PINCKNEYVILLE — Pinckneyville senior Steven Hirte made his college choice official Wednesday when he signed with Union University where he will run cross country. Union is a Division II school located in Jackson, Tennessee.

Hirte admitted the recruiting process was not easy during the pandemic. “It complicated it for sure not being able to run track last year,” Hirte said. “Didn’t have as many times–didn’t feel like I could improve my times as much, but luckily we were able to get a cross country season in up until sectionals. I was thankful for that.”

Hirte and the Panthers had quite a season. Pinckneyville won the SIRR Mississippi championship, the Marissa 1A Regional championship, and finished second at the Althoff 1A Sectional.

“Overall, it was a very successful team,” Hirte said. “I was really excited for the group of boys we had together. We had a great bond, and that led us to win our conference meet, our regionals meet, and we placed second at sectionals. If we would’ve had a state meet, I would’ve been excited to see what we could’ve done there.”

As for the future, Hirte is look forward to what’s ahead.

“I’m just excited for the next step in my athletic career and my academic career for sure,” Hirte said. “It took several months to make a decision. I had to figure out where I wanted to go, but I’m happy and content on where I decided to go.”