In front of an audience of teachers, teammates, coaches, and family, six Hackley student-athletes were honored for their athletic achievements and celebrated their commitments to compete at the collegiate level during a special signing day ceremony.
While the athletes inked their official commitments prior to Signing Day, the day serves as a chance for the Hackley community to celebrate the efforts of some of its most notable athletes. This year was Hackley’s second official Signing Day after the inaugural ceremony took place last year.
Athletic Director Jason Edwards presided over the group and introduced the athletes one by one. Mr. Edwards highlighted not only the athletes’ athletic achievements, but also their leadership and other cherished qualities that have allowed them to succeed.
“Your hard work, dedication, and devotion to your teams has put them in the upper stratosphere of high school athletes across the country. I cannot emphasize enough what each of them has done to make Hackley School athletics the best it can possibly be,” Mr. Edwards said.
Sejal Virk has been a constant presence in the girls’ squash program since she joined as a freshman. As a two-time Coaches Award winner and an MVP, Sejal was a driving force in the program’s three consecutive Ivy League titles and one NYSAIS championship.
“I really enjoyed Signing Day. I think it was a really fun day to be with everyone together and celebrate our accomplishments and admire the hard work of all the athletes in our community who will compete at the collegiate level,” Sejal said.
Beyond Hackley, she donned the stars and stripes to represent the United States twice in the U.S Junior Open and also the Dutch Open. Sejal will look to continue her winning at Tufts University women’s squash.
Although over 60 percent of Hackley athletes play multiple sports, only Sam Suniewick is committing to play two at the collegiate level this year. Sam’s first love was baseball, and he excelled in it through his high school career. Sam led the Ivy League in home runs as a junior and held an over 400 batting average. Sam won the Silver Slugger Award and was named first team All-Ivy as well.
As for football, Sam never even picked up a helmet until his sophomore year of high school. Since then, the accolades have started to roll in.
Sam is a two-time all-league selection and won the Coaches Award his junior year during the team’s MIFL championship-winning season. This year, Sam was Hackley’s Team MVP, a Lohud Super 11 selection, a Golden Dozen Scholar Athlete award winner, First Team All-Westchester, and Third Team All-State. Sam will look to continue adding to his trophy mantle as he joins Wesleyan’s baseball and football teams.
When he’s not acting in his duties as Community Council President, Rafa Castro is racking up the hardware as a track-and-field superstar. As a junior, he captained the boys’ cross country team to an outstanding season, securing notable Ivy League and NYSAIS championships. Rafa was a state champion in the 3200 meter Indoor Championships last winter and had the leading time for the steeplechase by 40 seconds in NYSAIS last spring. He ended his junior year as a three-time qualifier for the NYSPHSAA State Championships. In June, Rafa represented Hackley at Nike Nationals at the University of Oregon. Rafa will continue racing at the California Institute of Technology.
‘It was really awesome to be acknowledged by everyone. It was nice to see all my teammates and coaches come out to support. I think it was so great that the focus was not just on the athletes, but on people who helped so much with our development as well,” Rafa said.
As Mr. Edwards informed the crowd, less than 2% of high school athletes will compete in their sport at the Division I level. This year, Hackley has three committed Division I athletes.
While he never raced for Hackley, Rowan Salemi achieved some incredible results with his crew team. On behalf of RowAmerica Rye, Rowan competed and won the coveted Head of the Charles Regatta twice. And if that wasn’t enough, he also won Gold in the 2022 Youth Nationals and Silver in 2024. Rowan will move on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he will compete for their lightweight rowing team.
“It was great to see everyone at Signing Day, including Mr. Edwards and Mr. Franklin. It was set up really well, and it was just a great experience and way to commemorate this awesome senior class,” Rowan said.
This athlete’s Hackley career is far from over. Girls Lacrosse captain Brooke Koffler started this season not only in search of her fourth all-league recognition, her third Ivy and NYSAIS championship, and her third All-American honor, but to become the new all-time leading goalscorer for Hackley Girls Lacrosse. With around 10 draw controls a game and over 40 goals already this season, it is no surprise that Brooke was nominated to the Lohud Watchlist at the season’s inception and as Player of the Week earlier this season. Brooke is off to play for the currently ranked seventh team in the nation, Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse. Brooke scored her 890th goal against Horace Mann to break the record, but she is still laser-focused on those other goals.
Andy Hegarty’s softball success story stretches far and wide. A bronze medal for Ireland at the Junior World Championships in Prague, a trip to Spain this summer for the U18 European Softball Championships, and Hackley’s first home field outside-the-park home run last season that still may be flying through the air are all proof of that. Andy has captained Hackley’s softball team since she was a sophomore and currently holds an ERA of 1.69. Andy’s unheard-of 880, and growing, strikeouts are a Hackley record and one that will stand for some time. Andy surpassed the previous record of 725 strikeouts set by Dana VanBuren ‘19 during her junior campaign last year. Andy will play softball for Lafayette next year and has her eyes set on competing for Ireland in the 2028 Olympics.
“It was pretty great to be recognized,” Andy said. “It got a lot of attention on my fellow athletes and the cheering was really cool. It was a big community thing and that was huge for me.”
