Westerville North High School held its first signing day of the 2024-2025 school year, recognizing five senior athletes who signed their National Letters of Intent to play at the collegiate level. The event, held in the main gymnasium, brought together coaches, family members and North staff to celebrate the students’ achievements.

The athletes who signed were Dane Blackstone (2025) for baseball at Tiffin University, Micah Young (2025) for basketball at Concord University, Tai Perkins (2025) for basketball at the University of Akron, Alex Witherow (‘25) for lacrosse at Walsh University and Dustin Kern (2025) for lacrosse at Malone University.

The event started with Athletic Director Wes Elifritz welcoming everyone and encouraging the school to be proud of the athletes. “These are five unbelievable young men; the cream of the crop,” Elifritz said. “We’re so proud to have this day to celebrate them.”

The athletes’ coaches spoke about the athletes’ contributions to their teams. The lacrosse coach Dan Bichsel said Dustin Kern was “hardworking, upbeat, and extremely coachable” and described Alex Witherow as “the most athletic on the team with a great work ethic.”

The basketball coach, Shannon Trusley, commended Perkins and Young for their skills and leadership both on and off the court. “They are talented, skilled, and fun to watch on Friday nights, but they also do all the little things around school that matter so much,” Trusley said. He also announced that Perkins and Young were nominated for McDonald’s All-American honors (www.mcdonald’s all american.com), making school history by being the third and fourth students to achieve this merit at North. The McDonald’s all American is an all-star basketball game played each year for the top American and Canadian boys’ and girls’ high school basketball graduates. 

The baseball coach Sean Ring described the group as “tirelessly hard workers” and said that “these young men are great representations of what it means to be all N.”

Each athlete thanked those who supported them during their high school careers. Perkins thanked his parents, school staff and coaches for their support. He said, “I want to thank my parents for spending their hard-earned money to help me play basketball and for always being here for me.”

Young expressed gratitude to his coaches, teammates and family, thanking his mother for “her endless love and support.”

Blackstone reflected on the sense of community at North. He said, “I feel like this past year everyone’s come together as a family, especially since it’s senior year, we’re starting to get together as a community.”

Kern reflected on his time at North. He said, “I’m grateful for my family and for this school always supporting me, whether it was with grades or anything else I needed help with.”

The ceremony concluded with the athletes signing their letters of intent as the audience cheered and took photos.

Athletic Director Wes Elifritz closed the event by saying, “The schools you’re heading to are gaining some of our finest. You’ll always have a place back here at Westerville North. Once a Warrior, always a Warrior.”