MORGANTOWN — On Wednesday, athletes from across the nation signed their names to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Among the signees from University and Morgantown high schools was four-year UHS football player, Noah Braham, who signed to play football for West Virginia University.
Braham follows in the footsteps of his father, Rich Braham, a 2007 inductee into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame who started 37 games at left tackle for the Mountaineers from 1989-1993. Rich Braham was also drafted into the NFL in 1994 by the Arizona Cardinals but was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, for whom he started 142 career games in 13 years.
“This means a lot to me to be able to play for my hometown team,” the younger Braham said after officially signing at UHS Wednesday morning. “I grew up a Mountaineer fan since I was little and my dad played there. I’ve been watching games since I was little and it’s a dream come true to have the opportunity to play there. My goal was always to play for WVU and last summer I went into camps with that goal in mind and wanted to prove that I deserved an offer; then I committed and here we are.”
Braham will line up for Neal Brown and the WVU offense at tight end to begin his college career. Braham amassed 489 yards from 28 receptions and six touchdown catches this season, one in which he missed a few games to an ankle sprain. But with a background as a successful linebacker for UHS, he says the opportunity to play on defense may present itself.
“I will go in as a tight end right now,” Braham said. “The coaches said I could play on the defensive side of the ball but for now it will be in the offense. Going into it I’m just trying to improve on all categories of my game; strength, speed, game knowledge and trying to be an all-around player. I want to be ready to help out on special teams or other areas that I’m needed.”
Born and raised in Morgantown, Braham knows how special it is for a local athlete to suit up for WVU and he hopes that other athletes that come after him can see his success and strive to reach their goals also.
“It’s great being able to give back to the community and being able to be out there in front of the fans,” he said. “I will be able to do for others what people did for me growing up.”
During his signing day press conference Wednesday afternoon, Brown said Braham really earned the scholarship offer from the Mountaineers.
“Noah didn’t get a scholarship because he’s from the Cheat Lake area and went to University High School, he didn’t get a scholarship because he’s Rich’s kid, he got a scholarship because in back-to-back years in 7-on-7s he was one of the best players here,” Brown said. “For back-to-back years, he was dominant in his level and with his versatility. There’s a lot of things he can do on the football field and that’s why he earned this opportunity.”
It’s not the first time Brown has signed a local product to the Mountaineers.
“If you look at the two local programs, both Morgantown and University, they’ve been really good to this program and they’ve been really good to us in our tenure here,” Brown said. “You look at Preston Fox earning a scholarship, Nick Malone earning a scholarship, there’s a couple kids that walked-on last year from University in (Donald) Brandel and (Colin) McBee that are going to grow into good players.”
Three other UHS athletes signed their names as well, all in different sports, including the first-ever archery signee in school history with Grant Schnopp signing to shoot at the University of Montevallo.
Becca Chmiel signed with the University of Findlay to play lacrosse, while Park Croyle committed to play catcher for the Davis and Elkins College baseball team.
Across town, MHS held its signing with four athletes penning to continue playing at the next level.
Jonna Butcher signed with Waynesburg University to primarily compete in the high jump for the track and field team, while Abigail Harki signed to Salem University in Pennsylvania to play softball.
“I looked at a bunch of schools and Salem fell into my lap at the last moment,” Harki said of her decision. “When I went to one of the camps there it really felt like home and I instantly fell in love with it.”
From the 2022 state champion MHS girls’ soccer team, twin sisters Ashley and Amanda Weaver signed with Fairmont State where they will join their older sister Alyssa, who is a sophomore midfielder for head coach Kernell Borneo and the Falcons. The Weavers say Coach Borneo, whose daughter Ariana is a teammate of Ashley and Amanda’s at MHS, has been coaching them since they were young and the opportunity to play close to home is important to them.
“Originally we wanted to go far away from each other,” Amanda said with a chuckle. “But once we both visited Fairmont it felt close to home and it will be nice to play our last few years together.”
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