31 Sacred Heart Prep student athletes will be participating in varsity sports at 26 different schools
of contributed content on May 26, 2023
For the 17th consecutive year, Sacred Heart Preparatory (SHP) in Atherton will send 15 or more student-athletes to play in the intercollegiate ranks. The class of 2023 is characterized by sending a record number of 31 student athletes to 12 different sports.
“The level of commitment shown by our athletes, both in the classroom and in their respective athletic programs, is unmatched,” said Jason Armstrong, associate director of athletics at SHP.
In the classroom, 12 of SHP’s varsity athletic programs were named Central Coast Section (CCS) Scholastic teams – a school record. The school’s teams won 11 championships and secured 20 CCS playoff berths (out of 21 total athletic programs), also a school record.
“The fact that we’re sending 31 athletes from a relatively small school — with only 171 SHP class 2023 graduates — to play at the collegiate level makes this an even more impressive achievement,” Armstrong said.
The SHP’s baseball program had 19 wins that year, a tally matched by only three other schools throughout the CCS. There will be three boys on the college baseball team. Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Ocean Division Player of the Year Mason Chetcuti will play for the University of Redlands; 2022 PAL batting champion Andrew Rocha will play for Williams College; and two-time All-League baseball player Tyler Wong will play for Tufts University.
The SHP boys’ basketball team has won its second West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) title in three seasons and will send Sam Norris to play for Pitzer College. Norris is the 2023 WBAL Basketball Player of the Year, San Mateo Daily Journal Basketball Player of the Year, 49ers Cal-Hi Basketball Player of the Year, and CCS Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
In SHP Cross-Country and SHP Athletics, Julia Soderbery will run for Brown University. She achieved the top three marks in 13 different disciplines in both cross-country skiing and athletics.
The SHP football team ended one of its best seasons in program history, finishing with a 9-2 aggregate record and defeating the vaunted PAL Bay Division with a perfect 5-0 record. The team will send six boys to college — 2022 PAL sack leader Eliseo Buffington for San Jose State University; All-League defenseman John Chung for Harvard University; Year-end PAL-Bay Division Andrew Latu for Chapman University; University of Utah PAL Linebacker and Defensive Player of the Year Shay O’Kelly; two-time All-League player RJ Stephens for the University of California at Berkeley; and PAL wide receiver and offensive player of the year Carter Shaw for the University of California at Los Angeles.
The SHP boys’ lacrosse team is a model of consistency, winning 6-1 in the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) for the sixth straight season and ending the season in the top 10 in the state. The team will field All-League defenders and prospective defenders Midshipman JP Underwood will play for the United States Naval Academy.
In three seasons, the SHP girls’ lacrosse team has an overall record of 42-9 and 25-3 in league play. The team will send five girls to play at the collegiate level – Kate Garlinghouse, a member of Team Austria during the Women’s Lacrosse World Championship, will play for Princeton University; WBAL Goalie of the Year Lauren Hall for the University of Denver; WBAL Defenseman of the Year Scarlett Lang for Pomona College; USA Lacrosse Academic All-American and All-League player Emily Leschin for Tufts University; and USA Lacrosse Academic All-American and All-League player Christina Long for Colby College.
The SHP boys’ soccer team won the regular season 15-0-2 and captured their first WBAL league championship since 2020. The team earned CCS Boys’ Soccer Scholastic Team honors with a cumulative GPA of 3.81, the third highest of all SHP’s 21 sports programs. The team will send four boys to college – WBAL Goalkeeper of the Year Logan Aboudara for Swarthmore College; WBAL Forward of the Year Luke Maxwell for Emerson College; Nathaniel Pi-Sunyer, First Team All-League forward for Lewis & Clark College; and three-star goaltender Andrew Samuels for Princeton University.
The SHP girls’ swim team has won 13 consecutive WBAL championships and will send Audrey J-Cheng, one of the top swimmers in SHP history, to swim for Northwestern University.
The SHP girls’ volleyball team finished the season 24-6 overall, clinching their first WBAL championship since 2012. All-League selection Tatum Baker will play for Williams College.
The nation’s fourth-ranked MaxPreps SHP boys’ water polo team will send seven student-athletes to the collegiate game — two-time UC Santa Barbara All-League and All-CCS selector Luke Bachler; Three-year varsity player/goalkeeper Orlando Hernandez Alvarado for Iona University; All-League and All-CCS selection Hassen Hove for Claremont McKenna College; Danny Rendon, winner of the two-year varsity letter for the College of San Mateo; All-League and All-CCS selector Harrison Rohlen for Stanford University; 49ers Cal-Hi Sports Science Athlete of the Year and CCS Teammate of the Year Will Swart for Princeton University; and CCS Fellow Player of the Year Jake Tsotadze for Harvard University.
The SHP girls’ water polo team went 21-9 overall with a perfect 6-0 in the WCAL, securing their 11th consecutive WCAL regular season and tournament championship. Also, All-League goalie Paedrin Gillett will be sent to the University of California San Diego.
