Elisa Kung, Northwood H.S.
Flag football, soccer, lacrosse
Character counts as much as agility for this three-sport varsity athlete. Nominated by her coaches and selected as Northwood’s Athlete of the Year and Student Athlete of Character, Kung proves her skills on and off the field, even while navigating some significant health challenges along the way: she had heart surgery to repair an aortic block. Nonetheless, Kung led her flag football team to win the inaugural CIF Championship. She also helped her teams to the PCL championships in soccer and lacrosse. She will attend University of Washington to study speech and hearing sciences. “Take advantage of the opportunities given to you,” Kung tells freshmen. “Four years can fly by.”
Cooper Stearns, Irvine H.S.
Basketball, golf
The Los Angeles Times reports Stearns is “one of the best two-sport athletes in Southern California.” For the first time since 1991, with help from this star player, Irvine won its league basketball championship. But golf is Stearns’ first love. As a three-time Pacific Coast League MVP, he began playing at age 6 and will join the team at Stanford University this fall. “It’s a sport that allows me to stay competitive, healthy and takes all the stresses of life off my mind,” Stearns says. A dislocated shoulder his junior year taught Stearns to prioritize his health. His advice? “Be yourself. And have a smile on your face, no matter what.”
More student-athlete standouts
Mia Thompson
Woodbridge: Soccer, flag football
Thompson was a three-year varsity player for the Warriors soccer team, team MVP and was named first team all-league. She was also a four-year varsity player for the flag football team, leading the squad into the third round of the CIF playoffs. She plans to continue playing soccer at Cypress College.
Nash Luper
Portola: Football
Luper, a first team All-CIF and first team all-league quarterback, led the Bulldogs to their first CIF football championship. He passed for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns and played a key role, throwing two TD passes in Portola’s 31-14 victory over El Rancho in the CIF Division 11 final. He plans to attend Grand Canyon University.
Robin Koehler
Woodbridge: Swimming
A four-year varsity athlete, Koehler was the CIF-SS leader in the 50-yard freestyle with an All America Automatic qualifying time and was a two-time all-league swimmer. Koehler maintains a 4.5 GPA and is also on the Woodbridge water polo team. He will continue his swimming career at Washington University in St. Louis.
Morgan Cruz
Beckman: Flag football, soccer
In flag football, Cruz was All-CIF Division 3 with 253 catches for 2,595 yards and 21 touchdowns. She was named first team all-league and was also the team’s offensive MVP and team captain. She played for the varsity soccer team for two years as well. Cruz was a scholar-athlete all four years.
Luke Morrison
Beckman: Volleyball
Morrison, who has signed to play volleyball for Stanford University, was a standout for the Patriots team. This past season, he helped Beckman capture a share of the league title and earn a berth in the CIF Division 1 playoffs. Morrison was also All‑CIF first team and second team all‑county in 2024 and was the league MVP this season and in 2024.
Nina Saiki
Portola: Basketball
Saiki, a playmaking guard, helped lead Portola to go further in postseason play than any squad in the program’s history. Saiki led the team, averaging 12 points a game, and reached the 1,000 career point total, finishing her career as the team’s second leading scorer (behind her sister Moka). She will continue playing next year at Saddleback College.
