Central's Bardo signs to join sister at Truman State
Mar. 31—When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last spring, girls soccer was one of the many sports that lost a season. For Central's Greycie Bardo, that meant losing her junior year on the Indians' soccer team.
"At first, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to keep playing in college," Bardo said. "Then I realized I wasn't ready to be done after this season."
With the Indians getting back on the field this spring, Bardo said her interest in continuing at the next level heightened. And Truman State in Kirksville, Missouri, came knocking, offering her a spot on the team next season.
But Bardo said joining the Bulldogs next year is about more than just continuing her soccer career.
"I'm really happy that I get to continue my soccer career on to the next level," Bardo said, "and I'll get to play with my sister, so that'll be good."
Greycie's sister, Ashlynn, a 2019 graduate of Central High School, is a redshirt freshman on the Bulldogs soccer team this year. She said it's a great opportunity to reunite with her sister on the field.
"I'm really excited to have Greycie come join me at Truman," Ashlynn Bardo said. "We got to play in high school together, and we had a really good connection on the field there, and I'm really excited to bring that to college ball."
In her time at Central, Ashlynn was a three-time All-City honoree and was named first-team All-District for three years.
After the 2020 season was cancelled, Greycie noted the recruiting process was difficult. But Ashlynn said she was in Truman head coach Mike Cannon's ear about bringing her sister over to Kirksville.
"I was like, 'Come on, coach, it's my sister. I know we played really well in high school together, and I think she would do really well at this school,'" Ashlynn Bardo said. "Whenever she got the chance, it was just a really big opportunity, and I'm really glad that she gets to come play with me."
Having experienced the jump from high school to college, Ashlynn said she's ready to guide her sister through all the difficulties ahead so they can have success together in college.
"Over the summer, me and Greycie have already decided that we're going to hit the weights, and we're going to work all summer," Ashlynn Bardo said. "That way she can come in top of her class and maybe get some playing time her freshman year."
And while she makes the transition, Greycie said she knows she'll always have someone there to support her along the way.
"We had some success in high school, so it will be good when we play together in college," Greycie Bardo said. "I'll have her back out there, and she'll have mine, and going in as a freshman, I'll have a little less experience, so she'll be there to help me with that."
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