Separated by a few miles during the school day, Pono Anderson, Nicole Lopez and McKenna Granato now share a common destination after graduation.

The ILH standouts affirmed their commitments to continue their academic and athletic pursuits at the University of Hawaii on Wednesday at the Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance signing day event at the Elks Lodge in Waikiki.

Anderson, a Saint Louis pitcher, signed his letter of intent to join the Rainbow Warrior baseball program for the 2016 season. Lopez, an All-State third baseman at Mid-Pacific, will play across Lower Campus Road as a member of the Rainbow Wahine softball team. Granato, fresh off Saturday’s state championship victory with Punahou, is committed to the Wahine volleyball program.

"I want to play in front of my family and I wanted to stay home," said Lopez, the Star-Advertiser All-State position player of the year last spring. "I was looking at other schools on the mainland, but after going on the visits I realized UH was the one for me."

They were among 32 seniors who finalized their college commitments as dawn broke on Wednesday, the first day high school seniors could sign letters of intent. The early signing period runs through Nov. 19.

Both Lopez and Anderson experienced the rush of winning a state championship on the fields now awaiting them as college athletes while Granato secured a second title last weekend.

Anderson threw two five-inning shutouts in the state tournament in May and closed the season with a victory over Mililani in the championship game at Les Murakami Stadium, helping Saint Louis capture its first state title in 40 years.

He was a second-team All-State pick and received an offer from UH after strong performances in showcase events in Arizona and San Diego this summer. Now that he’s signed with UH, Anderson is eager to return to the mound at Murakami Stadium.

"It’s a pitcher’s ballpark," Anderson said. "I just love my surroundings over there and I’m just looking forward to the home games and the crowd."

Lopez had an experience similar to Anderson’s as a freshman on Mid-Pacific’s state title team in 2012, catching for former Owl standout and current UH right fielder Keiki Carlos at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. She was instrumental in MPI’s return to the state tournament in May, hitting .500 with six home runs and 25 runs batted in as a junior.

"Freshman year we won state there and it was such a thrill," Lopez said. "Last year we came back to states and knowing I was already committed it was a good feeling knowing I’m going to be back."

Granato’s earliest memories of the Stan Sheriff Center came while passing out programs with her club team on the arena concourse. Taking the court with the Wahine emerged as a goal in her freshman year at Punahou and she punctuated her high school career by hammering a match-high 23 kills in the Buffanblu’s four-set win over Kamehameha on Saturday at Blaisdell Arena.

"It’s definitely a great opportunity and I didn’t expect it when I first started playing volleyball," Granato said of playing for UH.

The Wahine have three Punahou graduates on the current roster and she’ll have some built-in familiarity with the coaching staff having played club ball under UH assistant coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos.

"I love coach Robyn and just the way she works and how she expects so much out of you and it’s definitely good to play with her again," Granato said.