ARLINGTON — For two Arlington High School student athletes, the season just got a little brighter.

Seniors Ronnie Ladines and Lindsay Brown both signed letters of intent to play sports for Division 1 schools, on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Ladines committed to play softball for Kent State in Ohio, while Brown committed to play basketball for Idaho State.

Ladines has been playing softball since she was a child, and as a pitcher she helped take the Lady Eagles to the state quarterfinals last spring. She began talking with a few schools the summer before her junior year.

“I was looking into what schools I wanted to go to, and two of my former teammates from my select team play there now,” said Ladines. “They came to one of my games and we started talking about playing for them.”

Ladines went on an unofficial visit to the school and loved it.

“It is exactly what I was looking for in a college,” said Ladines, who appreciated the academics and the atmosphere of the school.

Now that she knows where she is headed next fall, she’s excited to play her final year as a high school athlete.

“It’s going to be busy, but it’s less stress worrying about where I’m going to go,” she said.

Brown has been playing basketball since she was in fourth grade, and has stuck with it for almost a decade.

“I knew I wanted to play sports, so I just picked basketball and kept going with it,” said Brown. “I played with a local team called Club Shock until my junior year.”

As an AHS athlete, Brown played on the junior varsity team as a freshman and varsity from her sophomore year until senior year.

“A big part of it is me growing as a player,” she said. “I’ve had great coaches these past four years and they pushed me to be the best athlete I could be.”

It wasn’t easy for Brown, who tore her ACL during her sophomore season.

“That was my push, to overcome that injury,” said Brown.

She began to play showcase tournaments and sent emails to schools expressing her interest in their basketball programs.

“And I just played, hoping to have a school contact me,” she said. When Idaho State invited her to visit, it sealed the deal.

“When I visited, I instantly fell in love with the school,” she said. “The team there was a family and that’s what we have at Arlington.”

After experiencing her ACL injury and subsequent physical therapy, Brown was inspired to pursue a career in health sciences.

“After going through that experience, I wanted to do something in the health sciences where I could help people,” said Brown.

Although she already knows where she’ll be going to school once she graduates, Brown isn’t planning on slacking during this season.

“I’m going to make it the best season yet, I’m think about the team right now and I want to go far with this team,” she said.

Both girls received full-ride scholarships for all four years.