As Celie Contreras’ friends and family anxiously awaited for her to arrive at the San Marcos High School student activity center on Feb. 6, her father, Carl, stood at the front of the room.
“I just wanted to say we appreciate everyone coming out. You know, Celie really didn’t want to do anything to today,” Carl said. “My wife and I had to beg her ‘Please, Celie. Just take one day to celebrate. For us.’”
The Contreras family was celebrating Celie’s commitment to Texas Lutheran University on National Signing Day.
Celie was the starting libero the past three seasons for the Lady Rattlers. She broke the school record for most digs in a season as a sophomore with 701 in 2016 and achieved the career record during the 2018 season with 1,959 digs.
The senior eventually arrived and signed her letter of intent. She was glad her parents changed her mind on the ceremony.
“In all my classes, I was like ‘I don’t know if I want to do (schoolwork) today, I just want to go and sign already,’” Contreras said. “It means a lot.”
Her head coach, Michelle Moreno said she expects big things from the libero at the next level.
“It’s just a really special day,” Moreno said. “I know she’s been working on this for a long time and, as I mentioned earlier, she’s just a goal setter and a goal getter. She started working on this dream a long time ago and every year she excelled to be better and better. We’re going to miss a kid like Celie.”
Contreras believes TLU is “perfect” for her. She likes the smaller size of the school — “Everything is in walking distance” — the close proximity to her home and the Bulldogs’ head coach, Phyllis Fowler.
“It means a lot because I’ve put in years and years of work and all the time I’ve put in with classes,” Contreras said. “It’s just a big accomplishment because I’ve found my place and I know where I’m going to go and I love it. I’m excited.”
