Across the North State, high school students are studying and working hard to play the sports they love – and their efforts are paying off. Here are some exemplary star student athletes and their goals for a bright future ahead.
Case Porter, Hamilton High School, Glenn County
Sixteen-year-old Case Porter plays football, basketball and track at Hamilton High. He got all league in football and was named captain in both football and basketball this year. His team recently won their playoff basketball game against East Nicolaus 68-53; Case Porter put up 29 of those points.
Porter is a fourth-generation student at Hamilton High and comes from a line of student athletes there. His grandfather played football, his mom played volleyball and his dad played baseball as well as basketball. Along with being active in sports, Case is involved in Future Farmers of America at Hamilton High.
After high school, Case says he’d either like to play college basketball or go to a trade school for diesel mechanics.
Maddox Mize, Weed High School, Siskiyou County
Weed High School athlete Maddox Mize started playing football at just six years old in Pop Warner, amazing his coaches with speed, agility and understanding of the game well beyond his years. When he got into high school, he moved up to the varsity team his sophomore year and continued to dominate in the sport. Mize also competes in track and field, consistently placing in the top three in the 100m and 200m dashes.
Basketball has always been his true love, though. He started playing Amateur Athletic Union in the fourth grade with some of his best friends and they still play together today for Weed High School under the same coach. He was moved up to varsity for playoffs his freshmen year, contributing to multiple league championships and many first-place finishes in tournaments all over the West Coast.
“Right now, Maddox is still weighing his options for what he wants to do in the future, possibly pursuing either tech or entrepreneurship in college,” his mother Tara Knight says. With a few years left before he decides, he will continue to play basketball at his highest level.
Aralynn Winstead-Stroing, Red Bluff High School, Tehama County
Eighteen-year-old Aralynn Winstead-Stroing, Red Bluff HS Class of 2025, participates in basketball, track and field, cross-country and swimming. She broke the school record in the 400 Freestyle relay with her swim team twice, achieved All-League her freshman year and took first in the 50 Freestyle her junior year at the NSCIF Masters Meet. She also won a 200 Freestyle Relay meet her senior year.
In track and field, Stroing placed third in the 400 and fifth in the 800 her freshman year, as well as placing third in the 4×800 relay and fifth in the 800 her junior year. “As for basketball, I’ve won various all-tournament awards and an EAL All-League honorable mention in 2023,” she says. For cross-country, she achieved EAL All-League in 2024 and placed 17th at the Northern Section meet.
Along with her impressive athletic stats, Stroing has also had at least a 4.0 GPA since her sophomore year and was nominated last semester for the Elks Student of the Quarter Award. Her goals are to continue playing basketball and/or track and field in college and major in kinesiology.
Kalli Smith, Foothill High School, Shasta County
High school senior Kalli Smith, 17, plays basketball and track and has also been maintaining a 4.0 GPA while playing sports. She got All League her junior year for basketball and believes being involved in athletics has pushed her to keep a solid GPA so she can keep playing sports.
“My parents put me into sports at a very young age and I’ve just loved playing them ever since. My athletic career has meant so much to me because it’s how I made all my friends, and it has shown me to work hard and be disciplined,” Kalli says.
Josie Carlos, Chico High School, Butte County
Seventeen-year-old Josie Carlos is a senior at Chico High holding a 4.41 GPA. She’s played basketball ever since she was six years old and during all four years of high school in junior varsity and varsity. “I love the people I’ve met and the places I’ve gone to,” she says, mentioning she’s visited New York City, Louisville, KY, Las Vegas, Portland, Philadelphia and the Dallas Cowboys stadium.
Josie was named Notre Dame School Girls 7th Grade Basketball MVP in 2018 and again the MVP for 8th Grade Basketball a year later. She won the President’s Educational Achievement Award in 2021, the AP Scholar with Honor Award in 2024 and clinched the 3-point contest win in the Ladies Ball West Regional conference in 2022.
“It’s been a cool experience,” she says of her high school athletic career. As far as what she plans to do after high school, Josie is excited because she recently got accepted into Pepperdine University where she plans on majoring in sports business.
Posted in: Recreation & Sports
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