Ashton Kumar, Avery Carrillo named Warren High's Athletes of the Year
Avery Carrillo, left, (track & field, volleyball) and Ashton Kumar (tennis) have been named Warren High School’s Athletes of the Year for 2025-2026. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
DOWNEY – At the annual Warren High School senior awards night, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Athletes of the Year.
Those two athletes were Avery Carrillo and Ashton Kumar.
Carrillo, who is headed to Mt. SAC, excelled in varsity track & Field in three events (sprints, hurdles and pole vault) and volleyball and Kumar was the No. 1 varsity singles player with an unbelievable 177-3 league record for four years on the tennis team.
In addition, the following awards were presented at the ceremony: Golden Bear Statue Winners—Lexi Cortez (softball and flag football) and Ashton Kumar (tennis); TJ Peacock Most Inspirational Athlete—Arielle Perez (girls’ wrestling) and the Jaylon Connish Memorial Scholarship—Richard Nichols (football and track).
“The standard of excellence at Warren has been raised because of Avery's achievements,” Warren High track & field coach Jay Waldron said. “By setting two school records this season, she has etched her name into program history and inspired future Bears to dream bigger.”
Warren’s tennis coach, Conrad Del Rosario, was also complimentary of Kumar and the effect he had on the program saying, “What makes Kumar’s career even more extraordinary is not just the record, but the responsibility he carried. Serving as team captain for three years, he became the steady leader of the Bears’ program and the standard-setter for everyone around him.”
Avery Carrillo
Carrillo, who is headed to Mt. SAC to compete with one of the state’s most decorated community college Track & Field’s programs (3C2A Defending State Champions), competed in both the “track” and “field” events.
She said it best after the CIF Prelims, where she was part of Warren’s record setting 4x100 relay team, “It’s a lot of time management,” said Carrillo, of her two-event success in the pole vault and the relay.
“I’ve dedicated days of focusing on pole vault and then my 4x100 handoffs, but for the most part it comes down to how the meet is run as well.”
An example of that was at a meet during this past season as she finished her 4x100 race and immediately ran over to her pole vault event without a practice run and won the event for a school record vault of 11’-4”.
“Nobody wants to miss their event,” said Carrillo. “The pole vault is one of the most technical events in track and field.”
Her pole vault coach Steven Estrada said of that accomplishment, “I equate that performance to a baseball player coming in the top of the 9th inning and striking out the side and then coming up to bat in the bottom half of the inning and hitting the game winning home run. What she did was unheard of and absolutely amazing. That performance at the South Pasadena Tiger Invitational, which had schools from California, Nevada and Arizona, defines who Avery is and how gifted of an athlete she is.”
Athlete of the Year award was a surprise
As for the night of the awards, Carrillo was surprised at the announcement.
“When the female athlete of the year award was being announced all of my friends sitting around me kept saying it has to be me,” Carrillo said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up but the longer and longer I heard about the person they were talking about the more and more it started sounding like me. I heard my name being called and a wave of relief came over me.”
Carrillo reflected on when she first saw the award when she was a freshman. “As I heard all my friends, the audience and my family cheering for me, I thought to myself about how I once walked by the athletes of the year displayed in the office my freshman year and telling myself I’m getting that award and that’s exactly what I did.”
Beginning with her freshman year Carrillo had no expectations until she started winning.
“To me it was all about getting to the podium, at least getting top three or at least getting a medal,” she said. “I was improving every race, trying new events and finding what I was good at. This was a learning year.”
After a rough sophomore year, Carrillo found a new event – the Pole Vault – and, along with that a new interest in personal best marks.
“In my junior year I had four events - 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, pole vault and the newest event I tried was the 4x100 relay,” she added. “This season was more than what I could’ve imagined.
“Crazy personal bests and a conference champion. It was everything I wanted and worked hard for all the improvements I’ve been wanting.
“This was also the year my little brother Nolan Carrillo started track and field. It was his freshman year, and being able to be on the same team and compete with my little brother was amazing.”
Avery wants to also thank her parents, Sonia and Kristoffer Carrillo for all of their support over the years.
Stellar senior year
After her varsity year playing volleyball in the Fall, Carrillo began her final year on the track starring in the sprints, relay team and the pole vault in the field event.
With titles in the conference 100 meter hurdles (school record 15.55) and the pole vault and being part of the record-setting 4x100 relay team, Carrillo continued her stellar postseason in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet to qualify seventh for the CIF Finals.
Carrillo was the only Warren athlete to qualify in two events for the finals – pole vault and ran a leg in the 4x100 relay.
She also has numerous medals at invitationals in all of her events.
An additional event that Carrillo ran was the shuttle hurdle relay.
“The last shuttle relay I ran was at Mt. SAC,” she added. “We finished third at the Relays.”
Estrada marvels at Carrillo
“As a PV coach for over 20 years I’ve coached plenty of outstanding athletes, but Avery has to be one of the best,” Estrada said.
“She has accomplished many amazing achievements and performed at a high level. Her determination and fierce competitiveness have made her one of the best Warren track athletes to ever compete for the school.”
Warren sprint coach Colleen McFadden said of Carrillo, “Avery set a high standard of excellence and professionalism when it came to both practice and performances. It was clear from early in the season she was self-driven and self-motivated, and while she was curious to learn, she did not require much pushing as a coach. It was a true honor to coach her this season and witness her crush school records, perform at high stress meets, and do all that with a beautiful, kind, and gentle spirit. She will have a long, successful career and her next coaches are lucky to bring her on at Mt. SAC.”
“My senior season was better than I could ever have imagined,” concluded
Carrillo. “My high school career was complete.”
Warren volleyball coach Scott Lane:
“We were so happy to have Avery contribute to the volleyball team this year,” Lane said. “Her hard work and desire to be the best outside hitter was clear from the start. She was a tremendous track athlete already and she worked her tail off to become a major contributor to our program.
The volleyball program at Warren wishes her nothing but the best in the future.”
Ashton Kumar
Kumar heads to UCLA in the fall and will enter into the prestigious Computer Science & Engineering program and will try and walk on to the tennis team.
Kumar’s success was not confined to the courts. His admission to UCLA reflects the same drive and discipline he displayed in competition, showing that his commitment to excellence carried into the classroom as well. In addition to being named Athlete of the Year, Kumar received the prestigious Golden Bear Statue Award as Warren’s most outstanding student in Mathematics.
As the male Athlete of the Year for 2026, it is believed to be the first time at Warren that a tennis player has achieved that honor.
“In eight years of coaching (20 overall at Warren), I’ve never seen a player dominate at this level while maintaining such consistency,” Del Rosario said. “Ashton didn’t just win matches—he dominated his opponents and elevated everyone around him.
Champion on and off the court
Once Kumar became team captain in his sophomore year his leadership extended far beyond his own matches. He mentored younger players, modeled sportsmanship, and set the tone for intense, purposeful practices.
“Having Ashton on the team was like having another coach on the court,” Del Rosario said. “He led the singles players, which gave me time to concentrate on the doubles teams.”
Kumar talked of his teammates, who helped inspire him to always push himself.
“Many of my teammates have become my best friends,” he added. “It’s always a special feeling to know that regardless of the outcome, I have people that support me on and off the court.
“Being the first tennis (Warren) Athlete of the Year was truly a full circle moment” Kumar said. “As a freshman I envisioned myself doing great things in my sport, so winning this award is definitely a dream come true.
“I am extremely lucky to have had someone like coach Del Rosario as a coach and mentor. He’s helped me with numerous situations from feeling nervous before matches to lessons of life. Coach Del Rosario is a very big factor as to who I am today as a person and I’ll forever be grateful about the impact he’s left on me.”
Kumar, who spoke of his support system said, “My parents (Sandra and Ash) have definitely been the most caring and influential supporters since I can remember, not only in tennis, but throughout my entire life. I am very blessed.”
As for the moment of the announcement Kumar said, “It was the last award of the night and I didn’t expect it, maybe something else, but not Athlete of the Year.
“They were really proud and happy (of the award) and definitely a nice moment I could share with them. It definitely was a dream come true.”
Kumar, who started his career at Warren as the "Most Dedicated Player” as a freshman, never looked back with awards and wins. He achieved the No. 1 singles player and held that for his four years.
“Winning the team league championship as a freshman was one of the most surreal feelings ever because I never would’ve expected to be a part of such a great team and achieve something that grand so early on,” said Kumar, of his first year at Warren.
“Whenever I look back at the moment when a senior doubles team won the final match that officially championed us, I can’t help but smile because I recall the energy and excitement we all had together.”
Ashton capped off one of the most dominant tennis careers in Southern California high school history with his phenomenal league record.
“His record may stand for decades, but his impact as a leader, mentor, and role model will resonate even longer,” Del Rosario said.
The three losses all came in his freshman year, as he went undefeated in league the next three years.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished. It’s really sunk in that a record of 177-3 and going undefeated for three years while being the individuals champion is pretty crazy across all four years,” he said.
3-time Gateway League champ
He was the undefeated Gateway League Champion as a sophomore, junior and senior. In addition, he was the MVP. Warren won the Gateway League title in 2023 and ‘24
Outside of school, he reached No.130 in California and won 20-plus USTA Tournaments.
“Every coach dreams of having a player like Ashton once in their career,” Del Rosario said. “He’s not just an outstanding tennis player—he’s an outstanding young man who’s ready to make his mark at the next level.”
Del Rosario, who officially retired from Warren on June 6, joked of his retirement, “Ashton’s graduation made his retirement decision a lot easier. “If Ashton had one more year of eligibility, I’d have happily stayed one more year,”
(Thanks to the Warren High track and field coaches Waldron, Estrada and Mcfadden; volleyball coach Lane; and tennis coach Del Rosario for contributing to this story.)