A Shout-Out to WLAC Athletics

Men's Basketball WSC Champions

I want to share with you this essay by Michelle Long-Coffee, West's Director of Public Relations, regarding West's athletic teams. So much for all of us to be proud of.

"There are some students who just love to learn – opening new doors of knowledge brings them to class each day. But for many others the social aspect, a club, activities and especially sports makes them stick with the academic rigor.

"West’s coaches understand that most of their athletes time on the field will end after college, so they take the scholar in scholar athlete seriously. Frequently you hear, 'Where will you be when the ball stops bouncing?' That’s why we’ve had years where as many as 10% of our graduates come from the Wildcat ranks and, as a group, they have some of the highest transfer ranks of the cohorts at West.

Jacques and Justice at College Signing

"At West, scholar athletes prepare to succeed at 4-year universities on and off the field and beyond.  Here's a few facts from 2019 that confirm this statement.

"Nine out of nine sophomore basketball players accepted athletic scholarships after the team won its second consecutive division championship. In addition to their athletic prowess, the players had a team GPA of 3.0.

 "The ladies also took two consecutive division champions and have several outstanding scholars.

 "From the football ranks, so far, 13 out of 16 players have received scholarship offers.

Women's Track--WSC Champions

 "While we are proud of recent alumni Jorge Reyna making headlines as Fresno State’s Quarterback, we are just as proud of former player Giovanny Pleites-Hernandez who just earned his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee.


"If you didn’t know, West’s assistant track coach is three-time Olympic gold medalist Valarie Brisco. She and head coach Fitzpatrick consistently lead West teams to division and state team and individual championships. Most recently, the Wildcats captured the 2019 women and men’s Western State Conference Championships. It was the fourth-consecutive title for the women and the team’s ninth championship in 12 years. Culver City alumni Max  Jordan and Steven Ashby were on the championship team. In fact, Steven took first place in the long jump. Max, by the way, is our Student Government president.

Luisa Gauci

"We like to say everyone fits in at West and the athletic teams are no different. That’s why you’ll see one of the few collegiate baseball players in the country on the Wildcats teams at our home opener a week from Friday. She’s Luisa Gauci, from Australia, and she plays mid field. As a testament to the athletic programs at West – Luisa was originally offered a spot on the Menlo Park team but she spent the summer at a West baseball camp. By the end, she asked coach Su’a if she could stay on."

When you have athletes in your classes, or when you're working with them in any of our outstanding support services, please remember that they serve as our ambassadors beyond the campus and their commitment to both academics and their sport is to be commended and celebrated.