Honor roll: The week’s best performances by San Mateo County high school athletes

Holden Glavin, Burlingame baseball. The Panthers’ arms got the reigning CCS Division III champions off to a splendid start, as Ryan Kall and Blake Dempsey combined on an opening-day shutout in a 2-0 win over San Mateo. Then after a 14-2 loss to Kennedy, Burlingame got back on track thanks to a gem by Glavin. The junior left-hander dominated Mills in an 8-0 Burlingame win, firing five shutout innings while allowing just one hit and four walks while striking out 12.

Sean Richardson, Burlingame boys’ basketball. The senior guard enjoyed a historic performance in the Panthers’ 55-46 championship victory over Aptos in the CCS Division III finals. Richardson navigated a fourth-quarter comeback with his play-making ability, dishing an assist on a Carson Robenalt 3-pointer to give Burlingame the lead. Richardson went on to total a season-high 10 assists, setting a new record for CCS Division III championship games.

Sarissa Block and Gabby Lee, Carlmont softball. The Lady Scots opened the 2022 high school softball season in style last Friday, shutting out Mercy-Burlingame 3-0. Lee — career .375 hitter, who entered the year with 25 career hits, 23 of which were singles — slugged her first career home run, and scored twice in the game. Block did the rest, dominating in the circle, allowing one hit through six shutout innings while striking out nine.

Megan Grant, Aragon girls’ hoops. The senior UCLA softball-commit had one of the best basketball games of her career with a double-double in the Dons’ 52-47 win over Hillsdale in the CCS Division II championship game. She scored 12 and pulled down 17 rebounds, tying the CCS Division II record. Woodside’s Madison Michelis had 17 rebounds in the 2013 DII championship game. Seventeen boards is fourth all-time throughout all divisions.

Taj Gadiraju, Aragon boys’ soccer. The senior goalkeeper finished with 12 saves during the Dons’ 2-0 win over Alisal in the CCS Division I championship game. It capped a run of three straight clean sheets in the CCS playoffs.

Melesungu Afeaki, Capuchino girls’ basketball. Known as “Kiki” to her teammates and friends, Afeaki had the “MVP!” chant raining down on her after the Mustangs’ 36-29 victory over Mills in the CCS Division III championship game. With Cap trailing 20-13 at the half, the 6-1 senior took over the game, scoring 10 of her game-high 21 points in the third quarter to lead the Mustangs on a 16-0 run. It will go down as one of the great performances in Cap history, as it marks the first-ever CCS title for the school’s girls’ basketball program.

Luke Maxwell, Sacred Heart Prep boys’ soccer. The junior striker helped the Gators to second straight CCS Division II championship. He scored twice and assisted on a third goal in a 3-1 win over Hillsdale in the semifinals. In a 3-2 win over M-A in the championship, he added another assist.

Sam Reznik and Jazlin Chen, Menlo basketball. Two Menlo wins, both for CCS Division IV championships, both via fourth-quarter comebacks by the exact same five-point margin. You can’t script it any better than that. Both Menlo’s basketball teams claimed section titles. Reznik netted the go-ahead shot in the boys’ 63-58 win over Palma, banking a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play. In the girls’ 54-49 win over Harker, Chen was nails from the free-throw line, hitting two shots to give the Lady Knights a 41-39 advantage, and added a key put-back down the stretch to help put the championship victory on ice.

The Padres’ lineup, Serra baseball. Off to a 2-0 start with wins over Los Altos 5-3, and College Park 1-0, the Padres have established remarkable balance up and down the batting order. Serra is batting .294 as a team with 15 hits on the young season. But no player has more than two thus far, with 10 different players already in the hit column.

Bailey Fong, Hillsdale girls’ basketball. The senior guard put together strong efforts in the CCS Division II semifinals and championship game. In the semis, Fong scored 16 of her 23 points in the second half as the Knights rallied to beat Branham. In a 52-47 loss to Aragon in the finals, Fong was on fire, scoring a game-high 24 points, including several circus shots, one of which saw her flip the ball up over her head and in with her back to the basket. It was the 15th highest scoring in all CCS championship games and fourth all-time in Division II.

Emma Kinder, Woodside softball. The Wildcats’ leading hitter of a year ago picked up right where she left off on opening day 2022, leading the way in a 7-2 win over Sacred Heart Cathedral. Kinder went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, while sophomore Kelly Baek matched her with a career-best three-hit performance.

Martin Chen, South City baseball. The Warriors returned to their new on-campus home field after getting evicted last season due to egregious foul-ball hazards for neighboring houses. A temporary restraining wall kept most of the foul ball in the facility during last Tuesday’s opener, a 7-2 win over Mission-SF, and Chen had a day at both the plate and on the mound. The sophomore was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two stolen bases. He also earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs on three hits through six innings, and fighting his way through five walks by notching a career-high 11 strikeouts.

Notre Dame-Belmont pom team. The team of Chloe Einsiedl, Ava Marinos, Kolby Robinson, Delaney Sprague. Olivia Vandeveld and Lucy Wood combined to finish third in the pom-pom division at the USA Spirit Nationals in Florida.