2024-2025 HMG-COMMUNITY NEWS WINTER ALL-AREA TEAMS – Historic basketball season ends with a state championship for Whitney girls  

Whitney High senior Haylie Wang is all smiles as her illustrious high school career ends with a CIF State Division IV championship. Wang paced the Wildcats with 727 points this past season in 35 of the 37 games the team played and posted a career-high 46 points against Artesia High on Jan. 24. She also eclipsed the 30-point mark three other times. PHOTO BY LOREN KOPFF.

March 23, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

To say that the 2024-2025 basketball season had its share of exciting moments would be greatly underrated. Five of the eight area boys basketball teams advanced to the CIF-Southern Section divisional playoffs with La Mirada High making its first appearance in the Open Division. Then there’s the girls basketball scene, in which Cerritos High and La Mirada each lost in their respective divisional finals while Gahr High and Whitney High, who fell in the semifinals, joined Cerritos and La Mirada in the state playoffs, culminating in a state title for Whitney.

Here are the members of the 2024-2024 HMG-Community News Winter All-Area Teams.

BOYS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAM

Benson Cho (Cerritos High)

Julien Gomez (La Mirada High)

Morgan Marks (Whitney High)

Gene Roebuck (La Mirada High)

Jovell Tate (Artesia High)

SECOND TEAM

Jaylen Barsana (Cerritos High)

Andruw Castellanos (Norwalk High)

C.J. Okeke (Artesia High)

Josh Pearson (Gahr High)

M.J. Smith (La Mirada High)

THIRD TEAM

Ethan Carey (Gahr High)

Peter Poitras (Whitney High)

Vladimir Prokopiv (Valley Christian High)

Jaden Ribac (Cerritos High)

King Riley-Owens (La Mirada High)

HONORABLE MENTION

Bundana Adams (John Glenn High)

Nathan Ju (Cerritos High)

Diego Morales (Norwalk High)

Bryce Shepherd (Valley Christian High)

Demetrious Washington (Cerritos High)

Player of the Year-One of the best players ever to have put on a La Mirada uniform, Julien Gomez left his legacy on the court the past four seasons. Gomez, who will be taking his talents to the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, scored 539 points in his senior season, good for a 16.8 points per game average, and scored at least 20 points in 14 of his team’s 32 games. He leaves with over 2,000 points in his high school career.

Coach of the Year-La Mirada head coach Randy Oronoz put together one of the program’s daunting schedules that included a tournament championship to begin the season, two out of state tournaments and a pair of third place finishes. Oronoz guided a talented team to a 25-7 record, but the Matadores were 24-4 entering the playoffs with half those losses coming to St. John Bosco High and the other two by a combined 13 points. In addition, the Matadores played just four home games, all coming in Gateway League action.

Players to look for in 2025-2026

Christian Stewart (Artesia High)

Kobe Young (Artesia High)

Rocco Chua (Cerritos High)

Noah Edwards (Cerritos High)

Noah Lai (Cerritos High)

Yukki Yamamoto (Cerritos High)

Antonious Youseff (Cerritos High)

Xavier Brown (Gahr High)

Kingston Nathaniel (Gahr High)

Bryce Titus (Gahr High)

Austin Woon (Gahr High)

Jonahan Lara (John Glenn High)

Andrew Castro (La Mirada High)

Daquan Idemudia (La Mirada High)

Santiago Lopez (La Mirada High)

Tristan Partida (La Mirada High)

Jeriel DeLosReyes (Norwalk High)

Jesus Sanchez (Norwalk High)

David Zazueta (Norwalk High)

Nathan Maurer (Valley Christian High)

Carson Smith (Valley Christian High)

Simon Vasquez (Valley Christian High)

Christian Wondimu (Valley Christian High)

Matteo Aquino (Whitney High)

Jezreel Dela Cruz (Whitney High)

William Kang (Whitney High)

Joseph Roman (Whitney High)

Shayan Saravanakumar (Whitney High)

GIRLS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAM

Jael Arreguin (La Mirada High)

Hannah Burgoyne (Valley Christian High)

Ella Mims (Gahr High)

Alyssa So (Whitney High)

Haylie Wang (Whitney High)

SECOND TEAM

Chloe Beard (Gahr High)

Cameron Lacorte (Cerritos High)

Mady Macaraeg (Cerritos High)

Ambar Multani (Cerritos High)

Jordin Shaw (La Mirada High)

THIRD TEAM

Chayse Chambers (Valley Christian High)

Emily Gonzalez (La Mirada High)

Hailey Medrano (La Mirada High)

Rachel Moyher (Whitney High)

Kalana Nguyen (Cerritos High)

HONORABLE MENTION

Yahonisis Curl (John Glenn High)

Connie Esquival (Norwalk High)

Katlyn Moreno (Norwalk High)

Tina Namiranian (Whitney High)

Jasmine Ramirez (Artesia High)

Player of the Year-If there was a Mount Rushmore of Whitney girls basketball players, senior Haylie Wang would be up there next to her older sister, Kylie, who graduated last season. Haylie Wang, the 605 League Most Valuable Player, led the Wildcats with 727 points in 35 games played and scored at least 20 points in 16 games including a school record 46 points against Artesia on Jan. 24. She leaves Whitney with 1,680 points, which is tops in the Myron Jacobs era, and about 500 points more than her older sibling.

Coach of the Year-In a season where records were being broken, Whitney head coach Myron Jacobs added one more to his resume. He guided the Wildcats to a 28-9 record, a 605 League championship, a CIF Southern California Division IV regional championship and a state title, the first in school history. The 28 wins are the most in school history and Jacobs needs two more wins to become the school’s all-time leader in that category.

Players to look for in 2025-2026

Ezlaryah Faith (Artesia High)

Kimberly Ixta (Artesia High)

Zoey Pitts (Artesia High)

Kai’lyn Washington (Artesia High)

Analiyah Coneita (Cerritos High)

Jaslyn Macaraeg (Cerritos High)

Jordin Pulley (Cerritos High)

Julia Santos (Cerritos High)

Rachel Fredenburg (Gahr High)

Ella McIntosh (Gahr High)

Stacy Hernandez (John Glenn High)

Michelle Marin (John Glenn High)

Errisa Ramos (John Glenn High)

Isabella Barrera (Norwalk High)

Aleeah Lopez (Norwalk High)

Monica Ruiz (Norwalk High)

Molly Douglas (Valley Christian High)

Jaiya Lee (Valley Christian High)

Aniyah Peoples (Valley Christian High)

Gracie Verhoef (Valley Christian High)

Cheyanne Cheung (Whitney High)

Alhea D’Costa (Whitney High)

Keila Kurihara (Whitney High)