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Sacred Heart Prep senior Derek Hunter closed the door on his excellent high school football career on Wednesday but at the same time opened another by announcing he'll be playing next year for the Georgetown Hoyas.

SHP Athletic Director Frank Rodriguez commented, "Derek Hunter's contribution to Sacred Heart Prep football these past three years is immeasurable," said SHP Athletic Director Frank Rodriguez "It is truly fitting that our first football recruit from SHP to play at Georgetown is this young man, whose terrific athletic ability is more than equaled by the quality of his character. We are thrilled for Derek and his family."

Hunter, a two-year, two-way starter for the Gators, was a first team All-PAL Bay Division tight end this past season. He was also a starting linebacker on a defensive unit that gave up the fewest points per contest in the Central Coast Section during the 2012 season.

Hunter has been a catalyst in the Gators winning two CCS Division IV football championships over the past three seasons. Hunter also was a key contributor for the Gators' CCS Division IV basketball championship team last year.

Meanwhile, Priory senior soccer standout Mariana Galvan, the No. 44 recruit in the nation on the IMG Academy 150, will continue her career at Santa Clara University. She's listed as a four-star recruit.

While Menlo School didn't have any national letters signed this week, the Knights did have a handful of college commitments to join a large group that committed last November.

Brooke Bullington (lacrosse, Bowdoin) and Hannah Rubin (lacrosse, Hamilton) announced their college choices this week.

Bullington and Rubin were key to Menlo finishing with a 16-4 overall record and 10-0 in West Bay Athletic League play in 2012. It was the Knights' eighth WBAL championship since 2004 and capped a 56-0 run in league matchups. As a junior last season, Bullington had 46 goals and 20 assists in 20 games. Rubin made 101 saves and held a 73 save-percentage. She also scored three goals for the Knights.

Daniel Morkovine (tennis, Claremont McKenna) also announced his intentions to continue his career. As a junior, Morkovine boosted a Menlo team that went 28-0 overall, won the 2012 National Invitation Tournament and wrapped up its fourth consecutive NorCal Championship. Morkovine, in his fourth year on a continuously powerful varsity squad, played No. 1 doubles as a sophomore and last year played mostly No. 4 singles and his victory was key to the Knights win at the national tournament.

Zach Smith (football, USC) is a long-snap specialist and has committed to the Trojans as a preferred walk-on. After a standout performance at the annual national kicking and snapping event in Las Vegas, Smith, USC contacted him to give him a chance to compete for the starting job next season. Over the summer, Smith participated in several long-snapping camps, and by the preseason, was ranked by national coach Chris Rubio as the No.8 long snapper in the country, and is currently ranked No. 2. One of the Knights' four captains, he helped pave the way for the team's run in the CCS Division IV playoffs.

Previous Menlo commitments released in November included Andrew Ball (Harvard tennis); Andrew Buchanan (SMU golf); Drew Edelman (USC basketball); Ali Kim (Brown lacrosse); Austin Marcus (Bucknell baseball); Michaela Michael (USC lacrosse); Wiley Osborne (Dartmouth lacrosse);
Richard Pham (Columbia tennis); and Emma Thygesen (Brown volleyball).

— SHP Athletics/Palo Alto Online Sports/Menlo Athletics

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