Five Mosley athletes announce college destinations for future sports plans

LYNN HAVEN — Wednesday afternoon friends, family and the community filed into the Gretchen Nelson Scott Fine Arts Center to celebrate Mosley athletes signed to continue their athletic careers.

Here's more on those five athletes and their future destinations.

Bay County girls weightlifting resultsThese three Bay County area girls are now weightlifting state champions

Boys cross country runner of the yearHow Nic Waddell overcame brutal leg injury and worked his way back to Runner of the Year

Madison Woodworth - Missouri Valley College

Woodworth finished her senior season placing fifth (Olympic) and seventh (Traditional) at the state championship meets earlier this year.

"I liked how welcoming they were and before I even lifted they said we want you," Woodworth said. "They have a good atmosphere that they've brought to me and I look forward to the weather change which will be something new."

Rowen Clements - Coastal Alabama Community College

Clements continues her career after leading the Dolphins in points (9.8), rebounds (5.5) and blocks (1.6) last season. The senior will join a Coyotes women's basketball team that finished 19-13 and won the Gulf South District Championship.

"The atmosphere, new equipment, new gym made me really excited for what I was going into and I knew that it would be the perfect place for me," Clements said.

Liz Nguyen - Warner University

Nguyen will be six hours south in Lake Wales, joining the competitive cheerleading squad at Warner University.

"It was coach Taylor Mercado who told me she had her eye on me, which not a lot of college coaches do, so I took the opportunity and I am blessed for it," Nguyen said. "I am excited to cheer at UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) Nationals at ESPN."

Sherilyn Sanchez - Warner University

Sanchez played a key role for the Dolphins basketball team this past season, averaging six points and two steals per game. She joins a Royals team that finished 10-17 last season.

"As soon as I went to the campus I felt welcomed and I knew I felt that I was around family," Sanchez said. "I look most forward to continuing my basketball career."

Nicolas Waddell - Valdosta State University

The reigning Bay County boys cross-country runner of the year signs with the Blaze, which is located three hours northeast in Valdosta, Ga.

"When I went on my official visit it just felt right, the team and coach are good and it is somewhere where I see myself spending the next four years," Waddell said. "I look forward to getting faster in the sport and making new stories and new friends."

Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.