In high school athletics, there is something special about an athlete committing to further their academic and athletic career at the collegiate level. 

After early morning practices, setbacks, wins, losses, sacrifices and dedication to the process, all the hard work becomes worth it when an athlete realizes their dream of playing their sport at the next level. 

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Summit High School multi-sport athlete Eli Krawczuk achieved his childhood dream of playing football in college by signing his national letter of intent to Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

“I played flag football up until seventh grade, and I think I have been playing since about fifth grade,” Krawczuk said. “Ever since I started playing tackle football, I have wanted to pursue it as a collegiate sport. I love the game, and I am excited about the opportunity I have to play it at such a good institution.”

This past football season, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 280-pound offensive and defensive lineman helped the Summit football program to a playoff berth and its first home playoff game in over 14 years. 

The Summit football team would go on to lose to Frederick High School in the first round of the playoffs, but the season was still historic on all fronts for Krawczuk and the Summit football program.

For the first time since the 2008 fall football season, the Summit football team surpassed eight wins on the season, going 9-2 overall while going 4-1 in league play. The Summit football team also beat Palisade High School for the first time in school history and started the season 5-0. 

Krawczuk was a huge part of Summit’s success, serving as a captain of the football team while blocking for teammates and sniffing out tackles in games.

This past season, Krawczuk recorded 34 solo tackles, 27 assisted tackles and six pancake blocks.

The performance of Krawczuk throughout the season drew interest from the NCAA Division II Colorado School of Mines football program as well as Western Colorado University, Black Hills State University, Charon State College and Colorado State University-Pueblo.

An official visit to Colorado School of Mines, however, solidified Krawczuk’s decision to become a defensive lineman for the Orediggers this fall.

“I had to choose Mines,” Krawczuk said. “I liked everything about Mines and couldn’t find anything to dig on about Mines. I think it is a great place for me, and I will fit right in there.”

Like Summit, the Colorado School of Mines football program also had a historic season last fall. The team went 13-3 overall and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II Championship game. The Orediggers title run just came up short as the team fell to Ferris State University, 41-14.

Krawczuk is excited to join a program with so much success and is eager to be coached by a new set of coaches.

“I am looking forward to the coaching stuff,” Krawczuk said. “That coaching stuff is a lot of fun and I think they really have an amazing thing going for them. I went down there on my official visit and it was a brotherhood that I felt like I had in Summit. It almost felt tighter than that. I am excited to be part of that.”

In front of friends, teammates and family in the Summit High School library, Krawczuk put pen to paper to officially make his commitment official with a national letter of intent.

Krawczuk was thankful for the time he has had at Summit, including seeing the program transform under head coach James Wagner.

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“It has been really awesome for it to kind of grow with me,” Krawczuk said. “When I came in as a freshman we had a really rough start, but I had a lot of faith in Wagner and his ideals. Ultimately it has paid off so well — not only for myself — but giving the next guys opportunities to grow. I am so blessed to been a part of it.”

Krawczuk isn’t set on a specific major yet, but he is leaning towards environmental engineering because it will hopefully allow him to travel the world in the future.

Before stepping foot on the Colorado School of Mines campus in the fall, Krawczuk will conclude the Summit boys basketball season and the rest of the 2022-23 school year. 

Krawczuk will return to the court on Friday, Feb. 3, when the Summit basketball team hosts Coal Ridge High School. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.