Following last week when senior Ellie Jane Riner was named Scholar Athlete for WCTV, on Nov. 17th, in the Webster gym at Maclay School, Riner signed with the University of North Georgia to continue her golf and academic career. She has been playing golf for nine years and only continues to grow in her golf career.
When the signing began, Athletic Director Harold Hillard welcomed Riner, her family members, classmates, teammates and coaches. He then passed the mic over to golf coach and teacher Cindy Stockstill to give a speech about Riner and all her accomplishments along with her hard work on and off the course.
Stockstill began her speech by saying how thrilled and excited she is for Riner and her commitment to the sport of golf. She stated that Riner has what it takes to be a next level athlete and that she has set the bar high. Riner has been one of Stockstill’s golfers for five years, and everyone around her can tell her sportsmanship is unmatched. Stockstill ended her speech by saying that North Georgia is getting an incredible player. Then, she gave Riner her best wishes and expressed how excited she was for her.
“I am most proud of Ellie Jane’s hard work and determination,” E. Riner’s mother Jamie Riner said.
Riner’s stepdad then took the mic and gave a speech. He first started out by expressing his and his wife’s thankfulness for everyone showing up to Riner’s signing as she will continue the next chapter of her education at North Georgia. He thanked Maclay for the support of her teachers that Maclay has provided for her education. He finished up his speech by thanking everyone for their support as she takes the next steps in her golf journey.
“I am excited to see her continue to grow in the sport she loves and see all the amazing things she is going to do at the next level,” senior Victoria Gainey said.
Before Riner signed, she had a speech to give to the crowd. She first started off by giving a huge thanks to her parents, family, friends, coaches and teammates who have helped her through all the ups and downs during her high school career.
“My brother picked up gold and then he passed it along to me,” Riner said.
The end of her singing concluded with an interview with Alison Posey from WCTV and a table filled with golf cupcakes provided by the Riner family for the big day.
