Sports Commitments

As one of the top athletes coming out of the West Ranch cross country and track teams, Hayden Washington grew up around this sport almost all her life. With a loving family and dedication to the sport, Washington was able to receive an offer from Loyola Marymount University. Through countless talks with the coach and an official visit to the campus, Washington believed this was the school for her. “I chose LMU because it truly had everything that I was looking for in a college and it just fit my personality and work style the best. It also was about five minutes away from the beach, which is something that I really wanted because the beach makes me feel at peace.” Even with all these advantages, Washington still struggled to commit, as she had to commit before getting responses from other schools she had applied for. Once she did decide, however, she was happy with her decision and excited about the Madonna University CARTER BORSOS college experience. Beginning at age four, Carter Borsos was inspired to play lacrosse after his dad gave him a stick and played catch with him all day. However, lacrosse wasn’t just a sport for Borsos: “What I enjoy most about lacrosse is the way it takes me away from my issues, so when I play lacrosse my mind is empty and I’m only focused on the game,” Borsos said. With the ability to see the field and create opportunities for his teammates to score, Borsos was given a chance to play at Madonna University. Although he had gotten offers from other coaches previously, what set Madonna apart from the rest was the great coaching staff and team-bonding when he visited. With the conclusion of his high school career, Borsos hopes that his success will carry on as a Crusader.

CASSIDY IMPERIAL-PHAM

CSU Northridge

Known for her skills on the field, Cassidy Imperial-Pham has been a big reason for West Ranch soccer’s success. Inspired by her parents and teammates, ImperialPham believes her biggest motivation to work hard was that her club teammates were all committing to college while she still hadn’t received an offer yet. With her final season approaching, Imperial-Pham received news from her coaches that a coach from CSUN would be coming to watch one of their games. After exchanging emails, Imperial-Pham was invited for a campus tour of CSUN where she also received an offer from the coaches. “When I was offered a spot, I was definitely happy and excited that someone wanted me on their team, but I was also super scared thinking about how much work I’m going to have to put in to be successful.” Through much debate between CSUN and Cal Lutheran, Imperial-Pham decided to commit to CSUN because both of her parents had graduated from CSUN and because of their great kinesiology program. 27

Representing number eight on the West Ranch football field, Dylan Cotti became Claremont McKenna’s newest wide receiver on Jan. 10, 2022. Accumulating a total of 672 yards and eight touchdowns his senior year, Cotti was able to lead West Ranch to a 4-1 season in the Foothill League. With his growing success, Cotti was eventually invited to Claremont’s summer football camp where he ran drills and got a tour of the school from the coaches. At the end of the camp, Cotti was pulled aside with his family and given an offer. When asked about his commitment process, Cotti stated, “Especially after seeing the campus it was a school that I fell in love with. It was relieving to commit. It felt like all the hard work had paid off and I knew my dream of playing college football was coming true.” From playing flag football at a young age to Cotti graduating in only a month, the Paw Print wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Addie Ferguson’s first memory as a softball player was winning the Foothill League championship back in 2017. Since then, Ferguson’s leadership on the field has led her to countless out-of-state tournaments in order to help with the recruitment process. However, many athletes like Ferguson were not given the same opportunity because of COVID-19. Instead, she relied on email, Zoom meetings, Twitter and Youtube during the last couple of years. Despite this, after watching her games and giving her an unofficial visit in August, Coach Lisa Costello, head coach of Towson College, gave Ferguson an offer. “After I committed, a huge weight was lifted and it felt like all my hours on the field and in the cages were paying off towards my future.” Ferguson said. Now as a Townson Tiger, she hopes to carry the same hard work and talent into her collegiate as she did at West Ranch. DYLAN COTTI Claremont McKenna College

ASHLYN WALTERS

Chapman University

Starting her swim career in junior high school, Ashlyn Walters fell in love with the sport after recalling the memories she had made with all her friends on the team. Unlike the normal recruitment process, Walters was not contacted by Chapman University at first. Instead, while she was applying for colleges, she reached out to the coaches, telling them her times for her sprint backstrokes. As a surprise, after placing third in the SCIAC Championships this year, she was offered a place immediately as they thought she would be a major asset in their team’s success. Even though she was on the fence about committing, as she still had other offers, she decided to commit to Chapman after visiting the campus and enjoying the atmosphere others gave. With her season coming to an end, Walters said, “Swimming is a big part of my life and I am going to continue to do what I love for another four years.”

Reflection from the...

When we were new to the Paw Print the Editors-In-Chief seemed almost superhuman. They always knew what to do, what looked good and what didn’t, and had incredibly helpful advice. But as it turns out, when you become EIC the knowledge doesn’t magically come to you. We felt intimidated that we wouldn’t be able to fill the shoes of the Editors before us, but we did it. There were trials and tribulations along the way but in the end we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The fundamentals of journalism are relatively simple: attend, report and publish. As someone who compulsively compartmentalizes and organizes, I naturally appreciated the strong framework of journalism offered and called for. I am grateful to have had the class throughout my high school career, taking the form of a constant outlet of creativity and structure. I stuck to Features, a section that I would come to love, writing stories with my fellow editors and witnessing unity and friendship come to fruition. My own voice emerged as my experience grew and stepping into the role of the Features Section Editor my sophomore year built my confidence as a writer but also as a student. The possibility of being Editorin-Chief was a distant thought, striking me when it became a reality my senior year. While being an EIC has invited new challenges and responsibility, it was my journey through The Paw Print where I learned resilience in the midst of struggle, created unforgettable friendships and memories and allowed leadership and responsibility to become a defining part of my identity. The Paw Print, both the class and the people, taught me the beauty in struggle and the light in unity.

So, thank you to Ricky for staying alongside me through our ventures as Editors-in-Chief, thank you to the entire class for being the best team I could ask for and thank you to the readers for making our job worth it.

Journalism: a time to write stories and design layouts, to work with friends and interview fun, inspiring people. Throughout my time in The Paw Print I’ve had many different roles and responsibilities— from staff writer to section editor to Editor-In-Chief— and they all have had a huge impact on me. Not only has my writing ability flourished, but I’ve learned so much about working with people and helping them improve and mature alongside me.

I can definitely say that I’ve grown a lot during high school, both academically and socially. I would have never have thought I would get into such an amazing school or achieve such a diverse set of accomplishments. However, the most memorable parts of my high school experience are because of the friends I’ve made along the way. I’ve met people with such a varying range of talents and interests, who are witty and funny, or always willing to make me laugh. Even things like being nominated as prom royalty wouldn’t have happened without them and this environment is perfectly reflected in Journalism. Every morning we write together and talk about our day or laugh. They jokingly clap when we speak to the class or draw fun doodles on the board, and they make it worth waking up early every morning. So thank you to all my friends for making my

Senior as memorable as it is, I’ll miss you all next year.

So we’ve made it through high school. Or, as we like to call it, the process of transforming from a prepubescent tween to an adult capable of filing their own taxes. Along the way, we formed close friendships that made starting our school days in the early morning worth it.

It’s been a crazy four years, or 1461 days. Many of those 1461 days were spent wondering why we’ve never had a “High School Musical” flash mob on campus despite being the West Ranch “Wildcats.” 1461 days of messing up and trying again. 1461 days of exploring new horizons, soaring towards the future while embracing the memories of the past.

Freshman year. A year filled with being booed at rallies, the unmatched “Avengers: Endgame” hype and joyful echoes of music floating around the amphitheater from the people who brought their ukuleles to school. Ten months of getting your sky-high expectations for yourself knocked down a few notches, dealing with being the lowest social class of the high school hierarchy and learning that upperclassmen with beards aren’t that scary after all.

Sophomore year. Slowly branching out into new clubs and getting more involved on campus. Maybe you learned to drive as your mom held tightly to her armrest or taught yourself to slow down and take deep breaths in the event of a fire-caused school day cancellation. All of us mourned the passings of Gracie Muehlberger and Dominic Blackwell, hugged our families and friends tighter than ever before and experienced the strength of a community coming together as one. We entered lockdown and learned to live in boxes, while also reflecting on our own identities on a deeper level. A year of self-exploration, new baking recipes and most of all, gratitude.

Junior year. We like to joke that it didn’t happen, but some of the brightest moments of high school occurred in our own homes or in Zoom rooms. The time your sibling came in when you weren’t on mute, or when you started a ranting session in the Zoom chat. Or maybe you finally learned to do eyeliner, practicing every day because nobody was there to witness you messing up. The breakout groups that contained the people who’d become your best friends for the rest of high school. It feels like a brief electronic blip that we’d often rather forget, yet junior year took our ability to adapt even further. In spite of it all, we somehow survived and came back to campus stronger.

Senior year. Supercharged with a revamped wardrobe and cool new music taste, we arrived ready to make the final year of high school our era. Too many memories to count. Standing arm in arm with your favorite people during the Senior Sunrise and trying your hardest not to think about the inevitable Senior Sunset. Pulling all-nighters to work on college application essays until the words made alphabet soup on the computer screen and wondering if it’s all worth it. Screaming along to music on the road to lunch during your open period because you all finally have open periods, loving life yet terrified of how fast everything’s passing by. The year of making up for lost time, making it count and making our mark.

These are the memories that bond us together, whether we’ll know each other through Instagram photos or as roomies for the next four. This is us, Class of 2022.