Wilson Headed to UCLA

Alyssa Wilson with her father Jamie, mother Samantha and sister Brianna as she signs an agreement with UCLA (Kevin Williams, Townsquare Media NJ)

She was one of the nation's most sought after high school track and field recruits and Wednesday at Donovan Catholic in front of family, friends and coaches Alyssa Wilson made it official by signing a national letter of intent with UCLA.

Wilson, who is the top female high school thrower in the United States chose the Bruins over Oregon, Tennessee and Auburn which were the four schools she made official visits to during the fall.

The Griffin senior established numerous records in the shot put over the past year and owns the second best throw in history for a high school woman. Wilson capped off an incredible outdoor season by winning a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships (under 20) in Poland in July.

Alyssa Wilson signs an agreement with UCLA as Donovan coaches Mark Deppen, Suzanne Oliver, Ken Oliver, Chad Dougherty and Tim Loehwing watch (Kevin Williams, Townsquare Media NJ)

During her signing ceremony at the high school she said it was her visit to the UCLA campus in Los Angeles a few weeks ago that convinced her it was the right place. “I really fell in love with the campus and I felt like it was home to me as soon as I arrived there.” She admitted that being almost 3,000 miles from her Jackson Township home will be tough but it was not a difficult decision to make adding “All along I’ve always wanted to go to the west coast for college.”

Wilson said that UCLA will also afford her a great opportunity to one day represent her country in the Olympics as the school has a good throws program and she’ll be able to work with two coaches who specialize in her events. Another advantage might be that Los Angeles is one of three finalists to host the 2024 Summer Olympics which could be perfect timing for her.

Now that her recruitment is over Wilson can concentrate on her senior year. ”It’s really great to be finished with everything and now I can just focus on what I have to do and hopefully get that national record," Wilson said. Her shot put throw of 55-9 ¼ is the second best ever for a high school female and less than a foot short of the mark set by Raven Saunders of Charleston, South Carolina who attends the University of Mississippi. Saunders is the current NCAA champion and finished 5^th in the Olympics this past summer.

During last night’s ceremony Donovan Catholic Athletic Director Joe Gomulka joked that he might be wise to get Wilson’s autograph right now. My guess is he really wasn’t joking.

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