Speer Academy Student-Athletes are Ready to Play at the College Level

By Emily Iannaconi


Speer Academy has seven student-athletes who will be competing at the college level beginning during the 2019-2020 year. They are looking forward to taking the lessons they have learned in the classroom and on the playing field to their various destinations next year.

Cesar Correa: This Speer Academy center midfielder is going to take his soccer skills to St. Xavier University next year. Correa has been playing soccer since he was four years old and it has always been his goal to play at the college level.

Correa learned valuable lessons about leadership as a captain of the team last season. "I take initiative when no one wants to," Correa says. "I'm a hard worker."

Correa says that he is going to miss playing with his teammates here at Speer Academy. "We're like a family," Correa says. "We know each other off the field. I'll miss everything."

Correa is grateful to the coaches that have helped prepare him to play at the college level. He is hoping to major in law enforcement or study to be a personal trainer while at St. Xavier next year.

Alexis Cotto: This Speer Academy shortstop/pitcher will be taking his talents to Truman College next year. He is a strong defender now but is looking forward to improving at the plate when in college.

Cotto has been playing with his teammates on the Speer Academy baseball team since he was six or seven years old. He says that he is going to miss the whole team and he is thankful to them for helping him learn leadership skills. He said that he considers himself a leader by example as well as a vocal leader.

One of Cotto's favorite memories is making it to the semifinals during his sophomore year. "We lost but it was an accomplishment," Cotto says. "But this year, I'm hoping we can make it to the championship and that will be my most memorable moment."

Cotto is grateful to head coach Ricardo Lozada, who he says helped prepare him to play at the college level. "He was a father figure my whole high school career and I feel like he impacted me the most," Cotto said. "He was always there for me."

The shortstop/pitcher is considering majoring in cybersecurity while in college, but for now he is also simply excited to keep playing. "It's like a dream," Cotto says. "That's what I want to do the rest of my life."

Nyah Daniels: The shooting guard and point guard will be taking her basketball skills to Knox College next year, where she says she knows the competition will be at a different level. "It's a whole new life," Daniels says. "Bigger girls, more competitive. The game is going to change."

One of Daniels' favorite memories from playing in high school is winning regionals this past season. "Last year, we won the championship and lost in the regionals. We kept saying, 'We're going to win the championship. We're going to win the championship.' So this year, we said we were going to win the championship but we ended up losing. But we won regionals. And that was the best feeling ever cause that was our last game."

Daniels is going to miss the connections she has formed with her teammates and coaches at Speer Academy. Daniels will particularly miss her close friend, Eriana Dubose. With two older brothers, Dubose is like a sister to Daniels. "Our families are close," Daniels says. "We go over each other's houses. Everything is family. We share everything."

Daniels plans to major in sports science in college and she is thankful to her family, coaches and her teammates that she calls her sisters for supporting her in her journey to play at the next level.

Eriana Dubose: The senior track standout will be taking her triple jump and sprinting skills to Northern Illinois University next year. At this year's Noble League Track & Field Championships, Dubose won the long jump with a jump of 16' 10.75", helping to lead Speer Academy to a first place finish at the meet.

Dubose knows that she is going to have to continue to work hard in order to compete at the collegiate level. "It takes a lot of hard work and motivation to run track," Dubose says. She is ready for the challenge.

Some of Dubose's favorite memories from high school track include competing at the Illinois state championship meet this year. She says that she will never forget running alongside her teammates at her last state meet. Dubose considers her teammates at Speer Academy to be family.

"I'm going to miss the bonds I had with every sport that I've played here," Dubose says.

Dubose is grateful to her parents and head track & field coach Jamelle Newsome for helping to prepare her to complete at the college level. Dubose hopes to study physical therapy or sports science at NIU.

Three additional Speer Academy student-athletes, Justin Negrete (Football, Kalamazoo), Payton Hill (Baseball, Truman) and Jayden McKay (Track, Western), have committed to continuing their academic and athletics career on the collegiate level next school year.