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

Ava Goh, Aragon girls’ diving. The senior captured the CCS girls’ diving championship with a point total of 455.25. She becomes the first champion from the PAL since Menlo-Atherton’s Mia Paulsen won it in 2017 and Goh becomes the first PAL diver from a school other than M-A, which won titles in 1976, ’78, ’79, ’80 and 2017.

Seth Collet, Woodside boys’ swimming. The senior, who will continue his swimming career at UC Santa Barbara, captured a CCS title in his third discipline. He smoked the field in winning the 500 free title with a time of 4:19.73, the third-fastest time in CCS history and nearly six seconds faster than second place. He adds the 500 free title to two 100 back championships (2023, 2024) and the 2024 200 free crown.

Clara Young, Woodside girls’ swimming. The freshman made a statement that she will contend for titles in the future after winning the 50 free at the CCS swimming championships, earning the title of “fastest swimmer in the CCS” with her time of 23.48.

Evan Usher, Woodside boys’ track and field. The senior thrower added the PAL discus title to the shot put championship he had won the week before. And he did so in dramatic fashion. Trailing San Mateo’s Emmanuel Fitzgerald by 6 feet going into his final throw, Usher uncorked a toss of 167-5, to better Fitzgerald by 16 inches.

Mattheo LaCasia, Woodside boys’ track. The senior was not only a two-time winner, he set a pair of new PAL records in the process. A heavy favorite in the 400, he won that with ease, with his time of 47.57 It also set a new PAL record, eclipsing the time of 47.61 set by Terra Nova’s Jeremy Wright in 2015. LaCasia added the 200 title as well, again in record-setting fashion. His time of 21.59 broke the mark of 21.84 set by San Mateo’s Darryl Usher in 1983.

Ryder Kelly, Menlo-Atherton baseball. The junior was a run-scoring machine throughout the Bears’ two-game series sweep of Burlingame. At the plate, Kelly went 5 for 7 with two doubles and an RBI, upping his season average to .333. With two stolen bases to his credit, he finished the week with five runs scored as M-A claimed wins of 4-3 and 7-2.

Sara Nordlund, Menlo-Atherton girls’ track. The senior hurdler is just rounding back into form as she has battled a cold the last couple weeks, but it didn’t prevent her from winning both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles titles at the PAL championships. She won the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.62 and added the 300 hurdles crown by holding off Carlmont’s Kiana Chen, 45-16 to 45-27.

Alli Lui, Notre Dame-Belmont softball. The four-year starting senior got it done at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle as the Tigers posted a pair of mercy-rule wins, 11-0 over Terra Nova and 11-1 over Sequoia. Lui was a combined 4 for 7 at the plate in the two games, combining to drive in four runs. In the circle, she threw a total of nine innings, giving up an unearned run and striking out 17, including 11 against Terra Nova.

Aiden James, Terra Nova baseball. The junior featured heavily in the Tigers’ two-game sweep of San Mateo, clinching a CCS playoff bid for Terra Nova. In the series opener, James starred on the mound, recorded his second straight complete game in the Tigers’ 6-2 win. In the series finale, a 12-2 Terra Nova win, James connected for the first home run of his varsity career, and finished the week 3 for 7 with three RBIs.

Jazzy Maske, Mills softball. The sophomore has registered five three-hit games this season, but last week had two of them back-to-back for the first time. In Mills’ wins of 13-3 over Sequoia, and 14-3 over Menlo-Atherton, Maske combined to go 6 for 9 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, five RBIs and six runs scored, improving her season slash line to .494/.581/.831. With the two wins, the Lady Vikings remain tied atop the PAL Ocean Division, along with Notre Dame-Belmont, at 7-1 in league with two regular-season games to play.

Avery Boyse, Burlingame girls’ pole vault. The senior won the PAL title in girls’ pole vault with a record-setting height that vaulted her to the top of CCS, making her favorite to the win CCS title. Boyse became the first vaulter in CCS to clear 13 feet this season and is the second-best height in the state this year. Her height also smashed the previous PAL record of 11-7, set by Sequoia’s Abigail Goetz last year. It is the fifth time this season Boyse went over the 12-foot mark.