Lucas Champenois, St. Mary’s (1)

Lucas will be attending St. Mary’s College, where he will compete on the soccer team as goalkeeper. Lucas has led the Eagles to several winning seasons, and the team will be sad to see him go after he has played several years as the starting varsity goalkeeper.

For Lucas, the process of getting recruited was a long time in the making. By sending out emails to coaches and attending recruiting camps, Lucas was able to gain attention from a number of D-I teams, including UNLV, UCSD and St. Mary’s.

In the end, Lucas settled on St. Mary’s because of the overall quality of the soccer program.

“College is definitely going to be a much higher level than high school,” Lucas said. “It’s going to be a bigger challenge and I’ll be competing for a spot to start. I’ll learn a lot.”

Nicole Larsen, George Washington University (2)

Nicole will compete on the water polo team at George Washington University next year.

At LAHS, Nicole led the team to multiple CCS appearances, and helped the team advance to the CCS Finals for the first time in history this year. After competing on varsity for several years, Nicole was the key to the Eagles’ strong defense.

At George Washington University, Nicole is looking forward to playing against the high level of competition that college will provide. Although she was offered a scholarship, Nicole declined in order to make her contract with the team non-binding.

Simon Rosenbaum, Pomona (3)

Simon, who will be going to Pomona College, believes that the school will give him the opportunity to get a great education and continue to play baseball, the sport he loves. Since Pomona is part of the “5 C’s”, or the Claremont schools, it has elements of both a small college and a big university.

Simon believes he’s getting the best of all worlds and envisions his future connected to sports in some way, possibly as a broadcaster or journalist.

Daniel Eaton, UCLA (4)

After starting on the varsity football team at LAHS for several years, Daniel will compete for UCLA next year. Although the process of gaining attention from a nationally ranked D-I team wasn’t easy, he was eventually able to find success through networking.

“I had to go to a lot of recruiting camps and things like that to get schools to see me,” Daniel said.

In his time at LAHS, Daniel has helped boost the football team to a league title and to the school’s first victory against Mountain View High School (MVHS) since 2005.

“The people, the teammates and the coaches at LAHS, there’s just so much camaraderie,” Daniel said. “That’s probably what I’ll miss most about LAHS football.”

Ali Goldberg, Occidental (5)

After capping off a hugely successful season with the softball team this year, Ali will be playing softball for Occidental College next year.

As the captain and pitcher of the team, Ali was able to boost the Eagles to a perfect in-league record (12-0) this year, and helped the team advance to the CCS quarterfinals.

With a batting average of .477, 31 RBI’s and 2 home runs, Ali received the attention of several D-I programs, including UC Davis, Hofstra and Lehigh. However, in the end, she chose Occidental for its all-around experience.

“I just really liked that it was in California,” Ali said. “And it’s a really good school academic-wise, and it was really the perfect balance.”

Dane Kreisman, UCSC (6)

Dane will be competing on the cross-country team at UC Santa Cruz next year.

While at LAHS, Dane has competed in two state championships.
Dane’s PR’s include a blazing 9:56 in the two-mile and a 16:34 time at Crystal Springs, the main course for the Central Coast Section.

By competing at UCSC, Dane will be fulfilling his longtime goal of competing in college.

Heather Sangster, Puget Sound (7)

Heather Sangster plays as middle blocker for the volleyball team. After playing on varsity for three years, she led the team as captain for the past two years and helped her team advance to the second round of CCS in both years. Heather will play for the University of Puget Sound next year.

“I chose Puget Sound because I loved it when I visited,” Heather said. “The volleyball team is in the top 25 in the nation for Division III.”

Heather hopes to continue playing club volleyball after college and to coach in the future.

Adam Warmoth, Stanford (8)

As co-captain, senior Adam Warmoth led the water polo team to become undefeated league champions. He played water polo for 4 years and this year helped his team make CCS Finals for the first time in 11 years. He contributed 72 goals, 107 steals and 69 assists in the regular season.

Adam will be attending Stanford University next year. “I chose Stanford because it was the only school that had both elite water polo and elite academics,” Adam said.

However, next year will not be his first time playing for the Cardinal. He won a national championship with Stanford Club Water Polo last summer. After playing in college, Adam plans to move to Australia for a year to play professionally.

Lauren Kim, Stanford (9)

Although many people may know her for outgoing personality and outstanding academics, Lauren Kim has also managed to clinch a scholarship from Stanford for golfing. An avid golfer for most of her life, Lauren’s work paid off on September 1 when she received positive feedback from Stanford.

Despite staying close to home, Lauren hopes to enjoy the new experience at Stanford and take advantage of its excellent science and economics programs.

Maura Mahoney, St. Joseph’s (10)

Maura decided on St. Joseph’ s because of its academic strength, medium size, and its rowing program. Also, St. Joe’s offers an exceptional business program, the field where Maura wants to study.

Maura received both an academic and rowing scholarship which helped in the decision process.

Olivia Santiago, Brown (11)

A four-year member of the varsity water polo team and a starter for three years, Olivia Santiago helped the team advance to the CCS Finals for the first time in school history. Olivia is a utility player, who contributed 95 goals, over 174 steals and over 5 assists.

Olivia will be playing for Brown University.

“I chose to play at Brown because I loved the liberal environment, all the while being an academically competitive school,” she said.

Olivia also liked that Brown allowed her to study abroad while playing a Division I sport.

Markell Stine, UC SB (12)

Markell has participated in track for three years. He advanced to state level competition as a junior. Athough he was ranked first in CCS this year for the 110 hurdles and third in CCS for the 300 hurdles, he couldn’t go to CCS after he pulled his hamstring. Markell’s personal record for the 110 hurdles is 14.5 seconds, while his record for the 300 hurdles is 39.33 and for the 400m is 50.2. He set the school record for the 100m dash with 11.06.

Markell will run for UC Santa Barbara next year.

“The things I’m looking forward to with running track in college is the friends I will make on the team, and the personal challenge of staying in shape 24/7 because in college track is year round not seasonal,” he said.

Markell will leave Los Altos with a commitment to improving.

“I really want to bring the best out of me,” he said.

Lisa Murphy, Christopher Newport University (13)

A veteran field hockey player, Lisa Murphy landed a place on the the team of Christopher Newport University in Virginia, a Division III college where she hopes to dominate the competition.

CNU’s field hockey program is a competitive one, and it placed 15th in NCAA last year. The college was at the top of Lisa’s list because of its solid team, medium size and excellent Sociology Department.

Kareem Hyver, University of San Diego (14)

After several years of varsity football and track at LAHS, Kareem will compete for the University of San Diego next year. He is one of the three other seniors to be recruited for football.

Kareem said that his favorite memories at Los Altos include scoring 2 touchdowns and beating Mt. View in his junior year. Kareem averaged 4.5 tackles a game while playing for the Eagles, anchoring the defensive and offensive line.

Ben Wiederholt, Pacific University (15)

Beyond being one of the only students to motorcycle to school, Ben Wiederholt has secured a spot on the collegiate wrestling team at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.

The competition in Oregon is fierce, but after a strong season on the Los Altos Varsity team, Ben said that he is prepared for the challenge.

Katy Schaefer, Pitzer (16)

As the leading scorer on the varsity girls water polo team this year, Katy Schaefer played the hole set position on the team and contributed to its placement as league champions this year.

Katy was Pitzer College’s number one recruit, and they offered her a sports athletic scholarship in addition to an academic scholarship. Katy committed because the college has an “interesting media program” and is “small, with all the amenities of a big school.”

Pitzer’s team has also qualified for the NCAA for the last five years.

Matt Orton, MIT (17)

Matt chose MIT because he wants to be an engineer and play water polo, and MIT would made that combination easier to do both than any other school he could have chosen.

At MIT, he will get more playing time than he would other strong engineering schools he was looking at. During his visits, Matt enjoyed the environment that MIT offered.

After his four years of college polo, Matt’s hoping there are Master’s water polo programs wherever he takes residence, so that he can continue playing for fun for many years to come.

Gina Costa, West Virginia University (18)

After a successful high school career, Gina will compete for the gymnastics team at West Virginia University next year.

Gina has competed on the national gymnastics team for two years, taken 13 state and regional titles, and placed first all-around at regionals (a competition which includes California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah).

Although she received offers from a number of colleges, West Virginia became the obvious choice for Gina.

“They had the degree I wanted to do, it was close to family, and I just connected really well with the team and coaches,” Gina said. “I thought it was a really good fit.”

Luke Wiechec, Fresno State (19)

A 90 mph fastball, a professional yet approachable style and a bright future in professional baseball are all things that Luke Wiechec has going for him. As pitcher for the Los Altos squad, Luke lead the Eagles to the second round of CCS.

After committing in early action to Fresno State, Luke is now looking beyond the college scene in baseball. With offers from greats like the Diamondbacks, White Sox, and Bluejays, Luke already has one foot in the door of pro ball. In his words, “It’s going to be baseball for life.”

Bemi Onipede, Western Colorado University (20)

Bemi will leave Los Altos to compete on the football and basketball team at Western Colorado University, where his skill has earned him a full scholarship.

A multi-sport athlete at Los Altos, Bemi has competed at the varsity level on both the basketball and football teams for a number of years, and his efforts have helped the Eagles to several big victories, including the team’s upset against Mt. View last year.

Bemi averaged 23 yards per carry, 16 yards per catch and 5 yards per game while playing for the Eagles.

Joe Chedid, San Francisco State (21)

After a season where he helped the Eagles win the league championship series against Paly and advance to the CCS quarterfinals, Joe will play baseball for San Francisco State next year.

Joe said that the highlights of his Los Altos career include pitching a no-hitter against Santa Clara, making CCS finals his junior year, and beating Palo Alto in the league championship series. Joe was also voted Most Valuable Pitcher for the team this year.

Although college will be a change, Joe said that he is ready for the challenge.

“The speed of the game [will be the biggest difference],” Joe said. “College is a lot faster.”

Serina Rye, USC (22)

Next year, Serina will compete on the track team at USC, where she will work to improve her times as she competes at the D-I level.

Serina, who has competed on varsity since her freshman year, holds a personal record of 2:22 in the 800. In addition to her presence on the track team, Serina also competed on cross-country, where she helped the team to several CCS appearances.

Student Reported Walk-Ons

Austin Bowie-USC-track
Dominick Montelero-Sonoma State- Lacrosse
Ben Winters-University of Oregon-Lacrosse
Matt Manning-Boulder-Lacrosse
Sam Ryan-Cal Poly-Lacrosse
Chuck Kuo-UCSB-Lacrosse
David Mathew-UCLA-Lacrosse
Catherine Li-UC Davis-Track
Nolan O’Such-Boulder-Football
Meg Nichols-Boulder-Soccer
Michelle Tarlton-Cuesta College-volleyball
Devan Shah-SF State-Lacrosse
Shuyo Chang UC Riverside
Taylor McCreery, Foothill