Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Gianna Mitchell '17 is a great soccer player – everyone who follows Titan soccer at all already knows that.
Remarkably, though, even at the highest level of high school soccer in the country, Gianna is regarded as one of the best.
Following the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) National Tournament in San Diego, which drew the top club teams in the nation, Gianna was named to the event's top team. The center back was just one of 11 players selected to the Best XI team, which included more than 100 teams in the U16 and U17 age group. So, doing the math, that means that among more than 1,500 soccer players competing in the tournament, Gianna cracked the top one percent.
"There were more than 100 teams there so it was an honor to be named to that team," Gianna said. "I was named the Player of the Game the first day and a Top Performer on the second day."
Playing at the So Cal Sports Complex, Gianna led the FC Stars of Massachusetts U16 team to a 1-1-1 record.
"We always compete at the highest level," she said. "We're competing against the top teams in the country. That weekend we played against the No. 4 team in the country, and we're No. 5. We stuck it out and tied 0-0 so it was a good team effort. I thought we played really well."
Gianna has already committed to attend and play soccer at Boston College, which qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament last season.