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

Annabel Yen, Nueva girls’ golf. The junior became the first Mavericks girls’ golfer to win the West Bay Athletic League individual title. Nueva does not have a girls’ team, so Yen competed in the tournament as an individual. Not only did she win the championship, she earned a spot in the Central Coast Section tournament after a 3-under 69 at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto. Tied after 16 holes, Yen birdied the final two holes to win by a stroke.

Manny Navarro, Woodside football. The 6-2 guard has been paving the way for Woodside’s dynamic offense all season, and continued to do so Thursday in a 37-0 win over Aragon to improve the Wildcats’ unbeaten record to 9-0. While senior running back Daniel Torres rushed for 107 yards on three carries, and junior quarterback Charlie Dalrymple threw for a career-high three touchdowns, and Navarro was giving airplane rides after several of Woodside’s touchdowns, the senior lineman’s biggest highlight was earned with his leg. Also Woodside’s kicker, Navarro capped a 24-point first half with a booming 48-yard field goal, topping his previous career high of 40 yards.

Mia Lo and Shanay Biouk, Aragon girls’ tennis. The Dons’ No. 1 and No. 3 singles players did not drop a game across two matches as Aragon qualified for the CCS team tournament after winning the PAL CCS play-in tournament. They both beat their Woodside and Burlingame opponents by scores of 6-0, 6-0 as the Dons won both matches 7-0.

TJ Johnson, San Mateo football. The sophomore running back had his coming out party in the Bearcats’ 35-0 win over Capuchino. The Riordan transfer rushed for 114 yards on just four carries.

Kiera Winters, Sequoia volleyball. The sophomore made her impact felt in Saturday’s CCS opener. The Ravens have now advanced through the first round of the Division I tournament for two straight years, but Winters has a much more prominent role in 2025. Last season, as a reserve, she totaled just two kills in Sequoia’s five-set win over Los Altos. This season, in a breezy 25-11, 25-17, 25-12 sweep at Alisal-Salinas, the 5-8 outside hitter was all over the place, totaling 17 kills, nine digs, two blocks and four service aces. The Ravens were nails from the service line, totaling 15 aces as a team, led by sophomore Grace Popler with five, while senior Katalina Tuipulotu matched Winters with four.

Nolan Fausto, Sequoia football. The senior running back rushed for a career-high 167 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in the Ravens’ 25-7 win over Milpitas.

Emi Sim, Carlmont volleyball. Arriving to campus the morning after Halloween for Saturday’s CCS Division I playoff opener, Carlmont had a heck of a time finding a rhythm against visiting Branham-San Jose. A senior setter, Sim opened the match running a 5-1 offense, but that went by the wayside after a 25-21 loss in the first set, with senior setter Clare Wang entering to pivot to a 6-2 in the second. As wonky as the Lady Scots started, Sim made sure they finished strong, as the team’s leadoff server opened Game 4 with a 12-point service run to put a 21-25, 25-9, 25-21, 25-8 victory on ice. Sim scored two aces during the run, and totaled three match aces overall.

Daniela Cuadros and Katelyn Elliott, Carlmont girls’ cross country. The two upperclassmen led the way for Carlmont’s repeat as PAL girls’ cross-country team champions. The Lady Scots needed as few points as they could muster, finishing with a team score of 45 (the total of the top five placers) while second-place Menlo-Atherton scored 49. With Carlmont fielding just six runners, four of whom are underclassmen, the lone senior Cuadros led the way with a second-place finish in 18:07, while the junior Elliott took third place in 18:12.6.

Tessa Lee, Carlmont girls’ golf. The sophomore captured her first Peninsula Athletic League individual title at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo. Lee tied the match with a birdie on the par-5 16th. She then won the match with a par on 18, only to watch the potential match-tying putt slide past the cup, giving Lee the championship.

Matt Derossett, Burlingame boys’ water polo. Derossett combined for eight goals and two assists as the Panthers went 1-2 to close the regular season. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they lost two key matches that cost them a shot a co-title. Derossett scored two goals in an 11-10 loss to Woodside and had four in a 12-11 loss to Hillsdale. There was a silver lining for Burlingame as he scored twice and assisted on two more as the Panthers beat Aragon 10-4 in the PAL CCS play-in match.

Will Armstrong, Burlingame football. The junior two-way standout enjoyed a big night as the Panthers won a 44-35 barnburner at Mountain View. Armstrong gained 160 total yards, mostly on passes from his older brother Nick, with five catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, the cornerback added eight tackles, while nabbing his sixth interception of the year, tying him for tops in the Central Coast Section among teams that report stats to MaxPreps.com.

Devon Jackson, South City football. The Warriors needed a win Friday night to earn their third straight trip to the CCS playoffs. And win they did, doubling up for a 42-21 victory over Los Altos at Clifford Field. While it was junior running back Vince Bernal who gave South City the lead with a career-high 59-yard scoring run to break a 7-all tie in the first quarter, Jackson was the Warriors’ workhorse. The senior finished with 16 carries for 189 yards and two touchdowns.