Manhattan Beach Students Earn National Honors
May 18, 2025 12:02AM ● By Mb News Staff
(The Mira Costa Boys Volleyball team after winning the CIF Southern Section title on Friday. They are ranked #1 in the country. Photo via Mira Costa Boys Volleyball.)
Entrepreneurial Ventures
Lila Mokhtari, a junior at Mira Costa High School, won second place in the prestigious international Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition—an achievement that places her among the best young
entrepreneurs in the world. Lila's company, Maji Soap, features a collectible toy inside each bar of soap to encourage handwashing, while
proceeds help fund clean water initiatives. Mokhtari's project was chosen from a pool of 12,784 students from 163 countries in what is considered the world’s largest and most
competitive pitch competition for high school students. She is a former national winner of the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA!) Saunders Scholars Competition.
Lili Shaer and Simon Uslaner, 9th graders who were the co-winners of this year's Manhattan Beach Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), headed to the 2025 Saunders Scholars National Competition to pitch their original business ventures. Shaer presented her company HipDigz, which produces padded volleyball shorts designed to reduce injury and improve athletic performance; and Uslaner pitched Nyft Strip, a sustainable packaging solution that seals food while reducing the need for disposable bags. Shaer was chosen as one of only six national finalists from the larger semi-finalist group.
Academics/Activities
Manhattan Beach students got high marks in the international Math Kangaroo Competition 2025. See our full Math Kangaroo story here.
Mira Costa senior Kimaya Mata was selected as a national winner in the Level 4 National German Exam for high school students sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). She scored in the 99th percentile and will have the opportunity to go on an all-expense paid summer study trip to Germany. She is one of 37 students selected from across the country to receive the award.
The Mira Costa Model United Nations program attended the National
High School Model United Nations Conference (NHSMUN) and took home the
Best Large Delegation Award, four Awards of Distinction, and six Plenary
Speaker Awards. Office of Public
Information representative and student Isabel Borochmet was selected to
ask former President Joe Biden a question during the conference's
Fireside Chat. Also at the Canadian High Schools Model United Nations,
the Mira Costa team took the Best Large Delegation Award.
Three Manhattan Beach students were accepted into the American Choral Directors Association's National Honor Choir: Jaxon Stroyke of Mira Costa and Rose Reach and Delilah Weber of Manhattan Beach Middle School. They were chosen from among 5,000 students who auditioned.
Athletics
The Mira Costa Cheer Traditional Team won the 2025 CIF State Championship Invitational and placed 5th at the national high school cheerleading championship at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, while the Game Day team ranked 6th in the nation.
Mira Costa senior Ronan Curnyn, along with teammate Logan Mraz, won the 49erFX Nationals in Miami, a three-day race. The 49erFX is a high-performance, two-person, skiff sailboat, making this win an impressive achievement.
Mira
Costa junior Krish Desai competed at the New Balance Nationals
Indoor Championship at New Balance’s world headquarters in
Boston, dominating in the boys' mile championship heat race with a
time of 4:16.25, and ranking 50th out of 170 runners.
