Four Pattonville student-athletes signed to play sports in college today.

• Marcus Thornton, football, MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kansas)
• Katie Scoopmire, lacrosse/field hockey, Lindenwood University-Belleville
• Kathy Ensor, women’s ice hockey, Johnson & Wales University (Providence, Rhode Island)
• Tyrone Eastern, football, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (Cloquet, Minnesota)

Kathy Ensor

Pattonville hasn’t had a hockey team since 2012, but it hasn’t stopped Kathy Ensor from lacing up the skates. She has been playing for the Chicago Fury Girls U19 hockey club.

Her playing days all started when she was just 3-and-a-half years old.

“My brother played hockey and I would be at the rink and ask my mom, ‘When will I get to start playing?'” Ensor said. “So I learned how to skate and took to the game pretty naturally.”

Today, Ensor committed to Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and is excited to be a part of the inaugural season of the school’s Division III women’s hockey team.

“I was at a hockey showcase in Canada and the coach of Johnson & Wales contacted me after it,” Ensor said. “To get to play hockey on the East Coast and to get an education, I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

She said she plans on majoring in accounting.

Marcus Thornton

Marcus Thornton is looking forward to the opportunity of playing football at the next level at MidAmerica Nazarene University.

“I don’t know what next season will be like as far as playing time but I’m going to stay positive and hope for the best,” Thornton said. “I’m going to be playing against adults now instead of boys. Some of those guys have kids and full beards. It’s going to be a big change.”

Thornton said it was Coach Antonio Bryant that helped him get signed to play football in college.

“He contacted them for me,” he said. “I really have him to thank.”

Katie Scoopmire

It’s common to be a multi-sport athlete in high school. It’s not always that way in college.

“I am going to be playing both field hockey and lacrosse at Lindenwood University in Belleville,” Scoopmire said.

And she won’t be the only one on the team doing so.

“About five of the girls actually play both sports.”

Pattonville introduced field hockey and lacrosse to the high school in the 2013-2014 school year, but Scoopmire was already familiar with the games by attending camps at MICDS and by listening to family stories.

“My ancestors actually played field hockey and now I will get the chance to follow in their footsteps,” Scoopmire said.

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