Casyn Hopping and Kiana Quintero played major roles in Lathrop High’s historic fall season, and both made deep runs as individuals in the winter.
They are the Spartans’ 2025 male and female senior athletes of the year. They were presented the award during the LHS Senior Awards Night last month. Their names will be the latest included on banners hanging in the school gym honoring all of the past standouts earning the distinction.
Hopping was the only student-athlete in his class to play three sports in each of his four years at Lathrop, starring in football and wrestling. He also did track in the spring.
A towering presence on the Spartans’ formidable defensive line, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Hopping finished with a whopping 101 tackles, 35 for losses, 12 sacks, two pass deflections and two forced fumbles. His sack total was ninth most in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
Hopping helped Lathrop (7-0, 10-2 overall) earn its first Western Athletic Conference championship and first SJS semifinal appearance. The Spartans dropped 21-19 heartbreaker at second-seeded Sutter in the Division V semis.
Hopping was named All-WAC Defensive Player of the Year, netting 66 tackles, 26 for losses and eight sacks in conference games. He stuffed the Johansen attack with 12 tackles and three sacks in a 34-14 win against Johansen.
In the winter, Hopping came up one place shy of qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships, taking sixth in the SJS Masters Tournament. He went 5-3 in the state qualifier, with his first loss coming against eventual champion Wes Burford of Oakdale.
Hopping tried different disciplines while competing in track and field over his four years, from the 200-meter dash, to the discus throw and long, triple and high jumps.
Quintero ran cross country before joining Lathrop’s fledgling flag football team in the fall of 2023. The Spartans made a drastic improvement from year 1 (4-10 overall) to year 2, placing second in the WAC while compiling a 20-4 overall record. They won two playoff games at home in their first postseason appearance last fall, falling to WAC rival Livingston in the SJS Division III semifinals.
Quintero paced Lathrop’s prolific offense with a team-high 75 receptions for 705 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning All-WAC honorable mention.
She shined again in wrestling, garnering a second WAC championship at 120 pounds. She was a runner-up her sophomore year. Quintero went on to take second in the SJS Southern Regional and advanced to the second day of the SJS Masters.
