Among this year’s list of A. Dale Lacky Student-Athlete Award winners is a familiar name to those on the Pitman High School campus and for fans of local prep sports, mainly because she has played nearly every sport in the book.
Elexi Pulido was awarded the prestigious scholarship earlier this week at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Breakfast Awards Ceremony, which recognizes top male and female student-athletes within the section for outstanding athletic performance, community service and academic success during their four years of high school.
“It's a really amazing honor to get the scholarship,” Pulido said.
The award is named after former Sac-Joaquin Section and State CIF president A. Dale Lacky.
The scholarships are funded through the Peter J. Saco Foundation Games (named after the former section commissioner) from the basketball, volleyball and flag football seasons, where more than $32,000 has been generated over the years. Scholarship nominees must be from a school that participates in at least one of the foundation games during that academic year.
Throughout her four years at Pitman, Pulido has played five sports. The senior competed in volleyball, softball and track and field twice, and was a member of the school's inaugural flag football team this past fall. While she enjoyed time exploring what each had to offer, they didn’t compare to basketball, a sport in which she was involved in for all four years.
A three-year varsity guard, Pulido totaled 294 points, 97 assists and 257 rebounds in 73 games. Coaching her along the way was Parmine Randhawa, who welcomed Pulido to Pitman as a freshman in 2021 as the junior varsity coach, and took the step up to varsity alongside her standout player in 2022 as she assumed the primary team’s head coaching position.
“There was never a moment she wasn’t working hard,” Randhawa said. “She has a relentless motor that keeps on going all the time. She is one of the most coachable kids I’ve had the pleasure of coaching. Never questions decisions, and will turn around and do whatever is asked of her at 100% effort all the time.
“I asked a lot of her this year as her role this year on our team grew from what it was last year and she never complained. She was never one to shy away from a challenge on the court and off, as you can see with her academic pursuits as well. From her work ethic alone I know she will be successful in whatever path she takes moving forward and it’s been a great pleasure to be a small part of her journey and I’m excited to see all that she continues to do.”
One of Pulido’s proudest moments on the court came in her junior year, when the Pride overcame a 20-point deficit to beat Downey, 52-51.
Pulido, whose favorite subjects in school are science and math, and also enjoys the welding and fabrication course, has a 4.35 GPA. An FFA member, she has won awards for agricultural mechanics and poultry showmanship. She has also been a member of the Global Dream Society, Young Life and the Save Club and has received nation recognitions for the Hispanic Youth and First-Generation programs.
Pulido expects to study biology at Stanislaus State for two years, before hoping to transfer to a UC to study biomedical engineering in hopes of becoming a tissue or prosthetics engineer. While pursuing her higher education those first years at Stan State, she plans to remain at Pitman as an assistant to flag football head coach Matthew Vasconcellos.
Vasconcellos watched Pulido, the team captain, string together a 72% completion rate as she threw for 2,309 yards and 39 touchdowns en route to becoming the Central California Athletic League’s first ever Most Valuable Player award. Earning the honor after leading the Pride to a 13-2 record against conference opponents in the new sport is one of her proudest accomplishments.
Vasconcellos felt that Pulido was destined for that success after watching her try out in the summer and even during the non-mandatory practice period.
“We were working out different athletes, trying to look and evaluate what options we had at quarterback. Little do people know, Elexi was also one of our best receivers on the team,” Vasconcellos shared. “She moved and bent with ease, making her route, running nice and clean, and her ability to catch footballs away from her body was special, especially since this was a brand new sport to many of our athletes. But as we got closer to the start of our inaugural season , we really felt like Elexi being our quarterback put us in the best position to be successful.
“When we approached her with this position change, she didn’t blink. She didn’t flinch. She said she’ll do what’s best for the team and all she did was win and throw touchdowns and lead this team with her energy and character. I truly believe we are a better program with Elexi Pulido in it.”
As she prepares to graduate in the coming months, Pulido is most grateful for the friends she has made and the teammates she has competed alongside of over the last four years.
“Thanks to everyone that has helped me get to where I am now. All of my teachers, coaches, and especially my family,” she said.
