Feb. 7, 2003

After several years of watching some of the best local soccer talent go elsewhere, Missouri Coach Brian Blitz loaded up on locals yesterday during the first day of the national signing period.

Three Hickman seniors and a former Rock Bridge standout were among seven players signed by the Tigers yesterday.

"We are making Mizzou history signing the greatest class to ever come out of Columbia," Blitz said.

Hickman stars Mallory Ames, Lauren Grice and Melissa Griggs made their decisions to accept partial scholarships official during a signing ceremony at the high school. Kira Reyes, a 2002 Rock Bridge graduate, plans to transfer to MU at the end of the semester after spending the past year in the Air Force Academy.

The other signees are Elyse Nikonchuk, a midfielder from New Lenox, Ill.; Aria Hudetz, a midfielder from Fort Collins, Colo.; and Margaret Malm, a forward/midfielder from Des Moines, Iowa.

The Columbia players are the first to sign with the Tigers since Hickman graduate Becky Paulsen did so in 1997. Although the Hickman seniors took their recruiting visits together, they decided separately to stay in town.

Griggs was the first to choose, and the next day, without knowing their teammate's decision, Grice and Ames also chose the Tigers.

"We talked to each other the next day, and I said I committed," Grice said, "and she was like, 'Me too!' "

Said Ames: "We've all played together since we were 12, so it's kind of exciting for us."

Adding to the signing excitement was that the Hickman trio has grown up with the Missouri program, which started in 1996.

"It's exciting because we've been able to watch them start from their very first year playing, and now we're going to actually be a part of it," Grice said

Griggs, a forward and two-time all-state selection, led the Kewpies to a district championship last year as the team's MVP.

Grice, a forward/midfielder, led the Kewpies in assists each of the past two seasons. Ames, a defender who missed most of last year with a knee injury, was Hickman's defensive MVP as a sophomore.

Unhappy in her first year at Air Force, Reyes has already received her release from the academy. The state's 2001 goalkeeper of the year will join the Tigers this summer and be eligible to play next season.

"It really worked out perfectly," Reyes said. "I'm so excited about coming home."