Students, staff, family members, and coaches filed into Ayer’s gym on Tuesday to celebrate M-A’s senior athletes preparing to take their talent and hard work to the next level. Cheers echoed throughout the gym as each athlete was recognized for their individual dedication, talent, and countless hours of diligence. With league titles, record-breaking performances, and national championships under their belts, these 11 Bears are ready to continue their athletic careers at colleges across the country.
Water Polo
Lexi Nelson was a freshman when she began playing water polo, while also juggling varsity soccer and lacrosse. She quickly joined Stanford Club Water Polo after her freshman year and, in the middle of her sophomore year, joined Team USA’s Women’s Youth National Team. She has competed internationally in Budapest, Greece, and Australia. Other accomplishments of hers include being named Most Valuable Goalkeeper of the PAL three years in a row, and being named MVP of the M-A team her senior year. This fall, Nelson will continue her academic and athletic career at UC Berkeley.
Tennis
Tessa Ellingson* joined the varsity tennis team as a freshman and has remained on the team all four years, serving as captain her senior year. She also plays outside of school in the USTA tournament circuit. During her first three years at M-A, she secured the PAL Individual Doubles championship, and then attained the PAL Individual Singles title her senior season. Ellingson and her partner were also the first M-A team to win the CCS individual doubles title, which she achieved her sophomore year. Ellingson was named the Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year for the San Mateo Daily Journal her sophomore and senior years. She looks forward to playing tennis at Pitzer College next year.
Basketball
Trevor Cadigan joined M-A’s basketball team his freshman year and has been playing on it ever since.Cadigan originally started playing at the age of six. Some of Cadigan’s accomplishments his junior year include being MVP in the Windsor Tournament and being honorable mention All-League. “I loved getting the upset win at our playoff game last year, even though everyone was doubting us,” he said. His senior year, he served as captain and was a top scorer in PAL. Cadigan has committed to playing basketball at Chapman University.
Volleyball
Peter Chriss joined the M-A volleyball team his freshman year as a captain on the boys varsity team. He helped lead his team towards winning the PAL Championship in 2022, as well as winning two regular season high school tournament championships in 2024. Individually, Chriss was named MVP of his team and won First Team All-League in both 2023 and 2024. Alongside the M-A team, he is a co-captain for Bay to Bay Volleyball Club, where he has aided in their consistent wins in the highest divisions at tournaments, as well as their win at the AAU Boys Junior National Championship in 2024. Additionally, at the AAU Junior National Championships, Chriss was selected for the All Tournament Team. For several years, Chriss has been recognized on the Junior Volleyball Association’s Boys Watch List, most recently having earned a spot in the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program. Chris is committed to playing men’s volleyball at Penn State.
Sienna Morales started playing volleyball her freshman year on a club team as well as the M-A freshman team. She quickly moved up to varsity her sophomore year. Her team won second place in the CCS Division I playoffs her sophomore year and remained undefeated in the league her junior year. She was also awarded most improved player and first team PAL player her junior year. During Morales’ senior year, her team competed at CCS in the open division, and she was awarded best offensive player. Her favorite memories include CCS and senior night. She is excited to continue her volleyball career at NYU.
Meki Maile has been on M-A’s varsity team for all four years of high school. She began playing volleyball at the age of 10 at Vision Volleyball and has continued to play there since. She won a D1 CCS title her freshman year, and in later years won PAL First Team All-League, two titles of MVP, and the Eliza Grover Leadership Award. She has been a co-captain for the M-A team both her junior and senior years. Maile is joining the volleyball team at the University of Portland.
Football
Devin Hyde has been playing football for 11 years, having been on varsity football at M-A for the past four, as well as playing rugby internationally in Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Hyde was a captain of the team his junior and senior years. He has played as a defensive edge, offensive tackle, and linebacker, being named PAL Linebacker of the Year his junior year and Defensive Player of the Year his senior year. He was also named PAL first team defense the past three years. This past year, he was named to the Bay Area News Group’s All-Bay Area first team and named the Football Player of the Year by the San Mateo Daily Journal. Hyde will be playing for the University of Washington this coming season.
Xander Eschelman has led the Bears as their quarterback and team captain for the past two seasons after transferring from Serra High School. “I take a lot of pride in being a captain and team leader,” he said. Despite an injury his junior year, he came back strong his senior year with an average of 18 yards per completion and a touchdown every eight attempts. He also earned second-team All-League honors. Eschelman looks forward to playing football at Columbia University.
Lacrosse
Oliver Yuk has been playing lacrosse at M-A since his freshman year, starting as the varsity goalkeeper every season. Yuk earned 2nd Team All-League Goalie his freshman year, later earning first Team All-League Goalie his junior and senior years. In his junior year, he broke M-A’s record for all time career saves. Additionally, he tied for first in single-season save percentage. Yuk also represented the U18 USA Box Lacrosse team in 2023 and 2024, winning Gold over Canada both times as well as earning the title of All-World Team Goaltender. Yuk is playing lacrosse at Skidmore College this fall.
Equestrian
Amanda Paul started horseback riding six years ago. After training under her mom for two years, she began regularly riding her freshman year. Her favorite memory of riding was attending the Young Rider Championship in Michigan. Paul is joining the UC Davis equestrian team next year.
Crew
Emmett Hoffman began rowing for NorCal six years ago and has since become a key member of the team. His junior year, Hoffman’s varsity 4-boat placed fifth in nationals, and his varsity 8 finished top eight in the San Diego Crew Classic. His senior year, his varsity 8 team won seventh place in the Head of Charles Regatta. “It was great to get to be in such a prestigious race,” he said. To Hoffman, his biggest accomplishment was going to Florida to compete at Nationals last year. He will row at University of San Diego next season.
*Tessa Ellingson is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle
