On Wednesday Februray 1, the Greeley West athletic department hosted guests for national signing day, when Spartan athletes sign their letter of intent to play a collegiate sport at the next level. This year, West had one athlete – senior soccer player Ella Wilcox – ink their name to an intent form.  Wilcox is headed to Sacramento State to play Division 1 women’s soccer.

Wilcox has always dreamed of obtaining this achievement, knowing the amount of work that needed to be done and her sacrifices needed. She still was able to overcome the challenges and get to play the next level. Wilcox expressed,  “It feels awesome, it’s been a long time coming and I am very blessed and grateful for the situation I am in. I can’t wait for the future and what it is going to bring.” 

Wilcox said the process of getting to a college team was more difficult than she thought.  “I always thought I would play collegiate soccer, but it’s been way harder to get here than I first imagined,” Wilcox dsaid.  “But it has been a good experience to learn from which helped me better myself from what I have learned.”

Wilcox credit her time on many teams which not only sharpened her skills, but made her able to connect with many different playstyles. The teams Wilcox has played for have been Norco Rush, Rush DPL, Colorado Rapids, and the Greeley West soccer team. 

With the skills of being able to pursue D1 soccer many schools have reached out to her trying to get her on the team. However,  when Wilcox visited Sacramento State she instantly fell in love with the campus and what it offers,  knowing it will not only help her on the pitch but in the classroom as well. Wilcox said, “When I visited Sacramento, I knew this was going to be my school. It was just the point of being able to impress the coaches and get on the team. The campus is so beautiful and the coaches are the most welcoming people ever.”

She decided to choose Sacramento State over many other colleges that reached out to her, including her second choice Idaho.   

Soccer isn’t the only thing Wilcox is heading to Sacramento State for; she is pursuing her undergraduate in architecture.

The Sacramento State soccer program finished with a record of 4-9-5 in the 2022 season, playing many top schools such as Stanford and Washington. Sacramento State  is in the Big Sky Conference, which plays the University of Northern Colorado in their conference play. In the upcoming season of 2024 they are going to play at UNC which Wilcox is excited to come back to Greeley and play at her hometown college. Wilcox said, “I am so excited to play against UNC. I am going to come back down (to Greeley) and we are going to beat them.”