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High school notebook Date published: 8/19/2010
BY TAFT COGHILL JR. The Penn State coaching staff had no idea Taylor Herold was about to show up. But Herold and her family drove to University Park, Pa., to surprise the Nittany The James Monroe rising senior field hockey standout asked the coaches to come to her car. Herold had painted on the back window "Taylor is going to be a Nittany Lion." Herold orally committed to Penn State, choosing it over Maryland, Syracuse, Virginia and Old Dominion, among others. "They started jumping up and down, crying," Herold said of Penn State's coaches. "It was like a Disney moment." The Nittany Lions, who reached the NCAA title game in 2007, may have good reason to be excited about Herold. She registered 36 goals and 24 assists for the Yellow Jackets last year. She was the Battlefield District player of the year. She was also named first-team all-Region I and all-Group AA. Herold isn't the only Fredericksburg area standout to commit recently. Massaponax rising senior Blair Kline committed to Richmond. Stafford's Taylor Bailey chose James Madison. Kline said it's good that the three friends, who are all members of the High Voltage travel team, have gotten their college choices out of the way. "High school is supposed to be a fun season," Kline said. "I didn't want to have to worry about people watching me." CASIAS WILL BE A QUAKER North Stafford rising senior linebacker Mike Casias orally committed to the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Casias chose the Quakers over Liberty. "He has very good parents who see the big picture," North Stafford coach Joe Mangano said. "For them, the big picture was getting a degree from Penn outweighs anything he could accomplish athletically somewhere else." Penn is an Ivy League school. Casias has a 4.2 GPA. He's a three-year starter, who racked up more than 100 tackles as a sophomore and junior. Mangano said Penn's coaches like Casias' size. He's 6-foot-2, 220 pounds and should fit well in Penn's 3-4 defensive system. Mangano said Casias is Penn's top recruit at inside linebacker. DICKSON FINDS A HOME Former James Monroe track-and-field standout Jaquan Dickson has found a college to compete for. Dickson enrolled in Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College this week. He drove 18 hours to the school with friend Marque Holloway, a former James Monroe football player, who also enrolled. Dickson was The Free Lance-Star track athlete of the year this past spring. He won Group AA state titles in the 200 meters and the long jump. "It's fun out here," Dickson said. "I think it's going to be good for me." Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
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