MENDON, IN – Mendon High School student athlete Jackie Friel, daughter of Randy and Shanelle Friel, has signed her National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Letter of Intent to continue her Volleyball playing career with the Lady Chargers of Ancilla College.
Friel, who graduated Summa Cum Laude, received All A’s All Year Award, received High Honors, Perfect Attendance Award, and the Athletic Scholar Award. She not only did excellent work in the classroom, she excelled at her 3 varsity sports as well. Friel was All-Conference, All-District, All-Region, Academic All-State and All-State in Volleyball. In Basketball she was All-Conference and All-State Honorable Mention, and in Softball she was All-Conference, All-District, and All-Region. She lettered all 4 years in Volleyball and graduates with ten Varsity letters.
Mendon won 29 matches this past fall under the mother-son coaching duo of Kathy and Bill Trenary. Friel had 142 kills, 762 assists, 91 aces, 329 digs, and 13 blocks very much proving her versatility. In the past she has attended Western Michigan Volleyball Camps and played for the Dead Frog Volleyball Club under Head Coach Katrina Miller.
Friel’s High School Head Coach Bill Trenary commented “I’m so happy for Jackie. Playing college volleyball is something she’s wanted for a long time and I’m happy that she’s found a place that will be good for her. Ancilla seems like a perfect fit for her. She’s a hard worker, and a team player to her very core. Helping others is woven into the fabric of who she is, as it is also in the school she has chosen. The fit seems perfect. I’m very excited to see how it works out.”
Friel, who plans to study Health Science and Nursing added, “Ancilla made me feel welcome and brought me in with open arms.I felt as though this would be a good place to start to become independent from my parents.”
Jackie Friel has many other extra-curricular activities. She is a member of National Honor Society, she has helped with Special Olympics, she has done Haiti Mission Trips, she was on the prom committee, she was a Class Representative, and she was a Little Stingers Volleyball Camp Assistant Coach. Jackie has also been a faithful and loyal nursery volunteer at Valley Family Church the last 6 years.
Lana Singleton, Ancilla Head Volleyball Coach, could hardly contain her excitement, “Jackie Friel is a class act! She is easily one of the most decorated student-athletes I have recruited in my coaching tenure at Ancilla College with the Lady Charger Program. I know this young lady will be a hard worker, a great student, a team player, and the type of young lady I want representing my team and our college.”
