Penola signs with Hillsdale to continue football career

ZIONSVILLE — Luke Penola has been a valuable member of Zionsville athletics during his last four years as an Eagle.

Now the multi-sport standout has his college choice set in stone. Penola is heading to Hillsdale College to continue his academic and football careers.

He had a signing ceremony at the school last Wednesday.

“I’m super excited to make it official,” Penola said. “I enjoyed the process, but it takes a while and can be a little stressful. It’s definitely cool to be done and I am excited for next year.”

Hilldale is an NCAA Division II school that plays in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

The Chargers finished last season 6-5 under head coach Nate Shreffler.

Penola has some familiarity with the school, as his brother Scotty played for Hillsdale from 2013-16 and his sister Lizzie currently attends the school.

Well that helped during the recruiting process, Luke said a lot of things about the school stood out.

“I have that familiarity, but it’s a really complete school,” Penola said. “They have a good tradition in football, but have really good academics. It’s a conservative school that lines up with my beliefs.”

Penola was an all-region performer for the Eagles this year.

He led the team with 101 tackles, seven of which resulted in a loss. He had 181 tackles in his career.

Penola was also a two-time state medalist in wrestling, earning the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award this year.

“I think their coaches like that I try to play the right way,” Penola said. “I’m going to give my best effort every time and that’s something they value. Whatever my role is early, I am going to commit to it.”

Penola said that during the spring and summer, he plans on getting in the weight room a lot to make sure he can make the jump to the next level.

“I want to get bigger and faster,” he said. “Those are the main things that people may look at me and think I can’t compete. But I want to put on some weight and speed, because I know I can play, but every little bit helps.”

When he looks back at his time at Zionsville, Penola said he is extremely grateful for all the support the community has given him.

“The main thing I will remember is the community, my coaches and teammates,” Penola said. “Being able to go through this with my family, who’s been through it before and have supported me the while time – it’s been special and I am grateful.”

Penola plans on studying mathematics.