Obama Senior Signing Day

By Sean Gaines (Freshman)

Signing day at Obama has been a tradition for a long time, and this year did not disappoint. Though the world was struck with an unprecedented covid outbreak, senior athletes fought through and triumphed. This year, Obama has 7 seniors who will be pursuing athletics at the collegiate level. These athletes include two from the football team, one from the girls basketball team, one from the baseball team, one from the softball team, and one from the track and field team.

Two of Obama’s senior football stars, Tarrell Allen-Tooks and DJ Griffin, are attending Clarion University. Allen-Tooks will be positioned at linebacker while DJ will be playing strong safety and studying business. “It’s a huge accomplishment for a senior to become a signed athlete,” Allen-Tooks quipped. “The journey was rough, long, and stressful, but it was all worth it.” 

Kimaya Williams, who plays basketball and recently led the team to a cty championship, is now set to attend and play for PennWest California. Williams plans to study early childhood education and is very excited to perform with the Cal U squad.

Brandon McClain-Banks, a baseball player, has signed to Youngstown State University. McClain-Banks is one of very few to attend a division one school from Obama Academy. He plans to study business. 

Senior Malerie Branson is attending Geneva college. She believes this is one of her greatest accomplishments, saying, “We started from the bottom, now we here.” Malerie is a softball player and will go on to play shortstop. She also plans to study early childhood education. 

 Finally, Ny’asia Benton is a track and field runner who will be attending Division 1 Robert Morris University in the fall. Benton plans to study nursing, and her favorite event is the 100m hurdles, for which she currently has the third fastest high school time in Pennsylvania.