When Claire Kinder arrived to MiraCosta two years ago it would have been difficult to project the amount of success that she would have. Although she came in as a decorated high school student and athlete and a top recruit for Coach Kristen Wright, not many could have known just how much winning she would do. Kinder finished her two years with a special group of sophomores that included Chloe Tripp, Violeti Faleumu, and Claudia Mathews. This group of two year sophomores were a part of a historic run that included one state championship, a 2nd place finish in the state, three conference championships, and three trips to the state championships. Kinder earned four nominations to the all-conference teams and she and her partner, Chloe Tripp, were named the Duo of the Year for the 2018 beach volleyball season. Recently Kinder and Tripp finished third in the State Pairs Championship. The cherry on top for Kinder is her most recent honor being named the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Through three semesters Kinder has completed 65 units with a 3.634 GPA. She will attend Long Beach State University next Fall to continue her studies while competing for their nationally ranked women's beach volleyball program.
Claire Kinder leaves MiraCosta as one of the highest achieving student-athletes in the history of the the Spartan athletic department, which dates back to the 1950's.