On November 15, three North Royalton Student-Athletes signed National Letters of Intent to play their sport next year in college. Two of the three athletes signed to play at NCAA Division One Schools.
The three are senior swimmer Sarah Turchanik, who will attend The Ohio State University. Senior volleyball player Anna Kirkke, who will attend Ashland University in 2019. And senior basketball player Taiyier Parks, who will be on the court for the Michigan State Spartans.
Sarah has been a member of the North Royalton swimming team since her freshman year and is the most decorated swimmer in school history. She has been named as either a co-MVP or a solo MVP of the North Royalton Swimming team in the three years Sarah has been on the team. Sarah holds five individual school records and is part of three relay teams that hold a school record. She qualified to swim in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s State Championships in the past three years. Last year, Sarah finished 8th in Division One in the 200 Individual Medley.
And we’re just getting started.
Sarah has been named to the first team All-Suburban League for the past three seasons. Won the Newcomer Award in her freshman season at North Royalton (2015-16). Sarah wants to make it four-for-four in getting to swim in the State Championship meet, so don’t expect this swimmer to take it easy in her senior season.
I asked Sarah why she picked Ohio State. She looked at me and said “It’s Ohio State. If you’re from Ohio, why would you want to go anywhere else,” Indeed.
Switching from the swimming pool to the volleyball court.
Senior Anna Krikke made the jump from the freshman volleyball team in 2015-16 to the varsity team as a sophomore. In her final three seasons with the Lady Bears varsity, Anna was a force playing on the front line, either offensively or defensively. In her sophomore season, Anna had 66 blocks at net. In her junior year, Anna increased her block total to 98. The number of kills at net increased as well.
Anna says, “I probably will play middle blocker at Ashland, although nothing is for certain.”
For Taiyier Parks, her senior season for the Lady Bears will be spent on the sidelines as she recovers from a knee injury. But, when she was on the court, Taiyier was dominant. Taiyier was on the varsity roster since she was a freshman at North Royalton. In her final five games in her junior year shows the talent that Taiyier has. She scored 21 points against Kent Roosevelt, 24 against Cuyahoga Falls, 33 against Garfield Heights, 24 in the Sectional Championship game against Normandy and 20 in the District semi-final game against St. Joseph Academy.
These three National Letters of Intent show the athletic talent that exists here at North Royalton High School. The universities that signed these three young ladies, Ohio State, Ashland and Michigan State represent some of the finest Athletic Programs in the country. Congratulations Sarah, Anna and Taiyier!

By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer