Robert D. Edgren senior Axel Nogueras, left, will suit up in the fall for the Southwestern Christian University Eagles of Bethany, Okla. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)
Trying to earn a university athletic scholarship is anything but easy for most high school students, let alone a student-athlete who played in the far-off hinterlands of the northwest Pacific.
But five seniors out of DODEA-Pacific high schools, two from Humphreys and one each from Kadena, Robert D. Edgren and Kubasaki, are taking their games to the next level, one on full scholarship, the rest on partial grants in aid.
They are:
-- Alex Nogueras, Edgren, soccer, Southwestern Christian University, an NAIA school in Bethany, Okla., on full scholarship.
-- Sophia Grubbs, Kubasaki, volleyball, Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Wash., on partial scholarship.
-- Tatiyana Anthony, Humphreys, acrobatics and tumbling, Quinnipiac University, a Division I school in Hamden, Conn., on full scholarship.
-- Ethan Elliott, Humphreys, track and field (shot put, discus, hammer throw), Spring Hill College, a Division II school in Mobile, Ala., on academic and athletic scholarships.
-- Derick Santiago, Kadena, basketball, Maine Maritime Academy, a Division III school in Castine, Maine, on partial scholarship.
Nogueras probably had the toughest task of the lot, simply because of the distance that limits the competition between Edgren and the schools, DODEA and international, in the Tokyo area.
He had no freshman season thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that shut down sports and forced virtual learning in the spring of 2020. The Eagles played three matches in 2021, went 0-14 in 2022 and 1-14-3 this spring, with Nogueras scoring a team-high four goals.
Worse, weather forces Edgren’s soccer teams to practice indoors the first six weeks of the season, so they don’t get their soccer sea legs under them until early April – three weeks before Far East.
But he refused to make excuses. Nogueras attended three soccer camps in his home state of Tennessee in summer 2022, where he said he learned what to do to help him succeed.
“I had a few talks with the coaches there,” he said. “They told me to just focus on what you can do to control your own path, what I can do to help my team. And that helped me get better success for myself.”
That, plus sending resumes, video clips and joining recruiting Web sites helped him get what he was seeking.
“It’s still kind of surreal to me,” Nogueras said of earning a spot on the SCU Eagles soccer team. “It kind of fell into my arms. The puzzle pieces fell together perfectly.”
The Eagles finished 9-7-5 overall and 5-1-3 in the National Christian College Athletic Association regular station before placing third in the 2022 NCCAA national tournament.
Kubasaki senior Sophia Grubbs, right, will play volleyball in the fall for Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Wash., of the Northwest Athletic Conference on partial scholarship. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Grubbs was named Most Valuable Player of the closest thing DODEA-Pacific volleyball had to a Far East tournament last fall, the Ryukyu Island Tournament hosted by Kubasaki.
Her Dragons went 20-0 in the 2022 season, as they did in 2021. They also won the American School In Japan YUJO Tournament in October for the second straight year.
Grubbs will be playing for the WCC Orcas of the Northwest Athletic Conference. They went 6-6 in the NAC North Region and 17-8 overall last season.
Kadena senior Derick Santiago, right, will suit up next winter for the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners of the Division III North Atlantic Conference on partial scholarship. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Santiago’s Panthers went 13-10 overall in the 2022-23 season and finished second to St. Mary’s in the finals of the Far East Division I Tournament.
The Mariners finished 10-15 overall and 4-10 in the Division III North Atlantic Conference.
Humphreys senior Ethan Elliott will attend Division II Spring Hill College of Mobile, Ala., of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, on academic and athletic scholarships for shot put, discus and hammer throw. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Elliott sparkled as a thrower for the Blackhawks, setting Far East meet and DODEA-Korea records in the shot put. He tossed the shot 15.71 meters in the DODEA-Korea league finals and broke the 8-year-old Far East meet mark with a 15.12 in April. He’ll also throw hammer for the Division II Badgers.
Anthony earned her partial scholarship at Quinnipiac without the benefit of competing in a Far East tournament. She’ll do acrobatics and tumbling for the Bobcats of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
