**Douglas Langford Jr. and Samantha Bayardo have been selected as St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy’s Athletes of the Year. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

DOWNEY – Two St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy athletes, who both led their respective teams to a CIF championship appearance, were recently named Athletes of the Year for the Warriors.

Douglas Langford, Jr., the 6–8-star center/forward led his team to a CIF Championship and the State Regional playoffs as a sophomore and Samantha Bayardo led her team to its first ever CIF Runner-up finish and state playoff appearance.

“Both Sam and Douglas spent their entire high school careers at PMA,” St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy athletic director James Covell said. “They helped propel the girls volleyball and boys basketball programs, respectively to new heights. They leave a legacy, and we look forward to seeing their continued growth in college. We're so proud of them.”

Douglas Langford, Jr.

Douglas impacted the program right away when he got on campus,” PMA Basketball coach Donte Archie said. “We had every position filled but didn’t have a big man. Once he came, everything fell into place.

“Douglas, being a four-year starter helped us reach places where the program had never seen before.”

One of those places was the school’s second CIF Championship, which came in his sophomore season in 2022-’23.

“He was a great student-athlete and a great person to represent the basketball program on and off the court.

“He achieved a CIF Championship, the Tarkanian Classic Championship and two summer section championships.”

Before Langford knew about St. Pius, he came close to choosing another high school in another state.

“(My parents and I) were really sold on a school in Texas,” he said.

However, Langford’s path to St. Pius came on a visit by assistant coach Patrick Copeland on a vacation to Belize. Copeland ended up watching the National Team work out and by chance saw Langford. Langford said of Copeland’s comments, “…..’who is that kid’ and after that he came to my house.”

Copeland proceeded to set up a workout routine, etc. and before you knew it Langford’s mom (Terri) said to the budding 6-2, 14-year-old, ‘we’re going to California and we’re going to Pius.’”

Langford ended up at St. Pius in the Fall of 2021, not long before the season began, and he hit the ground running.

Fast forward five months and the Warriors and Langford had just finished an undefeated 10-0 Santa Fe League season but lost in the first round of the CIF D 3AA playoffs. The team qualified for the CIF Southern California Regionals and lost in the first round.

At that point, the program was about to take the next level to a championship, with the sophomore now growing to 6-8.

It all came together the next season, as PMA won a CIF D 3A Championship with a 79-48 victory over La Serna and won its first round CIF So Cal Regional game over Westchester, 66-64, and finished with a 30-5 record. In the D 3A playoffs, the Warriors were never really challenged as they won by an average of 29.6 points.

In the second round, the Warriors lost in the semifinals.

With their CIF title, the Warriors were moved up to the Open Division in his junior year and finished with a 2-1 pool play record. They lost in the CIF Regional first round with a close 75-72 score to Carlsbad in overtime.

In this, his senior year, Langford and the Warriors finished second in league and advanced to the second round in CIF.

Langford reflected on what the Athlete of the Year award meant to him and to Bayardo, saying, “We stayed humble, we stayed true to our craft, we worked hard and put in the effort, and we reap what we sow, and we got the benefits.

“For us it was a full circle moment, and it does pay off.”

As for the next step, Langford, Jr. will play at NCAA DI San Jose State.

“I’m excited,” said Langford, of his next step on the basketball court in college. “I’m beyond blessed. To do something that I always dreamed of, playing basketball at the (NCAA) Division I level, I was really excited.”

Langford had originally committed to play at Harvard, but things didn’t work out and San Jose State jumped on the opportunity to sign the 6-8 center.

“They (coaching staff) recruited me the hardest and came down to watch me play (at PMA) and were always there and took me up to visit (the campus),” said Langford. “The reason why I really committed was I fell in love with the coaching staff and what they have going on.”

Samantha Bayardo

“Samantha is a tremendous hardworking and dedicated athlete who gave her all for her teammates and for herself,” said former PMA volleyball and soccer coach Ariel Guzman-Avila, who was her volleyball coach her junior and senior years and soccer coach for three years.

“The embodiment of a true leader on the floor, she demanded a lot from her teammates but never demanded anything that she wouldn’t do herself.”

Bayardo, along with Langford, were both really surprised on their awards, and Bayardo said of the announcement, “…I had no clue,” she said. “It was surprising and shocking and exciting to get that recognition. I really didn’t think I’d be named.”

Bayardo wasn’t the first in her family to receive that coveted award, as her sister, Ariana Bayardo was chosen as the Athlete of the Year in 2023.

“We played together on varsity (volleyball) for two years and that was fun,” she said. “It was cool to get the same recognition and the engraved names on the ball.

“I was at graduation when she got her award, and I think it was as mind-blowing for me as it was for her.”

Bayardo played all four years on varsity in volleyball and two years in soccer.

She was chosen for the All-Santa Fe League and earned All CIF also.

Bayardo also achieved a high GPA with a 4.75.

Volleyball and soccer were two different seasons, but Bayardo still overlapped the two as she played club volleyball during soccer.

Soccer was her second sport, but she ended up a goalie for the team. “I was a goalie and it was really stressful, because I didn’t know what I was doing. But I think the season was really fun and I got better during the season.

“A lot of times I had to leave at halftime (Soccer) and was out a week for club (volleyball) tournaments,” said Bayardo, who was on varsity from her sophomore year through a senior.

In addition to volleyball and soccer, Bayardo was on the track and field team in her freshman year throwing the shot put and running the 100.

As for her teams’ CIF run in the playoffs this past season, the Warriors won the first four rounds, while dropping only three sets and shutting out the first-round team (Desert Mirage) and Nogales in the semifinals. They lost to Rialto, 3-0, in the championship.

“It was cool to see the name that we put out there for PMA,” said Bayardo, of the championship appearance and the State Regional’s. “Sports, especially at PMA, is making a name for itself and it’s cool to represent a small school. We’re laying the groundwork for the rest of the sports at the school.”

In the CIF State D5 playoffs, the Warriors shut out Garden Grove, 3-0, by scores of 25-23, 25-23, 25-21. Their magical season came to an end with a round II loss to Reseda, 3-0.

The CIF and state run was the farthest the program has reached in school history.

“My parents (Gonzalo Bayardo and Brenda Gallegos) were both really, really a big support, both financially and emotionally, and just taking me to practices. Just taking me to practices, even after I could drive, they refused to let me drive to practice. A lot of respect and gratefulness goes to them.”

Bayardo will continue her studies at Cal Berkeley this Fall and will be reunited with her sister Ariana.

Guzman-Avila also said of Bayardo and her leadership: “She’s extremely vocal and ensuring her and her teammates were on the same page on the floor,” he said. “As a coach, she’s been one of my favorite athletes I’ve ever coached both in high school or college.

“Her attitude is beyond what a typical high school athlete brings to the floor and her capacity to lead by example exemplifies who she is as a person. She will be spectacular at whatever she plans to do going forward and will be as dedicated as ever. PMA will definitely miss her this season, but she is on to bigger and better things. She deserves nothing less.

PMA reveals Athletes of the Year: Samantha Bayardo, Douglas Langford, Jr.