Although Aragon High School has never produced an athletic talent like Lebron James, Tim Tebow, or Hope Solo, this year there are several legitimate NCAA talent students at Aragon playing a wide range of sports. This year top-notch college athletic programs are recruiting several athletes from Aragon High School’s senior class. Some of these students include seniors Sara Boushakra, Lauren Croshaw, and Simone Jacobs among others.
The process might seem simple. To outsiders there is a conception that, if someone is better at a sport you play than others, a pathway to the school of one’s dreams is paved. That might have been true 50 years ago, but now high school athletes who want to participate in college athletics are put under a microscope that breaks down every aspect of their athleticism and mental capacity.
Now, colleges look at athletes’ skills on the field as closely as their GPAs.
Sara Boushakra, who is a diver considering UCLA and UC Berkeley, says, “The recruiting process is stressful and you just have to be patient.”
Boushakra started diving during the summer after eighth grade. She previously participated in gymnastics until a knee injury forced her to stop. Looking for another to way to occupy her time she started diving at the world Stanford Diving Club.
“I did gym for nine years before I got injured with Osgood-Schlatter [a syndrome in which one’s muscles outgrows one’s knee]. Then I started swimming. I liked the water and doing flips.”
She believes that the excellent facilities and coaches at the Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center drew her to the program. Her talent in gymnastics and swimming made her a quick study for the program. Boushakra’s junior year she started drawing interest from top diving programs at UC Berkeley and UCLA.
“It all depends on which environment I feel most comfortable in and which gives be the best opportunity to compete internationally in worlds and possibly the Olympics. Also [I hope] to become top 5 in NCAA’s,” says Boushakra on her future aspirations.
Another Aragon athlete who is strongly considering UCLA, among other schools, is cross-country and track runner Lauren Croshaw.
Croshaw started running competitively in fifth and sixth grade. She ran for the Borel track team in Middle School and ran for JV track at Aragon her freshman year.
“[My coaches] wanted me to have a chance to race with my age so I did JV. But I ran so well that I ran in CCS with varsity. They didn’t want me to start on varsity and quit because it was too difficult,” says Croshaw.
Croshaw competed in the Central Coast Section finals in all four of her years on cross country and track. Her junior year she was contacted from schools all over the country via mail, but says she really only considered schools on the west coast. Right now she is considering running at UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and UCSD.
“The team dynamic is big. But I want to have a traditional college experience as well. The dynamic is also really important to me,” says Croshaw, who has already taken official visits to Irvine and UCLA.
A common misconception of college athletes is the idea that college athletes do not need similar academic merits to gain admittance to a university. In reality, however, athletic recruits still have to maintain strong academic statistics to gain admittance to top universities. Simone Jacobs, who has already signed a letter of intent to row at Stanford next fall, is a testament to this statement.
On top of the rigorous AP courses Jacobs takes at Aragon, she also practices rowing nine to ten times a week with some practices starting as early as five in the morning.
Jacobs acts as the middle rower for her Redwood Shores based crew team. Her recruitment process started when she was training for Junior Nationals.
“To train for nationals you have to complete a 2,000 meter test on an indoor rowing machine and it determines how fast you are. The times I scored were recruitable times.
Due to Boushakra’s high marks, she was heavily recruited by Ivy League schools and Stanford.
“I was supposed to go on five official visits. After visiting Yale I cancelled the other four. All the other schools were Ivy League east coast schools; they also can’t give scholarship money,” says Jacobs. The Ivy League prohibits the granting of athletic scholarships.
Jacobs picked Stanford for their strong academics, location, and superb crew program.
“If Stanford were a country it would be ranked number 11 in the world,” says Jacobs on the quality of the program.
Jacobs, along with Boushakra and Croshaw dedication and focus on the playing field and in the classroom, serve as perfect role models for future Aragon athletes who also seek recruitment in their future.
