Prince Albert’s Davin Ikert is getting ready to head down to the Tar Heel State.
Ikert, who recently graduated from St. Mary, has committed to the University of Mount Olive Trojans lacrosse program for the upcoming season and will be moving down to North Carolina in August.
“I’ve been counting down the days ever since I committed there this spring,” Ikert said. “ I can’t wait to get down there and meet my roommates, my coaches and my teammates for the first time, along with just walking around the campus and checking everything out.”
The process of finding a post-secondary program was a two-year process for Ikert, who plays as a defender in field lacrosse.
“I would have liked to have committed sooner but things got slowed down a bit due to COVID-19,” Ikert said.
“I started talking to schools a couple of years ago after I went to a tournament in California. After talking to a number of programs I narrowed it down to my top five and tried to find the school that was the perfect fit, which proved to be Mount Olive.”
The Trojans, who compete in the NCAA Division II ranks in the Conference Carolinas, are located about an hour southeast of Raleigh.
They posted an 11-3 record and were ranked 12th nationally this past season on their way to qualifying for the NCAA Division II championships, where they lost in the opening round to the Tampa Spartans.
“They are a highly competitive team with a smaller roster size, which gives guys more of a chance to play,” Ikert said. “What I really like about Mount Olive is the fact that they are a smaller school and that I have been able to connect with their coaching staff already.”
Ikert also gained valuable insight on what the program is like from graduating defender Joshua Bentley, who is from Saskatoon.
“He filled me on what everything was like for him in his freshman year as he moved down to the States and getting used to living away from home, along with walking me through the campus and all the things to do in Mount Olive.” Ikert said.
“He said that everyone treated him really well as he moved down there and that he would recommend to school to anyone.”
Ikert is the fourth player from Prince Albert Lacrosse to commit to an American post-secondary program for this fall.
Kade Beaton and Caidyn Prediger will be teammates for the Quincy University Hawks, who are based in Illinois and compete in the NCAA Division II ranks, while Bauer Swystun will suit up for the Westcliff University Warriors program, who are in Irvine, Calif. and play in the NAIA.
“It’s a really cool opportunity for all of us,” said Ikert, who plans to study exercise science at Mount Olive.
“Field lacrosse is really taking off in Prince Albert and I can’t wait to come back and share my experiences with the kids that are coming up. There’s opportunities out there to earn scholarships in lacrosse and we can hopefully open the door for more players from Prince Albert.”
