Olathe North’s Swain will play for Oregon

When Olathe North linebacker Jimmie Swain first started playing football, he made a serious wager with his mother, Aretha. She didn’t want him to play at all, but decided to let him if he promised to get a Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship out of high school.

While the chances may have seemed astronomical when he was 7, Swain kept his promise and announced that he would attend the University of Oregon during the Semper Fi All-American Bowl in January.

“That was great that it actually happened and it was great that she was able to be there to witness me making my decision,” Swain said.

Swain recorded 92 tackles this season and 11 for a loss. He also had two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and four sacks for the Eagles.

The University of Kansas was the first school to offer a scholarship to Gardner Edgerton running back Traevohn Wrench and it might as well have been the last.

Wrench chose Kansas over offers from Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska, citing two major factors which attracted him to the program.

“They treated me like family,” Wrench said. “I could tell that all the coaches care, by the way they talk, so that’s a good thing and it’s closer to home.”

Wrench rushed for 2,091 yards and 30 touchdowns for the Trailblazers this season. He was named first-team All-EKL and was selected to the 2013 Shrine Bowl roster.

For Olathe East senior Hannah Lukinac, signing day was even sweeter since she got to share it with teammate and friend Haley Hanson.

The two, who have been playing together for Sporting Blue Valley as well as the Hawks, signed letters of intent on Wednesday to play college soccer at the Kansas (Lukinac) and Nebraska (Hanson).

“We’ve been playing together since we were younger, so it’s really cool seeing the process of us getting better and better and finally reaching the point where we going D-1,” Lukinac said.

Lukinac scored 23 goals for the Hawks last year, and Hanson, who was named the Gatorade Kansas Girls Soccer Player of the Year, added 13 goals and 16 assists.

This story was originally published February 5, 2014 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Olathe North’s Swain will play for Oregon."