Abby and I first met on an athletic recruiting trip at Hillsdale College in October of our senior year of high school. I will never forget standing in the Biermann Center (Hillsdale’s indoor track facility), and seeing her for the first time. We can both admit now that at dinner that night we made sure to get a spot near each other.

After standing outside of the restaurant, El’ Cerrito’s, we started making small talk and I knew deep down there was nothing small about it. After she headed back to Ohio, and I to Colorado, we continued to talk and got to know each other through FaceTime while we finished up high school. She visited me in Colorado that February and came to one of my high school basketball games. Then that spring, I flew to Ohio and spent time with her amazing family.

We both committed to Hillsdale College for Cross Country and Track, and by the fall, we were eager for college to start and quickly became teammates, classmates, best friends and started dating pretty quickly. Hillsdale is a very small town in Michigan with not a ton to do, but we made some sweet memories that year that will always be special to us! Trips to Ann Arbor, breakfast at Sharon’s Cafe, Sunday Church, or our countless competitive tennis matches.

We realized that Hillsdale wasn’t a fit for either of us after all, so we started looking into transferring to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix where we both entered the transfer portal in the spring of our freshman year. With God’s grace and direction, we both landed a spot on the distance team and transferred the next fall to GCU. Since being in Phoenix, we have enjoyed pool time, pickleball, hikes, and exploring new restaurants together! I knew very early on that I wanted to marry Abby, and last summer, in 2023, I started making plans for a fall proposal.

In September, we flew to Colorado because “I was just really missing fall in the mountains.” While on an ATV ride at a friend’s ranch, I stopped and got down on my knee, expressed my unending love for her, and asked her if she would take my hand in marriage. After a “Yes!!” (I think? Too much adrenaline at the time), we drove to the top of the property and both of our parents were waiting for us to celebrate! That was a moment we will especially never forget. Abby and I have already had a lot of experiences in the last four years together, and are looking forward to both graduating this April and seeing what comes next.

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15

Registry

We are so grateful for your generosity. We recently decided we will be moving to Tennessee in the fall and would appreciate any gift purchased to be shipped to the Ohio address registered through each website.