Mock shines at soccer and basketball for the Islanders

Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Academics and athletics are equally as important for Mercer Island High School (MIHS) senior Anna Mock.

She shines in the classroom with a 3.98 grade-point average and makes her mark on both the varsity soccer and basketball squads. Last season, Mock set a school record for free throw percentage in a single season with 87%; when college time hits, she plans on majoring in nursing.

To start off this season’s athletic journey, Mock is co-captaining the soccer squad from her center back position and “leads the team with her top class work ethic and communication on and off the field,” said head coach Erin Bourguignon.

MIHS kicked off its season with a 3-1-1 overall record and 1-0-0 record in the KingCo Mountain Conference. Thus far, junior Hayden Feimster has notched three goals to lead the Islanders, who also feature captains Blakely Bourke, a senior, and Jackie Gonzales, a junior.

Fourth-year varsity player Mock said the tight-knit, communicative squad sports heaps of talent and has goals of winning KingCo and making a state run.

“The captains have talked with the coaches and the team and we really think we have the capabilities to do it. I think we definitely can, because I think our team is looking pretty strong,” said Mock, who will begin her fourth year of varsity basketball after soccer finishes.

Mock, who began playing soccer and basketball at age 7, will compete in those sports in the club realm during her college years in order to fully focus on academics along the way.

She delved into what it takes to succeed in both sports in back-to-back seasons: “I’m a very competitive person, and ever since a young age, I’ve always had a fire in me. I think a lot of it’s just when I set my mind to something, I work extremely hard to get it done.”

The Reporter asked Mock a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life:

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

This might sound crazy, but loud breathing noises. I can’t be around someone who’s snoring.

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever been given?

(My dad) always told me that there are two things that (you can) control and that’s your attitude and your effort. And I think I’ve brought that to my sports and just life in general. Sometimes you can’t control your shots falling. Or if you’re not playing the best game — ‘cause I’m not always going to be perfect — I can control how I bounce back from that. I can control my attitude and find other ways to contribute if things aren’t going well for me. And then with the effort, if you’re always putting 100% — even if things aren’t falling for you — it feels good knowing that I still did everything that I could.

What’s a skill that you’d like to learn?

My mom speaks Greek. That was her first language and both my grandparents speak Greek and she never taught me as a kid. So I feel that’s probably a skill I’d like to learn; out of any language, it’d be Greek. So I can communicate with my Greek cousins and my grandparents in their language.

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

Just my friends. I have the best time when I’m with my friends and that’s when I can be authentically myself. But if it was a celebrity, probably Justin Bieber, because he’s been my favorite singer since I was really young.

What’s a binge-worthy TV series that you’d recommend?

Either “Stranger Things” or “The Office.” “The Office” is like a mindless watch — you can do something on the side, like some homework and have it playing. But then “Stranger Things,” I feel like it’s something you can walk in on and just — it’s so interesting.

What’s a superpower that you’d like to have?

Probably the ability to teleport because then I’d be able to visit my grandparents more because they live in Canada or just be able to, if I wanted to, I could go to Greece for dinner or go across the world more easily because I love experiencing new things. And I feel like teleportation would save a lot of transportation time and it’d just be really convenient.