“If somebody gives you an opportunity to follow your dream, that’s amazing,” Ryan Gladieux said at his son’s Letter of Intent signing at Crossroads Christian as part of today’s SportsTalk show on WIZS. Mason Gladieux, a 6’3″ senior guard with the Colts, will be playing college ball next season for Trine University in Angola, Indiana.
Two years ago, Mason was at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh. He and his family had never heard of Henderson or Crossroads Christian but when Cardinal Gibbons made a “no school, no sports” decision because of Covid 19 his family decided to look for another school so Mason would not miss a year of basketball. After Mason’s father, who is former player at Stetson, did some research, met with Crossroads Head Coach and Athletic Director Scotty Richardson, and visited the school, it was decided that Mason and Crossroads would make an excellent fit. It was Richardson’s idea of not wanting to win today but to have someone to build a program around that convinced the Gladieux’s that Crossroads was the right school for Mason.
“He’s the model player. He can play all five positions,” Richardson said of Gladieux. “His impact on campus and in basketball and crosscountry is tough to put into words,” Richardson continued. Gladieux won a state championship in crosscountry this past season at Crossroads and now he and the team are looking to do the same thing in basketball. Crossroads will first have to bring home the conference championship. That tournament begins in a few days. A state championship would be a great way for Gladieux to end his high school career but he has to battle through an ankle injury that has hampered him this season.
“I loved the campus,” Mason said of Trine University. His mother, Brittney, said the family has roots in Indiana and that with Mason choosing Trine it feels somewhat like he is going home. She said Trine feels a lot like Crossroads. Trine is a division 3 school but that isn’t a concern for Mason’s father, Ryan. “This school isn’t offering you a destination. They are offering you a beginning,” Ryan said. Trine was the number two team in the country last season in Division 3 basketball.
Congratulations to Mason Gladieux on signing to Trine University.
SportsTalk can be heard Monday through Friday at 1pm on WIZS 1450am, 100.1fm and online at wizs.com.
