A decade of hard work has paid off for Kali Villaluna. The San Marino High School senior has committed to the University of San Diego, where next fall she will join the Toreros swim team while majoring in Business.
Kali began her swim career at the age of eight at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. She has been a member of San Marino High School’s girls’ varsity swim team since she entered the school as a freshman and has been captain her sophomore and junior seasons, with that streak expected to continue this year. The Lady Titans have won the Rio Hondo League championship in two of the three years Kali has been a member of the squad and shared the title in the third. The Lady Titans have not lost a dual meet in the last four seasons.
“Ever since I have known Kali, she has been very focused and dedicated,” said Mark Barr, head girls’ swim coach at San Marino High School. “Kali has been a big part of the run we have been on the last three years. I have never seen her not happy about swimming and she will definitely benefit the program at USD.”
A specialist in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, Kali is the daughter of Doojduen and Fernando Villaluna. Her younger brother, Thai, is a freshman at San Marino High School.
Outside of the pool, Kali was involved in Girl Scouts for eleven years and earned her Gold Award by completing a project that focused on helping homeless families through a partnership with Family Promise of San Gabriel Valley. She placed first at a Regional Business Competition in 2018, serves as a Link Crew leader at SMHS and was also named Homecoming Queen last month.
