By Mitch Silver

She’s the captain of the Rye High varsity Softball team and made the All-League team last year. She was the captain of Rye High’s Sectional championship basketball team and an All-League player this winter. She earned three varsity letters for Rye High’s varsity soccer team. She’s even the Sports Editor for Rye’s school newspaper, The Garnet and Black. And she’s the Rye High/Rye Lions Club Athlete of the Month for March. But she won’t be playing varsity sports in college.

She’s Hannah Mullaly, she sports a 97 GPA, and, in the fall, she’ll be attending the University of Michigan. “Although I love sports and I’ve played for Coach Savage in the fall, Coach Hurlie in the winter, and Coach Tejeira in the spring, I don’t see myself playing Big Ten varsity sports. So, I’ll be happy to join a club team…they have a lot of them there.”

A National Honor Society member, Hannah’s AP course load includes World and U.S. History, Government and Comparative Politics, Language, Literature and Composition, Calculus A&B, and Psychology. She plays string bass and has performed in the All-Westchester Orchestra.

Last summer, Hannah flew to South Africa and helped build a school and playground for preschoolers. In previous summers she was a ​Rye Youth Soccer referee ​and a Rye Rec counselor and softball umpire.

On the hardwood, she’s been a mentor to the young talents that have helped make Coach Dennis Hurlie’s team so formidable. “Hannah is most deserving of the Athlete of the Month honor,” he said. “As a three-sport athlete, she’s one of a dying breed; it’s great to see those who perform from August to June be honored for all that hard work.

“Hannah was a major factor in Rye winning the gold ball. She was a superstar on the defensive end, guarding All-Section bigs like Maria Violante of Fox Lane and Hen Hud’s Caitlin Weimer as well as smaller, quicker All-Section and All-Conference guards Hannah Anglini of Somers and Ashley Stagg of Harrison.  

“Hannah knew more about what we were trying to do than anyone in the gym and her teammates would seek her out all season to ask questions and to get advice. She was focused, intelligent, and hardworking; the girls recognized this and wanted to take advantage of all she had to offer. 

“Too often everyone is quick to ask ‘how many points’ did a player score. This acknowledgment of Hannah’s performance is proof that playing defense and rebounding can win you games and get you the recognition you deserve. If she ever wanted to stoop to that level, Hannah would make one outstanding coach.”

The Lions Club honor qualifies Hannah to join the other monthly winners in the race for Athlete of the Year, an honor that will be announced in June at the Club’s dinner at The Osborn.

Looking ahead, she’s considering majoring in Political Science. As it is, she’s found the time to attend weekly meetings of the Junior Statesmen of America, a national organization dedicated to “helping high school students acquire the skills and knowledge to become effective citizens.” Who knows? Hannah may some day become a Senior Statesman of America.

We can certainly use her.