A host of athletes at William S. Hart Union High School District schools were honored at last week’s governing board meeting for their success during the spring postseasons.
Both the Hart High baseball team and the West Ranch high boys’ volleyball team were recognized for their success as units in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Meanwhile, Canyon High track and field standouts Mikaela Warr and Jordehn Gammage were honored for picking up state medals.
Golden Valley’s Kiera Donovan, a track and field section champion in the discus, was also given recognition, as were Castaic High track and field star Meagan Humphries for medaling in multiple events at the section championships, and Golden Valley boys’ volleyball athlete Alexander Bonfiglio for his academic excellence.
Each honoree was presented with a certificate from the district congratulating them on their successes.
Hart baseball
Needing 14 innings to get out of the first round of the Division 2 section playoffs, the Indians eventually defeated the Moorpark Musketeers in the championship game, 7-6, in a finish that has since been appealed by the Musketeers.
Nevertheless, the Indians were named champions after what was initially ruled a game-winning home run for Moorpark in the seventh inning was determined to be a ground-rule double, and Hart was able to get the final three outs.
Mark Crawford, the district’s director of human resources and a former Hart teacher, administrator and baseball coach who was on recently retired head coach Jim Ozella’s staff at one point, said he is sure that the ball clearly bounced and the umpires made the correct call in the end.
The win over Moorpark gave Ozella his first CIF title after 25 years with the program. He had announced before the season began that he would be stepping down.
“It took me 25 years to figure it out but we finally got it done,” Ozella said.
West Ranch volleyball
After seven straight Foothill League titles, the Wildcats watched as Hart took the 2023 league title and Valencia won it in 2024.
But West Ranch ended up being the last team standing in the 2024 postseason, defeating Valencia in the Division 4 section championship before making it all the way to the Division 3 SoCal Regional championship match that went the way of the La Costa Canyon Mavericks.
Wildcats head coach Brandon Johnson said the season was already a success back in March when his team earned the Southern Section Academic Award, given to the team with the highest collective grade point average among schools with at least 1,500 students. West Ranch’s team had a 3.80 GPA.
“This team has left a lasting impression on the school and the city for years to come,” Johnson said.
Warr & Gammage
Two Canyon track and field athletes left the state championships in Clovis as winners, becoming the first Cowboys to do so in 20 years.
Senior Mikaela Warr finished off her high school career by taking first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.41 seconds. Junior Jordehn Gammage placed first in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 37.35 seconds.
Canyon track head coach Chris Jackson said that with 14 section champions prior to this year, and only three of those becoming state champions, it was special to see two of his athletes join those ranks in the same year.
“It’s truly special in track when all divisions are combined, all sizes are combined, and it’s the best of the best,” Jackson said. “And for us to only have three state champions before this, and this year add two more, this is so special and what each of you has accomplished this is truly amazing.”
Warr is set to continue her academic and athletic careers at San Diego State University.
Kiera Donovan
Golden Valley junior Kiera Donovan made the Grizzlies proud along with her coach, and father, Kyle Donovan, when she won her second straight section crown with a discus throw of 143 feet, 8 inches.
Kyle said his daughter gave up a 10-year gymnastics career during her freshman year and took up both shot put and discus. Kiera competed in both events at the section championships, winning in discus and placing fourth in shot put. She went on to compete at the state meet in the latter event.
“I want to congratulate you for all your hard work,” Kyle said. “Congratulations, and I can’t wait to see what you do next year.”
Meagan Humphries
A future University of Texas Longhorn, Meagan Humphries lit up the Foothill League with Castaic this year in multiple track and field events. She rounded out her prep career with two state medals: bronze in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 1.5 inches, and sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet, 10.25 inches.
That comes after Humphries became the first person to win individual division titles in four separate events at the section championships when she was a junior.
This year, she won three titles at the section championships.
Alexander Bonfiglio
While the other honorees were being celebrated strictly for their athletic prowess, recent Golden Valley graduate Alexander Bonfiglio got a certificate for being one of the most academically decorated student-athletes. A starter on the Grizzlies boys’ volleyball team, Bonfiglio also finished high school with a cumulative 4.75 GPA while passing nine of the 10 advanced placement exams he took through his junior year and completing six College of the Canyons courses.
That led to him being named by the Southern Section as a recipient of the Spirit of Sport Award, an honor given to only one male and one female athlete during each season of sport. A $1,000 scholarship was granted to Bonfiglio to go along with the award.
Golden Valley Principal Sal Frias said Bonfiglio is a “special young man.”
“The young man is an outstanding gentleman, an outstanding kid,” Frias said, “just a role model for student-athletes that we’d like to talk about all of our athletes.”
