MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — Mercer Island senior Chelsea Cho is one of the top lacrosse players in the state. She's a powerhouse player on a powerhouse team.
"Chelsea is so fast," said Lyndsey Gillis. "She is shifty, makes her really difficult to guard. She works really hard, and her stick skills are representing that."
Cho has been a starter for the Islanders since she was a freshman.
"The program here is so awesome," Cho said. "It's been a really great experience playing for a top program and Lyndsey does a great job having a great support system with all the coaches.
"She's fiery," Gillis said. "She's always been the ring leader of team, socially and athletically, so that makes her fun to coach and fun to be around."
Cho not only handles the draws for the Islanders, but she also averages over four points a game. In 2023 and 2024, Cho was an All-American.
"Just working so hard and just getting these awards just showing me like my hard work is paying off," Cho said. "It not only helped me work harder but just made me feel like it helped me instill some confidence in myself, like, 'Wow, I really did it.'"
Growing up, Cho was also a very good soccer player, but an injury during her freshman season turned her focus solely on lacrosse.
"Unfortunately, in the middle of my soccer season, I had a sprained ACL-MCL," Cho said. "Everything on my knee and I couldn't play for the rest of the season and then right after I got back, was lacrosse season and I don't know, just something about it, like practice was so fun. I came home so happy.
Cho was hooked, and during her four years at Mercer Island, she helped the Islanders win two state titles.
"She has always been a real special player to me and this program," Gillis said.
When Cho is not playing at Islander Stadium, she also competes for the Arc Lacrosse Club. She is also playing this year for the Korean national team.
"I literally wrote in a letter in kindergarten, I want to be on Team Korea one day and I had that awesome opportunity with my friend being on the U20 team," Cho said. "She mentioned me to the coach, and they reached out and I just sent a video and did a call interview. They watched me play and from then on, I've been on the team, and I was lucky enough to be on the women's national team and go to Australia for the World Cup qualifier this past January."
Cho said getting the chance to represent Korea on the world's stage has been an incredible honor.
"It's like the best," Cho said. "I don't know how to like to describe it. It's like an indescribable feeling, like all sense of pride, just happiness. My whole family's from there. My siblings were born there. I was the only one who was born here, but just being able to represent my country, especially on the world stage, and just really just play my heart out, do the things I love, meet the new people, just the best.
A trip to the Olympics would be a dream, but next year Cho will play for one of the top college teams in the country, the University of Denver.
"I've been watching Denver since I was younger," Cho said. "And right before I committed actually, I went to the national championship in the Final Four when they went and I watched them play against Northwestern and then the second they went on the field, I was like, 'Wow, like Lindsay and mom, like I need to be on this team.'"
And now, she will be.
In the past seven seasons at Mercer Island, the Islanders have won three state titles. They have finished second twice and advanced to the Final Four the other two times.
Mercer Island took second this season, while Seattle Prep won the girls' title.