John Mende is a 5-foot-11 quarterback from Oceanside High School. He was named Valley League Player of the Year, North County Player of the Year and All-CIF Player of the Year. He was voted his team's Offensive Most Valuable Player in 1999 and 2000. In addition, he was a Prep-Star All-American and voted third-team All-State. He completed 197 of 300 passes (65.8 percent) for 3,270 yards, 26 touchdowns with only six interceptions. In his junior year, he was named to the All-Avocado League, All-North County, and All-CIF teams while leading the Division II Champion Pirates.
He was also a runner-up for San Diego's Male High School Athlete of the Year in 2000. Mende has earned two varsity letters in football, one in baseball where he was named to the All-Avocado League Team, and one in track.
With a 3.56 grade point average, Mende was named to the school Honor Roll every semester, and received the President's Award in 1998 and 2000. He is undecided on his college of choice, but he plans to major in either business or communications. He lists his hobbies as surfing, snowboarding and working out. He is the son of Randy and Debbie Mende of Oceanside.