FARMINGTON – Nearly a dozen graduating seniors from Farmington High School signaled their intentions to extend their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level during a signing ceremony held last week at Scorpion Arena.
In addition to girls basketball players Kjani Anitielu and Amry Garfield, a pair of wrestlers have also signed on to attend college. The ceremony was attended by students as well as parents, faculty and teammates.
Tristan Burns, who competed for the NMAA State Wrestling Championships in the 172 lb. division, signed on with Trinidad State College in Colorado.
Ioanna Ueanimatang, who secured fifth place at the NMAA Girls State Wrestling Championships and finished 3rd at the 2026 Region 1 Championship at the 155 and 152 lb. weight classes, also signed her letter of intent to attend Ottawa University in Kansas.
Trinidad State College, competing in the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association’s Region 9, is led by head coach Adam Ortivez, and have featured prominent wrestlers such as Jay Everhart, who finished third in the 2024 Mines Rookie Open hosted by Colorado School of Mines.
Ueanimatang joins an Ottawa University women’s wrestling team coming off a strong 10-7 season last year before finishing ninth of 36 teams in the National Championships of the National Association of Intercollegiate Championships (NAIA) last month.
The Braves are coached by Dalton Weidl. In his five years on the job, the team has won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. Weidl has coached three NAIA All-Americans, nine KCAC Individual Champions and 43 All-KCAC performers.
Anitielu, who finished her senior season as the girls basketball team’s leading scorer with 487 points, recorded more than 1500 points in her four years on the varsity team. Kjani, along with older sisters Kamalani, Kapiolani and Kiiyani all signed on to play college basketball following their time at Farmington High.
Kjani signed her letter of intent to attend Colorado State University-Pueblo, which finished its most recent season with a record of 13-15. The Thunderwolves are led by head coach Tommie Johnson, who has led the program for seven seasons.
Johnson served as an assistant coach with CSU-Pueblo for eight seasons. As recruiting coordinator, he guided the ThunderWolves to winning seasons in seven out of eight years. Johnson helped sign three junior college All-Americans during his time at CSU-Pueblo. Multiple student-athletes earned All-RMAC honors, which included a defensive player of the year.
Garfield agreed to sign with College of St. Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. The Flames finished last season with a record of 4-24 and are led by head coach Markell Fox.
Marley Deswood, one of the top tennis players in the state, was a 5-year letter winner with the Scorpion tennis team, putting together an impressive record of 171 wins to just 29 losses.
Deswood was a member of the school’s 2025 state championship Tennis team and was a two-time state runner-up in doubles and a two-time 3rd place finisher in singles at the state tournament.
Deswood will attend the University of Redlands in California, where she plans to continue her tennis career for the Bulldogs.
The women’s tennis team are in the midst of a winning season and is led by head coach Mike Longanecker.
Among those Farmington High seniors who also signed their letters of intent were soccer player Alejandro Lomeli, who will be playing Men’s Soccer at Justice University in Chandler, Arizona.
Emerson Bourland will be joining the women’s volleyball team at Morton College in Cicero, Illinois, on a full-ride scholarship.