Photo courtesy Altoona Area School District Athletics Altoona athletes signing letters of intent Monday include (from left): First row—Annalyse Yost (Michigan track), Brooklyn Weaver (Waynesburg track), Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore (Clarion basketball). Second row—Tanner Stroup (Marshall baseball), Braiden Weaver (Penn State wrestling).

Altoona Area High School senior Annalyse Yost has grown up in the heart of Penn State country, but the throwing standout on Altoona’s girls track and field team fell in love with the atmosphere at the University of Michigan during a visit there to discuss her athletic and academic future.

“When I visited there, the community seemed so wholesome,” Yost said Monday morning. “(Michigan) had everything that I was looking for in a university. It almost felt like being home when I was there, without actually being home.”

That feeling prompted Yost — who was a District 6 Class 3A champion and PIAA state qualifier in the javelin event last May — to sign a national letter of intent with the NCAA Division I Michigan women’s track and field program on Monday at the AAHS Fieldhouse.

Yost was one of five Altoona senior athletes to sign national letters of intent on Monday to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level, and one of three who will compete at the Division I level. The other two, as previously reported by the Mirror, are Braiden Weaver, who will wrestle at Penn State University, and Tanner Stroup, who will play baseball at Marshall University.

Two other athletes — Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore (women’s basketball) and Brooklyn Weaver (women’s track) signed letters to compete at NCAA Division II Clarion University and NCAA Division III Waynesburg University, respectively.

The athletes were joined by their parents and coaches at Monday’s signing, which also took place in front of other relatives, friends and well-wishers in the school’s gymnasium.

Yost — who also throws the shot put and discus for Altoona — said that she was also being recruited by Army and had conversations with Penn State for track and field, but Michigan stood out for her.

“I think that it’s a really big commitment for me because it’s so far away from here, but it also affords me an opportunity that I won’t get at many other places,” Yost said of Michigan, which is a staple school in the Big Ten Conference. “I couldn’t pass it up.”

Veteran Altoona track and field coach Mike Adams, who has worked with Yost on her strength training, said that she has compiled impressive totals for a young woman in the bench press, squat and deadlift.

“She’s a very talented young lady who has eclipsed the school javelin record by over 45 feet, which goes to show why she’s a Division I athlete,” Adams said of Yost, who placed ninth at the state meet last year in the javelin, just one place shy of a placewinner’s medal. “She has a great work ethic and a great attitude, and obviously, the sky is the limit for her.”

Braiden Weaver had originally verbally committed to wrestle for the Division I program at the University of Buffalo but changed his mind when an opportunity at perennial NCAA team champion and Big Ten Conference power Penn State materialized for him.

Going into his senior high school season this winter, Weaver has compiled 114 wins — including 56 by fall — and has won three District 6 championships and two regional titles while placing fifth and third at the PIAA Class 3A state tournament. Weaver distinguished himself on a national basis earlier this fall by finishing seventh in the 126-pound weight class at the country’s top tournament — the Super 32 Challenge — that is held each October in Greensboro, N.C.

“He’s been a dominant wrestler for us ever since he’s set foot on the mat,” Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said of Weaver. “Now he’s going to take his skills and talents to the mecca of college wrestling, Penn State, which has been the best college program in the country for many years.”

Stroup’s pitching abilities at Altoona earned him attention from several Division I college baseball programs, and his ultimate choice was Marshall University, which is located in Huntington, W.Va. and competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

“Marshall is a school that showed great interest in me, and their pitching coach, Aaron Blair, was a (former) first-round draft pick by the (Atlanta) Braves,” said Stroup, who is also a high school outfielder with Altoona. “Him being there made my decision pretty clear for me. I feel that he’s going to be a person who can help me get to the next level and hopefully get drafted (by a major league team).”

Veteran Altoona High baseball coach Tom Smith said that Stroup has excelled both academically and athletically at Altoona.

“He’s been with our varsity program for four years, since his ninth-grade year,” Smith said. “He brings athleticism to the table and academics to the table, which of course, is very important. His coaches and his teammates are very excited for him. He and his parents have put in a lot of time and dedication with his participation in travel ball over the years, and it has all been well worth it for him.”

Moore is a veteran standout for the District 6 Class 6A defending champion Altoona girls basketball team, who will take an even bigger role with the program in her senior year this upcoming season.

“Zaelinh has been a bright spot on our team who has always done whatever has been asked of her,” Altoona girls basketball coach Chris Fleegle said. “She’s a great kid who has always been happy, charismatic, and unselfish, and we’re very proud of her and very happy to have her on our team.”

Adams said much the same thing about senior sprinting standout Brooklyn Weaver.

“It’s no small feat to make it to the next level and compete collegiately in a sport,” Adams said. “Brooklyn is one of those kids who defines what Altoona athletics is all about. She comes to work every day with a smile on her face, but she’s also a fierce competitor.

“She’s one of our best sprinters, due largely to her positive attitude and the effort that she puts in.”