The season was almost over as fast as it started for this year’s Granite Hills High School girls lacrosse team, but the Lady Eagles proved to be fast starters with a 5-1 record and No. 5 overall ranking among San Diego Section teams.
This year’s Granite Hills team was buoyed by nine seniors, many of whom were members of the 2019 league champion and Division I semifinalist playoff squad.
The Lady Eagles also won the 2018 league championship.
“I am incredibly proud of the hard work and immediate success we had this spring,” head coach Jose Soto said. “It is a testament of the commitment this team had to one another. The sky is the limit, and even though season was taken from us, I know the tenacity and driven individuals on this team will overcome and achieve greatness.”
The team’s seniors included Slomith Castellon, Alyssa Lindall, Lauren Henderson, Ranita Mikha, Aubriana Hieb, Jasmin Rivas, Rocio Liebmann, Kara Knight and Christina Estrada.
Lindall, a member of both Granite Hills league championship teams, led the current senior group with 12 goals and three assists this season. In three varsity seasons, she had collected 36 goals and seven assists in 39 games.
A three-year member of the school’s yearbook staff, including one year as editor-in-chief, and a member of the school’s Eagle Link staff, Lindall will attend Arizona State University and major in political science.
Her favorite memory at the school includes becoming editor-in-chief of the yearbook, making the varsity lacrosse roster and representing Granite Hills at the We the People competition in Sacramento.
Henderson, a four-year lacrosse and three-year field hockey player, also competed one year in water polo and two years each in the school’s Leo and Earth clubs to round out her campus activities.
She’s received numerous awards, including field hockey team captain (2019-20), second team all-league (2019-20), best defensive player (2019-20) and all-academic team (2018-20). She is a two-time league champion and all-academic honoree in girls lacrosse as well.
Her proudest moments were scoring her first goals in each of her sports while maintaining a 4.3 or higher grade-point average throughout high school.
Her future plans include attending Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges to complete her general education requirements, then transfer to a four-year university to study kinesiology to become a physical therapist.
Estrada has played lacrosse three years.
“My proudest moment was when I could finally catch and not drop the ball,” she said. “All my teammates would cheer me on because they were proud of me.”
She wants to continue her education.
“My future plan is to attend community college, educate myself in a variety of things,” she said. “I haven’t decided but I’m shooting to be a RN, but I’m kind of learning to be somewhere in the business industry.”
Castellon is a four-year member of the lacrosse team. Other school activities have included the Leo Club, National Honors Society, Eagle Link and AVID. She is a member of the school’s academic honor roll.
Her plans are to attend UC Irvine while majoring in psychological science to become a forensic psychologist.
Knight, a member of the school’s Earth Club, is another four-year performer on the girls lacrosse team.
An honor roll recipient, she has logged duties as a team captain and was a member of the Lady Ealges’ 2018 and 2019 league championship teams.
She plans to attend Colorado State University.
The future looks bright for the team’s underclassmen.
Junior Mikenna Ruffino led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 23 goals and six assits. Freshman Natali Acosta ranked second with 12 goals and six assists.
Acosta led the team defensively with 20 ground balls.