College Signings 8: These 3 St. Joseph Hill student

St. Joseph Hill shooting guard Maddy Crocco, right, will take her talents to a Pennsylvanian institution beginning in the fall. (Staten Island Advance/Annie De Biase)

St. Joseph Hill will once again be front and center for College Signings 8.

Three Hilltoppers who graduated just last Friday — and will be celebrating their prom Wednesday night — are front and center in the highly popular series.

Two of the three student-athletes compete on the Hilltoppers’ cross country/track & field teams while the other is on the Arrochar school's basketball team. All three will be competing at the Division 3 level.

Take a look at who made the grade in the latest edition of College Signings by scrolling down.

We also have a number of past signings from the 2022-23 school year at the bottom. Give another look at them as well, if you wish.

College Signings 5: This pair of St. Joseph Hill seniors will continue their athletic careers at Division 3 schools

Student-athletes played pivotal roles on Hill's basketball, soccer teams, respectively.

Alice Adamo, St. Joseph Hill

St. Joseph Hill senior Alice Adamo is joined by, standing left to right, dad Kevin, brother James and mom Pamela after signing to compete for SUNY-New Paltz this fall. (Courtesy of the Adamo family)

Once Alice Adamo found a school, her plan of attack was to reach out to the cross country coaching staff.

The 18-year-old Adamo said she decided SUNY-New Paltz was the right place for her academically, especially because of her major — Psychology.

"Yes, I was enrolled at SUNY-New Paltz first because of my major, but also because I just loved the environment and the distance (from home) wasn't too bad,’’ said the soft-spoken Adamo.

After reaching out to SUNY-NP's coaching staff, including head coach Thomas Hartnett, she was told there were three available roster spots still available, then was asked to fill out questionnaire. That's when she got the good news.

"They decided they wanted me on the team and offered me one of the three spots,’' she said. "I definitely feel lucky and fortunate to compete in college because a lot of competitors from high school don't get to do it at the next level.

"But they realize I have a lot of potential and so do I. I’m looking forward to getting up there.’'

Adamo, a four-year competitor on both Hill's cross country and track teams, recently made her commitment to the Division 3 school official during a recent signing ceremony.

The Grant City resident, who will compete in just cross country at SUNY-New Paltz, contributed to the Hilltoppers’ success through the years. She did a personal best of approximately 20:00 on the 4K course in cross country and, as a middle distance runner, she boasted personal bests of 1:16 (400 meter), 2:49 (800), 3:42 (1,000) and 5:55 (1,500).

"They just notice a lot of potential in me as a runner,’' she added. "My (high school) times are good as a base and we can go from there. They think my times can drop further and that really made me feel good about myself.’'

Adamo, who said she's planning to start training for the fall beginning next week, also received interest from Mount St. Vincent, St. Thomas Aquinas, College of New Jersey and Adelphi.

Maddy Crocco, St. Joseph Hill

St. Joseph Hill senior Maddy Crocco, seated, is joined by moms Brenda Crocco, left, and MaryBeth Scalisi, as she makes her commitment to Misericordia University official. (Courtesy of Lindsey Minkoff)

It all happened rather quickly for St. Joseph Hill's Maddy Crocco.

Last July, she caught the eye of Misericordia University women's basketball coach Jason Rhine while competing for her travel program, the Staten Island Bulldogs. That meeting literally got the ball rolling with the Dallas, Pa., school

"We pretty much took it from there,’' said the 18-year-old Crocco. "That August, I went for an official visit and honestly, I fell love with it right away. They put a lot into their athletics programs and everyone made me feel so welcoming and I knew it was the right place for me.’'

Crocco, who played shooting guard for the Hilltoppers, was recruited to play the same position for he Division 3 Cougars, who compete in the both the Eastern College Athletic Conference and MAC Freedom.

"I always wanted to play basketball in college, since I was a little girl,’' explained Crocco. "This is something I’ve dreamt about for a long time and I’m glad I’ve found a school.’'

Crocco averaged 13.0 ppg., drained a whopping 64 three-pointers and never took off a play on the defensive end for the Hilltoppers, who made an appearance in the CHSAA A Archdiocesen championship game for the second straight season.

Rhine and his staff like several aspects of her game, according to the three-year varsity player, especially the threat she possesses to hit from downtown.

"Right off the bat, they like that I’m a threat to shoot from great range,’' she said. "The three-point line in college is further back than the one in high school, but I am already capable of shooting deep threes. They like that I can consistently put the ball in the basket and that I always work hard on defense.’'

As far as getting some playing time right away, Crocco added: "They told me I have the potential to make an impact right from the start. Obviously, everybody has to work hard to earn time and I’m planning to do that from the very beginning.

"Hearing that (I could get playing time right away) made me feel great,’' she added. "I’ve worked all my life toward getting something like this and I’m going to continue to work right from the start.’'

Crocco is planning to major in Health Sciences with an eye toward a pre-med track in the future. The Oakwood resident also received interest from Mount St. Mary, DeSales, Manhattanville, SUNY-Plattsburgh and Rochester Institute of Technology.

Paige Jerrahian, St. Joseph Hill

St. Joseph Hill runner Paige Jerrahian is joined by her dad, Frank, after making her commitment to Alvernia University official recently. (Courtesy of Lindsey Minkoff)

For Paige Jerrahian, academics was the top priority during her search to find a college. Alvernia University turned to be the perfect spot to study Bio Chemistry and, soon after, the Bloomingdale resident contacted Cross County/Track & Field coach Jordan Smith and the recruitment process began.

"It was the summer of my sophomore year — I got started early and I met the coach at an open house,’' she said. "We stayed in contact and usually spoke after my races (with Hill) and after a while, I attended a few track meets and got to meet the team and see (the environment) there and liked what I saw.

"But the bottom line is, I can't see myself not doing something I’ve been doing since I was three-years-old,’' Jerrahian laughed. "It can be a painful, but I love the sport.’'

And hence, the four-year varsity competitor in both cross country and track & field recently made her commitment to the Reading, Pa., school, official during a signing ceremony.

"I’m so excited — I can't wait to run in college,’' she admitted, noting she recently competed in her final team meet at Hill, but she’ll be attending the Outdoor Nationals as an individual in Oregon next week. "I actually can't wait to start training.’'

The 18-year-old has an extensive resume in both cross country and track & field.

At one time or another, she competed in each of the three courses for X-C and has personal best clockings in the 3K (17:21), 4K (17:31) and the 5K (20:48). In addition, she's made her mark in both the indoor and outdoor seasons with the Hilltoppers. Her personal bests indoors include 1:02.98 (400 meter), 1:42 (600), 2:24 (800) and 3:07 (1,000). She qualified for the New Balance Indoor Nationals last winter.

In outdoors, Jerrahian has personal bests of 2:22 (800) and 5:02 (1,500).

She owns the Hill school records in the 400, 600 and 800.

"(Alvernia) is looking for a middle distance runner and I’m the only one coming in with the times I have,’' she said. "I’m right at where their best senior is at and, apparently, I’m going to be taking her spot in a way.’'

Jerrahian said a spot on the Golden Wolves’ 4x800 relay team next year as well.

"I’m very excited and I can't wait for September to get here,’' Jerrahian said. "There's just a different kind of atmosphere and amazing girls (on the team). The division you compete in doesn't matter, I think it's going to be really competitive and I’m looking forward to it.’'

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Other recent college signings by S.I. student-athletes

NDA's Lola Dinneen (X-C, track)

Sea's Julia Arnone (Rugby)

Sea's Victoria Dziubela (Track & Field)

Tottenville's Adnan Chokrane (Soccer)

Susan Wagner's Ava LaMarca (Track & Field)

St. Joseph by-the-Sea's Giana Scotti (Softball)

St. Joseph Hill's Juliana Castellano (Soccer)

St. Joseph Hill's Victoria Terranova (Soccer)

Sea's Sophia Greaves (Gymnastics)

Farrell's Rob Rispoli (Baseball)

St. Joseph Hill's Natalie Bala (Soccer)

New Dorp's Shane Gallagher (Football)

St. Peter's Elijah Campbell (Football)

NDA's Katherine Anticev (Swimming)

Curtis’ Miles McGoy (Football)

Moore's Moshood Giwa (Football)

Moore's John Michalski (Football)

Curtis’ Logan Barnes (Football)

Moore's Henry Tabansi (Football)

Tottenville's Brianna Mester (Bowling)

New Dorp resident Rylee Ferretti (X-C, track)

Farrell's Messiah Burch (Football)

Staten Island Academy's Saran Moschella (Basketball)

Tottenville's Haley Robinson (Swimming)

St. Joseph Hill's Kelly Bruen (Swimming)

College Signings 1 (December 13)

College Signings 2 (March 2)

College Signings 3 (March 7)

College Signings 4 (April 6)

College Signings 5 (April 25)

College Signings 6 (May 1)

College Signings 7 (May 3)

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