OKEMOS - The school year is about half way over and graduation is approaching for seniors at Okemos High School. Many of them will begin college in the fall, but few of them will be going for free.

Three lucky seniors--two lacrosse players and one tennis player--officially accepted their athletic scholarships last week after they signed their National Letter of Intent.

"I picked the University of Detroit Mercy and I'm playing lacrosse there," said lacrosse player Blake Turner. "It feels great its been dream of mine for a long time and I'm glad I can complete it."

"We're very proud," said Turner's mother Lisa Grewal. "He's exceeded every expectation we could have possibly ever had."

"Every time we have student athletes sign their national letter of intent its a great feeling," said Ira Childress, Okemos High School Athletic Director. "Because you know these student athletes get an opportunity to live their dream and play college athletics. There's not a lot of student athletes across the country who get that opportunity. So every time this happens, this day comes and it puts a smile on my face I'm really happy for them and their families that they get an opportunity to do this."

Childress said he thinks good coaches and parental support are key reasons why Okemos athletes succeed in finding athletic scholarships and advises students seeking athletic scholarships to do lots of research and do more work than required.