By: Gaurika Gupta, Managing Editor
Former student athlete Hawa Wague tragically passed away on Oct. 18. While returning from the homecoming game of University of Houston, her alma mater, Wague was involved in a fatal car accident.
Wague, who had been a high jumper for the University of California’s track and field program, graduated from high school in 2017 and was mentored by coach Todd Laney throughout her four years of high school.
“She was one of my favorite athletes I have ever had,” Laney said. “It was a lot of time spent together and lot of good memories. She was just a very positive human being.”
In high school, as part of the track and field program, Wague had finished second in state and had then gone on to achieve bigger accolades. She secured a silver medal at the Pac-12 Championship and set high jump marks at the NCAA West Region Preliminary. The news of her passing reached her former coach Laney through another coach.
“The girl’s track coach reached out to me to let me know. It’s hard,” Laney said. “Every time you lose a student it feels like you’re losing one of your own kids but some kids you have a little bit more of a connection. We spent a lot of time together so this one is pretty hard.”
24-year-old Wague was also a starting center for the girls’ basketball team at AHS for three seasons.
