Four local graduates moving on to college athletics

By Trent Makela/Leader Staff

Just a few weeks ago, John Rausch was prepared to take the short drive to Dickinson State University for a potential starting role on an NAIA baseball team in the fall. Instead, a recent phone call from Division I powerhouse Oral Roberts University has sent him down a different path.

Rausch, a recent graduate of Polson High School, will now be making his way to Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa for his first two season of eligibility. Oral Roberts head coach Rob Walton is hoping to stash Rausch just an hour away from his campus as the catching and middle infield prospect continues to develop.

After paying his dues, Rausch will have the opportunity to fight for a spot on a Golden Eagles team that won its record 11th-straight Summit League title this season. Eight Oral Roberts players were also selected in the recent 2008 Major League Baseball draft.

"Oral Roberts has been a place I've wanted to go for quite awhile," Rausch said. "I see this as a stepping stone to one of my dreams."

Rausch will continue to play for the Legion A Mission Valley Mavericks this summer. He has already added additional weight-lifting and fielding practice to his schedule to prepare for next year. He plans to major in pre-dentistry at Northern Oklahoma.

Rausch is just one of four local high school athletes who have accepted scholarship offers for next year.

Fellow Polson High School graduate and multi-sport standout Logan Torgison has also decided to join the University of Idaho's cross country, indoor track and outdoor track teams.

Torgison placed second in the Class A state cross country meet this year and nabbed third in the 800-meters and sixth in the 1600 at the state track meet this fall. He also repeated as the Class A state champion in the 145-pound division in wrestling, but has decided not to pursue that sport in college.

Torgison had considered traveling to the east coast to join the Merchant Marine Academy next year, but decided to stay a little closer to home in Moscow.

"[UI] is also in the same conference as my friends who will be running for other colleges around here," Torgison said. "I really didn't know what I was going to do until just a couple of days ago."

Torgison hopes to compete in the steeple chase and perhaps the 1600-meters during both track seasons next year.

He has been offered a full-ride scholarship for his freshman season. The rest of his tuition will be paid almost entirely with local scholarships, according to Torgison. He will major in medicine and has tentative plans to minor in psychology.

Recent Ronan High School graduate Makenzy Kelch will also continue his athletic career on the University of Montana - Western football team in Dillon next season.

Kelch said he has been recruited by the Bulldogs as a wide receiver and "if I need to play defense I will".

Western has recently adopted a spread offense that uses five wide receivers and should offer plenty of catches and playing time for the young recruit.

The decision whether or not to redshirt his freshman season will be left largely to Kelch after the team's two early scrimmages in the fall.

"I've always wanted to play college football and they were the only school who really noticed me besides [Carroll College]," Kelch said. "The school's also in a small community, just like [Ronan], so it was an easy choice to go there."

Kelch has already picked up the team's lifting program three times each week and will be offered a half-ride scholarship during his first season.

Polson High School graduate Anthony Golden will also continue his gridiron career next season, for the Minot State football team in North Dakota. Golden, a standout at defensive end and offensive tackle for the Pirates this season, has been recruited to play defensive end for the Beavers next season.

Minot State, last year's Dakota Athletic Conference champs, had been recruiting Golden since as early as January along with Montana Tech in Butte.

"I was hoping to get out of Montana for awhile and I was hoping to play defensive end, so it was a win-win situation for me," Golden said.

Golden has already adopted the team's lifting program and plans to redshirt his freshman season.