First published in the June 16 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
Content courtesy Flintridge Prep
Flintridge Preparatory School’s Athletics Department hosted a Division III College Signing Day, celebrating seniors Josh Beserra, Nicholas Gonzalez, Joshua Kim and William Lanstra.
“We at Flintridge Prep are very proud of our student-athletes that will be making the jump next year to play sports at the Division III levels,” Flintridge Prep athletic director Sean Beattie said. “It has been our pleasure to watch them grow and mature as athletes and young adults. We want to wish them the best of luck once they begin the next chapter of their student-athlete experience in college.”
While Lanstra was unable to attend the signing, the Athletics Department celebrated him that afternoon.
This next chapter in their athletic career is relatively rare, especially for a school the size of Flintridge Prep. Surprisingly, the United States has a relatively low number of high school athletes who continue playing throughout college. According to 2020 data from
Scholarship Stats, just over 7% of high school athletes will play varsity sports in college — and less than 2% play at NCAA Division I schools. Last November, three Prep athletes signed to play sports at Division I universities: senior Kylie Oh signed with Yale University to play soccer, senior Spencer Seid signed to the University of California San Diego to play baseball and senior Ashlyn Zhang signed to Rice University to play basketball.
Beserra, Division III Baseball at Beloit College
Throughout Beserra’s four years at Prep, he played baseball under head coach Guillermo Gonzalez. During his freshman year, he was MVP and played on both the JV and varsity teams. In his sophomore year, the season was canceled due to COVID-19. During the shortened season in 2021, he produced 19 RBIs with three home runs; on the mound, he pitched 21 innings with 19 strikeouts, helping the Wolves to win the league with a 13-3 record. This year he led the team with 24 RBIs and nine doubles. On the mound, he pitched 40 innings with 44 strikeouts, helping the team win another league title with a 10-2 record (20-7 overall). The team advanced to CIF playoffs in his last high school season.
Gonzalez, Division III Baseball at Occidental College
Gonzalez spent all four of his years at Prep playing varsity baseball. In his freshman year, he started at second base and was all-league second team. As a sophomore, he also started at second base, but the pandemic cut the season short. In his junior year, he transitioned to third base and was awarded all-league first team. In his final season, Gonzalez moved to shortstop, batted over .400 and was selected the league’s MVP.
Kim, Division III Basketball at Oxford College of Emory University
Kim was a leader on Prep’s varsity basketball team. He was selected as MVP his freshmen year and has played for LA Hawks Club, CYC Bruins Asian League, BTI Basketball Club, SCA and North South Tournament in which top Asian players from Southern California and Northern California compete against each other. He also won the Made Hoops Tournament in Arizona during high school while playing for SCA.
Lanstra, Division III Tennis at Whitman College
A multi-sport athlete, Lanstra is a two-star recruit on TR.Net and has ranked as high as 630 in his class nationally for tennis. Lanstra was introduced to, and learned to play, tennis at the Valley Hunt Club. He helped Flintridge Prep win a CIF Southern Section Division IV championship in 2018, playing primarily doubles as a freshman. He led his team to a CIF Southern Section Division III Championship as a senior in 2022 playing singles. Throughout the years, Lanstra has placed in many USTA Tournaments and UTR Open Men’s Tournaments in both singles and doubles. He looks forward to continuing his tennis career in college.
