Meet Ella Callanan
Junior Ella Callanan (#5) is playing her third year on the varsity women’s soccer team this season. Throughout her time at Franklin (FHS), she has been recognized as a phenomenal player who always looks to put her teammates first. At FHS, you can find her playing center midfielder.
Callanan has had a long soccer career, starting when she was five years old. She began in elementary school on a rec team called The Hornets, later moving on to playing for Portland City United (PCU), afterwards playing on United PDX for a year and now has been playing for the Portland Thorns Academy for the past four years, where her position is outside back. Callanan said that while it was challenging to be pushed so hard by coaches, she is happy because it has helped her improve and become the soccer player that she is today.
“Ella has a vision of the field that allows her to outsmart any player she goes up against,” explains Head Varsity Women’s Soccer Coach Diana Diaz-Diurych, “She is quick, solid with the ball at her feet, defends with poise and grit, and has an amazing ability to find the back of the net.” Last year as a sophomore, Callanan was voted to first team PIL All-Conference by the coaches in the league.
Callanan has not only been credited for her skills in the game but also for steady leadership through her actions. She was mentioned as a player who stays focused, always hustles, helps clean up after practice and really enjoys being with her teammates. “Ella is both an incredible athlete and an inclusive, honest, and hardworking person,” adds Diaz-Diurych.
Callanan’s goals for her remaining seasons are to win more games than last season, be captain next year and make first team again for PIL All-Conference. After high school, she hopes to attend a Division 1 (D1) school, with sights set in California.
While Callanan continues to play at a high level, she never forgets why she started to play soccer in the first place. “I always just remember that it’s just a game,” explains Ella, “the whole reason I started playing was because it’s fun.” She also advocated for people to come watch more of the Franklin soccer games!
Meet Diego Galvez (WC 381)
Senior varsity football captain, Diego Galvez, #44, has been playing football for Franklin teams since fifth grade. Throughout his time on and off the field, Galvez has gained the respect of his coaches and fellow players as an inside linebacker. Galvez says he has learned a lot from football and credits the sport for helping him build up perseverance and grit.
Football was not Galvez’s first sport; he played basketball, baseball, track and field and continues to play rugby in the football off-season. In eighth grade he even made it to state for shot put in track and field. However, football has always been his favorite sport. From the very beginning of his football career, he has been recognized as an outstanding player. In sixth, seventh and eighth grades he won Defensive MVP three years in a row, and last year Galvez made 2nd team for PIL All-League.
Not only is Galvez working on improving himself as a football player, but is also giving back to the rest of the program by helping out at Franklin youth team practices, where his dad works as one of the head coaches. High school football Coach Dupree Stubblefield adds, “he does the stuff that you don’t have to do to play football but it’s what makes you a great football player.”
Galvez has been highlighted for his reliable character, hard work, high level of consistency and football IQ, as well as his love and respect for the game. His leadership on the team is hard to deny as he was Junior Varsity (JV) captain as a freshman, and has been varsity captain for two years..
This year, Galvez’s goal for the team the rest of the season is to make it to the playoffs. Next year, he hopes to pursue higher education after high school. His advice to others hoping to follow a similar path is to always show up and give full effort. Galvez said his favorite part of football is the sense of community and everyone coming together to have a fun time.
“If we had 2,000 Diegos in our school we would have the best school in Oregon,” sums up Coach Dupree. “If we had 11 Diegos on both sides of the ball, we would have an unstoppable team.”
Meet Brennan McEwen (WC 415)
Sophomore Brennan McEwen on the varsity cross country team says that running has played a big part in shaping who he is. McEwen comes from a long line of runners, with his grandfather having won the national championships twice for the two mile race in track and field, and both of his parents having run cross country. McEwen is still fairly new to the sport, starting his running career in seventh grade on the Franklin Youth Cluster Cross Country team, as well as being on the track and field team in sixth grade. Soccer and futsal were his primary sports until high school. He counts the summer of going into freshman year as his first real season training with the team.
This year, McEwen won the Wilsonville Night Meet in the sophomore 5k race and last year won the same race in the freshman category. He was also recognized in DyeStat Rankings as a “potential future star” at the beginning of this season. Currently, McEwen is our freshman year school record holder for the 5k in cross country and the 3,000 meter race and mile in track and field.
The commitment and hard work McEwen brings is never in question. Head Women’s and Men’s Cross Country Coach Jacob Michaels includes that, “Brennan always gives maximum effort at workouts and races which certainly helps set the tone and culture of the team.”
His goal for the coming seasons at Franklin is to make it to nationals. After high school he hopes to go to college for running but mentioned that injuries can be unpredictable. He values what he has learned from other runners: the importance of not putting too much pressure on your performance and not getting stressed or in your head.
McEwen is not only focused on his own personal success but also the success of the whole program. “I love seeing all the new freshmen that come in, [watching] them grow and have breakthrough races and do well,” expressed McEwen. When asking McEwen what his favorite part about the sport is, he responded that it’s the team. “You just get to run with them everyday and you just get to know the people really well,” he said. “Brennan brings competitive drive in the way he races and he has a strong desire to be the next great Franklin distance runner,” sums up Coach Michaels.
