Student-athletes from the Santa Clarita Valley who excelled in the classroom during the 2024 fall semester were recently honored by the CIF Southern Section.
A total of 10 individuals were named the Student Athlete of the Year by their respective school. Students had to be a senior with a 3.5 grade point average over the past three years, along with earning a letter in at least one varsity sport and participating in other extracurricular activities, according to a Southern Section news release.
The West Ranch High School competitive cheer team was also honored for having the highest GPA (3.641) for schools with at least 1,500 students. Three other teams — Hart High girls’ basketball (3.787), West Ranch boys’ lacrosse (3.605) and West Ranch girls’ lacrosse (3.733) — had the third-highest GPAs.
A further 20 teams each from West Ranch and Hart, and 10 from Santa Clarita Christian, received honorable mentions. The Canyon High girls’ volleyball team, Valencia High girls’ basketball team and Saugus High girls’ golf team were also honored.
The SCCS teams were honored in the category of schools with fewer than 1,500 enrolled students.
“To be considered, teams must have at least five student-athletes with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA average (4.0 scale) in the first semester or first two quarters of the 2024-25 school year,” the release reads.
There were 35 different schools that had teams honored in 28 team sports. A total of 2,590 teams turned in entries.
The academic team winners are set to be honored in a pregame ceremony prior to the Los Angeles Angels’ April 24 home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The full list of individuals honored is as follows, with GPAs at the end:
- Sean Hernandez: Canyon, boys’ basketball, 4.0.
- Theone Nguyen: Canyon, girls’ volleyball, 4.0.
- Giovanni Foster: Castaic, baseball, 4.0.
- Mackenzie Wiese: Castaic, girls’ soccer, 4.0.
- Andrea Aina: Hart, girls’ basketball, track and cross country, 4.0.
- Oliver Welch: Hart, football, boys’ lacrosse, 4.0.
- Cayden Rappleye: SCCS, baseball, football, 4.0.
- Sophia Blietz: SCCS, girls’ swim, 4.0.
- Ethan Paik: West Ranch, boys’ volleyball, 4.0.
- Yara Hussein: West Ranch, girls’ swim, 4.0.
The full list of West Ranch teams honored is as follows, with GPAs in parentheses:
- Baseball (3.511).
- Boys’ basketball (3.329).
- Girls’ basketball (3.597).
- Boys’ cross country (3.536).
- Girls’ cross country (3.560).
- Flag football (3.644).
- Football (3.172).
- Boys’ golf (3.471).
- Girls’ golf (3.776).
- Boys’ soccer (3.604).
- Girls’ soccer (3.668).
- Softball (3.494).
- Boys’ swim (3.686).
- Girls’ swim (3.547).
- Boys’ tennis (3.870).
- Girls’ tennis (3.516).
- Boys’ track (3.492).
- Girls’ track (3.713).
- Boys’ volleyball (3.552).
- Girls’ volleyball (3.845).
The full list of Hart teams honored is as follows, with GPAs in parentheses:
- Baseball (3.592).
- Boys’ basketball (3.386).
- Boys’ cross country (3.594).
- Girls’ cross country (3.589).
- Girls’ flag football (3.619).
- Boys’ golf (3.575).
- Girls’ golf (3.588).
- Boys’ lacrosse (3.0).
- Girls’ lacrosse (3.197).
- Boys’ soccer (3.250).
- Girls’ soccer (3.692).
- Softball (3.662).
- Boys’ swim (3.320).
- Girls’ swim (3.562).
- Boys’ tennis (3.397).
- Girls’ tennis (3.864).
- Boys’ track (3.410).
- Girls’ track (3.643).
- Boys’ volleyball (3.616).
- Girls’ volleyball (3.464).
The full list of SCCS teams honored is as follows, with GPAs in parentheses:
- Baseball (3.563).
- Boys’ basketball (3.611).
- Girls’ basketball (3.666).
- Boys’ cross country (3.689).
- Girls’ cross country (3.714).
- Football (3.323).
- Softball (3.362).
- Boys’ swim (3.760).
- Girls’ swim (3.875).
- Girls’ volleyball (3.692).
