Maranatha Students Sign to Play with Stanford and More

Recently, four Maranatha seniors signed to pursue their sport at the collegiate level. Kendall Hollimon signed to dive at Claremont McKenna, Shirley Luong to fence at Northwestern, Nicole Rodriguez to play volleyball at UC Riverside, and Trevor Stanback to play basketball at Stanford.

Kendall Holliman has been diving with the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center since he was nine and with MHS during high school. He kept with the sport mainly for the community. “Diving is hard, there are a lot of ups and downs,” says Holliman, “It’s really a mental sport and you constantly have

to get over your nerves and get out of your own way.” Putting the painful and inevitable “smacks” aside, Kendall says his favorite thing about diving is, “it feels like flying.” He is excited to continue his diving career at Claremont McKenna and travel with the team. Holliman is on a merit-based scholarship at Claremont McKenna to study pre-law, double majoring in Justice Studies and Psychology. He also plans to continue with Speech & Debate, a passion he came across at Maranatha.

Shirley Luong discovered fencing in 4th grade through a field trip with her teacher. She says, “I was never really sporty or athletic and I was originally drawn to the sport for the sword and the clothes.”

However, she quickly found something was different about this sport and ended up enjoying “being able to hit someone.” Her weapon is the epee and she is currently ranked B – 15 (with A as the highest ranking). She humbly claims she is “not the best, but I am solid.” She is thrilled to fence with Division 1 Northwestern, noting, “They look for potential”. Though she is excited to join her new team, she is also nervous as she will be representing years of results. Luong will be studying Economics and International Studies at Northwestern.

Nicole Rodriguez has been playing volleyball since she was

11. She plays the libero position and excels at receiving and passing. Rodriguez is fun loving, but can be intense on the court. One of her favorite aspects of the game is “getting in the other team’s head.” She also really loves the celebration aspect of being on a team – the comradery and cheering for each other. Rodriguez received several Division 1 offers, but chose UC Riverside because of the caring nature of the coaches and future teammates. In fact, she already has a future teammate asking to mentor her. She will be studying Sociology and Athletic Training. Her parents were certainly happy for her ¾ scholarship, but even more so that she will be close by and they can come to see her games.

Trevor Stanback will be playing basketball at Stanford next year and is also very excited to study Psychology in their #1 ranked Psychology program. He plans to pursue Sports Psychology while pursuing pro basketball. As a 6’10” lefty, Stanback was thrilled to be offered a full ride scholarship to play at the Division 1, Pac 12 school. When he got the call for the offer he was at practice. It wasn’t until after practice that he read the text and recalls, “I think I screamed and ran out of the gym.” Stanback’s friends say he is hardworking, inclusive, and humble. In fact, he hardly told anyone he got in. Now he is affectionately referred to as “Stanford” in the hallways. Holding his “Toy Story” back pack, he says, “I’m really just a kid at heart”.

Approximately 15% of Maranatha’s student-athletes move on to compete at the collegiate level each year which is over four times the national average. While Maranatha is proud of the athletic accomplishments of its athletes, the school remains most impressed with the character their athletes have displayed throughout the years. The Christian principles that are imparted to Maranatha athletes continue to impact our world at the collegiate, professional, and community level.

Maranatha’s Athletic Director Brian DeHaan said, “We are very proud of the first four seniors to commit this year. We believe that college is a match to be made rather than a prize to be won and each of these student-athletes have made matches through their hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence. We are excited to see these young student-athletes mature into the men and women that Christ is calling them to be.”

Maranatha High School, 169 S. St. John Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 817-4000 or visit www.maranatha-hs.org.