, Noah Lund and Michael Vander Woude have been playing football together since middle school.
So it was a special moment when the trio all celebrated signing their national letters of intent to accept scholarships to their respective colleges earlier this week.
“It was really cool,” Friedman said. “Noah, Michael and I have been playing together since seventh grade. We’ve all worked hard to get here so it’s great to see that work pay off.”
Stone Ridge Christian celebrated five of their athletes signing their national letter of intent. Friedman, Lund and Vander Woude are headed to four-year schools to play football. Alyssa Villa signed for softball and Bradley Saylor for trap shooting.
Max Friedman (football, Northwestern College) — As a freshman, Friedman was listed as 6 feet tall and 120 pounds. As a senior he’s 6-5 and 195.
“Day by day, you don’t see it, but looking back I can see how far I’ve come,” Friedman said. “It’s been a lot of hard work in the weight room and eating a lot.”
Friedman says the Northwestern coaches recruited him as an athlete and will decide where he can help the team the most. He played tight end and linebacker at SRC.
He joins a program coming off an NAIA championship. He plans to major in engineering. He compiled a 4.1 GPA at Stone Ridge Christian.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity,” Friedman said. “I really like the competitiveness with them just winning a national championship.”
Noah Lund (football, Anderson University) — Lund fell in love with the Anderson University campus during his visit.
“I felt at home,” he said. “It felt like God had a plan for me and I was in the right place. I love the brick buildings on campus, love the facilities, the workout room and the football field.”
Lund played on offense and defense at SRC, but is headed to Anderson University as a quarterback.
He plans to major in business and compiled a 3.0 GPA at Stone Ridge Christian.
“Words can’t describe my excitement,” Lund said. “This has been my dream since I was a kid.”
Michael Vander Woude (football, Dordt University) — Vander Woude is headed to Dordt University as a defensive lineman.
That will be a welcomed change for Vander Woude after playing both sides of the ball for the Knights during his high school career.
“I think that’s going to help a lot,” he said. “I’ve played everywhere on the O-line, including center and guard. I’ve played kicker. I think to be able to focus on one specific thing and train for one thing is really going to help me become better.”
Vander Woude visited Dordt in October of last year and really felt welcomed on the campus by the coaching staff.
“It was really a friendly environment,” he said. “They were building a dome while I was there so they can play indoors. I could see the vision for what they’re doing and how they are looking to grow.”
Vander Woude had a 4.18 GPA at Stone Ridge Christian and plans to major in agricultural business.
Alyssa Villa (softball, Dordt University) — Villa has always dreamed of playing college softball so actually putting pen to paper and making her college choice official was a big moment for her.
“It was very special,” Villa said. “Since I was younger I’ve always wanted to play in college. The day finally came where I signed. Hopefully I made my family proud.”
Villa plays multiple infield positions, seeing time at third base, shortstop and first base. She’s not sure where she’ll play at Dordt.
“I’m good where ever they put me,” she said.
Villa says she immediately felt comfortable during her visit to the university.
“The community environment with the students, staff, I loved it all,” Villa said. “I think it’s the perfect place for me.”
Villa compiled a 4.2 GPA at Stone Ridge Christian and plans to major in business and minor in animal science in college.
Bradley Saylor (trap shooting, Simpson College) — Saylor started participating in trap shooting, a sport in which competitors try to shoot a clay disc that is quickly moving through the air, two years ago at Stone Ridge Christian.
“I went to a competition this past summer and there were a bunch of recruiters from out of state there trying to find kids for their team,” Saylor said.
Saylor set up a recruiting profile and soon took a recruiting trip to visit schools in Iowa. One was Simpson College.
“That was the program I liked the best,” Saylor said. “I liked the beauty of the campus. There are trees everywhere and all the buildings are made of brick because it was built in the 1800s. I like that the student-teacher ratio is small so the professors can better connect with the students.”
Saylor says he may major in business management or finance. He compiled a 3.5 GPA at Stone Ridge Christian.
