Four student athletes from Auburn will continue their careers in college this fall as they signed letters of intent Tuesday in the school’s library.
Olivia Smoot will run track at the Virginia Military Institute. Cameron Chestnut will play football at Emory & Henry College, Richie Romo will kick on the football team for Ferrum College and Lacey Bishop is headed to Ferrum to play softball.
Smoot said she chose VMI because of the small school size and strict, rigorous structure and routine.
She plans to major in biology and will be running both cross country and track there.
“I am running cross country and track there. I expect to run the 6k in cross country and the mile and 800-meter-run in track,” she said.
Her long-term goals are to improve in the longer distances and to maintain academic honors. Romo said he loved the Ferrum campus as soon as he set foot on it.
“It has a wonderful football program, and it’s where I’d like to further my education,” he said.
He plans to major in sport medicine. During his time at Auburn, he has become known for a consistent kicker on both kickoffs and field goals. While at the Riner school, he has learned to “own up to your mistakes and never make excuses while keeping on grinding.”
Chestnut said he chose E&H because he liked the football team and has friends that go there from Auburn. He will major in business at the southwest Virginia school and will see Romo when their respective schools open the 2018 season against each other.
E&H currently has four other area players on the roster: Jordan Fleenor from Auburn, Ryan Anderson from Blacksburg and Brodyn Huddleston and Michael Walters, both from Christiansburg.
Bishop, who announced her signing last month, will continue her softball career at Ferrum.
“I chose Ferrum because I never saw myself going to a big school like Radford or Virginia Tech. I have always been a small-town girl and think that Ferrum was the best place for me,” she previously said.
Bishop visited the college in September and fell in love with the campus. The senior has played second base, shortstop and outfield over her time at Auburn. Last season, she hit .406 with 22 runs scored, 17 RBIs, seven doubles and a triple.
Bishop plans on majoring in psychology and minoring in criminology.
Bishop’s former teammate at Auburn, Olivia Boyd, is currently a freshman utility player on the Ferrum squad.