Photo by Sevana Wenn
Out of the roughly 8 million high school students who play a sport, only about 495,000 (about 1 in 16) will compete at the collegiate level. Four of these elite athletes are current seniors at LCHS: Max Landa (12), Marcus Chmielewski (12), Sarah Auther (12), and Josh Kim (12).
Max has been playing soccer since he was just six years old, and first stepped up to his current position of goalkeeper around age twelve. Since then, he’s been a valuable asset to the LCHS soccer team. Max has been an all-league goalkeeper in all four years of his varsity career and has gained further recognition as SoCal Athlete of the Week. He plans to continue playing soccer at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
Another talented soccer player will also move on to compete at the DIII level. Marcus Chmielewski, a striker and varsity team captain, committed to Occidental College this year. This January, he scored three goals against South Pas to secure a Rio Hondo league victory.
“I am extremely thankful to live out my dream at Occidental College,” said Marcus.
Sarah first began her athletic career with soccer, but discovered a true passion for running in her freshman year. As captain of the Varsity Cross Country team, her commitment to the sport is matched only by her talent. She won the 2017 Rosemead Invitational, the 2018 Fastback Shootout, and has 4 first team all leagues in cross-country. Sarah is also the reigning league champion in the 3200m in track. She plans to continue her successful career at UCSB in the fall.
When asked what advice she has for younger athletes looking to get recruited, she said, “You just have to put yourself out there and it’s important to reach out to coaches if you are interested in their team.”
Josh is continuing his swim career at Babson College in Massachusetts, where he’s looking forward to “working with other people who share a common interest with [him] and finding a really diverse network.” His years on the LCHS swim team have been incredibly successful, on both an athletic and personal level. Josh is a two-time CIF finalist, one-time CIF state qualifier, and 2019 CIF-SS Division 2 Champion. Swimming has taught him important life lessons as well: among them, hard work, positivity, and humility.
On behalf of the Spartan community, we’d like to wish these athletes the best of luck in their athletic and academic careers. Without a doubt, the four of them will continue to achieve great things in the years to come!
Information from NCAA
