Two Nicolet Athletes Sign on the Dottled Line With Midwestern Universities

It's now in writing: Two athletes at committed to different Midwestern colleges on National Letter of Intent Signing day. 

Seniors Kristy Leopold and Alex Walker signed letters of intent Wednesday evening as a crowd of family, friends, current and former coaches looked on.

A Major Score For A Goalkeeper

Leopold will be playing soccer for Southwest Minnesota State University, located in Marshall, MN. She received a scholarship that will cover roughly about one-third of the school's tuition. She committed to playing at SMSU for at least one year.

Just before her freshman year at Nicolet, Leopold, who plays goalkeeper, suffered a knee injury. But coach Tony Quintero said that didn't stop her from being highly involved with the team.

“She started her high school career with a setback, but being the individual that she is, she said, 'Can I be a manager?' I said yes. She was there every day, practicing, doing everything she could do. It was the evolution of a leader,” Quintero said.

Eventually she recovered, made her way back on the field and excelled at the game.

“Her sophomore and junior years, she was able to get her strength back and be able to perform at a really high level,” said Brian Weisse, Nicolet's assistant soccer coach.

While verbally committing to the university in July, Leopold was excited to make it official on paper.

“I'm looking forward to playing soccer in college, getting the experience. They have an amazing facility out there,” She said. “The (SMSU) regional events center, it's actually a football-soccer field. It's a brand new stadium, turf, all new box seats, so it was a big, big draw into the university.”

Walk-On Walker

The name “Walker” is fitting for Walker, who has been signed on as a “preferred walk-on” at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“He's the only tight-end they're going to be bringing on to the team this year and the coaches have been very excited,” said Brad Kozaczuk, head football coach at Nicolet.

Walker went to camp at UW-Madison this past summer and said he got the offer right at the end of camp. “I've felt pretty strong about going there for awhile now...I'm really excited to go and play football there,” He said.

Kozaczuk said since the Rose Bowl, three different coaches from the UW-Madison football team have visited Nicolet to see Walker and make sure he was still interested in playing for the Badgers.

While it's hard to choose what exactly he's most excited about, Walker said he's looking forward to the experience, most of all.

“It seems like a great place to play football. The guys all really enjoy it and it's just a model school in the state. It's everything," he said.

Kozaczuk has had a few students signed in the past and says the thrill of the day never gets old.

“It's always exciting," he said. "It's always about them and their hard work they've put in and where they've gotten and to have this kind of opportunity is always exciting.”