Chris Hicks partially tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) during this baseball season. He will need Tommy John surgery.

But the Homewood-Flossmoor pitcher was healthy enough to sign his letter of intent to play at Claflin University during the Vikings spring college signing event May 11.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It shows all the hard work I’ve put in over all the offseasons, over 18 years playing baseball. It’s pretty special.” 

Weather played a big role in Hicks’s choice, he said. He never visited, though. The injury put that off.  

Staying close to home wasn’t a big priority, though. 

“It’s hot down in South Carolina,” he said. “I was looking for someplace warm. I got to get out the cold.” 

The injury will force him to take a medical redshirt season but he expects to be able to throw during his second year in college. He’ll stay around the team and rehab in the meantime. 

“They told me I’ll be able to get innings right away,” Hicks said. “With the injury, I’m just hoping to get as many as possible.” 

He’ll study criminal justice and is considering getting into law enforcement, possibly in the FBI or CIA.  

Izenbart back into cross country, now a college athlete

Anika Izenbart enjoyed running in middle school but didn’t go out for cross country for her first two years in high school. 

She got back into it as a junior and was a sectional qualifier in the fall. Now, she’s a college athlete. Izenbart will stay close to home, heading to North Park University in Chicago. 

“I’ve been wanting to play sports in college for a really long time. I just didn’t know which one it would be,” Izenbart said. “I’m really excited it’s going to be cross country and track.” 

Izenbart also played badminton and qualified for state.

North Park is on the city’s north side. Izenbart said she enjoyed the neighborhood when she visited the campus. She said it was important for her to be able to come home and visit her parents when she wanted.

Izenbart took eight recruiting visits but said North Park stuck out immediately. 

“It’s multicultural and also has a Christian community, which I am excited about,” she said. “It’s also in the city, which is really cool. There are a lot of resources and stuff there that will be available.”

She’ll major in Spanish education. Izenbart said she was inspired by H-F Spanish teacher Jonathan Miller. 

“(Miller) made the learning fun for me and made me realize it didn’t just have to be a requirement. It could be something that I really enjoyed,” Izenbart said. “I hope that in the future I can become like he was to me for other students.” 

Baseball sends four more to college ranks

Four more H-F baseball players are also committed, though they could not attend the May 11 event because they were playing a game. 

Cormac Saunders will play for Illinois Wesleyan University. Thomas Estock will head to Webster University. Evan Bradford will play at Lake Land College and Ryan Myers will move south to Morehouse College in Atlanta.

That group joins Hicks, as well as Henry Humes (Northwestern), Antonio Brown (Purdue Northwest) and Jhames Holley (Joliet Junior College). The latter three signed in the fall. 

Four others sign college letters

Four other Vikings signed letters at the signing event, as well.

Izzy Thurman will play softball about an hour and a half north at Lake Forest College and Johanna Bristol will cheer for Florida A&M. 

A pair of volleyball players put their names on the line, too. Makayla Cooper will attend Lakeland College and Zoe McBride will go to Governors State.