Put another one in the books. Washington ace Rebekah Langston has earned several victories during her softball career but the senior recently recorded her most significant one to date as she was awarded a scholarship to Guilford College, where she will pitch for the Quakers.
“I’m really happy,” Langston said. “I’ve worked really hard and I really wanted to play in college.”
Langston went 15-6 with a 1.45 ERA for Washington last season en route to being named a WDN All-Area first-team selection and credited travel ball coach Andy Stewart for helping her get to the next level.
“I didn’t know how far I had to go until I got with the Challengers and Coach Andy laid down the law and told me that I have the potential, but if I didn’t fix certain things I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Langston said.
Determined to improve, Langston traveled to Raleigh for pitching lessons and continued to work with Stewart and Pam Pack coach Doug Whitehead and was rewarded for her hard work.
“She worked hard to fix what she had to fix,” Stewart said. “I lot of kids would not have done that. I lot of kids would have folded up the tent and said ‘I just can’t accomplish it.’ She didn’t do that. It’s important that people understand that if you want to go to the next level you have to have that desire. You can’t hope for it.”
Langston, who has a 4.5 GPA, drew interest from several colleges and in the end whittled the list down to Guilford and Peace. The left-handed hurler said that Guilford’s cozy campus helped sway her to Greensboro.
“I kept narrowing down (the choices) and then finally we were getting to crunch time,” Langston said. “I narrowed it down to two and they were both telling me that they needed me to make a decision. But, it really is about where you feel comfortable and I knew once I walked on the (Guilford) campus.”
Rebekah’s mother, Rita Langston, said she was fine with whatever decision her daughter made and was just happy to see her advance to the next level.
“I’m a very, very proud parent. I’m very excited for her,” Rita said. “I wanted the decision to be hers and I wanted her to be happy where she was going. She’s the one who will be going to classes and doing what she’s got to do and I think she made the right choice.”
Langston is another in a growing list of Washington softball players to go on to play past high school and Whitehead said she is very deserving.
“I’m thrilled to death any time one of our girls goes on to play in college. Rebekah has worked very hard and has very good work ethic and is well suited to go on to the next level,” Whitehead said. “It’s speaks highly of our program and it shows that we are producing beyond high school level.”
Langston, who plans on entering the medical field, is expected to immediately compete for a starting job upon arrival.
“We’re going to throw her right in the mix right from the start,” Guilford coach Dennis Shores said. “She brings a change we haven’t had before in being a left-handed pitcher and I’m looking for big things for her.”