On February 9, Olivia Weinel, a versatile forward on the girls basketball team, signed her National Letter of Intent to play Division III basketball at Shenandoah University.

Weinel has played basketball throughout her four years at Linganore, two on varsity. During those four years, she has scored 255 points and has had 144 rebounds.

“She is one of the most dominant post players in the county,” said Girls Varsity Basketball coach, Rachel Easterday.

Weinel and her team hold a 16-3 record and are ranked second in the CMC-Spires county standings.

Weinel has been playing basketball since the fourth grade and hasn’t been able to put a ball down ever since. At the start of high school, she played for both the school team and an AAU club team, the Germantown Lady Panthers. Playing for her club team allowed her to become noticed and recruited by multiple colleges.

These recruitments came from schools such as McDaniel College, Christopher Newport University, and Shenandoah University. The Hornets hold a 11-12 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference for their women’s basketball team, as of 2/10/18.

Shenandoah University first began to show interest in Weinel as a sophomore. Weinel fell in love with both the school and the coaching staff. She is particularly excited to play in Shenandoah’s new 77,000-square-foot indoor athletic facility that officially opened for student use in January of 2018.

“My parents are my biggest supporters. They pushed me to play basketball collegiately and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” said Weinel.

Weinel’s family, coaches and teammates have always expressed an overwhelming amount of love and support towards her athletic and academic careers over the years.

“I am thrilled that Olivia is going to college to play basketball. She is a smart, tough athlete who will definitely excel at the collegiate level. Shenandoah is a great fit for her. I couldn’t be more proud,” said her father, Mark Weinel.

Braden Weinel, the youngest of the four Weinel children and a wrestler for LHS, said, “She is my best friend, and I’m going to miss her so much. The change is going to be hard to get used to, but I know she will be doing great things while she’s away at college.”

Coach Rachel Easterday thinks nothing but positivity about Weinel. “I will miss her personality and work ethic, but most of all I will miss her as a person in general. Olivia is such a great person. She has a bright future ahead of her,” said Easterday.

While at Shenandoah, Olivia plans to major in criminal justice and psychology in hopes of someday working for the FBI.