More State Boys Athletes of Year

State Boys Junior Athlete of the Year Jaden Jefferson of Concord De La Salle (left) and State D3 Athlete of the Year Wes Burford of Oakdale will both be looking to have banner football seasons this fall. Photos: Kirby Lee / Image of Sport & Hudl.com.

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(Editor Mark Tennis did the writeups for Jaden Jefferson, Tounde Yessoufou and Jackson Cryst. Cal-Hi Sports intern Isai Gutierrez wrote up Luca Miojatovic, Jasir Fontenot, Wes Burford and Ryan Turk)

Congratulations to the following additional boys for being selected as a 2024-25 Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Year:

SENIOR OF THE YEAR (Class of 2025)
McKay Madsen (Clovis West, Fresno)

This is usually an automatic honor as the same person named as the overall State Athlete of the Year. It has happened a handful of times over the years when a non-senior gets the top spot, but that clearly wasn’t the case this time. Madsen has been on the list of possible winners as a freshman, sophomore and junior. The first time he qualified for a CIF state track final was as a freshman.
Additional seniors to get a mention are shown below in the various CIF divisions.

JUNIOR OF THE YEAR (Class of 2026)
Jaden Jefferson (De La Salle, Concord)

There have been many football-track combo athletes who’ve been honored as State Athlete of the Year. One of them from two years ago was overall State Boys Athlete of the Year Rodrick Pleasant from Serra of Gardena, who was an all-state first team football player as a DB and set the 100-meter state record in track with wind-legal mark of 10.14 seconds and a wind-aided mark of 10.09 seconds.

Jaden Jefferson was an all-state underclass football player for work on offense, defense and special teams. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.

De La Salle had the State Boys Sophomore Athlete of the Year just two years ago with Alec Blair (basketball, baseball). Both Blair and Jefferson also were on our short list of those considered for the top 2025 honor (which would eventually go to Clovis North’s McKay Madsen). They helped the Spartans get named State School of the Year for boys sports for the third time in four years. De La Salle’s only State Boys Athlete of the Year honoree has been D.J. Williams (football, track) for the 1999-2000 school year.

In addition to the 100 in track, Jefferson also stood out in the 200-meter dash. Like the 100, he also had his best mark of the season in the 200 at the CIF state meet. That wasn’t in the prelims, but in the final with a time of 20.86 seconds (good enough for fourth-place). With Jefferson’s points helping a lot, the DLS team also finished in sixth-place in final team scoring.

As a football player last fall, Jefferson was a speed option that head coach Justin Alumbaugh liked to use a lot on offense. He only caught six passes on the season for 36 yards and one TD, but he did get handoffs mostly on reverses and had 30 carries for 344 yards and three TDs. He always went back deep to return kickoffs and most teams who didn’t have kickers who could put it into the end zone did their best to avoid him. Still, Jaden grabbed two of those returns and took them back all the way for touchdowns. The fastest 100-meter runner in state history standing back there this season will be funny to watch. Short kicks every time for sure. He didn’t do enough to be first or second team all-state overall, but he was on the all-state juniors team.

Jefferson also played cornerback on defense and his speed and quickness enabled him to hang close to any competition. He had two interceptions as a sophomore but didn’t have one as a junior. Jaden’s junior year on defense did see him get 27 tackles (four for losses) and one forced fumble. He’s about as much of an “athlete” or “multi-purpose” as a player can get and he committed in the spring to North Carolina and legendary head coach Bill Belichick. And with those track times, Jaden’s track career probably isn’t going to end in college, either.

More Junior Athletes of Honor (Class of 2026)

Brandon Arrington (Mt. Miguel, Spring Valley) Football, Track
Jason Crowe Jr. (Inglewood) Basketball
Jensen Hirschkorn (Kingsburg) Basketball, Baseball
Kai Kaneko (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach) Water Polo
Conor Lott (Clovis North, Fresno) Cross Country, Track
Ryder Lyons (Folsom) Football, Basketball
Matt Maxon (Carmel) Football, Baseball
Max Medina (Patterson) Football, Baseball
Kenneth Moore (St. Mary’s, Stockton) Football, Track
Carlton Perrilliat (Salesian, Richmond) Football, Basketball
Deshonne Redeaux (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) Football, Track
Rodney Sermons (Rancho Cucamonga) Football, Track*
Brady Smigiel (Newbury Park) Football
Brandon Smith (Central, Fresno) Football, Track
Brayden Stevenson (Tulare) Football, Basketball
Yuri Kuzmenko (Valley Christian, San Jose) Swimming
*Has reclassified to Class of 2025 and is now going to USC.

Luca Mijatovic from Foothill of Pleasanton may be just coming into his junior year of high school, but is someone to watch for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Photo: nbcsports.com.

SOPHOMORE OF THE YEAR (CLASS of 2027)
Luka Mijatovic (Foothill, Pleasanton)

Already one of the most decorated prep swimmers in the nation, Mijatovic turned even more heads this season by making U.S. swimming history, and before even finishing his sophomore year.

On June 8, Luka officially became the youngest U.S. male swimmer to qualify for the World Championships since Michael Phelps in 2001, doing so at age 16 after placing second in the 400-meter freestyle at the Toyota U.S. Championships. That performance capped a season filled with national records, international medals, and continued dominance on the California high school scene.

Now, he’s the first swimmer to be State Boys Sophomore Athlete of the Year since Mission Viejo’s Jesse Vassallo for the 1976-77 school year. Mijatovic also is the first-ever state athlete of the year in any boys category from Foothill. It’s only been two years since the East Bay had the top sophomore honoree (Alec Blair of De La Salle).

Mijatovic, who trains with the Pleasanton Seahawks club and represents Foothill High in the spring, was again named Swimmer of the Meet at the CIF State Championships after sweeping the 200-yard freestyle (1:33.52) and 500-yard freestyle (4:11.91). His winning time in the 200 set a new California state meet record and earned automatic All-American honors. He also won both events at the North Coast Section finals, recording All-American marks across the board. Last year as a freshman, he won the 500 free at state by seven seconds. This year, he backed it up while focusing on much bigger goals.

Internationally, Mijatovic burst onto the scene with three gold medals at the Pan Pacific Championships in Australia last August, winning the 200 and 400 freestyle and anchoring a victorious 4×200 free relay. He now holds 14 national age-group records, including times that surpass previous bests set by both Michael Phelps and David Popovici in their teens. In the 500-yard freestyle, his 4:10.96 from the Far Western Championships would have qualified him for the Consolation Final at the NCAA Championships. In the mile (1650-yards), he posted 14:37.63, good enough for 12th at the NCAA Division I level.

The grind continues. After state and nationals, Mijatovic will compete at the World Junior Championships in Romania, and with his name already etched in age-group history, a full U.S. National Team spot, and a run at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, could be just around the corner.

More Sophomore Athletes of Honor

Demare Dezeurn (Alemany, Mission Hills) Football, Track
Brady Edmunds (Huntington Beach) Football
Sharif Elaydi (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose) Swimming
Jared Grindlinger (Huntington Beach) Baseball
Caden Jones (Crean Lutheran, Irvine) Football, Basketball
Evan Liu (Torrey Pines, San Diego) Golf
Chase Mattoon (El Segundo) Football, Baseball
Pasios Polamalu (St. Augustine, San Diego) Football, Basketball
Ryan Rakowski (Palos Verdes, PV Estates) Football
Gene Roebuck (La Mirada) Basketball
Nate Slikker (Manteca) Football, Baseball

Jasir Fontenot of San Diego High set a state record in his track event despite only being a freshman. Photo: youthrunnermag / YouTube.com.

Before he even entered high school, Fontenot was already making waves on the youth track scene. But no one expected the 9th grader from San Diego High to break a California state meet record in his first trip to Clovis and win a state championship in the process.

Fontenot delivered one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the 2025 CIF State Track & Field Championships by clocking a 13.21 in the 110-meter hurdles, breaking the state finals meet record. That mark stands as the fastest time ever recorded at the CIF State Meet and instantly launched him into the national spotlight. He also entered elite territory among the fastest freshman hurdlers in U.S. history, with a time that ranked inside the top 10 nationally for 2025 under all conditions.

Jasir now adds State Boys Freshman Athlete of the Year honors to his resume. He also played a little bit of football and basketball as a freshman for the Cavers. Being from super-ancient San Diego High also makes it a very fun one to look up previous winners. In the end, the only one we found was the legendary Harold “Brick” Muller as the overall State Athlete of the Year for the 1916-17 school year. Any time we can mention Muller, once voted the greatest football player in the first 25 years of the 20th century, we will do it. The last from the San Diego Section to be freshman athlete of the year was football player-volleyball player Madden Faraimo of Cathedral Catholic for 2022.

Earlier in the track season, Fontenot broke the San Diego Section record in the 110-meter hurdles with a wind-legal 13.76 at the UC Classic, surpassing the 2024 mark set by his friend and training partner, Shon Martin.

That performance built on his already impressive resume from the USATF Junior Olympic Championships from last summer, where he made national headlines. Fontenot ran 13.65 in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles to set the age-14 world record, then returned just hours later to win the 15–16 division final in 13.56, breaking the national age-group record and surpassing the previous meet mark of 13.74 set by Olympian Wayne Davis in 2007. His dominance across both age levels on the same day solidified his status as one of the nation’s most elite young hurdlers.

With three more seasons to develop and improve, Fontenot has the potential to join the rare group of athletes who win multiple state titles during their careers.

More Frosh Athletes of Honor

Jaelen Hunter (Servite, Anaheim) Track
Koa Malau’ulu (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) Football
Samuel Sanchez (Esperanza, Anaheim) Wrestling
Shalen Sheppard (Brentwood, Los Angeles) Basketball
Jaden Soong (St. Francis, La Canada) Golf

DIVISION I
McKay Madsen (Clovis North, Fresno) Sr.

Similar to the senior of the year, the D1 athlete of the year also would be automatically going to the overall state athlete of the year in a big majority of years. The exceptions would be if a D2 or D3 senior were the overall winner, which also has happened a few times. So who came the closest to McKay for the top spot? Tough choice, but if had to pick a name it would be one of the two from De La Salle — senior Alec Blair, all-state first team in both basketball and baseball, or junior Jaden Jefferson.

More D1 Senior Athletes of Honor

Alec Blair (De La Salle, Concord) Basketball, Baseball
Brayden Burries (Roosevelt, Eastvale) Basketball
Harold Duvall (Clovis East, Clovis) Football, Track
Kaleb Edwards (Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills) Football, Basketball
Leo Francis (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) Track
Seth Hernandez (Corona) Baseball
Brenden Lewis (Granite Hills, El Cajon) Football, Baseball
Jake Tatch (JSerra, SJ Capistrano) Soccer
Chad Troxler (Liberty, Bakersfield) Football, Wrestling
Parker Vance (Granite Hills, El Cajon) Football, Baseball
Lucca van der Woude (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach) Water Polo
Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy) Wrestling
Nikade Zinkin (Clovis) Wrestling

Teammates and coaches surrounder Tounde Yessoufou within seconds after he scored the points that put him in front of the previous state scoring record. Photo: Mark Tennis.

While St. Joseph was D1 for the CIF SoCal regional playoffs in basketball, it has traditionally been D2 in most sports so that is the division we used for the school for these honors. That made it possible to consider and then select the state’s new all-time career scoring leader for boys basketball as an athlete of the year.

Tounde was considered the runner-up to Mr. Basketball Brayden Burries from Roosevelt of Eastvale (D1 school) after Roosevelt won the CIF D1 state title. Yessoufou, who averaged 28.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 3.4 spg and 1.1 blocks for a team that lost a close game at home to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in the CIF SoCal D1 semifinals, was on the top 30-player all-state team for the fourth time (last to do that Lonzo Ball of Chino Hills for 2014-2017). He also has been added to all-time lists as the NorCal Player of the Year since CIF Central Section schools are always considered NorCal for our weekly and seasonal honors.

In February, we ventured to Santa Maria to witness Yessoufou break the previous Cal-Hi Sports state scoring record of 3,462 points set in 2004 by DeMarcus Nelson of Sacramento Shelton. The native of the African country of Benin would eventually raise the new record to 3,659 points.

Since the end of the high school season, Yessoufou shined with 19 points at the Jordan Brand Classic all-star game and he had a series of impressive outings in practices at the Nike World Summit. Throw in some other summer outings and we see that he is considered as an NBA lottery pick for the 2026 NBA Draft after his likely one season coming up as a freshman at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. While that state record he set is likely going to be broken early in the 2025-26 season by Lynwood’s Jason Crowe Jr., Tounde’s impact on California prep basketball will be everlasting.

More D2 Senior Athletes of Honor

Stevie Amar (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) Football, Basketball
Alijah Arenas (Chatsworth) Basketball
Grayson Bradford (Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach) Volleyball
Malachi Ficher (Tulare Western) Football, Basketball
Brody Krupp (Woodcreek, Roseville) Football, Volleyball
Evan Noonan (Dana Hills, Dana Point) Cross Country, Track
Brayden Rosa (Wilcox, Santa Clara) Football, Basketball, Baseball
Cooper Stearns (Irvine) Basketball, Golf
Taj Unuakhalu (Chatsworth) Baskeball, Volleyball

DIVISION III
Wes Burford (Oakdale) Jr.

Whether he was trucking defenders in the fall, grinding through one of California’s toughest wrestling brackets in the winter, or clearing hurdles in the spring, Burford did it all, and did it at a high-caliber level.

We don’t usually pick juniors for any of these divisional state athlete of the year honors, but Oakdale has been D3 or medium schools for almost all of the years we’ve been doing Cal-Hi Sports and Wes just had too much on his plate to be denied over any seniors.

This also ended up a real fun one to do from a historical standpoint. Burford, believe it or not, is the first state boys athlete of the year from Oakdale since College Football Hall of Fame quarterback Eddie LeBaron for the 1945-46 school year. LeBaron, who also is known as the first QB to play for the Dallas Cowboys, is shown for medium schools on the all-time lists.

In football, the 6-foot, 215-pound junior powered Oakdale to a 9-3 record behind a dominant ground game, finishing the season as the No. 4 reported rushing leader in California. He totaled 2,678 rushing yards, averaged 9.1 yards per carry, and scored 37 total touchdowns while also anchoring the defense with 92 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, and an interception. His impact on both sides of the ball earned him Valley Oak League Co-MVP honors, a spot on the Cal-Hi Sports all-state junior and all-state medium schools honor squads.

Once football season wrapped, Burford transitioned into wrestling and delivered one of the best postseason runs in the state. Competing in the 215-pound division, he became Oakdale’s lone medalist at the 2025 CIF State Championships, placing third overall. He pinned three opponents on his way to the semifinals. He followed up a narrow 5-4 decision over Esteban Sanchez of Granite Hills with a semifinal loss to nationally ranked No. 3 Angelo Posada, who proved to be one of the toughest matchups in the bracket. Burford bounced back to earn a 4-2 decision over Brock Rios of Frontier, then secured third place in dominant fashion by pinning Mayfair’s Kayden Cartee, who entered the tournament ranked No. 13 nationally.

In the spring, Burford showed off his athletic versatility again, qualifying for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Finals in the 110-meter hurdles, a remarkable feat for someone coming off a medal run in heavyweight wrestling. His blend of size, speed, and stamina is rare, and it’s what sets him apart from most multi-sport athletes.

A standout in the classroom as well with a 4.17 GPA, Burford has already committed to continue his football career at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

With his senior year still ahead, Burford returns as one of the top all-around athletes in the state, on any field, mat, or track.

More D3 Senior Athletes of Honor

Zach Gibbs (Palm Desert) Football, Baseball
C.J. Jones (Sunnyside, Fresno) Football, Basketball
Danny Mercado (Casa Grande, Petalum) Football, Baseball
Jaxen Robinson (Christopher, Gilroy) Football, Basketball
Evan Usher (Woodside) Football, Track

Sage Hill’s Jackson Cryst goes for a serve during 2025 CIF Southern Section playoffs. Photo: Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs / For OC Sports Zone.

Regarded as one of the state’s top Class of 2025 prospects in boys volleyball, Cryst also was a four-year starter in basketball and now he’s made some history by being named as the D4 Boys State Athlete of the Year.

The history is that Jackson is the first-ever D4 or small schools boys athlete of the year from an Orange County high school. That’s mainly because there are hardly any schools in the county that qualify as “small” and Sage Hill isn’t considered “small” in some sports, especially girls basketball.

Sage Hill won this year’s boys volleyball titles in the CIF Southern Section for D4 for the second straight year and then won the first-ever CIF D4 state title. Cryst had 24 kills and six blocks in a 25-19, 25-16, 25-23 sweep in the state finals vs International of San Francisco. It marked the first CIF state title for Sage Hill in any male sport.

Cryst is a 6-foot-10 middle blocker in volleyball and has signed a national letter of intent with 2025 NCAA champion Long Beach State. He was named the CIFSS D4 Player of the Year and he has been playing this summer with the USA Under-21 national team.

As compilers of the state records in basketball, however, we came to hear about Jackson earlier in that sport. As a sophomore at Millikan of Long Beach in January of 2023, where he went for the first two years of high school, Cryst once had 20 blocks on defense in one game. That happened in a 93-31 win over Compton. That tied the single-game state record first set in February of 1975.

Cryst continued to have good games while playing basketball at Sage Hill. Perhaps his best outing came in last season’s CIFSS D3AA semifinals when he had 14 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in a 45-43 win over San Gabriel Academy. While he only had nine points in a title game loss to Knight of Palmdale, Cryst had those numbers in the semis vs San Gabriel Academy sophomore at the time Mahamadou Diop (who would later lead SGA to the CIF D3 state title.

In published interviews, Cryst credits his basketball coach at Sage Hill, D’Cean Bryant, for much of his success. Bryant is the father of recent NBA first round pick Carter Bryant of the San Antonio Spurs. Carter played at Sage Hill for one season with his dad, but that was the season before Jackson arrived.

More D4 Senior Athletes of Honor

Simeon Brown (Carmel) Football, Basketball
Tevan Crane (Yreka) Football, Basketball
Mason Harris (American Canyon) Football, Baseball
Hudson Giaritta (Sonoma Valley, Sonoma) Football, Basketball
Landon Pretre (Menlo School, Atherton) Cross Country, Track
Matthew Schallberger (Linden) Football, Baseball

Eyan Turk ran with the big boys for small school Woodcrest Christian of Riverside. Photo: @westcoast_xc / X.com.

With one of the best cross country and distance track seasons in small-school state history, Turk leaves behind a legacy at Woodcrest Christian that places him among the most accomplished runners in not just Riverside County, but across California, regardless of division.

Turk opened his senior year by winning a third straight CIF Southern Section Division 5 cross country title, then followed it with his second straight CIF State Division V championship, clocking 14:32.5 on the historic Woodward Park course in Fresno, which is no easy feat. That mark wasn’t just a division record, it was the fastest time in California for 2024, which now ranks No. 7 all-time in state history at the Woodward course. He held off a strong challenge from Menlo School’s Landon Pretre to win by six seconds.

In the spring, Turk doubled down, this time on the track. After defending his Southern Section Division 5 title in the 3,200 meters, he ran a career-best of 8:51.62 to win the event at the 105th CIF State Track and Field Championship, once again holding off Landon Pretre in a thrilling duel and setting a Riverside County record in the process. Eyan’s final high school race featured incredible splits, with a 4:17 second mile, a 2:01 final 800, and a 59-second closing lap that sealed the win.

Turk joins an elite group of California distance runners who have won both CIF state titles in cross country and track and field in the same school year. In recognition of his historic year, he was also named the 2024–25 IE Varsity Boys Athlete of the Year by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Now headed to the University of Kentucky, he’ll look to take the next step in a distance-running career that’s already off to a historic start.

Eyan also is the first-ever athlete of the year (boys) from Woodcrest Christian. The last D5 winner from the Inland Empire was current PGA tour golfer William Mouw of Ontario Christian, who played other sports while in high school.

More D5 Senior Athletes of Honor

Magnus Berg (Portola) Football, Basketball
Benjamin Bouie (Crystal Springs Uplands, Hillsborough) Cross Country, Track
John Carlson (Trinity Classical, Valencia) Football, Baseball
Marcus Horton (Weed) Football, Basketball, Soccer

Isai Gutierrez started an internship at CalHiSports.com in January of 2025 and is a student at Modesto Junior College. He graduated in 2024 from Sierra High in Manteca.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports