Wildwood student-athletes Lexi Kaz ’20 Asha Fletcher ’19 met while playing girls varsity basketball. Though they competed well on the court, they each found their passions in other sports—Lexi in soccer and Asha in long jump.
Both athletes are shining examples of the culture that Wildwood’s 5th-12th grade athletics program creates: one that builds respect for hard work and healthy competition, and instills teamwork and community among all students, embodying our core Habits of Mind and Heart.
Lexi returned to action (after a broken ankle in 8th grade and a broken collarbone in 9th), joining the Wildwood girls soccer team not just to compete but also to lead. Described by coach Jenn Martin as a “minicoach on the field,” Lexi helped the team finish the 2017-18 season as undefeated league champions. Because of her leadership, hard work, and natural skills, Lexi was offered a commitment to play at the University of San Diego, a Division I soccer program, while she was a junior at Wildwood. In her first season at USD, Lexi has played in eight matches, starting in five. She recorded her first collegiate goal on a penalty kick against Pepperdine, and has even tied for the point leader of her team with three points scored during the season.
Asha, whose passion for the long jump was sparked after a dare to jump over a trash can, has credited the care and support of Wildwood’s coaches for cultivating both the technique and the mindset to succeed. In 2018, her winning jump at the CIF State Track and Field Championships was 19 feet and 3 inches. Despite competing in long jump for only two years, Asha was signed to compete with the University of California, Berkeley. Since then, she hasn’t stopped posting impressive records. Having competed in eight meets, she set the 25th-best triple jump mark of the season in Division I and fourth-best in the Pac-12 with her winning (and personal best) leap of 13.26m. At the same meet, she took second place in the long jump, posting a distance of 5.81m. She’s also dominating in the classroom, having been named to the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll.
We continue to celebrate Lexi and Asha for all they accomplished at Wildwood and their future athletics endeavors on the grass of the soccer pitch and the sand of the jumper’s pit.
- Summer 2021
