On Thursday, April 18 four Oakdale High School student athletes signed their National Letters of Intent. The seniors officially put ink to paper and have laid out the next chapter in their lives. Bethany Metcalfe, Taylor Stewart, Cody Golding and Dayne Sturtevant all made their announcement inside the Oakdale High School gym, with friends, coaches and family members in attendance.

Bethany Metcalfe, who has been a star in the girl’s water polo and swimming programs, will be attending Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks to play water polo. She will be majoring in exercise science.

“It reminds me of Oakdale, it has that small town feel to it,” said Metcalfe of her new school. “I am very excited to play water polo at the next level, it’s been my dream since I was 12.”

Metcalfe played water polo all four years of high school and head coach Diane Kline had high praise for the senior.

“Bethany has been an important part of our team since her freshman year, and the last two years she has really stepped up to become a leader,” said Kline. “She is incredibly competitive and she is always willing to put in the extra work to give our team an edge. I am excited to see how the next step in her water polo career unfolds.”

Stewart played four years in the Oakdale girls golf program. During her career she was three-time Valley Oak League champion, two-time Section Champion, two-time Valley Oak League Most Valuable Player, a four-time All-League honoree and a NorCal Qualifier. Stewart will next be hitting the greens at Chico State, where she will be majoring in business.

“I attended the Choose Chico Day and fell in love with everything about it,” said Stewart.

“Many people know her accomplishments on the golf course, but many don’t know her high school accomplishments,” said head coach Jeremy Fields. “She has taken multiple AP classes and is ranked in the top 15 in her senior class and will graduate with a GPA over 4.0.”

Fields cited “her outstanding competitive spirit and work ethic” as helping her stand out among her peers.

“She has played in several top junior tournaments in the spring and summer to help advance her game. It was a great privilege for both myself and Coach Lee McGhee to be a part of Taylor’s high school career and we are excited to see her at the next level,” added Fields.

A decorated wrestler, Golding will be taking his talents to Northern Montana University.

“I was there on a visit a few weeks back and it was exactly what I was looking for,” said Golding, who will be majoring in diesel mechanics. “I was very impressed with everything about it, their diesel mechanics building blew me away and the wrestling team is always a contender so it really did fit my every need.”

Golding is a two-time state qualifier and his head coach Steve Strange had some encouraging words for his former wrestler; “Cody has been a huge asset to the program, one of the hardest working wrestlers and best people I’ve coached. He deserves any success that comes his way.”

Soccer player Sturtevant will be staying local and will be continuing his soccer career at California Stanislaus State University in Turlock. Sturtevant’s aggressive style and charismatic personality made him a standout player as a Mustang.

“I want to prove that I belong at the next level and will help the Warriors any way that I can,” he said.