Woodbridge softball coach Jerry Rose with Payton Harris (left) and Mia Tamkoc. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Supported by family members and teammates, Woodbridge High School softball standouts Mia Tamkoc and Payton Harris signed their national letters of intent to continue their careers in college Wednesday in a program at the school’s performing arts center.
Tamkoc is headed to Southern Utah University where she will major in business while Harris will play for University of Pittsburgh and major in biochemistry.
To see additional photos, click on the first picture:
Both players are preparing for their final season at Woodbridge in the spring.
Tamkoc will go to Southern Utah University as a pitcher, said Woodbridge softball coach Jerry Rose adding that she has been a key part of the Warriors softball team which won the last two league titles under head coach Kim Wojciechowski and Rose.
“Her sophomore year, she was (league) pitcher of the year,” Rose said. “Her junior year last year, the hitting also kicked in and she was the MVP of our league.
“To see someone grow the way Mia has grown is phenomenal personal growth, not just on the softball field. It’s been a joy to watch, if she wasn’t our pitcher, I have no doubt she can play any other position on the field. She’s that versatile.”
Rose said Tamkoc had a 1.000 fielding percentage last year, “which is incredible for a pitcher not to make an error.”
“On my unofficial visit, I met the girls on the team and I met the coaches and was really satisfied with the energy and charisma on the team and Utah is just a beautiful state with a lot of outdoor activities and that’s what kind of made me decide to go to Southern Utah,” Tamkoc said of her decision.
Tamkoc is looking forward to a successful finish to her high school career.
“The goals for the season are to play hard with my team and make sure the team has the best time,” she said. “I’m the senior captain this year. Let’s go all the way in CIF.”
Harris has also been one of the key players for the Warriors.
“She’s another four-year varsity player who shared in that back to back league championships,” Rose said. “She is our center fielder and she also carries a 4.4 GPA.”
Harris was named a top outfielder by Extra Innings Softball, Rose said.
“With Pittsburgh, I absolutely loved the coach, Coach (Jenny) Allard, she’s just one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met,” Harris said. “When I went out to camps and met her, I just knew I wanted to play for her. Also, it’s a very academic school which I was always looking for as the courses there are very rigorous and that’s also very important to me.
“I just loved the team chemistry that all the girls had, I loved the city and I knew I had to go there.”
Harris thanked her friends and teammates and her parents, “for always supporting in my softball journey.”
Her grand-father Kirk Harris, who was a former Woodbridge football coach and teacher before retiring, has also been instrumental, she added.
“He was always just inspirational to me because my whole family, because of him, is a very big sports family so he really got me into sports and he’s always been so motivational for me,” she said.
Allard, the softball coach at Pittsburgh, was a standout softball player at Woodbridge.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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