Three Brookstone athletes participate in signing ceremony

After growing up together, Brookstone seniors Trey Lingo, Katherine Snavely and Leslie Harris shared a memorable moment Friday.

Lingo, Snavely and Harris signed their letters of intent in a ceremony at Brookstone. Lingo will play baseball at Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Snavely will play softball at West Georgia and Harris will play softball at Cleveland State.

Lingo showed out for the Cougars in his junior season, batting .319 with 6 home runs and 25 RBIs. For his efforts, Lingo was named to the 2017 1A-3A All-Bi-City Baseball Second Team.

Lingo was drawn to CVCC by older brother Drew, who started there and is now playing at Mercer. Drew’s advice as well as the program’s history of turning out elite talent made Lingo decide it was where he wanted to be.

“I know they have a great program, and I’m really excited to get into it,” Lingo said. “There’s a lot of competition, and I’m just ready to go play for them.”

Snavely had an impressive senior season for the Lady Cougars, which included at one point being named the MaxPreps/NFCA National Player of the Week. She posted a .657 batting average with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs.

Snavely said she chose West Georgia because it felt like home. She has heard nothing but good things about the Wolves program and head coach Al Thomas, which has made her feel even better about her decision. Playing for West Georgia also means she will eventually face off against sister Helen, who is a pitcher at Columbus State.

For Snavely, Friday’s signing was the product of countless hours dedicated to her sport.

“It took a lot of travel ball, a lot of extra work by myself and a lot of practice on weekends,” Snavely said. “I had to give up extra things to do to play softball. It took being with my team and my coaches and working hard.”

Snavely said she and Harris have played together since they were 10 years old, which made signing alongside her even more enjoyable. Harris had a .468 batting average in her senior season, hitting 2 home runs and 34 RBIs.

Harris said the coaches at Cleveland State made her feel comfortable there and helped her see she would be a good fit. She said coming to the decision was a great stress relief, especially after the times she wondered if she would have any offers.

“Words really can’t describe it,” Harris said. “It makes me so happy because I love this sport, being with teammates and having a team behind my back that I can go to for anything.”

The three seniors signing their letters of intent together was fitting given their history. Lingo said all three have been classmates since kindergarten, making the moment hard to top.

For Harris, Friday was a chance for the three to celebrate what will soon be the next phases of their lives.

“To sign with two of my really good friends who I’ve known for forever means the world to me,” Harris said. “I know they’re going to go do great things wherever they’re playing.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Three Brookstone athletes participate in signing ceremony."