North Penn seniors Abbie Hartman, Kaitlin Colbridge, Brittany Hanrahan, Danielle Horn and Kaitlin Colbridge signed letters of intent to play lacrosse at the collegiate level. All four were recognized at a special news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009.
Abbie Hartman – University of Delaware (Lacrosse)
Major: Fashion Merchandising
Final list of colleges: Delaware, St. Joe’s, LaSalle
Reasons for selecting Delaware? “I chose the University of Delaware not only for its beautiful campus but also for the school. If I wasn’t playing lacrosse, I would still love to go there.
“I also chose it because the team itself and its style of play are right up my alley. I was at a Delaware game last year, and being able to witness their style of play, being able to witness the coach in action really just made my decision for me. I was like, ‘I can see myself being coached by her, playing like that and being on the campus.’ It just made my decision for me, and it also has my major, fashion merchandising.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate lacrosse become a reality? “I tried to picture myself not playing lacrosse, and I would miss it too much. I never get bored with lacrosse.
“Wilus has had a huge impact in my game and just my life in general. She has been a great role model for all of us. I’m just excited play in college.”
Lacrosse profile:
- Four-year varsity letter winner (Attack/Midfield)
- Three-year starter
- 135 career goals, 34 assists, 132 draw controls
- Junior season – 2009 first team SOL Continental Conference selection, 94 goals, 19 assists, 53 draw controls, National Tournament participant
- Sophomore season – 2008 second team all-league, 74 goals, 14 assists, 74 draw controls
Brittany Hanrahan – St. Joseph’s University (Lacrosse)
Major: Nursing or possibly Education
Final list of colleges: St. Joe’s, Penn State, Syracuse, Towson
Reasons for selecting St. Joe’s? “I wanted to be pretty close to home so my family could watch me play. I like being close to the city as well as in a school that’s relatively small, so I can get familiar with my teachers. My college coach is a lot like (coach) Wilus. I can see her desire and intensity to win, so I’m not going to be coached by Wilus anymore, but I’m still going to have a part of her with me and take that with me and be challenged by my future coach.
“I love the program, and I think it’s going to be a great challenge for me.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate lacrosse become a reality? “I considered what it would be like going to school and not playing lacrosse, and now I know I would miss it tremendously. There was the idea of playing on club, but when I started playing AAU on weekends. I decided I wanted to continue pursuing an education at the Division I level and playing lacrosse.”
Lacrosse profile:
- Three-year starter (Defense)
- Junior season – 2009 Honorable Mention All-American, first team SOL Continental Conference selection, 8 goals, 5 assists, 30 draw controls, 25 ground balls
- Sophomore season – 7 goals, 4 assists, 20 draw controls, 39 ground balls
Danielle Horn – LaSalle University (Lacrosse)
Major: Elementary Education/Special Education
Final list of colleges: Bloomsburg, LaSalle
Reasons for selecting LaSalle? “I just love the city, and LaSalle is in the city. The school has 3,000 kids, so it’s (almost) the same size as North Penn. I know some players who went to North Penn but play are playing there now, so I’ll know people on the team.
“I’m really looking forward to it. They hired a new coach two years ago who wants to build the program from the ground up. I’m looking forward to being part of that.
“I went there on a Junior Day last year and saw them play Temple. I went on a tour of the campus, and I just fell in love with it right away. A lot of my friends are still undecided where they want to go to college. I’m just so blessed that I know where I’m going.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate lacrosse become a reality? “After playing my freshman year, I could not picture myself not playing now. I had my heart set on playing in college, whether it was D-1 or D-2.
“I was pretty opened-minded in terms of where I wanted to go”
Lacrosse profile:
- Four-year varsity letter winner (Attack/Midfield)
- 3-year starter
- Junior season – 2009 second team SOL Continental Conference selection, 28 goals, 14 assists, 35 draw controls, 30 ground balls
- Sophomore season – 20 goals, 9 assists, 40 ground balls
Kaitlin Colbridge – LaSalle University (Lacrosse)
Final list of colleges: LaSalle, Bloomsburg
Reasons for choosing LaSalle? “On the day I had to commit, I was at my friend’s house, and I was thinking about where I could see myself and I kept thinking of the pros and cons, pros and cons, and LaSalle just kept popping up in my head as where I wanted to be.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate lacrosse become a reality? “I was actually in the recruiting process for field hockey. It was a struggle at the beginning of my junior year (of lacrosse) because all the seniors were really awesome, and I knew to get playing time I would just have to keep working. Toward the middle of the season, I started most of the games, and I liked it. The LaSalle coach e-mailed me, and that’s basically when I thought, ‘Maybe I could do this in college.’”
Lacrosse profile:
- Three-year letter winner (Defense)
- Two-sport athlete (field hockey and lacrosse)
- Junior season – speedy, shutdown defender, 20 ground balls
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Coach Jami Wilus says: “It’s obviously been an honor coaching all four of these girls. I think when you get to the recruiting process, everybody thinks it’s a great thing, and it definitely is, but you need a lot of things to fall in place, including support. All of these girls have great parental support.
“It was challenging and stressful at times, but I believe they all ended up at places where they’re going to have success. We’ve had players in the past go to all four of these universities and have had success there playing lacrosse and also academically.
“Their statistics speak for themselves. Abbie Hartman is obviously a prolific scorer and has been for a number of years for us. I’m sure coaches in the area are wondering when she’s going to graduate and how long her eligibility has been at North Penn.
“Brittany Hanrahan and Kaitlin Colbridge are both defenders. Brittany is a shut down defender. Kaitlin is a two-sport athlete, and she has such a tremendous upside for lacrosse, and that’s what many coaches are looking for. She’s just so fast. She’s a speedy defender who does a lot for us all over the field.
“Danielle has been one of the most consistent players on our team. She is not the type of player who counts her goals and assists, but she does all the little things on the field to help the team. All Danielle wants to do is win, and she will give you everything she has all the time. Her energy is contagious.
“A lot of them benefitted from us making it deep into the playoffs, so there were a lot of college coaches at our games. All of them were committed to their schools before they even started their senior year.
“The record of the seniors for the past two seasons is 35-9. They were a part of back-to-back Suburban One League titles and hopefully are searching for another one this year.”
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