All signs point to Mullen girls

 

It was the first signing day in the 2020-21 school year, so why shouldn’t it have been different?

Certainly, it was – still in the time of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there was social distancing, mask wearing, no students on hand because in-person learning isn’t currently permitted and signees were limited in the numbers of supporters they could have on hand.

And, for the record, there was no store-bought sheet cake at Hutchison Fieldhouse.

No matter.

The early period for high-school seniors to sign to compete in college occurred under strict guidelines on Wednesday, but at least it was in-person and Zoom wasn’t involved. Mullen was represented thoroughly with seven females inking deals to further their educations and compete in their sports of choice.

Elise Bialecki, Claire Chahbandour, Alexa Dominguez, Molly Gilbert, Lauren Manwiller, Megan Pohs and Gabrielle Zinis have been bright spots in four sports for the Mustangs as well as owning a combined 4.02 grade-point average.

“I’m very pleased,” first-year Mullen athletic director Damian Brown said. “It’s awesome for the kids. I think we did a great job even though we had so many hiccups and we were able to pull it off. We’re proud of them and it’s great for the coaches.”

Elise Stanton Bialecki will play lacrosse for Pitt. She’s one of the competitors from the past spring that had no season. Interestingly, she’s a three-sporter as she also qualified for the state meet in diving and ran cross country. In lacrosse, she was second-team all-Centennial League and first team as a sophomore.

With a 4.4 GPA, Bialecki is in the National Honor Society, also for social studies and French. Add three-year Torch recipient, AP Calculus and Algebra II honors, Student Council, CORE, Kairos and Student Ambassador to her long list of accomplishments. Don’t cringe, but she’ll study pre-med on the way to becoming a dentist.

“It was an awesome experience,” she said of visiting the Panthers.

Claire Elizabeth Chahbandour will enter the high-end of swimming by signing with Texas Christian. She has won three letters and helped the Mustangs to a third-place finish in the Class 4A Championships in February. She’s a two-time state champion, most recently in the 2020 200-yard freestyle relay.

In addition to earning subject awards in Spanish, New Testament and Morality, Chahbandour is a silver and bronze medalist in the National Spanish Exam. Also combine National Honor Society with the NHS in Spanish and Social Studies, Academic All-American and Lasallian Youth, and it’s easy to see why Chahbandour has a 4.0 GPA. She’ll major in political science with an emphasis on international studies.

Alexa Faith Dominguez will play basketball at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. It may be unusual for a player coming off the bench in high school to be offered a scholarship, but Dominguez is a clear exception. Her ability to contribute to so many aspects of a box score is one thing; the lift she gives her teammates when entering the game is quite another, as is her ability to play multiple positons at both ends. Mullen won the 2019 4A title and was set to play in the 2020 finale that was cancelled. She has been on the all-league team twice.

Off the court, she’s in the NHS, also for Latin; is a Student Ambassador, including winning its award; sports a 3.8 GPA; and will be pre-med in hopes of becoming a doctor.

“It’s a relief,” she said of signing. “Now, I can have a fun year.”

Molly Katherine Gilbert will play lacrosse for Colorado Mesa. She has won three letters and was on the Mustangs diving team. She earned both first- and second-team all-league honors and was chosen to play in the CSAL games. She, too, missed the past season because of the pandemic.

Gilbert also owns subject awards in Spanish and Art, is on the honor roll, member of the NHS, also for Spanish, three-time Torch Award winner, member of the Arts and Alpine clubs, Mock Trial, Youth Leadership and Student Ambassador. She has a 4.1 GPA and is considering her options for a major.

Lauren Bethany Manwiller will play tennis at Loyola-Maryland. A third Mustang signee who had no spring season as a junior, Manwiller’s playing credentials were still strong – the program’s No. 1 singles player since her freshman season, she won 4A regional titles as a freshman and sophomore, and was fourth at the 4A state meet two seasons ago. She also served as manager for the boys team.

 As well, she’s in the NHS, also for Spanish, and served as treasurer, Torch Award, Student Ambassador, subject awards in English, Mathematics and Religion, Lasallian Youth team leader, and all-Academic team in tennis. With a 4.32 GPA, Manwiller will major in biochemistry.

“It’s awesome and I’m so excited,” she said.

Megan Eileen Pohs will play basketball at Regis. She is arguably the best player in 4A. Just 5-foot-4, she stands tall among Colorado’s best by making all-Centennial three times, was twice 4A all-state and can handle any press. A sharpshooter from 3-point range, Pohs scored 10 of her team’s 12 points in overtime in the semifinals victory against Berthoud. And there was no title game.

A member of the NHS, she also has been on the honor roll multiple times and received several academic achievement awards. Her leadership abilities and character are among the school’s best. She will study nursing at Regis and wouldn’t it be something if she ends up worked in the same hospital with Dominguez?

Happy that it’s over, she said “I just want to have a good senior season.”

Gabrielle Genevieve Zinis will swim for San Diego. She’s heading into her fourth year of varsity swimming and has qualified for the 4A state meet three times. Zinis is a two-time champion in the 200 freestyle relay and was fifth in the 50 free.

A member of the all-Academic team, she’s also in the NHS and on Student Council. Zinis also is a Student Ambassador. She has a 3.9 GPA and will study marine biology.

As far as joining the Toreros as a freshman, Zinis said “they have a travel team … hopefully, I’ll get a chance to make that.”

Teacher-coach Liz Hamer marveled at the exclusive female signing class and said “Mullen has a long and sort of dominant history that I don’t think a lot of people know about, so this is nice to see seven representatives of our athletic program come out here and sign for huge schools and huge positions. But they’re more than just athletes …

“These are the well-rounded future leaders we need.”