Casey Ovsiowitz expects to be Malibu’s leader and primary ballhandler during the 2024-25 season

Malibu High girls basketball player Casey Ovsiowitz, 17, has been known for swishing three-point shots throughout her high school playing career. 

Last season, the left-handed wing player, who prefers to shoot the basketball right-handed, nailed multiple threes inroute to scoring a career-high 32 points in a Sharks victory last December. This Summer, though, Ovsiowitz, a rising senior, is practicing her game inside the three-point arc.

“I have been working on getting to the basket and being more aggressive,” she said. “I want to make quick moves to get past my defender, instead of settling for a jump shot, instead of settling for a three. I’m working on that to get ready for the season.” 

Ovsiowitz, who averaged 17 points a contest as a junior, isn’t the only Sharks hoops standout dribbling and shooting to improve this offseason. Malibu boys basketball player Dylan Goosen, 17, one of the top scorers in the state, is also striving to make gains in his game before his senior campaign begins this winter.

Goosen, a guard also known for draining threes, has been exercising to get stronger and practicing to get better.

“I’ve been working with a skill trainer a few days a week and a strength trainer a few days a week,” he explained. “That has been really good. I feel the improvements with that.”

The 6-foot-tall Ovioswitz has played with a squad from Team G, a Los Angeles-based basketball academy, this offseason in local hoops tournaments and basketball spectacles across the nation. They played in tournaments in the July 14-15 Midwest Summer Classic in Ohio. 

Ovioswitz played her best basketball in a Hype Her Hoops tournament. She frequently drove to the basket and made jump shots.

“I’ve been putting in the work,” Ovioswitz said. 

She hopes the work she is doing on her game will show in elite tournaments and basketball camps she attends this Summer. College coaches will be watching, and Ovioswitz aspires to take her basketball acumen to the next level. 

“That is a goal and a dream,” she said.

Ovioswitz helped Malibu snag a first-round berth in the CIF playoffs last season. Her sophomore year, she was a top scorer on a Sharks team that reached the playoffs quarterfinals. Ovioswitz was named to the Citrus Coast League first team both seasons.

Ovsiowitz expects to be Malibu’s leader and primary ballhandler during the 2024-25 season. She is confident in handling the basketball and aims to set teammates up with scoring opportunities. Ovsiowitz wants her improved game to lead Malibu on a deep postseason run. 

“It would be amazing to have a successful senior season,” she said. “If everyone could grow as a team, hopefully that comes with a lot of wins.” 

Goosen was the lone upperclassman on a Malibu boys team filled with inexperienced players last season that didn’t win a lot of games. The scoring load fell on his shoulders. And he was a prolific scorer.

The 5-foot-11 guard began one January contest with a three-point make, which wasn’t an unusual occurrence.However, Goosen didn’t stop there. He splashed more triples, finished forays to the hoop with layups, and knocked down jump shots throughout the Sharks’ win over TEACH Tech Charter. Goosen finished the matchup with a whooping 51 points.

He had scoring outbursts such as 48-, 41-, 39-, 36- and 25-point games to finish the season with a scoring average of 33 points. Goosen also averaged 5.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds. 

Yet entering next season as a better player is necessary, Goosen explained. 

“I feel like every year, I get better and better,” he said. “Hopefully, I’m able to ride that wave and improve more this summer.” 

Goosen wants to get stronger, become a better rebounder, drive to the basket more, and become even more of an accurate three-point shooter to lead the Sharks to more than a handful of victories.

Goosen has seen his development in Summer contests with Team Venom, a club squad in the San Fernando Valley that he has hit the court with each Summer since he was a fifth-grader. 

However, his biggest confidence boost came during his first official college visit. Goosen competed and worked out with members of the California Lutheran University men’s basketball team during his tour of the school this offseason.

His hoops mettle was up to the college basketball task.

“It was really cool,” Goosen remembered. “Playing with those guys gave me some confidence. I now know I can run with them.” 

Goosen hopes to have at least a couple of college basketball scholarship offers by the end of the Summer and to accumulate a few more during the school year. 

He said having the opportunity to hoop beyond high school is great.

“I never thought about getting a scholarship until my sophomore year, and now it is becoming a reality,” Goosen said. 

Even though Goosen and Ovsiowitz have spent a litany of time hooping in various gyms since last season ended, they still find themselves practicing on basketball hoops at their homes. 

“It’s a lot of work,” Goosen said.

Dominant weekend wraps up successful three-tournament run for all-star squad

Staff Report

The Malibu Mayhem, the American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO) Region 759 U12 girls team, won the 19th annual Patriots Cup in Moorpark on the weekend of June 1-2.

Many of the girls for the Mayhem were selected after the Fall season to play on the all-star team. The tournament team was formed afterward in January, including All Star players from this year and last. The team played in three tournaments since and placed in each one.

The Mayhem earned second place in April at the Apricot Jam, also in Moorpark, and fourth place at Strawberry Cup May 4-5 in Camarillo. 

The girls played five games at the Patriots Cup weekend and dominated the entire tournament, shutting out their opponents three times and scoring 8 goals to just 1 for the opposition. Leva Magna played goalie for the Mayhem, while Jadee Mae Jones, Everly Jensen, Vivienne Keenan, Aubrey Ebeling, Quinn Morelli, and Isla Muchmore scored goals for the team. Malibu won the championship game 1-0 over Canyon Country on penalty kicks. Quinn Morelli and Lucy Haskell scored on their penalty kicks to help clinch the title.

The team was led by head coach Timmy Keenan and assistant coach Katie Jensen. Coach Keenan has been a core head girls coach for many years for AYSO, coached all-star teams for three years and tournament teams for two years.

“These girls worked hard for years to get to this accomplishment, training multiple times a week, and participated in core annually, All Stars and two years of tournament teams to get to this year’s multiple wins during tournament season,” said Amora Magna, team manager and girls U12 division coordinator. “It takes time to build a successful team, picking talented committed players and matching them with the right coach who will give them the best training and, most importantly, a positive experience. They stayed committed, trained hard, and achieved their championship. 

“The best part is watching a community play together, build friendships, memories and strong bonds that will last a lifetime.” 

The Malibu Mayhem girls will continue to play for the AYSO Core Fall program, the Malibu Middle School soccer team, in addition to United club teams. Keenan will coach girls U10 for his daughter Havana’s team this Fall and hopes to bring this team together again for another successful tournament season and any other player who wants to work hard, play good soccer,  and join in on the amazing experience these girls had through AYSO opportunities, committed parent volunteers, and kids who just love to play soccer. 

School wins first all-sports Commissioner’s Cup since three-year streak from 2001-02 to 2003-04

The Pepperdine University Waves received a handful of West Coast Conference honors at the end of the academic year on June 5. 

The school received the WCC Commissioner’s Cup, an all-sports award bestowed to the league’s top-performing school in conference play. Pepperdine also won the WCC’s Women’s All-Sports Award.

Additionally, Waves women’s tennis player Nikki Redelijk was named the WCC Female Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete of the Year and men’s cross country runner Johnathan Flint was named the WCC Male Postgraduate Scholarship winner. 

Pepperdine won half of the eight honors the conference gives out to the best and brightest of its athletes and member institutions. 

This is the first time Pepperdine has won the Commissioner’s Cup since the school won the recognition the first three season of the award’s existence from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

Pepperdine Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner said winning the Commissioner’s Cup is a testament to the overall success and unity of the Waves’ athletic department and university. 

“It takes the hard work and dedication of each of our devoted student-athletes, excellent coaches and committed department staff, as well as the support of professors, campus staff and university leadership, to triumph this way,” Gardner stated. “What a powerful showcase of what makes Pepperdine such a special place.”

The Waves last won the Women’s All-Sports Award in 2009-10, and this is the sixth time in program history they have won the honor. Pepperdine’s women’s volleyball, women’s tennis and women’s golf teams all captured WCC crowns this school year. The beach volleyball and women’s soccer squads had second-place finishes in the league rankings. 

Redelijk, the women’s scholar-athlete of the year, was successful on the tennis court and the classroom this school year. She also had a positive impact on the community. 

The award winner is selected by a vote of the WCC’s Executive Council to recognize stellar accomplishments in athletics, academics, and community service by individuals who have completed their collegiate eligibility. 

Redelijk, who played fourth and fifth singles positions for Pepperdine, had an 18-8 overall record and closed the Waves’ 2024 campaign on a nine-match winning streak. She was a named to the All-WCC second team in singles this season and was an All-WCC Tournament team selection. Redelijk was the conference’s singles player of the week once this season and was a nationally ranked singles player the entire season. 

She was named Pepperdine’s Female Scholar Athlete of Year. She graduated summa cum laude from Pepperdine’s Seaver College with degrees in political science and economics and earned WCC All-Academic honors for three consecutive years. 

Redelijk was a member of Pepperdine’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Waves Leadership Council. She helped put together events such as a blood drive donation to help fight cancer, a hygiene kit drive for unhoused people, and the Malibu Tiny Tot Olympics. 

She is the 11th Pepperdine student-athlete to win the scholar-athlete award, which is named after the WCC’s first full-time commissioner, Mike Gilleran. Redelijk’s former teammate Ashley Lahey, who won the recognition in 2021, was the last Wave to win the honor. Redelijk is the second Pepperdine women’s tennis player and eighth woman from Pepperdine to gain the award. 

Flint, the distance runner from Flower Mound, Texas, garnered the WCC’s postgraduate scholarship after earning a 4.0 grade point average with a degree in finance and a minor in applied mathematics. He was president of the Waves Leadership Council and part of the Malibu Community Labor Exchange. Flint volunteered to help beach cleanup in Santa Monica, with the Malibu Tiny Tot Olympics, and with a mental health trivia night. 

He was Pepperdine’s 2024 Scholar Athlete of the Year after being a four-time school scholar-athlete. Flint was named to the WCC All-Academic Team last fall and is a three-time WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree. 

He scored in the WCC Cross Country Championships all four of his years as Wave and is a two-time conference runner of the week. He competed in NCAA regionals three times. Flint’s time of 24 minutes and 17.2 seconds in the 8K ranks in the top 10 Pepperdine history. Additionally, he holds top 10 times in four other events.

Flint is attending the University of Oxford’s Said Business School to pursue a master’s in financial economics. He aims to work at a venture capital firm emphasizing emerging markets.