Five Jacks sign to play college sports

QUINCY — Students, family and coaches gathered at the Quincy High School commons Monday as five athletes signed their letter of intent to keep playing their sport at the college level. Pierce Bierlink, Ashton Barnes-Keller, Brayan Nunez, Edwin Hernandez and Dominik Plascencia put pen to paper.  

Pierce Bierlink – Whitworth University  

Earlier this spring, Bierlink announced his verbal commitment to Whitworth. Now that it’s official, he is excited to begin his journey in the Pirates men's basketball program.  

“It feels amazing,” Bierlink said. “I was kind of locked in, and I've been really excited for this kind of moment.” 

Over his four years at Quincy High School, Pierce averaged 32 points, nearly six rebounds and three assists. Against Toppenish, Pierce scored 64 points, which set scoring records in the Central Washington Athletic Conference, Quincy High School and possibly North Central Washington.   

By the end of his tenure as a Jack, he was the all-time leading scorer in program history with 2,224 career points, a record that stood for 48 years, according to Head Coach Scott Bierlink. He’s been named first team All-League all four years, twice in the Caribou Trail League before Quincy moved up to 2A and secured league MVP his sophomore season.   

When assessing which school was the right fit for him, he noted the winning culture and opportunity to play as selling points for him. As he closes this chapter at QHS, Bierlink feels confident the program has set him up for success.  

“I've played with a lot of good players here in Quincy; I've played with four people that scored 1,000 points in their career, and being around those people definitely helped me,” Bierlink said. “I feel like that goes to our development with our younger programs, and I think it's all going to be great, and I feel like that's probably the biggest thing that's helped me.”   

Ashton Barnes-Keller – Wenatchee Valley College

For Keller, he’d always thought about playing college baseball. Now he gets to play at one of his favorite programs. 

“I've went to a few of their games; they got good team chemistry,” Keller said. “One of my buddies is going there too, I played with him since I was little, and I've been working with one of the coaches to get better and just seems like a good program.” 

With five years of varsity experience, Keller said the teams move to the CWAC helped him improve and prepare for this next step.  

“The competition moving up to the CWAC was pretty difficult; they're pretty good, and saw a lot of good teams there,” he said. “I've had five years on varsity, so got a lot of time to grow and really expand my arsenal.”  

Brayan Nunez – Walla Walla Community College  

Nunez was all smiles after making it official and joining the Warriors men's soccer program.  

“It feels amazing knowing that not only after finishing soccer from high school, but I can also continue my career playing at a college,” Nunez said.  

As he grew to know the program, he said how personable Head Coach Abel Bautista made a big difference for him.  

“How much the coach showed interest in me and knowing that he not only values me as a player,” he said. “But he's also seen me in person, talked to me, and I can tell that he's a genuine person.” 

As he reflected on his time as a Jack, playing alongside his brother Jorge Nunez his freshman season will go down as one of his favorite memories, he said. He also feels he grew a lot that year, as well. 

“It was something about that year that it made me into the player I am, and continue growing as a player,” he said.  

Edwin Hernandez – Clark College  

For Hernandez, he was waiting for signing day for a long time. As he assessed the right fit for him, he felt Clark’s soccer program gave him a lot of opportunity to grow, he said.  

“The coach seemed like a really down-to-earth guy, and I could develop under him and he can take care of me and that's what I'm planning on doing,” Hernandez said.  

In his final days as a Jack, Hernandez said he’ll miss the atmosphere from the games and playing alongside his teammates, or in his words – his brothers. He expressed a lot of gratitude for how the Jacks program prepared him.  

“The coaches are amazing, and the atmosphere is amazing,” Hernandez said. “We've been a winning program for a long time and it’s only up from here.”  

Dominik Plascencia – Spokane Falls Community College  

Plascencia was excited to make it official and is eager to join Sasquatch soccer program. When he began learning about the program and the school, he realized they checked a lot of boxes for him.  

“I was visiting a few colleges, and I went to Spokane, and I took a tour, and I really loved the campus and everything,” Plascencia said. “They also offered the program (computer science) that I wanted, so that was also something that I would like to pursue,”  

His interest in computer science stems from his enjoyment of working with computers and technology, he said. Along with a promising career path, it felt like the right fit for him. Like his teammates, he will always be proud to be a Jack.  

“This town is known for soccer, so to represent those colors, it's a blessing,” he said. 

    Dominik Plascencia signs his letter to play soccer at Spokane Falls Community College.
  

    Edwin Hernandez is all smiles as he commits to Clark College for men’s soccer.
  

    Whitworth basketball commit Pierce Bierlink signs his letter of intent to become a Pirate.
  

    The Jacks’ Brayan Nunez signs his letter of intent to play soccer for Walla Walla Community College next year.
  

    Ashton Barners-Keller represents Wenatchee Valley College as he makes it official to play for their baseball program next year.