Former McQuaid Jesuit athletes Noah Williams ‘17 and Spencer Wickens ‘17 are both competing in sports at Division I schools.

Williams is at Akron University running track, while Wickens is at Pepperdine University playing volleyball. Both athletes reflected on their time at McQuaid Jesuit and have talked about attending and competing at their new schools.

When Williams was at McQuaid Jesuit, he had many impressive achievements.  During his senior year he was the second-fastest high school runner in the State of New York, running the 100m in 10.71 seconds. He also won five sectional titles, including two in Indoor Track and three in Outdoor. Williams left a great legacy at McQuaid Jesuit Track and Field.

Williams enjoyed running track for McQuaid, and he really liked working under Head Coach Brian Sprague.  One of his favorite things about running track at McQuaid was the coaching staff. “Working with Coach Sprague was definitely quite the experience. I can easily say he’s been the best coach I’ve ever had, though. He knows his stuff and he incorporates fun into his methods of training. He helped me get to the next level for sure,” Williams said.

Williams signed his National Letter of Intent to run for the University of Akron. He chose to attend Akron for many reasons. “I chose Akron because they are among the elite track schools in the country and are dominant in their conference. Along with their academic standards, I felt like I’d fit in well there,” he said. Running track at a Division I school is very competitive.  It is a big step up from the McQuaid Jesuit varsity level.  Williams stated, “Competing at Akron is a new experience every single day. I’m constantly being pushed to be better than the guy next to me here.”

Along with track, Williams is enjoying his time at the University of Akron. He feels that the decision to attend Akron was a good one.  “I’m really enjoying my time here so far. I’ve found a great group of friends, and I’ve fallen in love with the culture as well. I’m very glad I made the decision to come here,” he said.

While attending McQuaid Jesuit, Spencer Wickens had been on the varsity team since 7th grade. The volleyball team won sectional championships during his sophomore and junior years. Playing in the environment with the Simba Section was also a lifetime experience. Wickens described the volleyball experience at McQuaid as one of a kind. “My teammates and coaches fought just as hard for me as I did for them, and I consider those guys to be family,” Wickens said.

The fall season at Pepperdine is coming to an end.  The team has scrimmaged UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Hawaii, and BYU. Division I volleyball is definitely more time consuming, as the team is scheduled for 20 hours a week while McQuaid was around 10-12 hours a week. Division I volleyball also impacts academic life. “It limits when I can take certain classes because we have our practice block from 10-2. Also it makes it more difficult to manage our time, giving us less time to get schoolwork done,” Wickens said.

Both athletes are continuing where they left off at McQuaid, gaining new experiences and working hard. Williams and Wickens left lasting impressions on the athletics at McQuaid Jesuit and look to do the same at their colleges.