National Signing Day: Bishops and Iron Horses head to the next level

When it comes to National Signing Day, the focus is on the final act in the matriculation process, the end of a journey that is completed with a stroke of a pen.

 

Bishop England and Philip Simmons High Schools held ceremonies on National Signing Day, which is celebrated the first Wednesday of February.

 

Bishop England had athletes sign in several sports while Philip Simmons celebrated the matriculation of four football players.

 

Each student-athlete had a unique story, including one from each school. At Bishop England, Ashton Gruidi’s matriculation included playing football in Sweden for a year.

 

At Philip Simmons, Gunnar Yocum’s story included a heart-warming and inspirational battle with cancer that the Iron Horse won. He took part in the ceremony as a walk-on long snapper who is headed to Columbia to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

 

Guidi said inking with Wingate was something he always hoped for. But he quickly added, “I never thought I would get this far.”

 

Guidi played for the junior varsity Bishops his freshman year. Then, his father, Jason, who works for Volvo, was transferred to Sweden.

 

That opened up a whole new world for Guidi, and a different take on the American game of football.

 

“It was the same rules,” Guidi said. “It was just different because it was a lot more cold than I was used to. Snow in 20-degree weather was tough, but I began to adapt.”

 

In Sweden, Guidi attended the International School of Gothenburg. He played football for a club team called the Gothenburg Marvels because high schools in Sweden do not have football teams.

 

Because of language barriers, Guidi and his teammates and coaches at times used hand signals to communicate. His helmet sported the letter A which stood for “American.” That let his teammates know that he spoke English if they knew the language.

 

“Football is a lot more competitive here,” Guidi said. “But they loved to compete and had pretty good players. Overall, it was a great experience.”

 

Yocum was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the High School League, which denied him the first time he requested the fifth year. In his first game of the season, he responded with five tackles, including one for a loss. He also caused a fumble in a victory over Andrews.

 

In addition to Yocum, who is USC bound, three other key players from the Iron Horses signed. They include linebacker Bryce Smalls, who will attend Newberry, and a pair of running backs who are both headed to Limestone: Sharod Williams and KJ Asbury.

 

Asbury had a remarkable year, rushing for 2,017 yards while scoring 28 TDs with 27 coming on the ground. He finished his career with 2,993 yards and 39 TDs.

 

Williams was effective as well. He gained 1,270 yards on the ground and scored 19 touchdowns. He finished his career with 2,418 rushing yards and 32 scores.

 

Bishop England’s other signees included Tye Livesay, baseball, Sewanee; Charlie Tessier, cross country, Fairfield University; Cavan Craig, football, Wofford College; Summer Matsik, women’s lacrosse, Claremont McKenna College; and Andrew Rosebrock, men’s soccer, Lander University.