At 4:30 p.m. on November 20, the O’Neill High School Library was full, but no one was reading books. The crowd was there to honor two Class of 2025 members who were signing letters of intent to play their favored sports in college, at the Division 1 level.

Jael-Marie Guy will play soccer at Brown University next year, and Bella Alberici will play lacrosse at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. On hand to watch as they signed those letters were their parents and siblings (even by FaceTime), Superintendent of Schools Michael McElduff, O’Neill Assistant Principal Thomas Breitfeller, new Athletic Director Travis Powers and his predecessor Bryan Wilson, O’Neill varsity girls’ soccer coach Kristin Leska and varsity girls’ lacrosse coach Katie Graves. Also, there? Several dozen of the girls teammates and classmates.

It was a celebration, complete with donuts!

Guy went first. Leska spoke about her four-year varsity player – who scored 73 goals and had 36 assists in those seasons and helped her team to four Section finals with two championships. But she also spoke about Guy’s determination and leadership.

“Over the past four years you’ve been a cornerstone of this team, not just because of your remarkable statistics, but because of the way you’ve led with passion, determination and humility. Every goal you scored, every pass you made, and every sprint down the field reflected not only your talent, but your heart for the game and your teammates,” she said. “We will miss you dearly – your leadership, your skill, your laughter and the way you brought us together. But as much as we’ll feel your absence, we are also so incredibly proud to see you take the next step. You leave behind a legacy that will inspire future players for years to come.”
Guy, the daughter of Dionte and Mary Guy, and sister of Shylah, who also played varsity soccer this past season, played on the Philippines Women’s National Team.

Guy thanked all who were in attendance.

“I really couldn’t have done any of this without all my friends, my family and my coaches,” she said. “All your support means the world to me.”

She paid special tribute to her family saying, “they’ve done all they can to help me get better because they know I love this game”.

Alberici, the daughter of Joe and Petra Alberici, has one more lacrosse season at O’Neill before she graduates. To date, she has scored 173 goals for the Raiders, and among her accomplishments has been named Section 9’s Class C & D player twice. Her coach is looking forward to this Spring since Alberici was out with an injury last season.

“But even though she was injured, she still helped us maintain our title,” Graves said, “by working with individual players and running drills for us.” Looking into the audience, Graves told Alberici that the fact that so many of her teammates were at the ceremony” speaks volumes about what kind of teammate you are.”

“You have,” Graves added, “all the things that point to your success at West Point and beyond. We are extremely proud of you.”

Alberici gave special credit to her father, the men’s lacrosse coach at West Point, for the ‘extra’ coaching he gave her through the years, and to her mom for all the traveling and sideline support. Her brother Max, who attends Clemson University, watched the ceremony via Facetime.

“Unfortunately, I was not been here to see these two young ladies play,” Powers said closing the event, “but everybody I have talked to about them speaks to what incredible players and teammates they are and how they really represent what it means to be an O’Neill Raider. Today is a very special day. To even earn a spot on a team in college is such an accomplishment; we are very proud of them.”