Women's Soccer Rounds out Their Roster with Versatile Ella Grijalva
The CMU Women's Soccer program is very pleased to announce the commitment of Ella Grijalva for the 2024-25 MCAC season. The College Beliveau Barracuda will look to draw on her multi-sport background to give the Blazers another all-around option on the pitch this fall.
A multi-sport student-athlete, Grijalva competed for her high school in a number of disciplines, most notably badminton, but also in cross country, curling, and ultimate frisbee in addition to the very brief high school soccer season. The Barracudas compete at the "AAA" level under the MHSAA, and Grijalva was a regular attendee at provincial championships, attending the top tournament in cross country, curling, ultimate, and badminton during the 2022-23 season. After qualifying for the provincial championships this past badminton season, Grijalva broke a school record for most consecutive showings at the tournament. Twice a school Athlete of the Month, Grijalva was also College Beliveau's nominee for the MHSAA Scholar Athlete Award, in which she was chosen as a finalist for all of Manitoba. A recipient of Beliveau's 2024 Sports Bursary, an award presented to the student who had a positive impact on the sport culture at the school in terms of sportsmanship, volunteerism, confidence, and being an excellent ambassador for the school, the monetary award will go towards her tuition at CMU this fall.
With her athletic talent split between sports as is so often the case with multi-sport athletes, Grijalva has been playing her summer club soccer with Winakwa Rec, as part of the BoniVital system. Not wanting to limit her ability to participate in so many other sports, she chooses to train a lot on her own, rather than be tied to a club with so much commitment throughout the year in order to continue her journey as a well-rounded athlete. While she generally slotted in at defence or midfield for her high school team, her coach at Winakwa referred to her as a 'universal player,' who could be put in at any position and still add value to the lineup. Now playing under Blazers head coach Jason Moist, he weighed in on his latest signing stating "Ella is a committed, hard working player who shows she has what it takes to keep improving and be competitive and make a difference at the university soccer level. We are happy to have Ella join us as a Blazer."
While Grijalva could be considered a 'total athlete' on the pitch or court, she extends that thinking to other parts of her life as well, excelling in the classroom as one of College Beliveau's top students, as well as in other past times, most notably through volunteer work with the Save Our Seine program. That work has pushed Grijalva to pursue studies in Environmental Studies at CMU, though she may also dabble in some music programming as well. Being able to stay active throughout her college degree program is important to Grijalva, leading her to now sign with the Blazers. Having former classmates and friends playing throughout the MCAC is an exciting prospect for her, including here at CMU with former Beliveau classmate Madeline Blackwood also on the squad.
Blazers Women's Soccer last hoisted the provincial trophy in the fall of 2018, and will look to take another step towards capturing another title this coming season. The winner of the Manitoba Collegiate Athletics Conference earns the right to represent the province at the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) National Championships at the conclusion of the outdoor season, which the Blazers look to accomplish now entering the fourth year that the MCAC has been fully included in the Canada-wide conference.
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