Kari Gibb/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington senior Jacob Shaefer (22) showcased talent on the football field for the Lakers and will now continue that trend at MSUM this fall. He, and two others, signed their NLI documents this last week at DLB.

Des Lacs-Burlington (DLB) had a big day with three senior athletes signing National Letters of Intent (NLI). Deciding what college to play at and learn at is a big deal for athletes

John Renaud, a golfer for DLB signed on the dotted line to continue his golfing career at Valley City State College (VCSC) in Valley CIty.

Renaud, a two time all region golfer and three time state golf competitor, knew he wanted to continue golfing in college.

“My main goal was to play golf for college and Valley City really opened up an opportunity for me,” said Renaud.

John has been golfing since he was a little kid and his dad would take him out to play. Renaud had been on the search for the perfect school. The VCSC golf coach reached out with a scholarship offer.

After the coach reached out to Renaud, his family scheduled a visit. “I ended up deciding to sign the same day,” Renaud said, happy with his decision.

Along with playing golf Renaud will be studying cyber security.

Eli Miller also signed for golf. Miller and Renaud were teammates for four years at DLB and had similar aspirations.

Miller holds an impressive gold career at DLB with one final year left. So far in his career Miller has been a four time all region golfer and been to state four times. Miller also is a two-time Northwest Conference Medalist.

Miller decided to make the drive to Crete, Nebraska and sign on with the Doane golf team. Miller will be studying engineering at Doane, which is known for its impressive engineering programs.

Miller chose the school mainly for academic reasons. “Golf is big too, but I needed the school to be right”

The final Laker signing for their athletic career was Jake Schaefer. A multi-sport athlete, Shaefer is signing to play football at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM).

Shaefer has had a very successful football career at DLB. Shaefer has been a starter for DLB for three years and has played varsity for all four years of his highschool career.

As a two year all region player and one year second team all state player, Shaefer wanted to further his skill and ability on the gridiron. His new coach Steve Laqua, at MSUM, has been setting records. With Coach Laqua working to improve his team and his individual athletes, Shaefer felt this was a great fit.

Renaud had one final message for other athletes out there in the same position he was in when deciding what school to commit to. “Just follow your dreams, that’s all. When you think you can’t make it just go for it.”