Warden's Whitney and Mendoza ink with WVC

WARDEN — Brenna Whitney and Jenny Mendoza made for quite the duo on the field this season, guiding Warden to a district championship and a state tournament berth.

The Cougars’ top two scorers, who have been playing together since elementary school, will get a shot to share the field for at least two more seasons.

Whitney and Mendoza shared the stage in front of about 25 friends and family on Wednesday and signed their letters of intent to play soccer for Wenatchee Valley.

“It means the world to me because I’ve played with her since we were like six or seven years old and I’m glad I get to finish in college with her,” Whitney said.

“I’m just glad it ended up being Brenna that I get to go to college with because I know we’ve had like our struggling moments, but it’s great that we’ve conquered that and now we’re going to college to go play,” Mendoza said.

Both athletes and their parents gave speeches thanking those in attendance and when it was time to put pen to paper Whitney and Mendoza both became emotional. Hannah Mohs, who catched both players their seniors seasons at Warden, thought their emotion was a testament to their hard work and drive to compete at the college level.

“These kids are very grateful for everything that they have and they’re very thankful and they show that on and off the field in the way they act and the way they present themselves,” she said. “It was shown today about how emotional even their parents got and how excited they are for them because they didn’t know this opportunity available to them and helping them go through this process was, for me, enlightening because I didn’t have somebody do that for me so being able to kind of pay it forward I kind of hope that they’ll do that, too.”

Whitney said she was drawn to Wenatchee Valley after speaking with Tawnie Gonzales, who also attended Warden and finished her sophomore season with the Knights in the fall, as well as the coaching staff. Mendoza said Wenatchee reminded her of Warden and liked how she fit in with the school.

Whitney and Mendoza’s ability to score the ball should help improve a Wenatchee Valley team that recorded just 23 goals in 2015.

“I’m really excited because I think we can help the team out and be a really big part of it this year,” Whitney said.

“I’m so excited,” Mendoza said. “I love playing.”

Whitney and Mendoza join other locals Emma Deering, Freddie Hamm and AdriAnna Simmons on the Knights. Deering played for Moses Lake; Hamm and Simmons played for Ephrata.