Eighteen Malibu High School student-athlete seniors celebrated their future in collegiate sports at two- and four-year colleges across California and beyond during a luncheon at Malibu High School on May 21. The Senior Athletic Recognition event highlighted MHS students for their hard work, dedication and commitment to their sport.
“With about 12 percent of our students playing a collegiate sport, it is quite an exciting accomplishment for our senior class,” MHS College and Career Counselor Casey Rowley shared.“It exemplifies the quality, commitment and encouragement from our MHS Athletic Program and all that are involved.”
The athletes recognized during the event, which took place in the school’s senior quad, plan to continue their education, as well as participate in a variety of sports, including baseball, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and track and field.
Fourteen Shark athletes will attend in-state colleges and universities, including baseball player Andre Simoneau at Claremont McKenna College; lacrosse players Noah Gorelick at the University of Southern California and Winston Churchill at San Diego State University (SDSU); swimmers Logan Hotchkiss at the University of California, Santa Barbara, JC Heckman at Southwestern College, Thelen McKinna-Worrell at Cal Lutheran University (CLU) and Walker Hannigan at Santa Monica College (SMC); and boys soccer players Cameron Smoller at Santa Barbara City College, Jake Nokes at San Francisco State University and Max Watkin at SDSU. Girls soccer player Seaira Moore is attending Biola University and Michaela Cosentino will be competing in soccer and track at CLU.
As for water polo, Freddy Keith will play at SMC and Owen Franz will play at L.A. Valley College.
Boys soccer player James Handal, track long distance runner Carolina Pietrzyk and triathlete Alec Wilimosvky will be attending out-of-state institutions. Handal will attend Dartmouth University in New Hampshire, Pietrzyk is headed to Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Wilimosvky is off to the University of Colorado. Katie Shotly will place ice hockey at the University of Idaho.
Each of the athletes is leaving Malibu High after successful athletic careers and receiving stacks of awards, titles and acclaim.
Pietrzyk and Hotchkiss are both state title winners. As of presstime, Pietrzyk, who is still competing in this year’s CIF track and field postseason, has won two CIF crowns in track and two in cross-country. Hotchkiss has won six individual CIF titles in swimming, including this year’s 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle in record-breaking fashion.
Hotchkiss also has four CIF relay team titles in the pool. Wilimosvky was a part of those title-winning teams, which claimed two top prizes apeice last year and this year. Heckman, a transfer from Seattle, was a member of this year’s swim team. He also played on the Sharks football squad.
Wilimosvky was part of those four title-winning relay teams. He is also one of the best triathletes for his age group in the country. Last September, he won the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. He has also been one of Malibu High’s top performers in cross-country, track and field, and swimming during his years as a Shark.
In soccer, Moore and Cosentino were named to the All-Tri-Valley League first team this season after leading the girls soccer team on a successful postseason run. Moore was the league’s MVP goalie. In 2014, Cosentino was the Frontier League MVP in track and field also.
Nokes was named to the All-Tri-Valley League boys soccer first-team this season and Handal is ranked as a four-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer. Watkin was named to the All-Tri-Valley League first-team last season. Smoller was been one of the top area midfielders.
This season, Simoneau, a pitcher, was a star on the mound for the Malibu baseball team. Last year, he was named the All-Frontier League first-team. Gorelick was an ironman on the field for the Sharks lacrosse team for four consecutive seasons.
“It is inspiring to see the students continue their passion and love of their sport through college,” Rowley said. “We are looking forward to hearing more accomplishments from them throughout their postsecondary careers.”
