In back-to-back years, 30 new Menlo School graduates will be continuing their studies and athletic careers in college. The 30 will represent 15 sports at 25 schools around the nation. Four athletes are set to compete in two sports. Last year, thirty Menlo School athletes went on to play intercollegiate sports.  

In the fall, four athletes signed national letters of intent. With so much uncertainty during the pandemic, colleges extended deadlines for decisions this year and students had an extra month to make their choices. All of these Menlo athletes not only showed exceptional skill and hard work on the playing field, but also demonstrated excellence in the classroom.

“We are so proud of this class of seniors, who put in the time, hard work and commitment to pursue their academics and athletics in college,”  said Earl Koberlein, Menlo Director of Athletics.  “The entire  class of 142 students has been through a year like no other, and their resilience will certainly serve them well in the future. We look forward to seeing these new graduates play at the next level.”

Baseball

Outfielder/pitcher Max Chou (Chicago), pitcher/infielder Kiefer Lord (Carleton) and pitcher/catcher/infielder Julien Hernandez (Whitman) paced the Knights, who used an eight-game win streak to help secure a PAL-Bay co-championship last season, before advancing to the CCS semifinals.  

Women’s basketball

Maeia Makoni (San Diego Christian), a three-point specialist and rebound leader was marching the team to the NorCals when her senior season was cut short. She was a key contributor to the 2019 state championship team. 

Men’s cross country

Jackson Aldrich (Claremont McKenna) was instrumental in leading the Knights to a second-place finish at league, third-place at CCS and the first team bid to the cross country state meet in decades. 

Football

Samson Axe (Trinity College), who also plans to play lacrosse for the Bantams, was a first team all-league selection as the Knights starting running back. … Jaden Richardson (Tufts), one of the Knights’ two first-team all-league picks, led the team with more than 1,000 all-purpose yards as a receiver, kick and punt returner and was one of the team’s tackle leaders. … Kicker and punter Santiago Garcia-Mendez (Carleton) was a three-year varsity player for the Knights, making 46 of 51 career PATs.     

Women’s golf

Gianna Inguagiato (Washington University-St. Louis) was a four-year, first-team all-league selection, and served as a captain since she was a sophomore. 

Men’s lacrosse

Five Knights helped the Knights transition to a WCAL power: Samson Axe (Trinity College), who will also play football in college, basketball league MVP Cole Kastner (Virginia), Finn Leschly (Harvard), Brendan Murphy (Franklin & Marshall) and Ryan Young (Davidson).

Women’s lacrosse

A four-year varsity player and two-time league Attacker of the Year, Page Wolfenden (Davidson) led the Knights to league tournament championships three seasons in a row.  

Men’s soccer

Quentin Chisholm (Dartmouth) played forward and midfielder for the De Anza Force Academy which went to the U.S. Development Academy Final Four in 2018-19 and a league DA Cup quarterfinalist last season. … Nico Monsalve (Harvey Mudd) and Trevor Perez (Washington-St. Louis) as sophomores, helped the Knights advance to the CCS quarterfinals in 2018, and then to the CCS championship game in 2019.

Women’s soccer

Talia Grossman (USC) was named West Bay Athletic League goalie of the year in 2019 when the Knights won the CCS Championship. … Carly Retterer (Dartmouth) joined the Knights after the Development Academy, and was selected the league Forward of the Year after lifting the Knights to the CCS final this past season. 

Men’s tennis

A four-year varsity singles player, Brandon Aprill (Carnegie Mellon) helped the Knights extend their league match win streak to 23. His senior season was cancelled, but Menlo tennis won CCS and NorCal titles in 2018.

Men’s track & field

Jackson Aldrich (Claremont McKenna), who will also run cross country for the Stags, raced mostly middle-distance 400, 800 and 4x400, but also competed in the 4x100 and the 200 and 1600 as the team needed. … Also a four-year runner, Ayinde Olukotun (Pomona) was a two-time all-league selection as a sprinter in multiple events for the Knights.  

Women’s track and field 

Sprinter Michelle Louie (Middlebury) and distance runners Kyra Pretre (Yale) and Charlotte Tomkinson (Duke) were part of a 2019 quintet that won the program’s first section title, and now all will head East. The Knights won league titles every year since they started as freshmen. Tomkinson and Pretre, who took second and 10th in the 800 at state, respectively, will also run cross country.  

Men’s water polo

A trio of captains and four-year players: Connor Enright (Brown), Noah Housenbold (Johns Hopkins) and Jack King (MIT) helped the Knights make a successful transition to the WCAL, taking second place in its debut, advancing to the CCS Open semifinals and NorCals.  

Women’s water polo

After leading Menlo in its inaugural WCAL season and to its first CCS Open girls’ water polo bid, all-CCS and all-WCAL selections Sydney Bianchi (Villanova), Annie Bisconti (Harvard) and Sophie Golub (Brown) will be taking their talents to the Division I pools.

Class of 2020

Jackson Aldrich (Claremont McKenna cross-country and track)
Brandon Aprill (Carnegie Mellon tennis)
Samson Axe (Trinity College football & lacrosse)
Sydney Bianchi (Villanova water polo)
Annie Bisconti (Harvard water polo)
Quentin Chisholm (Dartmouth soccer) 
Max Chou (Chicago baseball)
Connor Enright (Brown water polo) 
Santiago Garcia-Mendez (Carleton football)
Sophie Golub (Brown water polo) 
Talia Grossman (USC soccer)
Julien Hernandez (Whitman baseball)
Noah Housenbold (Johns Hopkins water polo)
Gianna Inguagiato (Washington-St. Louis golf)
Cole Kastner (Virginia lacrosse)
Jack King (MIT water polo) 
Finn Leschly (Harvard lacrosse)
Kiefer Lord (Carleton baseball)
Michelle Louie (Middlebury track)
Maeia Makoni (San Diego Christian basketball)
Nico Monsalve (Harvey Mudd soccer)
Brendan Murphy (Franklin & Marshall lacrosse) 
Ayinde Olukotun (Pomona College track)
Trevor Perez (Washington-St. Louis soccer)
Kyra Pretre (Yale cross country/track)
Carly Retterer (Dartmouth soccer)
Jaden Richardson (Tufts football)
Charlotte Tomkinson (Duke cross country/track)
Page Wolfenden (Davidson lacrosse) 
Ryan Young (Lafayette lacrosse)