East Jessamine soccer’s Makensie Danaher opted for a route not often taken by her fellow Jaguars when she sat down for her signing ceremony Wednesday.

Danaher, wanting to grow with a program, signed her name to a letter of intent for Flagler College, based in St. Augustine, Fla., after having discussed the plans with her parents, Joe and Rita.

“(Flagler coaches) had a lot of pride in their program,” Danaher said. “It’s kind of up and coming, and I don’t want to go to a program that’s solidly built. I want to be a part of the building, like this year at East Jessamine–we were always growing.”

Planning to major in sports management, Danaher said Flagler having her field of study became part of the reason becoming a Saint intrigued her.

“My club coach is really good friends with their coach, so it got me looking down here,” Danaher said, adding, “it just seemed like a really good fit.”

Former East girls’ soccer head coach DeAngelo Wiser said Danaher’s choice to attend Flagler came down to staying nearby at Northern Kentucky University or moving to Florida, a move that ultimately came down to a decision between Danaher and her family.

“They thought (Flagler) was where I was leaning,” Danaher said of her parents. “They were sad for them but happy for me.”

Wiser said Flagler is getting “one of the most tenacious players that I’ve ever coached.”

“She played in the midfield for us throughout her career,” he said. “(Danaher) played both sides of the ball, whether we had it or not. She was always trying to win it back, or if we had it, she was always attacking the goal. She was a key piece to the success we’ve had these last four years.”

Flagler, which finished the 2012 season with a 7-7-3 record, competes in NCAA Division II women’s soccer and is part of the Peach Belt Conference.

At the end of the season, Flagler players were recognized on the All-Peach Belt Conference second team and Academic All-Peach Belt Conference Team, and freshman midfielder Khyla Brangman was named the Bermuda Football Association’s Women’s League Young Player of the Year.

Makensie is the granddaughter of Fred and Mary Lowhorn of Albany.