Scholar Athletes celebrated at 15th Annual Scholar Athlete Awards Recognition Banquet

Tyler Smith & Taylor Selznick Scholar Athletes of the Year
Tyler Smith & Taylor Selznick Scholar Athletes of the Year
May 15, 2025

On Tuesday May13th, all sports came together to celebrate Athletic's major award winners along with all the scholar athletes at the 15th Annual Scholar Athlete Banquet held at M on High in Moorpark. There were over 130 scholar athletes that earned a 3.0 gpa or higher during their sports season with over 65 in attendance.

All major award winners were nominated and selected by the MC coaching staff and support staff.

Tyler Smith from Men's Track & Field/Cross Country was awarded the Dr. Mel Hayashi Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. Taylor Selznick from Women's Soccer was awarded the Female Scholar Athlete of the year. 

Smith maintained a 3.82 GPA while competing in both Cross country and Track. He was the 2024 MC Men's Cross Country season top-scorer, placed 12th at 3C2A State Championships (Cross Country), earned All-American status (Cross Country), #2 in 2025 WSC 1500m and #4 in 2025 WSC 800m (Track & Field) He plans on attending Cal Poly SLO. He is a four-time Scholar Athlete and on the Dean's List

Selznick She maintained a 3.9 GPA while playing soccer. She was a 2024 1st Team All-WSC selection, a 2023 2nd Team All-WSC selection, started 32 out of 34 games. As a defensive back, she had 7 career goals, 11 career assists. She plans on transferring to Sacramento State University for academics and will play for their club soccer team. She is a two-time Scholar Athlete and will be graduating with 4 associate's degrees.

Jacob Knudsen from Men's Volleyball was named Male Athlete of the Year. Grace Hazelton from Women's Indoor and Beach Volleyball and Kylie Kolkowski from Softball were Female Athletes of the Year.

Knudsen He was team captain, 2025 Canyon Conference Player of the Year, 2025 Northern Region Player of the Year, 2025 1st Team All-Conference & All-Region, 2024 1st Team All-WSC, MC All-time Career Acero was the Men's Volleyball Captain of Conference Champions – Men's Volleyball, .354 Career Hitting percentage & 24 career blocks in 21 matches despite numerous serious injuries.
He plans on pursuing Automotive Service Technology certificate from LA Pierce College, specializing in automotive performance upgrades, in hopes to become an Automotive Service Technician for Redbull Racing.
While attending MC, he worked two jobs, was a two-time Scholar Athlete and is graduating with 2 associate's degrees. He was a Student worker in Athletics department & MC Game Management Team, Youth volleyball coach in San Fernando Valley community, MC Athletics student ambassadorKills Record-holder with 471 career kills, 184 career digs, 71 blocks, and 36 service aces
He has accepted a DI/II scholarship to attend and play for Jessup University in Rocklin CA. While at MC, he was a two-time Scholar Athlete, and will be graduating MC with 3 associate's degrees all the while working two jobs. He was a Volunteer Assistant Coach for MC Women's Indoor and Beach Volleyball, Youth volleyball coach in the community, and a MC Athletics student ambassador.

Hazelton She was Team Captain, 2023 WSC Champions (indoor), 2024 WSC Player of the Year, 2024 CCCWBCA SoCal All-Region, 2024 1st Team All-WSC (indoor) 2024 and 2025 1st Team All-WSC (Beach), 2023 2nd Team All-WSC (indoor), 563 career kills (indoor), 475 career digs (indoor), and 107 service aces.
Future Plans – Undecided while she considers DI/II Beach Volleyball scholarship offers. While at MC, she was a two-sport Student Athlete, Four-time Scholar Athlete, Youth volleyball coach in community, MC Athletics student ambassador 

Kolkowski She was Team Captain, 2025 WSC Player of the Year, 2025 SoCal All-Region, 2025 1st Team All-WSC, 2024 2nd Team All-WSC, 2025 RBI leader in 3C2A and WSC, .411 Career Batting Average (.495 in 2025) with 79 career hits, 13 home runs, and 88 career RBIs. She is undecided on her future plans as she is considering DI Softball scholarship offers. While at MC, she was a MC Athletics student ambassador.

Mason Carrillo from Men's Wrestling and Fernado Acero from Men's Volleyball were named the John Keever Charater of Champion Award winners. Kaiya Holts from Women's Soccer was named the Diane Costabile Character of Champion award winner.

Carrillo was a All-Conference Champion, Most Outstanding Wrestler Award winner, 1st -Team All-American, 3C2A State Finalist, Ranked #2 in state & nation as a true freshman. He plans on returning to MC for his 2nd year of wrestling competition. While at MC, he is a 2024 Scholar Athlete, Culture keeper for MC Men's & Women's wrestling programs, youth wrestling coach in community, MC Athletics student ambassador in community outreach events, including local Turkey Dash honoring former MC wrestler Zack Zernik, who tragically lost his life while hiking.

Acero was the Men's Volleyball Captain of Conference Champions – Men's Volleyball, .354 Career Hitting percentage & 24 career blocks in 21 matches despite numerous serious injuries. He plans on pursuing Automotive Service Technology certificate from LA Pierce College, specializing in automotive performance upgrades, in hopes to become an Automotive Service Technician for Redbull Racing. While attending MC, he worked two jobs, was a two-time Scholar Athlete and is graduating with 2 associate's degrees. He was a Student worker in Athletics department & MC Game Management Team, Youth volleyball coach in San Fernando Valley community, MC Athletics student ambassador.
 
Holts was a 2024 2nd Team All-WSC (Soccer), 2023 All-WSC Honorable Mention (Soccer). She plans on transferring to a UC to study Business & Economics, in hopes of attending law
school to practice corporate law. While attending MC, she was two-sport Student Athlete working two jobs, 3X Scholar Athlete, MC Honors program, Dean's List, Graduating with associate's degree, MC Black Student Union President (2023-24), and is in the MC Chapter of the National Society of Leadership Success.
 
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