LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men’s water polo standout Landon Akerstrom has been selected to the 2025 USA Water Polo Junior National Team.

Akerstrom will be heading to Zagreb, Croatia, later this month to represent the United States at the World Aquatics Men’s Junior (U20) Championships.

Akerstrom joins 14 other of the top up and coming athletes from around the country into action starting on June 14. Team USA was drawn into Group A and will meet Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro in group play. A champion will be crowned on June 21.

Live streaming and statistics information is forthcoming. 

As a sophomore attacker  in 2024, Akerstrom was a force in the pool for the Tritons. He led the team in points (76), goals (59), shots (116), and field blocks (5) and was second on the roster in steals (26) and sprint wins (25). Akerstrom scored at least one goal in 22 of 27 games played and registered multiple goals in 17 contests. He compiled a 17-game scoring streak during the season.

For his efforts, Akerstrom was named ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention as well as All-Big West First Team.

2025 Men’s Junior National Team (Hometown/School/Club)

1. Charles Mills (Tiburon, CA/USC/San Francisco Water Polo)

2. Baxter Chelsom (Los Angeles, CA/UC Davis/Los Angeles Premier)

3. Peter Castillo (Costa Mesa, CA/UCLA/Newport Beach WPC)

4. William Schneider (San Clemente, CA/Stanford/Mission WPC)

5. Jonathan Carcarey (Santa Maria, CA/Pepperdine/SOCAL)

6. Gavin Appeldorn (Newport Beach, CA/Princeton/Newport Beach WPC)

7. Ryder Dodd (Long Beach, CA/UCLA/Mission WPC)

8. Ryan Ohl (Greenwich, CT/Stanford/Greenwich Aquatics)

9. Landon Akerstrom (Costa Mesa, CA/UC San Diego/SOCAL)

10. Connor Ohl (Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor HS/Newport Beach WPC)

11. Benjamin Liechty (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/Newport Beach WPC)

12. Bode Brinkema (San Juan Capistrano, CA/UCLA/Mission WPC)

13. Kiefer Black (San Diego, CA/Naval Academy/La Jolla United)

14. Max Zelikov (Boca Raton, FL/Stanford/South Florida WPC)

15. Corbin Stanley (Yorba Linda, CA/Long Beach State/SOCAL)

Staff

Jack Kocur – Head Coach        

Felix Mercado – Assistant Coach      

Alex Rodriguez – Assistant Coach

Derek Clappis – Assistant Coach

2025 World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships Schedule (subject to change)

All times Pacific

• June 14 – USA at Croatia, 10am 

• June 15 – USA vs Hungary, 11:30am

•June 16 – USA vs Montenegro, 8:30am

• June 17 – TBD

• June 18 – TBD

• June 19 – TBD

• June 20 – TBD

• June 21 – TBD

 

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.

Collins Schluer and Taylor Zalunardo pride themselves as multi-sport athletes, but they did not envision themselves standing out in sports they had never played until they were upperclassmen at Sierra High.

A longtime baseball player, Schluer picked up water polo going into his junior year of high school and went out as the nation’s leading scorer while leading the Timberwolves to their best season.

Meanwhile, Zalunardo, who grew up with hoop dreams, joined Sierra’s fledgling flag football program at the start of her junior year and helped spearhead many first-ever moments, including a Valley Oak League championship and postseason victory this past fall.

Both believe that their experiences in other disciplines helped them not just pick up these new sports but excel in them.

Sierra recognized them as the latest Timberwolves to earn the Senior All-Around Athlete Award. Their names will be included on banners honoring all previous recipients of the award. On Wednesday, Sierra administrators gathered in the quad area on campus to honor Schluer and Zalunardo. Athletic Director Les Wheeler presented them with commemorative t-shirts and lifetime passes to regular-season sports events at Sierra.

“Anytime you walk into the gym, I want you to look up at that banner, see your names and know that you always have a home here,” Wheeler said.

Schluer started out playing football in the fall but decided to give water polo a shot after his sophomore year. He also played varsity basketball and baseball, earning all-league honorable mention in each.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Schluer said of earning Senior All-Around Athlete. “Ever since my seventh-grade year, when my sister (Lela) was here, I saw it up in the gym, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s something I could do.’

“It means a lot to me, because I’m not like a lot of people who specialize in one sport. It means that I’m able to face whatever anywhere, in the pool, or the court or on the field. I would say it’s a great accomplishment, and that’s something that you work hard for and it finally pays off.”

With his long frame at 6 feet, 3 inches and a cannon for a left arm, Schluer was a natural in the pool and earned two All-VOL first-team selections.

This past season, he racked up 288 points which included 226 goals — both nation-leading totals, according to stats submitted to MaxPreps. The Timberwolves finished with a program-best 16-15 overall record and downed Beyer 14-9 for their first Sac-Joaquin Section playoff win. Schluer accounted for six goals and four assists.

“Definitely helps having an athletic background and playing a bunch of sports growing up,” Schluer said. “And our coaches here are pretty good. They were able to teach me well. I think genetics helps a lot, being tall and playing baseball.

“I would say it was mainly coaching, because I had no clue what I was doing I didn’t know anything about the sport and the different positions. I thought of it as soccer in water. It turns out there’s so much more to the sport.”

Schluer is heading to the University of Alabama, where he will join his older sister. Although academics will be his focus, he may continue playing water polo there at some level.

Zalunardo helped Sierra’s girls basketball team qualify for the playoffs in all three of her varsity seasons. The scrappy guard was named to the VOL All-Defensive Team as a senior. She also played softball her junior and senior years.

It was on the gridiron where Zalunardo truly shined, and she got to do so with her family. Father Chris Zalunardo has coached the team since flag football became a sanctioned sport by the California Interscholastic Federation starting in the fall of 2023, and younger sister Tessa joined as a freshman quarterback for the Timberwolves’ historic 2024 run.

“I never thought I’d be playing football,” Taylor Zalunardo said. “I’m very thankful for the opportunities that I’ve had here and thankful for all the support I’ve had, as well.”

Although Sierra went 4-10 in its inaugural flag football season, Zalunardo was named All-Tri-City Athletic League Defensive Player of the Year and was among the leading tacklers in the SJS with 72 overall. She also had four interceptions and was a key contributor on offense with 788 rushing yards, 249 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

With city rivals Manteca and East Union establishing their flag football programs last fall, the VOL had enough of its own members to support the sport.

The Timberwolves are the first VOL flag football champions, going 11-1 and 19-6 overall. They routed Weston Ranch 60-0 in their first postseason contest.

Zalunardo was ultra-productive, once again, finishing with the 10th-most flag pulls in the nation with 172. The linebacker added five interceptions and a team-high 20 pass deflections, while contributing 1,081 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns on offense.

Zalunardo is taking her talents to Simpson University in Redding, where she’ll help build another flag football program from scratch.

“My main sport was definitely basketball — I’ve played it for eight years now,” Zalunardo said. “It’s a hard transition (to focus solely on flag football), because I was like, ‘No way I’m going to love something more than basketball.’ And then I started football and just really fell in love with it, and I’m really excited to play at the next level.”

A multi-sport athlete at heart, Zalunardo may not be ready to give up on basketball, just yet. She may try to earn a spot on the Simpson basketball team as a walk-on.

“It’s a great honor,” Zalunardo said of earning Sierra’s highest athletic award. “I wanted it ever since my freshman year. When I first saw the names up there, I asked who those people are, and they said they’re the best all-around athletes who took the time in the classroom and performed on the field or the court. I was like, ‘I want to be one of those people,’ so I just pushed myself to become an all-around athlete. I’m very honored to receive this, as well.”

Bradford, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has hired Kelly Unverdorben, longtime successful head coach at Portville (N.Y.) High School, as the sixth head coach of the women’s volleyball program since joining the NCAA in 1999.

“I am very pleased to announce the hiring of Kelly Unverdorben as the leader of our women’s volleyball program,” said athletic director Bret Butler. “She brings invaluable amounts of experience, success, and knowledge of the game that will return this program to its rightful place, playing for championships.”

Unverdorben brings a wealth of volleyball coaching experience to Pitt-Bradford. For the past 11 years, she has created a dynasty at her alma mater, Portville High School. Unverdorben led the Portville Panthers to eight New York State Class C titles and 305 wins. At Portville, more than 65% of players continue playing volleyball in college, more than 15 times the national average.

 She also won a Class D State Championship at Ellicottville, N.Y., in 2012-13, where the Eagles were 35-2-3 in her two seasons at the helm. She has also been named the AVCA Regional Coach of the Year three times.

In addition to her success in the scholastic ranks, Unverdorben founded Octane Club, one of the largest volleyball clubs in Western New York. The club has sent numerous teams to the national indoor club volleyball tournament.

She started its offshoot, OC Beach Volleyball Club, with her daughter, Brooke, and her playing partner Beth Miller, who was the 2018 New York State Gatorade Player of the Year. The club has more than 200 participants and has sent 30 teams to nationals.

“It is very difficult to leave my alma mater, Portville, and the program that we have built there, but joining Pitt-Bradford and its beautiful, welcoming campus is very exciting,” Unverdorben said. “I can’t wait to work with the student-athletes to get this program back to competing for championships.”

Unverdorben replaces Mark Lucas, who has moved to Ithaca College to serve on their coaching staff. 

Outgoing seniors shared heartfelt stories — tied to current hot button issues — before they walked across the stage with nearly 500 other graduates to accept their diplomas Friday, June 6, at Menlo-Atherton High School. The ceremony, held on Coach Parks Field, marked the Atherton high school’s 74th commencement. 

One student speaker, Rose Klingsporn, talked about their personal growth from freshman to senior year, including coming out as transgender. 

“I didn’t really know anything about myself, and with the turbulent political and social climate around trans people at the time, I tended to keep to myself,” said the graduate. “I allowed myself to morph from a scared freshman to one of the cool seniors I had so admired. This year, I was the drummer for the spring musical, ‘Hadestown,’ and I made real, tangible connections to other students at every grade level.”

Another graduate, Wilder Perez Sanchez, detailed his 26-day journey to East Palo Alto from Guatemala at age 16 to pursue a better education. He also spoke about working 48 hours between two restaurant jobs while in high school to support his family. He said he never imagined graduating from high school in the U.S. 

“When I had to learn English, I wasn’t really sure if I was smart,” he said. “I didn’t know if I could actually learn a different language. But I did it with a lot of practice, effort and support. If you have come to this country recently and you still feel lonely, my advice is to ask for help. This friendly M-A community will support you. Be kind to others, especially while you’re getting used to your life here.”

During the ceremony, Principal Karl Losekoot presented an honorary diploma to the sister of Dylan Scirpo. Dylan, 17, was an M-A student and water polo player who died shortly before the start of his senior year in 2024. Losekoot also presented the family with Dylan’s framed water polo cap.

Losekoot encouraged students to “dream of a problem you want to solve, or dream of something you want to learn.” 

“Perhaps you want to learn how to use artificial intelligence, or figure out how artificial intelligence can improve education. Perhaps you want to learn how to write, or use your writing to help people. Our world needs big dreams now,” he said.

Graduates Isabel Zohar and William Knox performed “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson.

Superintendent Crystal Leach and Sathvik Nori, president of the Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees, were also in attendance. 

Check out this year’s list of Menlo-Atherton High School graduates and read our interview with Yandel Hernandez, one of the graduating seniors.

For all of our graduation coverage, go to our central graduation page.

Watch a video of the ceremony here: