By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
One of the Lady Eagles’ all-time greats will be leaving the nest of Colonel Crawford to roost at Youngstown State after senior Alexus Burkhart signed her letter of intent to play Division I basketball with the Penguins.
After scoring over 1,000 career basketball points for the Lady Eagles, Burkhart’s hard work and determination is coming to fruition as she is set to join the Penguins’ women’s basketball squad while attending college for pre-veterinarian studies.
With the choice of a few different schools, including Findlay University, Burkhart reflected on why she chose Youngstown State.
“When I went to Youngstown the first time I definitely fell in love with the campus; it was great, and the coaches made me feel at home there,” Burkhart explained. “I think I am going to love it there.”
Burkhart expounded what she enjoyed most about the campus in Northeast Ohio.
“It is all close together, it isn’t spread apart, and there are so many courts there,” Burkhart said. “I can pretty much go and shoot whenever I want and wherever I want.”
With Burkhart set to go to the next level, her basketball coach at Colonel Crawford, Kyle Fenner, was proud.
“Alexus has worked hard over the last four years, it makes you feel good to see the hard work pay off,” Fenner said.
Fenner spoke about the impact that Burkhart had on the Lady Eagles, with hopes that others follow in her example.
“I am not sure I can replace someone like that,” Fenner said. “You hope the kids seen her work, and follow her example, and work as hard as she did to get to that (level).”
Youngstown State Assistant Coach Anthony Krane reported that he is excited to have someone on the basketball squad with the talent of Burkhart.
“We are really excited, we feel that she is someone who doesn’t have a whole lot of holes in her game. Offensively she can score, can handle the ball, she is going to bring some toughness to the team, and defensively I think she is pretty solid too,” Krane said. “We are pretty fired up about her being a Penguin and can’t wait to get her on campus.
“We have high expectations for Alexus, and my hope is she gets out there and is able to compete as a freshman,” Krane continued.
While she is excited about the prospects of her future, Burkhart noted that she will miss the friendships that she forged while at Colonel Crawford.
“I am really excited to take things to the next level. Playing Division I basketball, that is pretty exciting. But I am definitely going to miss all of my friends and teammates,” Burkhart explained. “I will probably miss playing softball with all of my teammates. It has been great.”
Burkhart was eighth in the N10 in scoring during her senior season with 14.6 points per game. Burkhart’s best statistical season came her junior year where she finished fourth in the league in scoring with 17 points per game and fourth in steals with 3.1 steals per game.