Parents, coaches, friends and family gathered during lunch as school counselor Francisco Negri shared their athletic journeys. These students balanced academics and athletic programs, working hard throughout high school to achieve their goals.
The following are the senior athletes who signed this spring: Hailey Cardinale committed to College of San Mateo for volleyball, Hannah Baltodano committed to College of San Mateo for volleyball, Kiki Maciel committed to Foothill for basketball, Ruth Ruby Rodriguez committed to Canada for soccer, Sam Cowart committed to Foothill for football and Kate Stevenson committed to the University of California, Davis for swimming.
Hailey Cardinale has played volleyball four years at Woodside and is looking to double major in agriculture and secondary education with a minor in kinesiology.
“[Cardinale would] like to shout out Coach Thomas for creating the love of sport as her first volleyball coach ever as well as her mom for always supporting her through the volleyball career, the club days and career,” Negri said.
Joining Cardinale at the College of San Mateo for volleyball is Baltodano. She has been playing for four years at Woodside. She plans on studying criminology next year with the hope of going into law enforcement.
“[Baltodano would] love to shout out her parents because without their support she wouldn’t be where I am today,” Negri said. “She’d also like to shout out her club coaches for helping my passion for volleyball grow and making me a better player. Lastly, to shout out the CSM coaches for the opportunity that she’s going to get next year.”
Sam Cowart is going to be playing football at Foothill and plans on studying psychology next year. He’s been playing the sport for seven years, with four years at Woodside.
“[Sam] enjoys the teamwork and what it takes to contribute to win and it’s helped him become a leader and have to adapt to challenges,” Negri said. “He would like to shout out his parents for always supporting him and his sister for showing how hard work translates to success.”
Kiki Maciel is going to be playing basketball at Foothill. She’s been playing basketball for nine years, with four years at Woodside. She is still exploring different majors, but is considering studying social work and eventually becoming a child welfare specialist.
“[Maciel] would like to give a shout out to her dad because he’s the one who got her interested in playing basketball and has coached her throughout many years,” Negri said. “A piece of advice that [she would] like to give is finding a balance between your sport and school work.”
Ruby Rodriguez will be playing soccer at Cañada next year and plans on studying photography. She has been playing the sport for 13 years, and stated she loves the friendships that she’s built with teammates throughout her time.
“The sport has made her a stronger student at Woodside because it’s taught her to be disciplined, using any time during school, like tutorials to get schoolwork done for her success,” Negri said. “[Rodriguez] would like to shout out coach Sander for always motivating her to do her best.”
Lastly, Kate Stevenson has been swimming for seven years, with two years of club experience. She’s planning on majoring in biological sciences and is interested in physical therapy next year at UC Davis.
“[Stevenson] loves being around teammates and cheering them on in everything they do,” Negri said. “A piece of advice is, enjoy the sport, enjoy the work, all the time you put in will pay off and everything will fall into place one more time.”
Negri concluded the celebration with a final speech for all the athletes here.
“We just again want to acknowledge all these athletes for their commitment that they have put forward here at Woodside and what they plan on doing in the future,” Negri said.
