Stillwater High celebrates four athletes on early signing day

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Stillwater High students packed the east stands of the Fieldhouse Gym to watch four of their classmates sign up for their college athletics futures.

On Wednesday afternoon, Stillwater High held its College Commitment Celebration, where football player Nehemiah Kolone, swimmer Elias Mendez and wrestlers Eric Casula and Luke Hamiti signed their National Letters of Intent on early signing day.

Nehemiah Kolone, BYU, footballPioneer defensive end Nehemiah Kolone had a memorable year. It was his best season yet, recording 11 sacks, 26 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception return for a touchdown, helping lead Stillwater to the Class 6A-II semifinals.

“After our last game, I didn’t want it to end,” Kolone said. “It’s good knowing that I have another four years to get out the most of what I can in this sport. I’m really grateful for my time here in Stillwater.”

Kolone was a sought-after recruit in the area, picking up offers from seven Big 12 programs. His final three choices were Oklahoma State, BYU and Michigan State, and he committed to BYU on July 7. He’s held firm in that commitment, but the past week was a little worrisome for him, though.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was linked to the open Penn State job late last week, and that put recruits like Kolone in an uneasy spot. He spoke with position coaches at BYU who told him things would be fine.

“I was a little bit worried, but I was reassured that, either way, I know I was going to go into a good situation,” Kolone said.

But on Tuesday, Kalani announced to his team that he wasn’t leaving and would remain head coach of the Cougars. BYU signed him to a long-term extension, too. That was a relief for Kolone, and it only strengthened his commitment.

“He was offered a lot of money by Penn State. I was a little bit worried. But he’s been there for a while, and he’s been telling our family for a while now that BYU is his dream job. It’s that kind of person I want to play for, knowing I’ve got someone who wants to coach me,” Kolone said. “That’s pretty much what Coach Sitake will do.”

The hometown Cowboys hired Eric Morris as their new head coach Nov. 25, two months after the firing of head coach Mike Gundy. Kolone said the new staff didn’t reach out to him and make a last-minute pitch to keep him in Stillwater, but even if they had, Kolone said he doesn’t think they could have changed his mind.

Kolone finally got to put the process behind him and put his commitment to ink.

“Finally locked in and secured,” Kolone said. “There’s no doubt in my mind, BYU is home.”

Elias Mendez, Missouri State, swimmingStillwater swimming head coach Angela Knott stood at beside Mendez before his signed his Letter of Intent and bragged on all he’s done in his time so far at Stillwater.

It’s an impressive list.

Mendez holds five of the possible eight school records in swimming, and he’s already broken two this season. Mendez is also the defending OSSAA Class 6A individual medley (IM) champion. He’s not done trying to win more titles and break more records, either.

“Shooting for all of them,” Mendez said. “I remember when I was 14, I looked up and was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’m gonna get them. But I’m blessed to be shooting for every single one.”

Mendez said he reached out to Missouri State during the recruiting process and talked to the coaches and eventually went for a visit. He liked the environment he found there and knew he wanted to be a Bear.

He’s not changing his goals for college. Mendez said, going in, he wants to end up being a conference champion and NCAA finalist.

Wednesday was the realization of the beginning of that journey, and Mendez said it was a great feeling to finally sign.

“It’s like no stress. All the stress was gone,” he said. “I’m just confident in my decision.”

Eric Casula, Oklahoma, |wrestling; Luke Hamiti, Oklahoma State, wrestlingCasula has always been a fan of the Sooners, and on Wednesday, he became a Sooner.

OU was the first program to reach out to Casula in August 2024, and he loved what he saw on his official visit. Other schools like Oregon State and Wyoming reached out, but he was sold on OU and committed in July.

Casula placed third at state as a sophomore at Westmoore in the 2024 OSSAA Class 6A 106-pound bracket. With the Pioneers this past season, Casula won the 6A East Regional at 126 pounds and was runner-up at the state tournament. He will look for a state title this season, but he said it’s nice to know his next steps.

“I’ve always dreamed of wrestling at that next level, and to wrestle at the highest level, it’s a good feeling,” Casula said.

Teammate Luke Hamiti signed with the rival Cowboys, as many of Casula’s teammates have. Luke is the brother of OSU NCAA champion wrestler Dean Hamiti, and Luke moved to Stillwater from Illinois last year and will wrestle at Stillwater High this year. Luke placed third and fifth at the past two Illinois state tournaments.

Casula is used to having teammates commit to OSU, including three from last season. It’s nothing new. Casula said he’s looking forward to competing at OU and finishing things out at Stillwater this season first before Hamiti and other former teammates become Bedlam opponents.

“We have fun with it,” Casula said. “They’re always saying who’s better, but I just say, ‘We’ll see next year.’”

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