With a police situation a few blocks away causing the Millikan campus to go on lockdown for over two hours, it was certainly conceivable that it could have dampened the celebration for their 2010 signing day.  Instead, the parents of a special class of athletes stuck around, waiting, with no clue whether the event would even be held that day or postponed—in other words, they showed where their children got their dedication from.

When the gate was unlocked and the parents filtered into the gym to meet their students, it was easy to appreciate why girls’ athletic director Gayle Braun called this a special group in her introduction.  To understand what this group has meant to their school, take a small sample: Alden Darby (who coach Kirk Diego called “the finest football player I’ve ever coached in my 32 years) led the Rams to a defeat of Poly on the gridiron, Josh Frye (referred to by coach Scott Glasser as “the face of Millikan baseball for the last two years) helped lead his team to a surprising Moore League title on the diamond, and both Paisley Pettway and Ashley Smith are among the top runners in the nation in their respective events.

This is a group of players that helped elevate Millikan, and Long Beach, and we applaud their accomplishments!  Congrats to all the athletes, coaches, and parents, and best of luck in college.

Summer Allen, cheer, Long Beach State

Nick Beavers, water polo, Long Beach State

Alden Darby, football, Arizona State

Hilary Drinovsky, basketball, Loyola Marymount

Josh Frye, baseball, Long Beach State

Liz Gonzales, softball, La Verne

Paulina Guzman, diving, UCLA

Brandon Montalbo, golf, Sonoma State

Paisley Pettway, track, UCLA

Lina Pulu, volleyball, University of New Mexico

Ashley Smith, track, Berkeley

And we don’t normally do video clips for signing days, but a few parents were unable to stay during the lockdown, and we wanted them to get a quick look at how the event went: