Blanquiset and Havel, Foley Alumni, to Wed

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Eli Blanquiset and Miss Samantha Havel, both Foley Alumni, are excited to announce their engagement.

Havel is a Foley High School graduate, class of 2009, where she was highly active in soccer, marching and symphonic band,  National Honor Society, academics, and many more extracurricular activities. While at Foley, she dominated as captain in both the offensive and defensive positions in soccer and was voted most athletic female in her graduating class. She also played the tuba and was well known for her talented abilities with numerous honor band invites. After Foley, she continued her athletic and academic progress at Huntingdon College in Montgomery where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Exercise Science in the Fall of 2013. While at Huntingdon, she played soccer from 2009-2013 and lacrosse from 2013-2014. She led her Hawks’ soccer team in 2013 with assists and was well respected for her athletic abilities despite severe injuries.

Havel is currently finishing her second degree while at the University of West Florida and is set to pursue a Masters in the summer of 2020. She recently celebrated beginning a new career as an athletic coordinator for the City of Foley. She is well known in Foley for her athletic, coaching, and special education experiences.

Blanquiset is a Foley High School graduate, class of 2014, where he was highly recognized on the football team for his strength and determination as a middle linebacker. During his senior year, the Foley Lions made it to the second-round of the 6A playoffs. After graduation, Blanquiset began excelling in Mixed Martial Arts and quickly became an instructor, which he later says was the best decision he ever made. Blanquiset is a field manager for a landscaping company in Foley and thoroughly enjoys landscape enhancements and is pursuing creating his own landscaping enhancement company in the future.

The pair met on May 14, 2016, at Outlaw MMA in Foley. Blanquiset was the instructor of multiple students, including Havel. On the second day of training, Blanquiset was training Havel to throw strikes when he looked away after a fellow instructor called his name. When he did, Havel accidentally struck him in the jaw. Both laughed and Blanquiset suggested that Havel owed him a date to make up for the hit. Both agreed and the rest is history.

On Dec. 27, 2019, Blanquiset planned a helicopter ride at Jack Edwards National Airport in Gulf Shores, for the pair and proposed to Havel after the ride.

The couple plans to marry in 2020 and look forward to many more adventures.