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Sports

Harrison Standout Signs College Letter of Intent

Harrison Husky senior Dennis Rinaldi signs his letter of intent to play basketball and football next year for the Western New England College Golden Bears.

In today's culture it's rare for a student athlete to play three sports, and it's even harder to find a person who can excel in two of them.

Harrison's Dennis Rinaldi spent his senior year as a three sport athlete for the Huskies. This fall he was the captain of the Harrison football team, where he played on the defensive end and as the team's starting tight end.

In the winter Rinaldi became one of the best basketball players in Harrison High School history. His senior season was his third season as the team's captain and his second year on the all-section team.

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When most other high school seniors would have taken the spring off to concentrate on things like the beach and the prom, Rinaldi decided to turn in his high tops for a nine iron and joined the school's golf team. He is also using his time to compete on the Minutemen AAU basketball team.

Now that his high school days are nearing an end, it's time for Rinaldi to take the next jump in his athletic career. With offers from several division II and III schools and some mutual interest from division I programs, Rinaldi had a multitude of options for furthering his career in football, basketball and most importantly, academia.

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After listening to a plethora of college coaches Rinaldi began weighing his options with his family, football Coach Art Troilo Jr., and his guidance counselor. Rinaldi finally decided his best option was to sign with Western New England College.

"I had a lot of coaches calling me on a daily basis," said Rinaldi, "but when we factored in the education I would receive and that fact that both coaches were supportive of me playing two sports, it really made me feel like Western New England was the right place for me."

WNEC allows Rinaldi the opportunity to play football and basketball as well as receiving a quality education.

In his first year Dennis is planning on spending football season as a red shirt so he can lift with the team and learn the playbook. He is also going to study hard and prepare for the basketball season with the Golden Bears.

"We first saw Dennis in the spring of 2009 at an AAU tournament, we went there to recruit another big man and Dennis played him toe to toe," said WNEC basketball coach Chris Agoglia, "Dennis has a lot of perimeter skills for a big man and he is tough on the inside too. We knew if we signed him he would be an asset to the program."

Coach Agoglia is now entering his third season as the Golden Bear's head coach and this will be his seventh year overall with the program. Last year the team finished with a record of 12-14 and they lost their final five games. As for next year, Rinaldi is already excited about the prospect of being the team's missing link.

"I'm going to miss Harrison sports, but I can't wait for college," said Rinaldi. "Playing college basketball has always been a dream of mine and getting the opportunity to go to an up and coming program like WNEC gives me a great chance to play and compete."

The WNEC Golden Bears are looking at a team that will have five seniors and one junior next year, so minutes may be limited for Rinaldi as a freshman, but Agoglia says he will play squad members who give him the best chance to win.

"I would never promise a recruit playing time," Agoglia said, "but Dennis will have the same opportunity as everyone else. With five seniors on the team we are going from a relatively experienced team to a young team very quickly, so we could need Dennis to step up big for us in his second and third years."

Rinaldi's basketball career at Harrison ended after a senior season where he led the team with 18.5 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

"We have no doubt that Dennis can handle the pressure of two college sports," said Agoglia. "He has been doing it all his life and at the division III level the seasons don't overlap as much. We think he has the work ethic to do it so I expect him to do a great job in both sports."

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