One newcomer to the school. One attendee since middle

school. One since kindergarten.

One NCAA Division I scholarship. One offer to join a

D-III team. One scholarship in the NAIA ranks.

It all adds up to one diverse group - and one historic year for High Point Christian Academy.

The private school started by Green Street Baptist Church in 1996 has been waiting to celebrate an event similar to Thursday`s gathering for quite some time. The large HPCA Cougars banner served as the proud backdrop as family members, coaches and a few friends attended a signing ceremony for Troy Spencer, John Eger and Christyne Gonzalez.

This year marks the growing school`s third graduating class - and third season of varsity athletics. The college signings are the first for HPCA.

"You want to have great programs, and in order to do that you`ve got to have committed kids that want to excel and not just be on teams," said Cougars athletic director Corey Gesell. "Being a young school, it takes a while to build up to that, but we`ve got a lot of our programs at that point now."

Gesell said news of the signings created a sense of excitement at HPCA. Spencer will play golf for Seton Hall in New Jersey. Eger heads to Covenant College in Georgia to play soccer. Gonzalez will compete on the softball diamond for Averett University in Danville, Va.

Spencer arrived at HPCA from Trinity during his eighth-grade year and has been a growing force on the junior tournament circuit. He finished seventh in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 2A state tourney last season and followed that with a couple of wins in Pinehurst`s "Winternational" series, which features some of the top golfers from the Carolinas and beyond.

A top-five finish in a national tournament in Tampa, Fla., also helped put Spencer on the recruiting radar. He said he was mulling offers from schools such as Boston College, Tulsa, Michigan State and Missouri State before the Pirates came through with a scholarship offer totaling about 95 percent of the private university`s cost.

"The first thing you hear (from others) is, "Why Seton Hall?`" Spencer said of the school in South Orange located a mere 14 miles from Manhattan. "As soon as Seton Hall put the offer on the table, that really made the decision for me and my family."

In the Pirates, Spencer sees a Big East competitor on the rise for third-year coach Clay White.

"I got along with Coach White really well. He`s a great coach," Spencer explained. "Their program is completely on the upswing. They`re going to be really good next year, got a really solid incoming class. Everybody`s young. We`re looking to get back to the top of the rankings in the spring of next year, hopefully."

The business school at Seton Hall - a college of about 10,000 students - also appealed to Spencer. He plans to major in business and marketing at a school that routinely places interns at the New York Stock Exchange and other top sites in New York City.

Eger also is aiming high with his college plans - really high, as in the top of Lookout Mountain in Georgia. Covenant is a Presbyterian-affiliated college with nearly 1,000 students and one heck of a view.

"It`s a beautiful campus. It`s really on top of the mountain," Eger said. "You`re looking off from where you are - it`s amazing."

The NAIA soccer program competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and has made some appearances in the national tournament and top 25 rankings in recent years. The Scots - they play their home games at New Scotland Yard - are coached by John Miglarese. He was a standout goalie at Georgia Southern, so the fact that he liked what he saw in the Cougars` keeper is a definite plus.

"The coach said I`ll have a chance to compete for the starting job," Eger said. "I`ll work hard to get that and hopefully keep it the whole time I`m there."

Eger plans to get his degree in engineering, which is one of the main reasons he chose Covenant over the likes of Belhaven (Miss.) and Houghton (N.Y.). No, Covenant doesn`t have an engineering school. But its pre-engineering program is pretty good considering after 31/2 years at Covenant, students spend their final two years at Georgia Tech getting the actual degree from there.

Gonzalez had her college plans nearly finalized in pursuit of a radio broadcasting major. With early thoughts of heading to the University of Florida - she grew up in the state before coming to HPCA two years ago - and then looking toward Appalachian State for its communications program, softball suddenly entered the picture.

The offer from Averett, a school of just more than a thousand students, was appealing for Gonzalez. She has played the sport since the age of 5.

"When Averett offered for me to play there, I was definitely going to go," she said. "It just happened. I was like, "All right!`"

Gonzalez, who plays third base and shortstop for the HPCA Cougars, should have a good chance to play right away for the Averett Cougars. The NCAA Division III squad, which competes in the USA South Conference, has won just three games so far this season.

New coach Stefanie Clayton should help turn around the program, though, after leading Averett to a conference championship and the school`s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth as a player. Clayton saw Gonzalez at a showcase event, which led to the offer to join the team.

In choosing Averett, Gonzalez kept herself from returning to Florida`s warm rays, but at least avoided the cold winters in Boone. When asked about her move to High Point two years ago, she said playing softball helped her fit in at the school immediately.

The only challenge?

"The weather was the biggest thing I had to adjust to," she said with a laugh. "Playing in the cold - I`m used to playing in 90 degrees."

Of course, to reach the next level, each HPCA athlete played in all kinds of weather year-round. After sewing the seeds of hard work, they now have reaped their rewards.

"I`m happy for these three," Gesell said. "They`ve been great examples for the others to follow."

Rest assured, there will be more, said Eger, a member of the HPCA family since kindergarten.

"It`s great to start it off, because there`s definitely more coming up," he said. "Even next year I`m sure there`ll be more, and it will just keep on growing."