by By Dan Ninham
Trine University will be getting a top recruit in two sports next year.
Simon Quigno, 18, lives in Mount Pleasant, MI. He competed in lacrosse and football for Swartz Creek HS.
“My tribe is Saginaw Chippewa, my spirit name is Aankwaad Nimkee, meaning thundercloud, and I am a member of the bear clan,” said Simon.
“My main athlete accomplishment is being the first Native American to be named to the All-Metro lacrosse team,” said Simon.
“My tribe has influenced me because when I play on a field I always remember and I was taught to thank Mother Nature for allowing us to play on her back and to entertain the creator as we play the Creators game,” said Simon.
“My mentor is my grandmother who influenced me to run with my head down and also on a swivel,” said Simon. “She always told me ‘if anyone hurts my grand baby I will hop the fence to be by your side’. My grandmother helped me find the love I have for sports. She taught me to pray before you play. She taught me to love my team like they’re my brothers and most importantly have fun.”
“My grandmother taught me how to overcome a loss with more practice and celebrate a win with more practice,” said Simon. “She lives an hour and forty-five minutes from me and still made every game. She taught me that every outcome could’ve been worse.”
During 16 games of the lacrosse season his senior year, Simon shot 99 times and scored 35 goals with seven assists including 4 minutes and 30 seconds in the penalty box.
“The red hand print on my face is for MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women including our sisters in Indian Country,” said Simon. “I wear that hand print to raise awareness for my sisters who our tribe has lost.”
“My teammates at first didn’t know why I wore the hand print until I told them why and they all accepted it and supported me. The fans did the same,” added Simon.
Simon will be attending Trine University in Angola, IN next school year to play lacrosse and football.
“I also played football and I’m going to continue playing football in college at Trine University,” said Simon. “Football was supposed to be a sport to keep me in shape for lacrosse but I fell in love with the sport allowing me to get my anger, depression, sadness, and my fear of failing and compact that into one hit and I loved that feeling so much to be free.”
During his high school senior football season as a defensive end, he had 26 tackles, 10 sacks, 1 field goal blocked, and four fumble recoveries.
“Simon is a great human being,” said Joe Spencer, head football coach at Schwartz Creek HS. “Very courageous. Strong work ethic. Positive. Has a ton of integrity. I’m proud to know Simon and I know he will find his way to great outcomes in his future endeavors.”
“Some of the things that popped out to me initially in the recruiting process was Simon is a very athletic player,” said Karl Zimmerman, head men’s lacrosse coach at Trine University. “He has a high compete level. He comes from an athletic family.”
“Throughout the recruiting process he has been a great communicator, an ambassador for his high school team, and he has high expectations for himself,” added Karl.
“At Trine we want our student-athletes to be prepared to succeed, lead, and serve,” said Karl. “I have no doubt he will be a great addition to the university and lacrosse program.”
“He’s a very passionate person,” said Jacob Kingsley, Trine University head football coach. “I could tell this through our conversations throughout the recruiting process. You can see that he plays with that same passion on the field. He has good quickness off the edge and plays with a high motor. We’re excited to see what he’s going to bring to the team the next four years.”
Simon Quigno knows where he is going in his college future. “I’m taking it to the next level,” said Simon.
Photo Credit: Rhonda Quigno
