Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks teammates April Fontenette, a UCLA-bound senior, and sophomore standout Aja Johnson are the most productive high school girls throwing pair in the country this season under the guidance of coach Nick Garcia and have the Knights in contention for the girls team title at the CIF State Championships on May 26-27 at Buchanan High's Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, Calif. Fontenette is one of eight prep female athletes nationally to surpass 45 feet in the shot put and 160 feet in the discus this season, with Johnson the top sophomore shot putter in the country at 46-10 (14.27m) and the No. 2 competitor among all 10th-graders in the discus at 149-7 (45.60m). Fontenette won the CIF-Southern Section Masters title in the discus May 20 at Moorpark High with a program-record 162-8 (49.59m) and Johnson achieved a lifetime-best effort to secure the Masters championship in the shot put. The tandem has propelled Notre Dame into the state podium conversation, something that hasn't been achieved by a pair of female throwers since Dawn Dumble and Melissa Weis led Bakersfield to the girls team championship in 1990 by finishing first and second in both the discus and shot put, contributing 36 of the Drillers' 61 points, more than the entire total of runner-up Morningside at 30 points. Fontenette and Johnson are the most prolific pair of female throwers in the same California program since Faith Bender and Bella Rigby at Bakersfield Liberty in 2020 and 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the state meet both seasons. Billie Jo Grant and Megan Howard helped Arroyo Grande to a fourth-place state finish in 2003, finishing second and third in the shot put, along with Grant winning the discus title. Fontenette and Johnson are both looking to join 2019 wheelchair shot put champion Vaiva Puodziunas as a female athlete to capture a state title for Notre Dame. Fontenette explains how she nearly stopped throwing discus following her freshman season and how her resilience and perseverance has led her to become the Notre Dame program record holder. Johnson explains how much more familiar and comfortable this postseason schedule has felt, having experienced the training and competition for the first time last year as a freshman. Both athletes express gratitude for the patience, guidance, wisdom and experience of coach Garcia, along with the support of each other, their teammates, fellow throwers, coaches and family throughout this season and their careers. They also speak about how significant it has been to share in the memorable journey together, along with teammate Hope Gordon last year, and how motivated they are to improve on the Knights' fourth-place finish last year with 24 points, after all three athletes scored with top-seven performances in the state shot put final, in addition to Fontenette placing second in the discus championship.