Tuesday
October 3, 2023 
skating, synchronized skating to be more specific, so when it came time to choose a college, the Central Bucks East senior made the decision to incorporate her sport into her collegiate experience.
Devaney, who will major in communications, chose Adrian College in Michigan from a long list that, in the end, came down to Adrian and Marist.
“Marist didn’t have skating, so Adrian had the big pull for me,” she said. “Miami University has a strong skating team, so that was a thought for a second, but there was something about Adrian’s team ethics that I was really drawn to.
“I’ve been watching all the high level senior and collegiate teams at nationals every year, and Adrian has just started getting big in the picture. I went to the camp this summer, and I really liked what the team was about. They’re hard workers, and they are all team players. I tried out - it was a three-day weekend process, skating all day, and that’s when I realized – this is where I belong.”
Devaney was one of five East seniors recognized at a special college commitment celebration on May 29.
Evan O’Donnell led East’s football team to a district playoff berth last fall, and the senior quarterback will be taking his talents to Catholic University. He chose the Washington, D.C., school from a final list that included Gettysburg and King’s College.
“It had a great atmosphere,” O’Donnell said. “On my visit, I felt I could fit right in. Obviously, there’s great academics, and in the end, I have a bunch of friends going there, and it will be a fun time. I hope to do a lot there on the field and in the school.”
Although junior Brady Berger is Catholic’s incumbent at quarterback, O’Donnell – recruited as a quarterback - is looking to find his way onto the field.
“I’m going to try my best to get on the field any way possible, whether it’s holding for field goals or anything like that for special teams just to be a part of the team and to get that experience,” O’Donnell said.
For the senior quarterback, playing collegiate football has been a lifelong dream.
“I’ve never wanted to stop playing football,” O’Donnell said. “It’s always been a part of me. It’s been a place I can forget about time and just go play. I was blessed to have an arm to throw and a mind to make decisions to put me in the position of quarterback.”
Nick Diehl, who also considered Susquehanna and Muhlenberg, will be joining his high school teammate at Catholic where he will major in business management.
“When I visited, I loved the campus, and I loved how all the guys came together,” he said. “When I met the coaches, I really connected with the defensive line coach especially.
“I’ve always wanted to play in college. When I got into high school, it’s kind of a jolt because you realize how much you have to work for it. I still really wanted to play.”
Julie Beedle will continue her soccer career at New York University, choosing NYU from a final list that included Carnegie Mellon, Mississippi State and Marist.
“I was really looking for a city school that had high academics and where I could also play sports and be a student-athlete,” Beedle said. “NYU encompassed it all.”
The recruiting process for Beedle began when she was a freshman.
“I always knew I wanted to go to school for soccer,” she said.
Julia DeFonso will participate in competitive cheerleading at Temple University and will major in art therapy at the Tyler School of Art. She also considered Penn State and West Chester.
“Temple has a really great art school and a really good program for my major,” DeFonso said. “I love the location, and I wanted to go to a big school, a D-1 school, and I really like their cheer team and everything they do.”
DeFonso has been cheering since she was five years old.
“Freshman year I made varsity, and since then my coaches were talking a lot to me about it,” she said of competing in college. “My freshman year the Temple coach came and did East’s choreography, so she started talking to me then, and I started working towards it at that point.”
