Championship-winning group of Quaker Valley seniors make college choices official

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Quaker Valley held its annual college signing day Jan. 16 with 10 senior athletes formally announcing their college choices.

All 10 are PIAA or WPIAL medalists, and each has a GPA above 4.0.

Kirsten Close (tennis) signed with at Haverford, Margaret Getty (swimming) chose West Chester, Paige Juliano (rowing), opted for Michigan State, Molly MacDonald (volleyball) signed with Middleburye, and Mia Modrovich (soccer) picked Case Western Reserve.

The five others were Jay Olawaiye (track and field) at Brown, Ruby Olliffe (diving) at Bucknell, Davin “Macky” Gartley (track and field) at Washington and Lee, Clark LaLomia (track and field/cross country) at High Point and Kwilai Karto (track and field) at Emory.

Close, who transferred from Sewickley Academy after her sophomore year, and QV freshman Avery Allan created a racket in girls tennis in the fall by coasting to the WPIAL Class 2A girls doubles championship.

“I am so happy to be able to play tennis on a team all four years of my high school experience,” Close said. “Being part of a team really brings you together with people you would never normally get to know, and it creates the best sisterhood. I honestly wouldn’t want to have my experience gone any other way.”

Close and Allan advanced to the final four in the PIAA doubles tournament.

“Kirsten and I chose to play doubles because we were confident we could make a run in WPIALs and states,” Allan said. “We have been friends for many years and train together, so we also just wanted to have fun together this season.

“Our key to winning (at WPIAL doubles) was our strategy and playing to our strengths. Kirsten is amazing at the net, so I would try my best to set her up from the baseline and let her finish the point.”

Close considered attending a handful of schools until she visited Haverford, which is located about three miles from Philadelphia. The college’s teams compete in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference with memebers in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia.

“When I was looking at schools, I knew I wanted to be close enough to home but also not super close, so I was mainly looking at schools five or six hours away,” Close said. “That criterion narrowed my choices to a few schools including Vassar, Hamilton, Washington and Lee, Colgate, Swarthmore and Haverford.

“After that, I went on a few official visits, and when I did at Haverford, I immediately knew it was the place for me. It has a great cozy atmosphere, and everyone there is so nice and welcoming. I also loved the coach, tennis program and the major track I’m going into. I loved the college so much I committed early in the summer but just got the official signing and acceptance recently.”

Close will major in history and work toward law school.

“I’m really excited for my freshman year because we got the best recruiting class in history, and all the other recruits in my year are so nice,” she said. “I think once the fall hits, our team is going to be really solid. But, personally, I’m just going to try my hardest and have fun representing my college.”

It was a clean sweep for Quaker Valley in the WPIAL track and field team competition in 2024, as the boys and girls won district championships. The girls team captured its third consecutive WPIAL crown.

“Our track and boys soccer programs are both part of storied traditions at QV,” athletic director Mike Mastroianni said. “They once again had outstanding seasons with both our girls and boys track teams capping it off with WPIAL championships on the same day.”

Three members of the track and field program corralled first-place WPIAL finishes in their specialties: Olawaiye (triple jump), Davin Gartley (110-meter hurdles) and Mia Gartley (high jump).

Olawaiye’s college decision came down to a final choice between Brown and Princeton, both Ivy League schools at the Division I level.

“I have always been interested in Brown University because of its amazing academic opportunities and beautiful campus,” Olawaiye said. “In June 2024, the coach asked to speak with me on the phone. A couple of weeks later, he came over for a home visit. He was a wonderful person and coach, and when I met him, I knew that I would be in good hands if I committed.

“A couple of weeks later, the Princeton coach reached out to me for recruiting purposes as well. I communicated with both coaches, who gave me information regarding the two schools. I wanted to continue my track career at a school I knew I could thrive in regarding all aspects of my life.”

A few months later, Olawaiye made her decision.

“In September of 2024, I attended official visits at both schools,” she said. “I was assigned a hostess that I would stay with throughout the visits. I met both track teams, saw both tracks, tried on both uniforms and talked to both coaches more in-depth.

“Ultimately, I ended up enjoying my experience at Brown University more. I felt as though that was the place I could truly thrive socially, academically and athletically.”

Olawaiye has not declared a major yet.

“But I am so excited to explore the resources Brown has to offer,” she said. “I am very interested in the STEM field, specifically medicine. I want to attend medical school and become an ophthalmologist.”

Brown is in Providence, R.I., and is the seventh-oldest institution of higher learning in the country.

“I have nothing but good expectations for my freshman year,” Olawaiye said. “I am truly blessed to have been given this opportunity to go to Brown University.”

Olawaiye earned first place in the WPIAL Class 2A triple jump in 2024 after finishing as the runner-up in ‘23.

LaLomia was a double medalist at the WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships last season.

The QV boys 1,600 relay team — Gartley, Jayden Juliano, James Irwin and LaLomia — and 3,200 relay team — River Capek, Jackson Pethel, Jonah Montagnese and LaLomia — won at the district finals.

LaLomia is one of three WPIAL runners who committed to High Point, along with Norwin’s Luke Simpson and North Allegheny’s Greg Abel.

The university is located in High Point, N.C., in the Piedmont Triad region of the state.

High Point is a member of the NCAA Division I Big South Conference along with Campbell, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Hampton, Longwood, Presbyterian, Radford, UNC Asheville, South Carolina Upstate and Winthrop.

“I ended up signing with High Point soon after my visit,” LaLomia said. “I really enjoyed meeting with the team and coach. I also got to take the tour with two other WPIAL runners that I knew. Both also ended up committing, which made me excited for the future with them.”

LaLomia expects to major in psychology and is taking a prudent approach to his freshman year.

“My expectations are to contribute to the team however I can and make new friends with my teammates,” he said.

Quaker Valley’s track and field program maintained its elite status in 2024 with five WPIAL championship performances and 26 medalists: 14 on the boys team and 12 on the girls team. All six relay squads were medalists.

“I think the QV athletic culture has grown so much these past years and will continue to grow and dominate,” said Gartley, the boys 110 hurdles titlist.

Gartley is looking into majoring in accounting or engineering at Washington and Lee, located in Lexington, Va.

“I chose Washington and Lee because they have a balance of rigorous academics and student life,” Gartley said. “I really liked the coach when I went on a visit.

“My early expectation is to qualify for NCAA D-III championships.”

Modrovich was a member of the Quakers’ WPIAL-winning team in girls soccer. She plans to study biochemistry on the pre-med track at Case Western Reserve, which is five miles east of Cleveland.

“The academics at Case Western drew me to the school,” Modrovich said. “Then after meeting the coaches and the team, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.

“I really hope to see the field as a freshman and get more playing time as the season goes on. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m hoping to make an impact in some way.”

Olawaiye, Gartley, LaLomia and Karto were members of WPIAL championship teams in track and field. Likewise, MacDonald was in girls volleyball.

Getty, Juliano, Olawaiye, Olliffe and Karto were PIAA multi-medalists. Getty, Juliano and Olliffe were members of WPIAL runner-up teams.

In college, Getty expects to focus on middle-distance to distance swim events and to train with that group.

“I’m thrilled to be attending West Chester University this fall and to continue swimming at the college level,” she said. “I’ll definitely miss swimming with my high school team, but I’m looking forward to this next chapter. I hope to get stronger, improve my times and contribute points for my team at the conference level.

“I had the opportunity to meet the team, and I feel it’s a perfect fit for me. The team is close-knit, friendly and welcoming, and I’m excited to train and compete with them over the next four years.”

Getty went through a multi-step procedure in opting for West Chester, situated in Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley about 25 miles from Philadelphia.

“I chose West Chester University for several reasons,” she said. “First, I was impressed by the quality of education the school provides and the professors in the classes I had the chance to sit in on. The university offers excellent internship opportunities, which really stood out to me. Additionally, the town of West Chester is absolutely beautiful and full of charm, with its boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Having family nearby in the Philadelphia area is an added bonus.

“As for the swimming program, I was looking for a program that would challenge me to improve, and West Chester has one of the top Division II swim programs in the country. I have met regularly with the coaching staff, and I’m very impressed by them. They’re both supportive and encouraging while pushing athletes to reach their full potential.”

Getty plans to major in psychology.

“After working as a swim coach and instructor this summer, I discovered how much I enjoy working with children,” she said. “This experience inspired me to pursue a degree in sports psychology, with a focus on helping children.”

Karto (track, swimming), Juliano (rowing, swimming), Close, Olawaiye, Olliffe, Davin Gartley and LaLomia hold school records.

Tags: Quaker Valley