A pair of Poland student-athletes signed their National Letters of Intent in the high school gymnasium Thursday morning.

Brooke Bobbey will be playing softball at St. Bonaventure University in New York and Carly Ungaro will be continuing her golf career at Glenville State College in West Virginia.

For Bobbey, the decision was an easy one and it allows her to concentrate on her spring season after the Bulldogs finished 29-1 and were a Division II state semifinalist last season.

“This relieves a lot of the pressure and now I can just go into the season relaxed and ready to help us have another big season,” said Bobbey, who plays center field for the Bulldogs. “I am so excited about being a Bonnie and I’m looking forward to getting there, but we have some business to take care of next spring.”

Bobbey batted .413 in the leadoff spot and scored a single-season school record 48 runs last season. While those are impressive numbers, coach Jim Serich is even more impressed by Bobbey’s defense in center.

“She might be the best outfielder in this area in the past 10 years,” he said. “She had a .953 fielding percentage. She made two errors all season and she gets to a lot of balls that others wouldn’t get to. She had a lot of putouts.

“The girl is a consummate teammate who also is a good soccer player and basketball player. In fact, our athletic director Brian Banfield said during the ceremony today that those three teams, starting with basketball last winter and through soccer this fall, had a combined 68-3-5 record. That’s remarkable and she had a vital role in the success of all three teams.”

Bobbey has pitched sparingly the past three seasons, with a combined 20-7 record. She expects to play outfield at St. Bonaventure.

“I’m a lefty and can steal bases, but I’m not a slap hitter,” she said. “I like to find the gaps and run. Defensively, I think I get a quick jump on the ball and try to anticipate where the ball will be hit.”

Bobbey, who is leaning toward majoring in biology with an end goal of possibly entering the dental profession like her mother, said she chose St. Bonaventure rather quickly.

“One of my dad’s friends suggested we take a look at St. Bonaventure and we got there and the campus was breathtaking,” said Bobbey, whose mother is a dental hygienist. “We liked the academic environment, and the softball coaches and team were very welcoming. I attended a camp there and my style of play fits with the coaching style they promote.”

Ungaro, a two-time state tournament participant, was excited about the campus and home-town atmosphere that Glenville State presents.

“It’s overwhelming preparing to leave high school and go to college,” Ungaro said. “That’s a big step in your life. So I wanted to make sure I had that same small-school feel that I have here at Poland. I didn’t want to go somewhere that I could get lost.

“Glenville State is exactly what I was looking for. Everyone there was so nice and I really like the golf program and coach (Mike) McGarry. Plus, they practice on some of the best courses.”

Poland coach Joe Colella expects Ungaro to thrive in college after having an 18-hole average of 85.5 this fall.

“Carly is the only four-year varsity starter in the history of our program and she played at state on our 2016 when we were in Division II and on our 2018 team when we were in Division I,” he said. “She is very coachable and is a great leader. She had a young team around her this year and just really tought the young girls the ropes.

“Glenville State is an NCAA Division II school and the golf program just finished up its second year. I know the coach is extremely excited about having Carly.”

Ungaro plans to focus on education as a possible major.

“Both of my parents are teachers and I enjoy working with younger kids,” she said. “I know how teachers can shape and influence the lives of their students and I want to be on the other side of that coming out of college. School wasn’t always easy for me when I was younger. I think we have great teachers at Poland and I feel I can approach any of them if I need help with something.”