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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Two Marshfield High School seniors made their collegiate plans official Wednesday as they signed national letters of intent to further their athletic and academic careers at the next level.
Rebecca Voss signed a letter to run cross country at NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Darian Molter will play women’s soccer at NCAA Division II Winona State University in Winona, Minn., next year.
Voss, who was second in the Wisconsin Valley Conference Meet both as a freshman in 2010 and this past fall as a senior, said fighting through injuries during her middle two years at Marshfield and having to battle back to regain her earlier form has taught her a lot.
“It has definitely been a roller coaster, but I would not have changed it for anything,” Voss said. “I had a successful year freshman year, but I never really knew what to expect or what was to come. Being injured for so long really did set me back. It was tough to get over those mental breakdowns and all the things I had, but now after having such a successful senior year it has made me more passionate for the future and made me realize that hard work and determination really do pay off.”
Voss returned to the WIAA State Cross Country Championships for the first time since her freshman year this past fall, finishing 31st in Division 1 with a time of 15:14. She qualified for her second state meet by winning the Division 1 sectional meet.
She said that UW-Green Bay was a program that always interested her and she took it on herself to check out the school and see what it had to offer.
“I took a tour there myself and talked to the coach (Mike Kline) and he stayed in contact with me,” said Voss, who will major in sports nutrition and human biology. “I was really interested in them before I even took the tour. It just all made sense.
“I took a tour there myself and talked to the coach and he stayed in contact with me. I was really interested in them before I even took the tour. It just all made sense.”
Molter said she is excited to have her college plans complete before her senior season on the soccer field at Marshfield.
The forward has earned first-team All-Wisconsin Valley Conference honors her first three years for the Tigers and led the Valley in scoring last spring with 23 goals.
“When I toured Winona it just seemed like the perfect school, it was the perfect location, it was far enough away from home but close enough that my parents will be able to come to every game to support me,” Molter said. “It was also the perfect size. I didn’t feel like there were too many students, it was a good student-to-teacher ratio, I believe. When I toured there, I just knew it was the right school.”
Molter said she fell in love with Winona last spring when she toured there and was shown around by coach Ali Omar, who has led the Warriors to 11 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles in his 19 seasons at the school.
“I toured last spring and watched the girls play, I got a feel for how the program works, the coaches, the school…it was nice that I got to know the coach, how the program works and a feel for the school at the same time,” Molter said.
Molter begins her senior season for the Tigers girls soccer team on April 1.
“I’ve been thinking about this for months and it’s kind of nice to get it done with instead of carrying it on any longer,” Molter said.