Scott Swanson
Katie Robeck signed a letter of intent Friday, Feb. 12, to play soccer for Hesston College.
She signed in the Main Gym, flanked by her parents, Cindi and Mike.
Athletic Director Nate Tyler noted that Robeck is the seventh Sweet Home athlete this year to sign to compete in college. She is the first to play soccer at the next level since Jasmin Yoder, who also went to Hesston, in 2012. Current Huskies boys basketball Head Coach Drew Emmert also competed for Hesston, in that sport, from 2010-12.
Hesston is a two-year private junior college in the Kansas town of that name. Robeck said she hasn’t had a chance to visit in person.
Tyler told attendees at the signing that it’s “very exciting to have our athletes sign to continue on to play in college. It does not happen very often.”
He said Hesston has “a really good academic program.”
Robeck plans to major in business, she said, adding that Hesston is planning expand to four years, so she may be able to complete a bachelor’s degree there.
Robeck, who’s played soccer “for as long as I can remember,” has played five years with the Oregon Valley Football Alliance club in Albany as well as with the Huskies.
“I’m glad to put in the work because it’s a really good opportunity,” she said. “I’m really excited.”
She said she heard from “a couple of schools” “with offers and stuff,” but she liked the Hesston team.
“I’ll probably go sometime in the spring,” she said, adding that she’s had a “virtual tour” with campus officials.
Women’s soccer Coach Bryan Kehr is also the athletic director and will likely coach the goalkeepers, the position she was recruited to play, she said.