This year, six senior athletes committed to continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Castilleja celebrated the Class of 2026’s college commitments during the annual Signing Day on Feb. 6, following National Girls and Women in Sports Day earlier that week.
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Katherine Cheng – Wellesley College (Softball)
Katherine Cheng ’26 is an outfielder for Warrior Softball Academy and Castilleja’s softball team, and occasionally plays catcher or pitcher. She started playing softball at the age of seven, inspired by her father’s love for baseball and the San Francisco Giants. “I think it was a way for me to bond with my dad,” Cheng said.
For Cheng, softball has been a good lesson in failure: “It’s taught me a lot of valuable lessons when it comes to school and everything.” Some of her most cherished memories come from her old team, the Eagles, from laser tag to tournaments, Dodgers games and her first home run.
Cheng ultimately chose Wellesley College for its coach, its process-driven team culture that embraces both academics and athletics and the way the team is “big on failure,” valuing growth and learning through mistakes. She also appreciates the school’s community and “how much support they offer students.”
Because Cheng loves Casti softball so much and enjoys “being immersed in a team that is always hanging out with each other and has a strong culture,” she looks forward to having a similar experience at Wellesley year-round. There, she plans to study international relations and history, potentially going to law school after.
Cheng’s advice is rooted in her own experience: “One of the reasons [why] I didn’t start the recruitment process earlier was because I had a lot of doubt about my skills. If anyone even thinks that they might want to [get recruited], just start early and have confidence in yourself. You’re always going to get better, and it’s best if you start early and have faith in yourself – then you can get really far.”
Vienna Farano – Columbia University (Rowing)
Vienna Farano ’26 went to her first rowing practice freshman year as a favor to a friend who didn’t want to go alone. She originally had zero intention of getting recruited but ended up liking rowing way more than she had expected. Now, she is heading to Columbia University’s rowing program.
As a member of NorCal Crew, Farano does sweep rowing, meaning she uses one oar and rows on the starboard side. She didn’t start competing seriously until her sophomore year, when recruiting first entered her mind.
Her favorite part of the sport has been her team. “My best friends are on my rowing team, and a lot of that is just because we’ve gone through a lot of the same type of situations,” she said. “We spend 20-plus hours a week together. A lot of the same ups and downs definitely build strong friendships.”
Her most memorable race came this past fall at the Head of the Charles, where her boat finished in second place out of 90 entries. “It was a really fun moment for us,” Farano said. “We’ve been rowing this boat for a really long time, but we’re at our peak, and we’re seniors and stronger than we’ve been before.”
Farano chose Columbia for its amazing team, coaching staff, campus and New York City energy. She went on her first official visit in the middle of her junior year, committed in March 2025 and received her likely letter this past October.
She plans to major in medical humanities and public health on the pre-med track, with a particular interest in emergency medicine.
As Farano heads to the East Coast this fall, she’ll be competing against several of her current teammates from NorCal, as many of them are headed to Ivy League rowing programs. “I’m definitely excited to see my high school teammates and race against them,” she said.
Farano’s advice is to trust the process and to not compare yourself to others: “I felt like I was so behind in the recruiting process, but you just have to understand everyone has their own timeline and trust it will all work out.”
Layla Gallon – Pomona College (Lacrosse)
Layla Gallon ’26, a defender for NorCal Rize, began playing lacrosse in first grade after encouragement from her parents and a friend. She now plays midfield for Castilleja and credits the importance of teamwork as her favorite part of the sport. Both on offense and defense, she emphasizes that everyone needs to be involved to “make anything happen.” She also enjoys the technical skill required, remarking that “catching and throwing with a stick is a lot of fun.”
For Gallon, earning the Defensive MVP league award during her sophomore year was very memorable, as she won this title alongside former Castilleja lacrosse player Riley Sterling ’24, whom Gallon cites as a “huge icon.” Last year, she won Co-MVP with her teammate Naya Sangoram ’25, which was another highlight of her high school career.
Gallon was not formally recruited until after she had been accepted to Pomona College, where she committed to the school, spoke with the coaches and became a recruited walk-on. Despite this outcome of her recruiting journey, Gallon reflected on the challenges of the recruiting process throughout high school: “I dedicated so much time to flying out, especially to the East Coast, because that’s where lacrosse is so much bigger and that’s where all of the coaches are.”
At Pomona, Gallon looks forward to playing on such a competitive, talented team. “I got to watch one of their practices, and I was just blown away by how good they are,” she said. “From what I gather, they don’t really lose. I think they’re just way better than all the other teams in their league.” Gallon believes it will be a good experience for her and an opportunity for growth, given that she will be surrounded by such accomplished athletes.
Although Gallon remains undecided regarding her major, she plans to explore various STEM courses.
Gallon’s advice to students wishing to continue athletics at the next level is to stay persistent and to “never give up.” She concluded, “It is worth it in the end if you can continue to do something that you love and are passionate about in college.”
Kaylin Yip – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Soccer)
Kaylin Yip ’26 has been playing soccer since kindergarten and now competes for the Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club (MVLA) as a midfielder. She said her favorite part of the sport is her teammates: “That’s the biggest reason why I play, and why I’ve kept playing all throughout high school.”
Her memorable moments on the field include winning her club team’s league a few seasons ago, as well as winning her high school league last year and advancing to a higher league.
Yip had always had the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the back of her mind, given the school’s STEM focus and top engineering programs. “Even before I was looking into playing soccer in college, [MIT] was always a school that I wanted to go to. Then I realized that they were D3 and were playing at a level that I was interested in playing at,” Yip said. “[When] I reached out to the coach, it solidified my interest in both going to the school and playing for them.”
As a Division III program that places a heavy emphasis on academics, her recruiting process was unique, which left Yip with “a lot more uncertainty” and “a little bit of anxiety around that.” However, she found that looking at Division III schools “took a lot of the stress off, because I know there’s a lot of stress around D1 recruiting, and for me, I’ve always wanted to focus on the academics of the school first.”
At MIT, Yip is especially looking forward to getting to know the girls on the soccer team, as well as having “a built in community of different grade levels.” She noted that there are “upperclassmen to help you, guide you through the first two years, and then you become that upperclassman later,” Yip said. “That’s something that’s really special that I really like about team sports.”
She plans to major in biological engineering, potentially on the pre-med track.
Yip’s advice to any athletes hoping to continue their sport to the next level is to be persistent even when it feels overwhelming and stressful. “Everything will work out in the way it’s supposed to, so don’t stress too much,” she said.
Jiwoo Oh – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Rowing)
Jiwoo Oh ’26 was first drawn into rowing in eighth grade by older athletes from Castilleja’s Class of 2023. She now rows for Redwood Scullers, mainly in the stroke seat at the front of the boat.
For Oh, the heart of the sport lies in the team culture. “Although it’s a pretty tough sport, you’re all in it together,” she said. “Every hard thing you go through, every hard workout you do, you have so many people around you cheering you on and doing the same thing.” This culture, Oh said, “pays off when [they] go to races and [they] do well.”
Oh is most proud of her team defying expectations and winning the national championships in 2023.
For Oh, balancing rowing, academics and other extracurricular activities throughout high school was not easy. She said she took everything very seriously and felt her performance in school and rowing defined who she was, taking a toll on her mental health.
Looking back, she encourages younger athletes to “make sure you save time for yourself every day, whether it’s 15 minutes or 30 minutes,” to prioritize sleep, especially during junior year, and to ensure that “everything you do is stuff that you want to do and enjoy doing.”
Oh chose MIT after visiting the campus, meeting the team and experiencing how the athletes balance rowing and academics. She knew MIT was the place for her as it aligned with her career aspirations and provided the support she desired in college.
Although Oh applied to MIT as a bioengineering major, she now plans to major in Mechanical Engineering (Course 2 at MIT).
Oh’s advice for any athletes hoping to get recruited is not to compare yourself to other athletes on your team, as everyone goes through a different recruitment path.
“Your path is just going to end up looking a little bit different, and that’s okay. You’re eventually going to end up where you’re meant to be.” She encourages athletes to take things “step by step” and to reach out to alumni, teammates or coaches if they need help. “Rely on the people around you, and don’t get flustered,” Oh said.
Savannah Tau – University of Puget Sound (Lacrosse)
Savannah Tau ’26’s path to collegiate athletics was unlike any other in the senior class. She started playing lacrosse during her freshman year after her friends convinced her to try it, even though she had originally signed up for softball. She now plays goalie for Castilleja and spends her summers with Rize Lacrosse.
One of her most memorable moments came during her sophomore year, when she had to share playing time with another goalie for the first time. “Having to share that position with someone else was a big transition for me,” she said. “But over time, we’ve gotten better, and it was fun being with someone else.”
Now, her favorite part of the sport is the team, like many of the other committed athletes. “We always go out to eat after games, and I love Sabrina, [the other goalie],” she said.
Tau did not initially plan to play in college, but after being accepted to the University of Puget Sound, she received a text from the head coach asking if she wanted to join the team. It came randomly, and she even had to email the school to make sure it wasn’t spam. When she found out it was, in fact, real, she said to herself,. “Okay, I guess I’ll be on it.” She added, “I did not think I was going to play lacrosse in college at all. It was crazy on Signing Day, when I was there, [I was thinking about how] I did not plan this at all.”
Tau has watched the UPS team’s game film and is looking forward to making an impact on the field. She plans to study something STEM-related, possibly engineering, but is keeping her options open about what comes after college. Her advice to any athletes hoping to continue their athletics at the next level is to “just have fun. Work hard. Be humble.”
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As these six athletes move into the next phase of their athletic and academic careers, they will be remembered at Castilleja not only for their accomplishments but also for their hard work, resilience and the relationships they have built here. The Casti community is proud of who they have become and looks forward to what they will accomplish next.
