Highland’s Cam Cutrone will be continuing his football career close to home, as he picked Ohio Wesleyan University as his college.
Cutrone, who will major in history education and minor in coaching, noted that making a decision wasn’t a quick process.
“It took me a long time,” he said. “The process of recruiting was both exciting and exhausting. It took me up until this April, maybe May, until I decided.”
While he really liked Ohio Wesleyan when he first visiting it, he said that he wanted to look into the other schools on his list before making a decision. Wooster and Capital were the main two he had been interested in.
“I love the coaches,” he said of Ohio Wesleyan. “They have a family motto and I really love the campus.”
And it doesn’t hurt that the Delaware school is close to home.
“Exactly,” he said. “It’s super close — 24 minutes on the dot — so I can stay home when I want to and talk to my family.”
While with Highland, Cutrone experienced a lot of success while starting for the Scots in three of his four years. The team earned 28 wins, three conference championships and two playoff appearances while he played and, individually, he earned a number of awards, including being named to the KMAC All-Conference team, Mount Vernon News All-Area team and the North Central Ohio Football Coaches Association team both his junior and senior years, as well as being a team captain and selected to the All-Central District team as a senior.
“I think Highland prepared me the best they can,” he said. “I feel I’m the best I can be to go to college and play football. This year was tough, but it taught me what losing feels like and I don’t like it.”
Cutrone, who will be playing defensive tackle in college, is looking forward to making a positive impact on the Battling Bishops team.
“I would just hope that even if I’m not on varsity too much, I’ll be able to get in and, if not, be able to help the other freshmen,” he said.
One challenge for Cutrone currently involves being able to get in quality workouts due to how the COVID-19 pandemic has kept school facilities closed for the past couple months. However, he said that his coaches have done a great job working with athletes.
“I’ve been able to work through it,” he said. “The coaches set us up with a great plan where even if you don’t have weights, there’s a body-weight program.”
He added that they’ve also had the occasional online group workout, which has helped with team bonding,
Off the field, he’s looking forward to meeting new people, both on and off the football team. He said that his friendships are among his best memories of high school.
“Honestly, what I’m going to take the most is how I made many friends over the years and, with teammates, they’re like family to me.”
The outgoing nature tied into his favorite high school memory — playing the role of Santa Claus to help raise money for a school program.
“My best memory was being Santa at school because I was able to put smiles on a lot of peoples’ faces,” he said. “It was the Friday before exams and Christmas. I put on a Santa suit and sat down and if you wanted a picture, it was a dollar.”
