MBN Roundup: Spring sports

The 2019 spring season has been full of delays, mostly weather, but last week included a couple of different entries.

There were no Mullen athletics on Good Friday of Holy Week, but there also were two days of no play – with a day of lockdown and a day of no school -- due to the threat posed by the Florida teenager who was pursued by the FBI and allegedly was infatuated with Columbine (the 20^th anniversary of the 1999 Massacre was on Saturday) and had travelled to Colorado.

Thankfully, everyone was safe.

Below is a Mustangs sports wrap-up from late in the week:

On Saturday in Centennial, Mullen’s attempt at a seventh-inning rally fell short in a 6-4 loss in baseball at Arapahoe.

The Mustangs are 8-5 overall, 3-3 in the Centennial League.

Alek Elges, Trevor Moore and Michael Stanford each had two hits. Stanford also scored twice. Elges, Evan Malloy and Andrew Naha had runs batted in. Of Mullen’s eight hits, Stanford had a double.

Will Miller pitched four innings and gave up only one hit. He allowed two runs and walked five. In taking the loss, Michael Tafoya was touched for four runs in 1.1 innings, gave up two hits and walked two.

By building a five-goal lead in the first quarter on Saturday, Mullen downed Battle Mountain 11-5 at Douglas County in nonleague boys lacrosse to up its record to 3-5.

The Mustangs led 5-0 after a quarter and stopped a skid in which they had lost four of their previous five matches.

In girls soccer, Jaime DeBerardinis, Anna Seaman and Kaylah Wanna had the goals as the Mustangs downed visiting Smoky Hill 3-1 on Thursday in
the Centennial League.

Wanna and Julianna Zinis added assists as Mullen improved to 6-1-1 overall, 2-1-1 in the Centennial League.

The Mustangs squeezed off 13 shots, six on goal. Junior Emma Ryan made four saves as keeper.

Mullen girls lacrosse leveled its overall record at 5-5 and improved to 2-1 in the Centennial League on Thursday with a 15-5 home decision of Grandview.

Emma Johnson once again led the way with five goals. Elise Bialecki had four, Molly Gilbert added three, and Charlie Beck, Megan Fenwick and Haley Vanek each had one.

Vanek had two assists and Bialecki, Gilbert and Johnson contributed one.

After a 5-2 setback to Grandview in the Centennial League earlier in the week, Mullen whipped Smoky Hill 6-1 in girls tennis on Thursday.

In straight sets, the Mustangs won at two singles spots, Mikayla Phelps (No. 2) and Megan Sandy (No. 3), as well as at all four doubles – Jordan Cleary-Bella Wallrath (No. 1); Abby Gilbert-Rebecca Watts (No. 2); Chloe Golenzer-Tierney Scanlan (No. 3); and Brooklyn Hanley-Parker Duran (No. 4).In girls golf on Thursday, the Mustangs were fourth of six teams in the team chase in the second Centennial League match. Playing at Aurora Hills Golf Course, Mullen totaled plus-71. Grandview won at plus-6.

Individually, Hannah Giacomin, a freshman, finished at plus-16 and junior Paige Sowitch ended at plus-17 for the Mustangs. Freshman Sofia Choi, the Mustangs’ top player, did not compete.

Grandview’s Amy Chitkoksoong, also the Class 5A champion two seasons ago, grabbed first at plus-2 along with Eaglecrest junior Emma Bryant, the 2018 5A winner.