HELENA — Monday afternoon in the library at Helena Capital, Eric Cockhill and Trysten Mooney both signed their letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers in college.
Cockhill signed to play football at Concordia College in Minnesota, Mooney will play baseball at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington.
For both players, the opportunity to sign together, albeit to different schools, was an exciting part of the process.
"We just grew up together, we've always been buddies. And it just, it's fun to do it with your friend and just the accomplishments that we've had," said Mooney.
"Me and Trystan have been good friends for a bunch of years. I've known him for a long time, playing baseball with them together. You know, it was something we wanted to do together," said Cockhill.
Cockhill announced his commitment to Concordia via Twitter on March 9. Across his final year as a Bruin, he put up solid numbers for the football team with 36 receptions for 385 yards and five touchdowns according to Maxpreps.
"The coaches and coaching staff and all the players there; they made sure I was very welcome there on my visit, and I'm just really excited," said Cockhill.
The Capital football team ended their season in the quarterfinal round of the MHSA playoffs turning in a 6-5 record overall.
Mooney announced his commitment to play baseball at Wenatchee Valley via Twitter on Nov. 23, 2021 and is entering what's destined to be his final year as a Helena Senator after winning a State AA title with the Helena Capital boys basketball team in March.
Mooney, a catcher and infielder for the Senators, said being able to pursue this is like a dream come true.
"As a little kid, you wish — you always hope that you can get to the next level and play college sports. It's just pretty awesome to finally like, have that weight off your shoulders," said Mooney.
While there's certainly still time to decide, neither had concrete plans for what they are planning on studying. Mooney noted he's still trying to decide between radiology technology or business, while Cockhill said he's relatively undecided but will likely choose between business management or business finance.
