2023-24 WDV Athletics Program Recap

 

WDV Athletics enjoyed a record-breaking season in 2023-24 with 599 student-athletes participating on 29 teams in 16 sports. In its second year as a member of the South Bay Athletics Association – one of the most competitive high school associations in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) – WDV achieved tremendous individual and team successes!  

Nineteen of our WDV student-athletes and one coach were voted as MVP, First Team, or Second Team All-League. > Check out who made the Pioneer All-League Teams here.  

In 2023-24, we had immense team and individual achievements along the way, including:

 

WDV Highlights of the Year – Team Performance

  • WDV Boys Volleyball team emerged victorious among the 20 participating teams of the inaugural Wiseburn Da Vinci Wolves Classic Volleyball Tournament in April, winning all six of their matches.
  • WDV Boys Indoor Volleyball placed 2nd in the Pioneer League with a record of 10-2 and an overall record of 27-8, qualified for the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs, and advanced to the 3rd round.
  • WDV Boys Soccer placed 3rd in the Pioneer League with a record of 7-4-1 and an overall record of 15-9-2. They qualified for the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals.
  • WDV Boys Basketball finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Pioneer League with a 9-3 record and an overall record of 20-9. They qualified for the CIF-SS Division 3AA playoffs and hosted a first-round playoff game.
  • WDV Girls Swim team members Tanaz Engineer, Kaia Henty-Dodd, Andrea Cornejo, and Taylor Jackson had outstanding swims at the CIF-SS Division 3 finals, winning their heat in the 200 Free Relay and setting a new team record!
  • WDV Boys Swim team members Rayan Engineer, Alex Zakrzewski, Apollo Ivins, Zirak Engineer, Cannon Mosteller, and Adam Flores represented the WDV Boys Swim team at CIF-SS Division 4 finals. They reached the finals and finished 3rd overall out of 68 teams, setting new team records in all their events and establishing a new standard for swimming at WDV.
  • WDV Girls Softball won a team high 11 games and beat a tough Mira Costa team by the score of 6-4.
  • WDV Archery: At Olympic Archery in Schools State Championships – Olympic Team Rounds: Morgan Adams, Luke Endo, and Jack Trolia placed 2nd; Jay Clark, Sofia Comitz and Ellyse Legaspi also placed 2nd.
  • Da Vinci’s E-Sports Program participates in both the Electronic Gaming Federation for High Schools (EGFH) and the California Interscholastic Federation of High School Sports (CIF) for Fall and Spring league eSports competitions. For the 3rd consecutive year, our E-Sports Scholar Gamers have qualified to compete for EGFH’s National Championships held in Orlando, Florida.  
  • WDV Baseball came into the ’23-’24 season with its first ever frosh/sophomore baseball team to round out the development of the JV and Varsity level teams. The year started with their participation in the highly competitive El Segundo Tournament, a first in WDV Athletics history. The team went 3-3 in play and pitched a no hitter versus the #1 Western League Venice High School while scoring a tournament win against a top ranked St. Paul High School. In its second year in the CIF Pioneer League, the most competitive in league in Southern California, WDV Baseball had six Division 1 baseball commitments, Maddox Wiltshire was selected to the Pioneer All League Team and nine Varsity Seniors will be attending California Universities and California State Universities in 2024.
  • WDV Cheer – The ’23-’24 cheer team took home 1st place for their division on June 8th at 2024 SHARP Cheer Competition! They also earned 1st place in the Judges Award category and in High School Year. For a total of 3 trophies and a division winner banner, congratulations team!

 

WDV Highlights of the Year – Individual Achievements

  • WDV Track & Field – Olivia Griffin’s work ethic, focus, and exceptional athletic ability led the WDV Track and Field program to success. She became the 300m Hurdles Pioneer League Champion and the 6th fastest 300m hurdler in the state of California, raising the bar for WDV Track and Field. > Read More
  • WDV Track Team Pioneer League Champions Girls 4×100 Relay Nancy Douala, Liya Nartey, Alana Frelow, and Olivia Griffin. Boys 4×400 Relay Michael Woodhams, Damian Espino, Rashaan Smith, and Peyton Tate. Girls 100m Hurdles Olivia Griffin.  Girls 100m Jasmine Veal.  Girls 200m Jasmine Veal. Girls 300m Hurdles Olivia Griffin.  Girls 400m Madison Griffin. > Read More
  • WDV Boys Volleyball – Malakai Tu’akoi was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the Pioneer League.  Malakai was one of 12 elite athletes selected to represent the U.S. at the 2024 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship. He captured the gold medal at the 2024 NORCECA Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico, as a member of the U.S. Boys U19 National Team. > Read More
  • WDV Boys Basketball – Ahmose Daniels recognized as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Pioneer League.
  • WDV Boys Basketball Alonzo Gonzalez played in the South Bay All-Star Boys Basketball Classic held at El Camino College. He was part of the Pioneer Co-League championship team and served as a team captain. Alonzo will attend LMU on a full academic scholarship to study Kinesiology, aspiring to become an Athletic Trainer. > Read More
  • Olympic Archery in Schools National Championships – Boys: Jack Trolia – 1st (Varsity), Dominic Davis – 8th (JV); Girls: Summer Tsai – 3rd (JV), Chelsea Riddle – 5th (JV)
  • Olympic Archery in Schools State Championships
    • Ranking Rounds – Varsity (Top Ten) – Girls: Ellyse Legaspi – 4th, Jay Clark – 5th, Sofia Comitz – 9th, and Jasmine Salazar – 10th. Boys: Jack Trolia – 1st, Morgan Adams – 7th. Ranking Rounds – JV High School Division – Girls: Summer Tsai – 1st. Boys: Dominic Davis – 3rd.
    • Olympic Solo Rounds: Jack Trolia – 1st, Morgan Adams – 2nd, Jay Clark – 1st
  • WDV Baseball – Maddox Wiltshire (Senior ’24) wrapped up his WDV baseball career with an exceptional ’23-’24 season. In 3 years he played 77 games with a career average .385. Scoring 56 runs, 90 hits and 72 runs batted in. On the mound he went 7-7 in 63.1 innings pitched with 73 strikeouts. In 2024, the captain earned the team’s Offensive Player of the year, a 1st team All Pioneer Selection, All Area Selection and made the CIF 2nd team.  He cemented his place in the WDV Athletic history books as the first ever WDV Senior All Star Game Participant and the first ever WDV Tyler Skaggs Senior All Star game participant (invitation-only) where he earned Offensive Player of the game. 
  • WDV Baseball – Nathaniel Barba was invited to participate in the Tyler Skaggs Underclassmen Showcase game played at UCLA.

 

WDV Student-Athletes representing Universities and Colleges at the next levels

  • We had five WDV student -athletes who have signed athletic scholarships with the following schools:
    • Arianna Caldwell (Diving) committed to University of Iowa. Arianna will study Nursing. 
    • Kennedy Crosby (Softball) committed to Chapman University. Kennedy will study Applied Human Physiology. 
    • Cody Evans (Men’s Volleyball) committed to UC Merced. Cody will study Mechanical Engineering. 
    • Amir Grant (Men’s  Volleyball) –  committed to Lindenwood University. Amir will be studying Engineering. 
    • Jillian Silvers (Gymnastics) committed to University of Arizona. Jillian will be pre-law studying Political Science. 

 

WDV Highlights of the Year – Coach and Staff Contributions

  • WDV Boys Basketball – Coach Jeff Amaral won the Pioneer League Coach of the Year
  • WDV Overall coaching staff for the 2023-24 high school sports season, provided effective communication, team development, skill development, game preparation, player welfare, inclusivity and motivation, and feedback and evaluation. Balancing these elements, the coaching staff ensured meaningful development and positive experiences for all student-athletes throughout the season.

We are so grateful for our community and fan support. Thank you for attending games, volunteering, and organizing events to foster WDV spirit and boost our dedicated student-athletes. Your support means so much to the success of our program!! We can’t wait to get started in 2024-25 and to share even more fantastic WDV Athletics news and highlights in the weeks and months ahead! Go Wolves!

Nicholas “AD” Davidson
Director of Athletics
WDV Athletics

By |2024-08-21T20:10:13-07:00August 1st, 2024|Archery, Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, esports, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Track & Field, Volleyball|Comments Off on 2023-24 WDV Athletics Program Recap

Wolves standing out in Pioneer League

This year, WDV had a successful out in Pioneer League play. 19 of our athletes and one of our coaches were voted as MVP, First or Second Team All-League. This is a tremendous step forward for our growing sports program as we look to continue to excel in athletics in the coming years. Below are the athletes and coach who made the Pioneer All-League Teams:

 

We also had several standouts from our Girls Swim Team (Tanaz Engineer, Kaia Henty-Dodd, Andrea Cornejo and Taylor Jackson) as well as the Boys Swim Team (Rayan Engineer, Alex Zakrzewski, Apollo Ivins, Zirak Engineer, Cannon Mosteller, and Adam Flores) who went to the CIF Finals in their respected events. 

Last but not least, WDV Track had their first State Champion in the Hurdles, won by Olivia Griffin!

Congratulations to our All-League Athletes and to our CIF Champion!

By |2024-07-23T15:09:47-07:00June 11th, 2024|Baseball, Basketball, Girls Beach Volleyball, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Track & Field, Volleyball|Comments Off on Wolves standing out in Pioneer League

WDV’s Malakai Tu’akoi and Team USA Take Gold at Boys Volleyball International Competition

A HUGE shout-out to WDV’s Malakai Tu’akoi who captured the gold medal at the 2024 NORCECA Continental Championship on Sunday in Ponce, Puerto Rico, as a member of the U.S. Boys U19 National Team.

The U.S. team finished the championship 5-0 with a 15-1 record in sets. The win over Cuba was its second in three matches after a 3-0 win in the final match of pool play. The victory gives the U.S. squad a berth in the 2025 FIVB World Championship.

Malakai was one of 12 elite athletes selected to represent the U.S. at the 2024 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship. Malakai joined the WDV Boys Volleyball Varsity team as a freshman in 2022-23. He is a formidable student-athlete with a high volleyball IQ, playing on both the boys indoor and beach (club) teams. With his high-level skill set, Malakai was able to help our boys team win the CIF-SS Division 5 Championship and earn a Third place at the CIF State Division 3 level.

Way to go, Malakai!! We are so proud of you for representing WDV Athletics on the U.S. Boys Volleyball National Team!!

By |2024-05-22T15:43:28-07:00May 22nd, 2024|Volleyball|Comments Off on WDV’s Malakai Tu’akoi and Team USA Take Gold at Boys Volleyball International Competition

WDV Girl’s Volleyball Update

With the tryouts coming up towards the end of the month, Coach Wessels will be adding some workouts open to all students looking to tryout for the team. The dates will be:

May 6th-May 8th

May 13th-May 15th 

The open gym will be held in the WDV Gym (201 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA, 90245) from 4:15pm-6:00pm.

Also, Coach Wessels has added two more dates for tryouts in the summer. 

Tryouts will now be July 10th-12th, along with July 15th and July 16th in the WDV Gym. 

If interested in trying out in May or July, please scan the QR code below for more information.

By |2024-05-03T09:01:54-07:00May 3rd, 2024|News, Volleyball|Comments Off on WDV Girl’s Volleyball Update

WDV Boys Volleyball Advances to Quarterfinals, Matchup on May 1st on Home Turf

We are thrilled to share that the WDV Boys Volleyball team secured a spot in the Quarterfinals after defeating Mission Viejo 3-1 (32-30, 22-25, 26-24, 25-19) on Saturday night.

WDV will be hosting the Tartans of St. Margaret’s this Wednesday, May 1st, at 6:00pm in the WDV Gym (201 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245)

We hope you will come out and support our WDV Wolves in this Quarterfinal matchup. Please purchase your tickets on GoFan!

If attending, PLEASE WEAR BLUE!!

Go Wolves!! We are so proud of you!!

By |2024-04-29T09:50:37-07:00April 29th, 2024|Volleyball|Comments Off on WDV Boys Volleyball Advances to Quarterfinals, Matchup on May 1st on Home Turf

Boys Volleyball looking to repeat as CIF Champs

WDV Boys Volleyball will kick off the 2024 CIF playoffs on familiar territory this week, on the road. 

Last year’s squad played 6 of their 7 playoff contests on either the road or at a neutral site, driving over 1,400 miles across Southern California, on their way to winning the Division 5 CIF Volleyball Championship.

This year’s team posted a record of 25-7 and are currently ranked 30th in California and 57th in the nation.

This year, they will be traveling to Cerritos High School (12500 183rd Street, Cerritos, CA 90703) to compete against the Dons on Thursday, April 25th at 6:00pm. 

If you are interested in attending, please purchase your tickets on GoFan

Go Wolves!!

By |2024-04-22T14:52:15-07:00April 22nd, 2024|Volleyball|Comments Off on Boys Volleyball looking to repeat as CIF Champs

Malakai Tu’akoi Selected to Join U.S. Boys Volleyball National Team

 

WDV’s Malakai Tu’akoi is a member of an exclusive club.

Malakai was selected as one of 20 boys volleyball standouts to join the 2024 U.S. Boys U19 National Team, as announced by USA Volleyball on Thursday. The team will train in Anaheim from May 3-11.

During that time, 12 athletes out of the 20 will be selected to represent the United States at the 2024 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship on May 12-20 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. This new group aims to continue the success of previous teams, which won consecutive Pan American Cup tournaments in 2022 and 2023 and achieved a fourth-place finish at the 2023 World Championship.

Malakai joined the WDV Boys Volleyball Varsity team as a freshman in 2022-23.  He is a formidable student-athlete with a high volleyball IQ, playing on both the boys indoor and beach (club) teams.  As a freshman for the indoor team, he was a starting setter with a high number of assists that helped his team reach the playoffs.  Offensively, he is a gifted tactician as he is able to read the other teams’ vulnerabilities, setting our hitters for the best possible outcomes.  Malakai is also a talented hitter and blocker, where he boasts high numbers for kill and block percentages.  On the defensive end, he is able to dig hard driven balls and pick up shots that most players would not be able to pick up.  With his high skill set, Malakai was able to help our boys team win the CIF-SS Division 5 Championship and earn a Third place at the CIF State Division 3 level.

Awards/Honors

2022-2023 

  • Venice, Culver City and Golden State tournaments, Malakai earned a spot on the All-Tournament team
  • Pioneer League – First Team
  • California SS-Division 5 – listed as a top rated Player 
  • CIF Academic Team Honorable Mention

2023-2024

  • Wolves Classic – Malakai earned a spot on the All-Tournament team
  • CIF Academic Team Honorable Mention

We are enormously proud of Malakai for representing the WDV Wolves on a national team!! We will be cheering him on now and for years to come.

By |2024-04-09T16:51:12-07:00April 9th, 2024|Volleyball|Comments Off on Malakai Tu’akoi Selected to Join U.S. Boys Volleyball National Team

WDV Boys Volleyball Wins Inaugural Volleyball Tournament on Home Turf

From the Desk of WDV Athletics Director Nick “A.D.” Davidson

Dear WDV Athletics Community,

We are thrilled to share the wonderful news that our inaugural Wiseburn Da Vinci Wolves Classic Volleyball Tournament held on Saturday was a resounding success, with our very own WDV Boys Volleyball team emerging victorious among the 20 participating teams!!! This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and talent of our student-athletes, coaches, and community of supporters. WDV played six matches and won all six. Sage Hill School from Newport Beach and Arcadia High School finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

First and foremost, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the teams that competed in the tournament that was held on our home turf in the WDV Gym. Your sportsmanship, skill, and camaraderie contributed to the electric atmosphere throughout the event. Each match was a showcase of the passion and determination present in high school athletics, and we are honored to have shared the court with such talented competitors. The 20 teams traveled from all across LA County, Orange County, San Diego, San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Moreno Valley, and San Fernando Valley. Only one other team, West High School from Torrance, was from the Pioneer League.

To our devoted fans, thank you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm. Your cheers and encouragement provided our team with the extra motivation they needed to push through every game and secure victory. Your presence in the stands truly made a difference, and we are grateful for your continued support of the Wiseburn Da Vinci Athletics program.

I would also like to express our appreciation to the coaching staff and administration for their support in organizing and hosting the tournament. Your commitment to fostering a thriving athletic program has made events like this possible, and we are grateful for your dedication to our students’ success both on and off the court.

A special thank you goes out to the volunteer parents who generously gave their time and energy to ensure the smooth running of the tournament. Your hard work behind the scenes did not go unnoticed, and we are incredibly thankful for your invaluable contributions to the event’s success. We received so much positive feedback from both coaches and parents outside of our WDV program commending us for our outstanding communication and coordination thanks to your efforts. Well done!

Last but certainly not least, I want to commend our student-athletes for representing WDV Athletics with pride, integrity, and sportsmanship. Your tireless effort and dedication have paid off, and we are immensely proud of each and every one of you. Your achievements on the court and off are a testament to your hard work, teamwork, and determination, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for our Wolves volleyball program.

Our WDV Boys Volleyball team is currently ranked #2 in the Pioneer League, #50 in California, and #81 nationally according to MaxPreps.

Go Wolves!

By |2024-04-08T13:52:44-07:00April 8th, 2024|News, Volleyball|Comments Off on WDV Boys Volleyball Wins Inaugural Volleyball Tournament on Home Turf

WDV Girls Volleyball Tryouts

Spring is here, but before you know it, it will be fall aka Girl’s Volleyball Season! If you are interested in playing for the WDV Girl’s Volleyball program next school year, click here!

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to Coach Wessels at mwessels@davincischools.org

By |2024-03-26T13:12:35-07:00March 26th, 2024|Volleyball|Comments Off on WDV Girls Volleyball Tryouts

Boys Volleyball Tryout Information

BOYS VOLLEYBALL TRYOUTS!
Interested in joining the CIF Southern Section Division 5 championship team? Join us for tryouts on December 4th, 5th and 6th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m!
WDV Gym @ 201 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo

Please wear appropriate athletic attire and shoes (NO black soled shoes).

BEFORE TRYOUTS:
You must also fill out the following forms:

1.    Boys Volleyball Tryout 2023-2024 online form
2.    Waiver and Release of Liability
3.    Wiseburn Da Vinci Volleyball Player Tryout Conduct Consent Form

The last two documents must be signed by both you (athlete) and your parent/guardian BEFORE you can try out. Bring the signed documents to tryouts. Thank you!

Any questions please contact mwessels@davincischools.org.

By |2023-11-16T10:22:19-08:00November 16th, 2023|Volleyball|Comments Off on Boys Volleyball Tryout Information
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