Riley Hammond and Jennifer Markley will continue playing soccer in college.
Friends, family members, teachers, coaches and administrators gathered in the gallery at Westerville North High School on Friday afternoon, May 6, to watch and celebrate as two soccer standouts – Riley Hammond and Jennifer Markley – signed Letters of Intent to play for Denison and Case Western Reserve universities, respectively.
Riley Hammond has lived and breathed soccer since she stepped on the pitch at age four. Beginning at COSA under the tutelage of volunteer parents and her grandmother, Hammond quickly developed a passion that pushed her to competitive club soccer. She joined the BLAST FC as a U10 and immediately found her home. She played for Ekow Dennis and Mo Razak for the next nine years. Under their guidance, she grew into a strong midfielder. High school soccer proved more challenging. Plagued by injuries, she spent her first year and part of her second year at Westerville North on the soccer field sidelines, recovering from knee surgery. But battling back, Riley decided to take her junior year and play for the Cleveland Internationals Fall Ball team. It was here that her talents were stretched to the limit. She proved herself and became a member of their ENCL team that winter and spring. Still committed to the Blast, she played for both Mo and the Internationals and spent nearly every hour of that year in a car or on the field. As a senior, Hammond rejoined her classmates and proudly represented Westerville North one last time. All of the hard work, along with other activities, like Key Club, Track & Field, and National Honor Society, have led to a wonderful college opportunity for Riley. She has committed to play soccer for Denison University in the fall and couldn't be more excited.
Jennifer Markley was a four-year starter for the Girls Soccer Team at Westerville North, earning three Varsity letters. She was elected co-captain of the Junior Varsity team as a freshman, received the Coach’s Award as a sophomore, and was elected co-captain of the varsity team as a senior. During her senior year, she received Special Mention/Third Team and Scholar Athlete from the Ohio Cardinal Conference (OCC). She was also chosen to play in the OCC Senior All-Star game. While at North, Jennifer was recognized as a Scholar Athlete all four years. She also played on club/travel soccer teams, playing for Crew Juniors and Ohio Premier. She was elected as a team captain while playing for Crew Juniors. Markley will be attending Case Western Reserve University in the fall where she plans to study engineering, either bio-medical or civil/environmental.