Jill Beglin signed a letter of intent to play golf at St. John's on Friday.
Jill Beglin and Abby Pradere figure if they can make it there they can make it anywhere.
The two standout Carson High athletes are heading to the big city to compete at the Divison I level as Beglin will play golf for St. John’s in New York City while Pradere will run track and cross country for the University of San Francisco. Both were honored during a signing ceremony on Friday at Carson High’s Morse Burley Gym.
Both said the chance to experience something knew led to their decisions. “I just wanted to do something different,” Beglin said. “That’s what I wanted to do.
“It’s always been a goal of mine,” said Beglin about playing golf at the Division I level. “I’m really excited about it. It’s been a lot of hard work.”
Beglin was recruited by several schools including another New York City area school, Seton Hall in New Jersey. Beglin took visits to St. John’s and Seton Hall but in the end St. John’s won out.
“I really liked the coach,” said Beglin about St. John’s coach Ambry Bishop. “I liked the campus, the girls on the team.” Beglin then added “and it’s in New York. Just new horizons.”
Other schools that recruited Beglin included Sacred Heart in Connecticut, Philadelphia’s LaSalle, Long Island University-Brooklyn, West Virginia’s Marshall and Ohio University.
“The campus and the girls were really nice,” said Pradere about her choosing San Francisco. “I wanted to go and try something new. I’ve never lived in a big city.”
Another huge drawing card to USF happened when the school recently hired Pat McCurry as its head track and cross country coach. McMurry was the middle distance coach at Boise State and was recruiting Pradere to that school. As Nevada’s top middle distance runner Pradere said it’s an obvious advantage to have McMurry as a coach.
Other schools that recruited Pradere included Oklahoma, Nebraska and Nevada. In the end, Pradere’s choice came down to Utah and USF as she visited both schools.
Even though she’s Nevada’s top distance runner, Pradere said she didn’t know if she was good enough to run at the Division I level. When Division I schools showed interest Pradere said “it was really exciting that I was running fast enough to get to the next level.”
Along with training for her senior season in track in the spring, Pradere is playing basketball at CHS. “I think it helps with the speed,” said Pradere about her playing basketball helping her running.
While Pradere never competed in cross country at CHS — she was an outstanding volleyball player for the Senators — she said the plan is for her to run cross country at USF.
Beglin finished her career with a bang at CHS this past fall as a senior, finishing second in the Northern Regional Championships and then fourth in the State Championships at Dayton Valley Golf Course.
Beglin, who said she will study business, has a 4.0 unweighted grade point average and a 4.6 weighted g.p.a. She has taken part in National Honor Society, Student Council and AP classes. She has been a class president and student body historian and is now the student body vice president during her senior year. She was also elected as Carson High’s 2018 Homecoming Queen.
Some local organizations for whom she has volunteered include: Advocates to End Domestic Violence, The Salvation Army, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, First United Methodist Church, Barracuda Championship, TGI Futures, Nevada State High School athletic events, 2018 Friendship Ball and she has served as Father-Daughter Dance chairwoman.
She we awarded a scholarship to attend the week-long Rotary Youth Leadership Awareness (RYLA) program in Northern California. She was recently awarded the Soroptimist International of Carson City’s Girl of the Month Award for December.
Beglin started golf lessons around age 8 through Carson City Parks and Recreation with PGA Class A professional Terry Gingell. After Gingell left Carson City for a position at the Stanford University Golf Course, Beglin began her training with the Trevino Golf Institute in Reno.
“Their training was such a huge part of my success,” said Beglin about Trevino.
During her high school career, she trained under CHS coach Wade Greenlee. She also trained under her strength and conditioning coach, Nikki Warren, owner of Carson City’s KAIAFit.
Pradere holds the record for the 800 and 1,600 meters and Mile for CHS in the freshman, sophomore and varsity categories. In 2018 Pradere swept the distance events as the 4A State Champion, winning the 800 meters with a lifetime best of two minutes, 13.47 seconds and the 1,600 in a personal best of 5:03.39.
Pradere, who said she plans to study math or science, has a 3.96 unweighted g.p.a., and a 4.8 weighted g.p.a. She’s a member of National Honors Society, is enrolled in the Jump Start Program and is on track to graduate in June earning her high school diploma and associates of arts degrees simultaneously.
“Abby isn’t just an extraordinary athlete; she is an extraordinary person,” CHS track coach Steven Nelms said. “She is someone who always has a great attitude going into any situation. She is a perfect example of a student-athlete. Phenomenal work ethic within the classroom and on the track. I am beyond excited to see what she can accomplish her senior year as well as her time at USF and beyond.”