Four area athletes shine at higher levels

Several superb athletes who have had great success playing sports in the Parkland, either for one of the local high schools or for Mineral Area College, continued using their skills by signing with four year colleges or universities and a few even continue to have great success.

Such is the case with four individuals who have experienced tremendous acknowledgment for their athletic abilities this past Spring.

Will Compton, a North County 2008 graduate and two-year All State football player, had a lucrative collegiate career playing football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers the past five years. His efforts were rewarded by being selected by the Washington Redskins as a free-agent draftee. Compton is now participating as a member of the Redskins 90-man roster in preseason practices in hopes of making the final cut of 53 players to play in the upcoming 2013 season.

Jermaine Jones, a 2010 graduate of Park Hills, went on to play basketball at Mineral Area College, but he would extend his athletic career in track and field the past year at Culver-Stockton College. Jones’ season culminated in the NAIA Outdoor Championships where he placed second in the high jump by clearing the bar at 6’11”.

Jamie Bullock, a 2008 North County graduate, played softball for two years at Mineral Area College. She extended her playing days as a catcher for Lindenwood-Belleville University in their softball program’s first two years of existence, and she was an integral part of their winning the USCAA national championship this past season.

Demetrius Harris, who played basketball for Mineral Area College, continued his college basketball days at UW-Milwaukee for the past two years, but upon his completion, his athletic career took a strange twist as he was signed as a free-agent draftee with the Kansas City Chiefs and is currently trying to make their roster for the 2013 NFL season.