Bellamy Cox-Sitkiewicz, a Vashon High School (VHS) 2022 graduate, will be headed to the Twin Cities in the fall, after signing a commitment to play soccer at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Cox-Sitkiewicz’s accomplishments on the soccer field were well-known on Vashon and beyond. In his soccer career at VHS, which he attended as a commuter student from Burien, he played varsity boys’ soccer throughout his years at the school.

He was the only freshman selected for the varsity squad in 2019 — part of a team that won that year’s Washington State 1A Boys’ Soccer Championship. In the final game of that contest, Cox-Sitkiewicz scored a goal.

In 2020, there was no season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the three seasons Cox-Sitkiewicz did play, he wracked up 20 goals and 17 assists. His honors in 2022 included being selected by coaches league-wide for an All-League First Team Award and also winning the Vashon Island Offensive MVP Award.

Cox-Sitkiewicz also played club soccer and captained for Washington Premiere League Surf Academy and Eagleclaw Valencia Discovery Program, and is currently playing for Bellevue Athletic, in the United Premiere Soccer League.

Following his graduation from high school, Cox-Sitkiewicz took a gap year, which he spent traveling across the country to attend soccer camps, visit potential college campuses, work, and decide what he wanted to study.

The goal, he said, was to “find the perfect college fit.”

At the University of St. Thomas, an NCAA D1 program, he’ll compete in the Summit League, playing mainly as a right-back/fullback. At the school, he’ll major in business.

Looking back, now, as he also looks forward to playing soccer at the university level, Cox-Sitkiewicz said he was grateful to have had the opportunity to not only have attended school on Vashon while representing soccer for the island at the state level, but also be welcomed by the island’s community from the very start.

”Attending Vashon has made me a better student and athlete and taught me the qualities of becoming a warm person in a cold world,” he said. “I’m excited to watch VHS’s soccer program grow and gather success in the coming years, led by Coach Scott Nicolino and John Thomas, who [both] bring a lot of intelligence and character.”

“The culture displayed on and off the field has made the Pirates soccer team a massive reason for my soccer development and countless memories made,” he added. “The players today and in the future should never forget that strength.”