Three Menlo School student-athletes signed letters of intent to compete in NCAA Div. I intercollegiate athletics Wednesday. Two of those students are headed to Cal - Justin Pretre for cross country and track, and Emma Donley for beach volleyball. Tommy Kiesling will be taking his talents just north to play for UC-Davis water polo.

“These student-athletes have shown success at high levels of competition and in the classroom,” Director of Athletics Earl Koberlein said. “We couldn’t be more proud of the hard work and dedication to their academics and sports that all three of these outstanding student-athletes have displayed.”

Emma Donley (Cal beach volleyball) – Donley joins a Bears beach team, which went 26-14 and finished with a school record for wins in 2022. Donley was part of a select group to train with the United States Volleyball Association National Team Development Program for the past two years. She holds a top-tier AAA rating in adult women’s competition, playing for Kleos and Golden Gate Beach Club, and won the California Beach Volleyball Association Women’s Open, and took ninth at the FIVB World Championships this past summer. Donley also has played indoor volleyball - with Menlo as a freshman and Rage Westside.

Tommy Kiesling (UC Davis water polo) – Kiesling is headed to UC Davis, currently ranked No. 5 in the nation, and the Ags head into the conference tournament with a perfect 8-0 record. Kiesling led the Knights to a CCS Open selection every season. He is a WCAL first team all-league selection and led the Knights in goals in 2022. He has tallied 252 career goals, 77 assists and 99 steals in three seasons. He set a school record with goals per minute, breaking the mark set in 2006. Kiesling also swims for the Knights, qualifying for CCS with the league champion 200 medley relay.

Justin Pretre (Cal cross country/track & field) – Pretre is set to join the Bears cross country team, which is headed to West Regionals, and the track and field team, coming off an historic season. Pretre was a first-team all-league pick as a freshman and MVP as a junior (no sophomore season) in cross country. Every season, his team has broken records - last year he finished 14th at state leading the Knights to a seventh-place finish, took second at CCS and won a league title last season. Earlier this year, he ran 3 miles in 14:32.2 at the Woodbridge Classic. He took first place in all three league meets this season, and the team is headed to CCS. In track, he is equally astounding. He was a league MVP last season, and guided the team to back-to-back league titles. He also raced on two Junior Olympics gold-medal winning 4x800 teams and took ninth in the prestigious Foot Locker West Regionals.

More Knights student-athletes have committed to colleges, and will be announced once the admission process is complete.