There were a ton of very worthy nominations this week but when the one for this record-setting running back from the Inland Empire came in, the decision was virtually a no-brainer.

	Tom Hauck/ESPN RISE
	Deontae Cooper

Note: This story was written before last Friday's game in which Citrus Hill defeated Perris, 53-10. Our athlete of the week only carried eight times but three were for TDs and he gained 208 yards. Cooper now has 879 yards and 10 TDs this season. That gives him career marks of 5,170 yards and 76 TDs.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

This is a story about carries.

Prior to last week's 30-20 the Citrus Hill of Perris victory on the road at Great Oak in Temecula, Hawks' running back Deontae Cooper already had his name in three places in the newest edition of the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Record Book & Almanac.

His 2,948 yards and 48 touchdowns rushing last season were No. 20 and 19 (tie) all time, respectively in the new volume – and because of last year's gridiron prowess, Cooper earned a third spot at running back on the All-State Second Team.

After rushing for 1,212 yards and 18 TDs two years ago as a sophomore and 131 yards as a freshman, there was little doubt the 6-1, 205-pound Washington-bound Cooper would end his career with additional entries in the next published edition of the book. In fact, his 4,291 yards and 66 TDs entering this season were already knocking on the door of the all-time career lists.(Read full post)

This week's boys' award winner's story has some amazing twists, and bumps and gashes to boot. Through it all he was a winner to the final out of his high school career.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

The umpire called him out on a head first slide into second base but when Billy Wardell came up with a giant gash over his left eye in the second inning of the CIF North Coast Section Division I title game against De La Salle of Concord, his dream of winning the big one at the Oakland Coliseum was all but ended.

It appeared he was out of the game.

"There was no way I thought he could come back. It was pretty bad,” Freedom head coach Gary Alexander told CalHiSports.com.

"I was thinking, I sure hope Jordan's on today,” continued Alexander, making reference to his son, Jordan Alexander, the No. 2 starter on the team behind Wardell.

In fact, Freedom trainer Glen Briggs told Wardell he was out of the game after looking at the three-inch gash.

"Our trainer said 'you can't play,' but I told him do anything you have to do but I have to go back into the game,” said Wardell in an early morning interview this week as he prepared for graduation on Saturday.

With Billy holding gauze over the wound, Briggs summoned Wardell's mother, Debbie, and told her the situation.

(Read full post)

Our second girls' honoree from the San Diego Section this spring not only got the best of our first winner in both meetings this season, but also in the overall league and playoffs, plus she's the new section strikeout queen.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

After a student-athlete is named athlete of the week, an effort is made to track their progress throughout the season.

So when we checked in and saw that Horizon of San Diego's Cassidy Coleman had lost an outing the week after being honored, we figured it was the CalHiSports.com kibosh but still took notice of the pitcher in the circle who defeated her.

We also got an email from CalHiSports.com and Dyestat.com contributor and longtime San Diego area prep journalist Steve Brand that made us take notice as well.

"She's a mighty fine pitcher,” said Brand in the email, and who reiterated the statement earlier this week when Francis Parker's Amye McIntyre was named the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Girls State Athlete of the Week.

"Somewhere along the line without a pitcher of Amye's caliber we would have been packed up and sent home,” said four-year Lancers' Coach Jim Tomey, who's seen his share of talented athletes.

Before coming to Parker where he also coaches boys' basketball, works in development and is Director of Stewardship, Tomey coached boys' basketball for 13 years at the old San Diego University High (now Cathedral Catholic), assisted Steve Fisher at San Diego State in the men's' basketball program for three years, and coached the San Diego State women's' hoops team for three years as well.

(Read full post)

Our girls' award winner this week had a big part in taking down one of the best teams in the state. And the good news for softball fans out in the area just southeast of the state's capitol is she's only a sophomore.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Her season may be over but it's not because Ally Carda and her teammates lost in their last game.

In fact, the Pleasant Grove girls played and won their finale in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs in the greatest victory ever for the Elk Grove school's softball team.

Playing in their first-ever softball final on May 20 at the Sacramento Softball Complex, the Eagles, and Carda, in what the Sacramento Bee called "a masterful performance,” defeated Cal-bound Jolene Henderson and Sheldon of Sacramento, 1-0, in the championship game.

The sophomore hurler outdueled one of the nation's premier players, allowing two hits, striking out eight and allowing just two balls to leave the infield.

Although she didn't get a hit off Henderson from her No. 3 batter's spot in the order (and few Eagles did as Henderson only allowed three hits herself), Carda was the team's leading hitter this season to go with her work in the circle.

Not only was she Pleasant Grove's leading hitter, but playing one of the section's toughest schedules, Ally was near the top of the section leaders in more than one category.

As a batter, Carda hit .430 on 37 hits in 86 at bats (.514 on base percentage), and had nine home runs which tied her for second in the section behind the 11 homers hit by Lindsey Ziegenhirt of Sheldon. She also had 39 RBI which was good for fourth in the section and her .965 slugging percentage was fifth highest. In addition, Carda had three triples, 13 doubles, walked 15 times, scored 29 runs and was 11-of-12 on steals, all in 31 games.

(Read full post)

This week's boys' award winner has a chance to do something no track athlete has ever done in California, and although he's on the precipice of something incredible, he remains an everyday humble kid.


By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Last Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Divisional Championships at Cerritos College, Reggie Wyatt served notice.

The notice served was that he planned an assault on an achievement that has never been accomplished before in the history of the California State Track and Field Championships.

Wyatt opened his day at Norwalk in the 400 with splits of 21.8 and 33.6 on the way to a 46.45 win that was just off his seasonal best of 46.38 that ranks No. 4 in the nation and tops in California this year.

	Reggie Wyatt

(Read full post)

Our boys' honoree this week is one of the best baseball-football athletes to come out of the Bay Area in quite a while.


By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Moms know best, and that's especially true about this week's State Boys Athlete of the Week, Noah Perio, who is from De La Salle High of Concord.

 "That's great that you're honoring him for baseball because every time anyone wants to do anything about Noah it's always about football. What everyone doesn't know is baseball is his real passion,” said Tammi Perio, and she ought to know because she is Noah's mother.

As quiet as it's kept, Noah Perio is one heck of a baseball shortstop and slugger.

Most everyone knows Perio the way ESPNU College Football Recruiting describes him. "A slot type receiver that has good hands, is slippery as a route runner and finds ways to get open.”

They also know him as a fierce hitter from the defensive back position and one of the team's stars from last fall along with Arizona-bound running back Kylan Butler, fellow WR/DB Blair Wishom and quarterback Blake Wayne. It was a Spartan squad the was runner-up in the 2008 CIF Division I Bowl Game.

In fact, Perio blocked a field goal with 3:18 remaining in the 21-16 loss to Centennial of Corona that kept the game within reach.

Then, on the last play of the game on a free kick after a safety by Centennial, the Spartans tried a play out of the Cal Bears playbook, getting the ball to Perio after a series of laterals. He appeared to break free but was eventually tackled around the winners' 20-yard line.

There's no blocking and tackling, or running with and carrying the ball in baseball, but there is hitting and fielding and running the bases, and Perio excels at all three.

"Noah just has instincts you can't teach,” said first-year De La Salle Coach Rick Steen, who before coming to Sparta spent 32 years at San Ramon Valley (Danville) where he won 490 games.

"He knows the pitchers, knows their reactions, knows where the ball is being pitched and he's passionate about competing,” continued Steen, whose team has snagged the top seed in the NCS Division I playoffs with a 16-8 record, meaning coach now has 506 career wins and earns a spot in the next edition of the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Record Book and Almanac.

"Noah's also an inherent leader and kids matriculate to his actions and talent and flow to him because of what he can do,” said the veteran coach who graduated from Oakland's Skyline. "Plus, he doesn't want to lose, and that's contagious.”

(Read full post)

This week's girls winner is another slugger and home run princess whose family is involved in some high flying that doesn't involve yellow spheres flying out of the park.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

After profiling single-season home run queen Shannon Colquitt last week the emails came in about girls who may not have 27 round-trippers on the season as the girl from Los Angeles does, but who have a place ahead of her on the career total home run list.

We already knew about Alia Williams of Crenshaw, who last week hit her 53rd homer in a loss to Eagle Rock that ended her season and career at the top of the heap.

Two girls who also have been prominent on the state career home run charts have been Bailie Kirker of Crescenta Valley in La Crescenta, who last week hit No. 14 on the season and the 50th of her career, and Shawna Wright of Lancaster.

	Shawna Wright

"I moved her up to leadoff because she had such a high on-base percentage and so many teams were intentionally walking her,” said first-year Lancaster Coach Ashley Sharp, a PE middle-school teacher in Palmdale who played softball at Adelphi College in New York.

"It was awesome to be in my first year ever coaching varsity girls softball and have a player like Shawna,” Sharp told CalHiSports.com with the middle-schoolers hooting and laughing in the background.

"Shawna's a great leader offensively and defensively,” remarked Sharp. "She ran the defense, called the pitches, called the bases, an overall leader on the field."

(Read full post)

With this week's winner we have our first teammates and boys who shared statewide awards last season honored this spring. While they were mates it just wasn't on the same high school team. The also both play the same position.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

While this week's award winner's school mascot may be the Thundering Herd, the most noise heard around the town of Elk Grove lately has been coming from the bats of Jake Rodriguez and his baseball teammates.

So much so, that with Rodriguez leading the way, the Thundering Herd stampeded three opponents last week by a combined score of 51-0, thus snagging the No. 17 spot in this week's CalHiSports.com overall state rankings.

In the three games combined, Rodriguez was 5-for-8 with a triple and a double, scored six times and knocked in nine runs to give him a Sac-Joaquin Section leading 43 RBI going into an opening round playoff game against Sheldon (Sacramento) on May 16 at American River College.

On the season, bedsides the RBI, the 5-10, 185-pound junior shortstop is hitting .531 on 43 hits with five homers, three triples, 10 doubles, 33 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .592, a slugging percentage of .914 and he's only fanned seven times.

Last season, Jake led the team in hitting with a .536 average on 45 hits (seven triples, four doubles and a homer) with 21 RBI and 27 runs scored in 25 games on a 15-12 squad that lost 6-5 in the first round of the section playoffs to Division I section rival Jesuit of Carmichael.  

With those kind of numbers last season on a team that plays in some of the toughest competition in the Sac-Joaquin Section, its no wonder Rodriguez was named the CalHiSports State Sophomore of the Year.

(Read full post)

Our girls' winner this week is a queen waiting to be crowned, but to her coach she's "Lefty” and one of the big babies looking out for the little babies.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

When King Drew Medical Magnet of Los Angeles' Shannon Colquitt takes her final at-bat this season she will retire as the greatest single-season slugger in the history of California high school girls softball.

"I wanted to go out with a bang this season and I didn't know what way. It just came to me,” Colquitt told CalHiSports.com.

She certainly has banged a lot of pitches out of the park that have come her way. So many that not only has Colquitt taken down the home run mark but she's obliterated the current record.

Coming into a Los Angeles City Section City Invitational opening round game against Wilson of Los Angeles (Editor's Note: Wilson won the game, 4-2, ending King Drew's season), Colquitt has blasted 27 home runs, eight better than the 19 stroked last season by Alia Williams from Coliseum League rival Crenshaw.

Together with one round-tripper as a freshman, six as a sophomore and eight as a junior, the senior first-base-girl also now has 42 home runs in her career. That's good enough to give Shannon another state record listing. According to the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Record Book and Almanac, she is behind Williams, who leads with 52, and Kaila Schull (Elliott Christian, Lodi 2003-2006) and Perelini Koria (San Pedro 2005-2008), who are tied with 45 each. Others in that category may be higher, but 42 certainly makes the cut.

Shannon has 69 RBI this season which is tied for third most ever in a season, which guarantees her another spot in the record book's next edition.

(Read full post)

A .600 batting average isn't too shabby as we're 3-for-5 this spring for boys' honorees that go by initials for their first name. This week's winner actually came very close to hitting four homers and pitching a no-hitter in the same game.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

It isn't always a slam dunk that the son a pro athlete will follow in his dad's footsteps.

Many develop other interests outside sports. Some, like previous spring baseball winner Trayce Thompson (Santa Margarita, Rancho Santa Margarita), son of former NBA star Mychal Thompson, become very proficient at a sport completely different from their father.

That is not the case, however, with Kristopher "K.C.” Hobson, son of former Boston Red Sox player and manager and current minor-league manager Butch Hobson.

Let's just say, it's pretty hard not to become a baseball player when you grow up in a major-league clubhouse.

"K.C. told me about a time when he was a little boy that Carl Yastrzemski and Ted Williams were in his dad's office arguing about hitting,” said Mustangs' Coach Dan Lemon, a Bakersfield native and the PE co-chair at Stockdale who started the baseball program 19 years ago when the school opened.

But wait a minute, the fact K.C. is the son of a former great player and manager makes for part of a nice story but the real meat and potatoes for this saga are in what K.C. Hobson is doing on the field and his attitude about his teammates and the rest of his life.

Last week in a 14-1 victory over Frontier (Bakersfield), Hobson was a one-man wrecking crew. At the plate, his bat was more like a truncheon. On the mound, he was overpowering as well.

(Read full post)

This week's girls' honoree is even more perfect from the circle than her team which so far remains unblemished this season.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Coming into this week only four softball teams in the state and two in Division II, overall top-ranked Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) and current No. 4 in the state in Division II Montgomery of Santa Rosa, were yet to suffer a loss this season.

As for Montgomery, to say that junior pitcher Taylor Stroud is a big part of the Vikings' success and 21-0 record would almost be an understatement.

According to published reports, Stroud and another Bay Area hurler, Sammy Albanese, who incidentally is on another of the state's undefeated softball teams, Castilleja of Palo Alto, have yet to give up an earned run, meaning the number next to their names on the ERA list is 0.00.

Obviously, a 0.00 ERA can't be beat so Stroud is not only tied for the state lead in that category, but also the national lead.

In addition to the similarities between the two, what makes Stroud's accomplishments more striking, and what makes her work deserving of winning the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Girls State Athlete of the Week, are she's doing it against large-school competition while Castilleja is in D5.

Along with the 0.00 ERA, so far this season Stroud has a 14-0 record with a save, six shutouts and two no-hitters. She's given up 31 hits in 15 appearances but none for extra bases, and batters, almost all from D2 teams, are hitting her at an anemic .104 clip. She's struck out 122 batters in 85 innings pitched, walked 15, hit five and not thrown a wild pitch.

Stroud has given up nine runs but all have been as the result of fielding errors of which the Vikings make very few.

(Read full post)

To say he's ticketed for stardom might be a stretch since he's still only a sophomore, but if this week's boys honoree stays healthy and continues progressing we may be hearing his name a lot in the future.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

When baseball players have gotten as much recognition at a young age as this week's ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Boys State Athlete of the Week has received, they can often have big heads to go with a big bat or a blazing fastball.

So it was a little surprising to hear Valencia Coach Jared Snyder talk more about Christian Lopes' character than his on-field prowess when first asked to talk about his star shortstop.

"You made a good choice for the award and the fact he's a pretty good kid makes it even better,” said Snyder when told the criteria for receiving the honor included academics and what the student-athlete does off the field as well as the baseball aspect.

"He's a humble kid for how good he is, gets along with everybody on and off the field, has good character and makes good choices,” said Snyder, a Saugus High graduate who played five years as a catcher in the Cubs organization, and who's now in his 11th year at Valencia where he teaches world history.

Last year's CalHiSports.com's State Freshman of the Year can also handle the bat and plays a mean shortstop.

Last week in a 10-8 victory over Hart of Newhall he hit his ninth home run of the season and scored twice. He also scored three times in a 17-6 victory over Hart earlier in the week.

(Read full post)

We go away from one circle and into another for this week's girls' award winner, who in a sense is keeping it in the family.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Our first three girls' honorees this spring have been softball pitchers/batters that pitch from a circle with a piece of rubber at its center 40 feet from home plate, and bat from a box drawn on each side of that same plate.

This week's award winner also works from a box and a circle, and a circle with a cage, only she's not hurling softballs.

	Anna Jelmini

(Read full post)

The Deer Valley of Antioch senior just stepped off the basketball court where she averaged 16 ppg and is immediately making an impact in softball.

By Clay Kallam, Special to CalHiSports.com

There's something special about Emily Allard -- and it's not just the fact that the 6-0 senior is one of the most accomplished two-sport athletes in  California.

No, it goes deeper than that. Both of her coaches at Deer Valley High School in Antioch had the same, and out of the ordinary, reaction when contacted to speak about her. "Oh, I'm so glad you're doing a story on Emily,” they both said. "She's just great.”

Truth be told, a lot of times high school coaches aren't that excited about articles about their stars -- too often, exceptional high school athletes already have a very high opinion of themselves, and the last thing their coaches want to see is for the head to get a little bigger because some reporter is calling them up.

But that's not the case with Emily Allard.

"She's has this presence about her,” says Amy Tillson, her softball coach. "She acts a lot older than she is.”

"She makes a great mark wherever she goes,” says Lindsay Wisely, her basketball coach. "People just gravitate to her.

"She has a following of staff members,” says Wisely. "Faculty members want to come to her games.”

Allard is more of a softball player than a basketball player as shown by her softball scholarship to play centerfield for Big Ten Conference member Northwestern. She also has gained CalHiSports.com State Athlete of the Week honors for softball performances, most notably what she did in last week's Livermore Stampede.

(Read full post)

Some boys dream of playing in the major leagues but this week's boys winner is a throwback type who dreams of coming home some day to follow in his mentor's footsteps.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

This week's honoree, J.J. Baccari from Marina of Huntington Beach, has two things in common with last week's boys' winner, J.D. Salles of Clovis West in Fresno.

The first is fairly obvious. Both go by initials instead of their given first name of which J.J.'s is John Joseph.

"My grandma starting calling me J.J. ever since I was born and its stuck,” Baccari told CalHiSports.com.

The second thing the past two honorees have in common is pretty obvious as well. Both were chosen as the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Boys State Athlete of the Week for the exact same reasons.

They're both team leaders and main cogs on top 10 state-ranked teams, both had monster weeks prior to the award, each is an excellent student, and both are close to their coach and see him as a mentor.

However, as is the case with every student-athlete ever appearing in this feature, Baccari's circumstances and everything about him are unique, and his story is interesting and heartwarming.

The most unique thing about Baccari right now is he's got one of the hottest bats in the state and it's a big reason why the Vikings began this week at 16-2 (currently 17-2) and were ranked No.6 in the CalHiSports.com overall state rankings.

Last week in a 16-4 victory on the road at Fountain Valley he did something that will etch his name into the next edition of the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Record Book and Almanac alongside 12 others who have accomplished the same feat.

Four times Baccari came to the plate and each time he touched the ball in fair play he got to sing the John Fogarty lyrics from Put me in coach, "to hit the ball and touch 'em all.” Now, with the previous dozen, J.J. only trails Jesse Crosswhite (Fortuna), who hit five home runs in a game in 2000.

(Read full post)

Our second spring boys' honoree comes from a part of California's Central Valley where baseball is real big; and from a family that has the game in its blood.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Note: To send in a state athlete of the week nomination of your own, email info to mark@studentsports.com. Each week, the final choice is made at approximately 12 noon on Monday.

It takes more than one player to be the top team in your section and No. 5 overall in the most recent CalHiSports.com state baseball rankings.

And while the Central Section's Golden Eagles of Clovis West have many talented players, the one with the most outstanding prowess on the diamond is this pitcher and utility infielder.

Generally regarded as a top-notch hurler it was J.D. Salles' bat and his arm that were responsible for him being named this week's ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Boys Athlete of the Week.

	JD Salles

(Read full post)

Our second spring girls' honoree is the complete package. The best thing right now is her microscopic ERA but someday she might be using a microscope and other similar tools to pursue her career.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

 Note: To send in a state athlete of the week nomination of your own, email info to mark@studentsports.com. Each week, the final choice is made at approximately 12 noon on Monday.

Her ERA isn't quite as perfect as her Panthers' 18-0 record but at 0.06 and with opposing hitters batting an anemic .045 against her, it's no wonder Cassidy Coleman from Horizon High of San Diego has established herself as one of the San Diego Section's top hurlers.

Just having those types of numbers from the circle would qualify her for this award, but besides her pitching prowess there's a lot more to this bright, delightful and articulate young woman.

	Cassidy Coleman

(Read full post)

Our first boys' winner for the spring season is a centerfielder who has gone way outside the box by playing baseball – and we don't mean the batters box where he's a terror.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Note: To send in a state athlete of the week nomination of your own, email info to mark@studentsports.com. Each week, the final choice is made at approximately 12 noon on Monday.

We played a small April Fools Day joke on Trayce Thompson that we only admitted to Eagles' coach Kris Jondle two days later in a Friday morning interview.

When we called to interview Thompson the morning of April 1, the idea was to pretend we didn't know hardly anything about his brother and nothing about his father.

Over the 25-plus years of covering preps, we've found many student-athletes with famous relatives, especially famous dads.

	Trayce Thompson

We wanted to find out where Trayce's head was at. We then asked questions about his family.

Isn't your brother the guy who scored 37 points and set the record for three-point shots made (7) in a state Div. III championship basketball game last year?

"That's right,” said Thompson.

"He's at Washington State right now and he's the best freshman guard in the nation,” continued Trayce, talking about Klay. Trayce never mentioned that he, too, was a member of the Santa Margarita Catholic team that took a 72-55 decision from Sacramento.

When we asked about his dad, not only did we find him open and humble, but also possessing a dry wit type of humor.

Your dad, was he an athlete? Did he play baseball?

"You could say that,” answered Trayce with a hint of satire to his voice. "If you look at him now – he said he played baseball, but I still don't believe him. When he talks general stuff, he's OK, but when he goes deep into baseball, oh man, he's so vague I can't take it sometimes.”

His dad has always been known to be a prankster and joker, but play baseball, and give expert advice?

They don't play a lot of baseball in the Bahamas, where his father was born, and there aren't many 6-10 baseball players.

There are, however, quite a few basketball players that tall and Mychal Thompson was one of the better ones. He came out of Minnesota as the No. 1 pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. He scored 12,810 points with 6,951 rebounds and 1,073 blocks in a 13-year pro career.

We'll get to more of his family and his dad later. Trayce earned ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Boys State Athlete of the Week honors because of his production in the batter's box and playing the outfield.

Last week, in a 4-2 victory on the road at Mater Dei, Thompson smacked two solo-shot home runs to lead the Eagles to an upset of the then No. 1 team in the state.

Even after CalHiSports.com's Mr. Kibosh saw him go 0 for 2 with a walk in an 8-1 home loss April 1 to Orange Lutheran, his overall numbers are still impressive.

Through that setback, Thompson is hitting .324 with 11 hits, four of which are round-trippers. Nine of his 11 hits went for extra bases, which translates into a .912 slugging percentage.

"That kid is an unbelievable talent. He can put a charge in the ball,” said Orange Lutheran coach Eric Borba, who was at De La Salle (Concord) before returning to his native Southern California.

There are many baseball minds that say if you have potential in America's national pastime you should scrap all other sports.

Try telling that to a young man whose father was a pro star, not to mention two time NBA champion and whose brothers are legitimate hoops talents.

"He's kind of a late bloomer because his development slowed a bit with his playing basketball,” said Jondle.

"He's always been a baseball guy first, but last year he wanted to play one more year with his brother. When the guys play basketball it means they come in late, especially last year with the team going all the way,” remarked the coach.

"This year its been a big plus with him committing to baseball only,” said Jondle, a counselor at Santa Margarita Catholic for five years and in his fourth year as head coach after coming over from St. John Bosco (Bellflower), where he was the head baseball coach for eight years.

"Having him with us full time this past summer for American Legion and Connie Mack and for fall ball has greatly improved his game,” continued the skipper, who feels after talking to Major League scouts that Thompson could go high in the major league draft.

"By not playing basketball his arm has gone from average to A-plus and he's swinging the bat really well. With his body type and now all the well-rounded tools the scouts like him,” said Jondle proudly.

With a 6-10 father and two 6-6 brothers, Trayce is a well-chiseled at 6-4, 200 pounds with long gazelle-like strides in the outfield.

While others had trouble in the wind and late afternoon glare of the Santa Margarita Catholic ballpark, Thompson looked like he was playing catch in his back yard. He reminded us of former Major-Leaguer Andre Dawson, who had almost the identical build Trayce has now.

"Thank you, it's cool, it's great and I really appreciate the award and recognition and I talked about it with my friends. Even though some hype is good, it's not about the hype,” said Thompson in another somewhat humble moment.

"Right now my focus is on my senior season,” continued Trayce. "We set some goals as a team and one of them is to make the playoffs, which we haven't done since I've been in high school. We want to win league and I think we can.”

Even though he has Major League scouts breathing down his neck, Thompson shrugged it off and wanted to talk more about his team, his college commitment and his family.

"Robert Kelly. He is the absolute man,” said Trayce with conviction. "With all these great teams he never gets any hype, but I'll take Robert over anybody in this league. We've always depended on Robert and he's worked his butt off.”

Thompson may have had the long balls against Mater Dei, but it was pitcher (and sometimes first baseman) Kelly who handcuffed them at the plate. He went all the way and, although he gave up eight hits and two runs including a homer, he struck out 10 and got the Monarchs' batters to out at crucial junctures.

On the season the 6-1, 200-pound Kelly is 4-0 with a save in five appearances and has an ERA of 1.96. With aluminum in hand he's batting .438 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. Not shabby, in what is arguably the best baseball league in the state.

Even Trayce admitted he had to share the award with Kelly and his other teammates.

"And Nick Wagner; I've got to get a plug in for Nick. Without him I wouldn't be playing baseball,” said Thompson whose known Wagner since before high school.

Wagner, a 6-3, 210-pound outfielder is hitting .385 with five RBIs and one home run.

"Our whole team is real close knit and we love and pick on each other. That's one of the big reasons we can compete so well,” said Trayce.

Thompson is not only excelling on the field, but also in the classroom at the academically challenging Orange County school.

His 3.0 GPA and skills on the field have earned him a scholarship to UCLA, where he will be under the tutelage of head coach John Savage and chief lieutenant Rick Vanderhook.

"It's a great place, we have a great class coming in that's intriguing and the coaches flattered me,” remarked Thompson. "Other coaches told me Vanderhook makes players better and on the visits it was the perfect place.”

But what about the guys with the dark glasses, radar guns, notepads and checkbooks, who represent Major League clubs and hang out around top high school prospects?

"Money is always a big issue,” said Thompson, who told CalHiSports.com that since playing on the Angles Elite team last fall, he's had contact from almost every Major League club.

"I'm really not sure what it would take. I just haven't given it much thought. Right now I just want to focus on my senior season.”

"It will probably take second or third round money in the high hundreds (of thousands),” said Jondle, in describing the kind of offer that would cause Trayce to possibly forego his college career.

When we seriously got down to talking about Thompson's family, there was enough information to write a book.

His father Mychal is still involved with basketball as the Los Angeles Lakers' radio color commentator, a position he's held for five years.

His mother Julie initially answered the phone the morning of April 1 and asked if we'd call back. "It's a madhouse around here with Trayce's brother,” she said.

What we didn't know at the time was the previous day, Tony Bennett, the Washington State coach, had resigned to take the job at Virginia, leaving the team and players like Klay, in flux.

Speaking of Julie, she was a track and volleyball star in high school and earned a scholarship to theUniversity of San Francisco for volleyball.

She raised three boys for many years by herself when Mychal was on the road doing broadcasting work for the Minnesota Timberwolves, after he retired from playing.

"She's been so supportive of all of us, raising three kids, especially when our dad was away from home. I remember in the fifth grade she was driving us three boys to different practices all at the same time,” Trayce said with pride and passion.

That brings us to the third brother, Mychel, or "Mikie” as Trayce called him. He's the oldest of the three and at 6-6, makes Trayce the shortest in the family, as well as the baby.

Mychel played for Jerry DeBusk at Santa Margarita Catholic and is currently a starting forward at Pepperdine, where he is a junior.

"I don't need a lot of hype. I just want to make a name for myself in baseball,” said Trayce in a tone that suggested he knows he's going against the grain of the family.

On advice for up-and-comers, Trayce had some solid words.

"Never doubt yourself,” he said matter-of-factly. "First of all have the confidence you can play with anybody. Come to the plate knowing you can hit. If you don't believe you're the best player on the field,you can't be the best player on the field.”

"And hustle,” continued Thompson. "Always hustle. The UCLA coaches saw me hustle and how I ran on and off the field. That's what's important to them.”

"And finally, get your work done in the classroom. I know the best players that can't make it in class. They're always talking about getting drafted, but don't have grades for college. Grades are a safety net in life.”

With everything going on in Trayce's life he hasn't yet decided what he will study in college.

"I'm excited to be going to UCLA and who knows about pro baseball,” he said with sincerity.

"If it doesn't work out for me, I'd like to get into coaching. I breathe and sweat baseball. I love baseball.”

And the Eagles' fans out in Rancho Santa Margarita love Trayce for his hustle, work ethic, lightning quick bat, strong arm and for bringing some recognition to their baseball team.

One person that's no April's fool is Trayce Thompson, he is the real deal.

This week's boys' honoree was busy packing for a trip to Arco. Soon, he'll be packing for the "land of 10,000 lakes.”

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

It was almost as hard to corral this week's winner for an interview as it is to contain him on the hardwood.

It was cell phone to cell phone, one car to another. CalHiSports.com pulled over and Torrance Bishop Montgomery's Justin Cobbs, our State Athlete of the Week, wasn't driving.

Between schoolwork, practice and trying to get ready to hit the road, Cobbs had a busy week.

The reason it was so busy is he and his Knights teammates were one of only 10 high school boys' basketball teams in the state still in action.

A big part of the reason Bishop Montgomery is in the Division IV state championship game on Saturday morning against Salesian (Richmond) is because of this 6-1 Minnesota-bound point guard.

Mind you, the Knights are by no means a one-man team.

(Read full post)

Our honoree this week is a young lady from a school that launched the careers of a couple of pretty good big girls. Although she's not big in stature, she came up big-time in the D4 NorCal title game.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Editor's Note: To send in an athlete of the week nomination of your own, send info to mark@studentsports.com. Selections are made each week on Monday at approximately 12 p.m. You can also contact writer Harold Abend at marketingharold@yahoo.com.

According to the pundits and prognosticators, it was supposed to be Bishop's of La Jolla against St. Mary's of Berkeley for the Division IV state title in the early morning game this Saturday at Arco. First, down south, Bishop's was upset by Mater Dei of Chula Vista.

At around the same time that was happening at Cal State Fullerton, a 5-8 point guard was working her magic on the hardwood at Folsom High. Brandi Henton caught our eye in this past Girls of Summer rankings, but although she looked promising for an incoming junior, she was ranked in the bottom half of the 200 girls who earned an evaluation.

That's still pretty darn good since only 200 of 700-800 girls who are noted out of over 3,000 observed even get a ranking. What's transpired since is no surprise.

(Read full post)

We had to hold the posting of this past week's boys honoree because of regional basketball coverage but that doesn't make him any less deserving. Besides, young Mr. McCovey, two-time CIF state heavyweight wrestling champ, isn't someone you want annoyed with you.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Editor's note: To send in your own state athlete of the week nomination, email highlights to mark@studentsports.com. Each week, the selections are made no later than Monday afternoon. Feel free to email writer Harold Abend at marketingharold@yahoo.com.

While we regularly refer to an athlete as the linchpin of their team, big grappler Roger McCovey from Del Norte High of Crescent City is literally the linchpin of pins and a hero in his Humboldt-Del Norte community.

The just released ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Record Book & Almanac has several pages dedicated to boys wrestling.

Although he currently doesn't adorn the freshly printed pages of the book, McCovey will be added in the next edition and his name will appear in more than one spot. He wrestles as a heavyweight in the 285-pound division but although McCovey is 6-foot-3 1/2 and 240 pounds he is often outweighed by many opponents.

	Roger McCovey

We weren't sure last week's girls honoree and this week's would meet in the Southern Division I Regionals when we chose the new winner on Monday, but they did.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Note: This story was posted before Colony of Ontario played Cajon of San Bernardino in the Division I South regional semifinals. To nominate a state athlete of the week of your own, send info by Monday at 12 noon each week to mark@studentsports.com. You also can email writer Harold Abend at marketingharold@yahoo.com.

Colony of Ontario basketball standout Camille Buckley, the latest ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Girls Athlete of the Week, says she's never nervous.

And why should she be? So far in the postseason playoffs the 6-foot forward/center has taken care of business.

Starting with the Southern Section Div-IA semifinal 68-59 victory over Ayala (Chino Hills), Buckley has been dominating opponents.

Against Ayala she had 27 points and 16 rebounds.

In the 76-59 title game victory over Canyon Springs of Moreno Valley last Saturday at Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Buckley scored 30 points and once again she cleaned the glass for 16 rebounds.

Camille saw limited action in the Southern Regional D1 opening round 65-38 victory against Washington Prep (Los Angeles) but she still managed another double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Then in the quarterfinals against Chatsworth on Tuesday, and matched up against last week's CalHiSports.com State Girls Athlete of the Week, Cal-signee Gennifer Brandon, Camille came through again, and although she didn't have a double-double, she caused plenty of trouble for Brandon and the Chancellors.

Buckley had 18 points with eight rebounds, and although Brandon had 23 rebounds, she could only muster eight points in the 61-53 Colony victory.

So far this season, Buckley is averaging 22 points and 13 rebounds a game

"Camille was a big force in the hole down low against Chatsworth – came up with some great boards and blocks down the stretch that were pivotal in the outcome of the game,” said Titans Coach Edward Taylor, who in 37 years of coaching in the Ontario/Pomona area is as far as we know, the only coach to record a Southern Section championship in both girls and boys basketball.

Now in his second year as a walk-on at Colony while teaching health science at Diamond Ranch in Pomona, Taylor has his second consecutive section title to add to the 1991 boys Div. IIIA title at Pomona, where his son Dedrique Taylor starred on the team that was a SoCal D3 runner-up. Dedrique is now the associate head coach at Arizona State.

Coach Taylor's nicknames for his current star and his past star and son are the same.

"When Dedrique was at Pomona we called him the 'chairman of the boards' and that's exactly what we call Camille,” said Taylor with pride in his voice.

"The greatest things about Camille are she comes from a great family with great parents, she has a humble spirit, she's very coachable and consistent,” remarked Taylor.

"Plus, she's extremely tough in the paint,” he continued. "Her ability to get up and down rebound-wise makes it easy for us. She can go to the glass and has an innate ability to snag rebounds and get putbacks.”

All this coupled with a 3.7 GPA has translated into a scholarship to play basketball and study at Loyola-Marymount.

Before then and before this story was written, Buckley faced the biggest game of her life, up against another Cal-signee and former ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Girls Athlete of the Week, Layshia Clarendon, of nationally-ranked San Bernardino Cajon.

Part of the reason for Camille's confidence may be the support of her biggest fans, her family, and the fact she has her little sister, Colony freshman Janiece Buckley, on the team with her.

"We're really close,” said Camille about Janiece. "She's been there for me off the court and on the court to encourage me and help calm me down when I'm frustrated.”

"I think she looks up to me as a big sister and role model because of the example I'm setting for her of the things I'm doing right on the court and in the classroom,” Buckley told CalHisSports.com

Camille also has another little sister, 11-year-old Vanessa.

"She plays basketball too,” said Buckley proudly.

Camille's father, Jared, a refrigeration mechanic, played football in high school.

Her mother, Lorraine, a public health nurse, didn't play sports.

"She's the only one in the family who isn't an athlete,” said Camille with a giggle.

Another reason for an apparent lack of nerves is Buckley has confidence in her teammates.

"We have really good chemistry,” she remarked.

Co-captain Jazmyne White, a 5-9 senior guard, has shared the captaining duties with Camille. She is averaging over 13 points and six rebounds a game. Against Chatsworth she had a team-high 19 points.

"Jazmyne takes care of business. We work together really well and she compliments my game,” said Buckley about her teammate.

Another contributor has been Chaffey (Ontario) transfer Te' onna Campbell, a 6-foot guard that's been with the team since mid-December and who Buckley says brings added punch to the Titans' offense and defense.

Camille used to do the high jump, long jump and triple jump in track, but at her parents' urging she is not competing any more to concentrate on basketball, studies and moving on to college.

"My parents want me to preserve myself. They say I'm an investment,” she said somewhat wistfully about not being able to compete in track and field any longer.

With respect to what she wants to study at Loyola-Marymount or what career path she might take, Buckley is not quite sure at this point.

"I'm undecided right now and looking at several different fields of study. I do like graphic design, though. It's great, it's fun and I love it,” Buckley said joyfully.

"I can't explain how I feel about winning the award. I ran to my parents and told them I couldn't believe it when coach told me I was the ESPN CalHiSports player of the week. Thank you so much. It feels great,” said Buckley with sincerity in her voice.

Like every other honoree, Camille had words of advice for other up-and-coming young student athletes.

"You really have to work hard on the court and in the classroom; there's no other way,” said Buckley matter-of-factly.

"Also, you never know your ability and full potential at an early age, so if you want to get where you want to be, put your life into it.”

Camille Buckley is definitely an example of a young woman who is headed in the right direction.

Last week's boys' winner from the San Diego Section is the ultimate two-sport athlete since he's competing in both basketball and soccer at the same time of the year.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Editor's Note: We held up publishing this story in order to wait and see how honoree Trevor Newquist fared in his unique double-duty last Saturday. In the CIF San Diego Section Division I boys soccer final, he was credited with outstanding defense in helping Torrey Pines defeat Westview, 1-0, for the championship. Later in the evening, he wasn't as fortunate as Torrey Pines lost in the Division I section basketball final, 59-45, to El Camino of Oceanside. Trevor had four points and six rebounds in that game. To nominate a state athlete of the week of your own, send info by Monday at 12 noon each week to mark@studentsports.com. You also can email writer Harold Abend at marketingharold@yahoo.com.

If there's a word that goes beyond amazing or remarkable in describing what Trevor Newquist did on Saturday, March 7, it would have to be unbelievable.

At 2:15 in the afternoon the referee dropped the ball at midfield and two teams not in the top four seeds, Torrey Pines and neighboring Westview (San Diego), squared off at Valhalla (El Cajon) in the San Diego Section Division I championship soccer game.

Starting somewhere in the Torrey Pines lineup will be the linchpin of the team and one of its leading scorers with 12 goals, Trevor Newquist.

"Trevor can play anywhere, on defense or as a forward. He's truly fantastic. The complete package,” said Torrey Pines soccer coach Andy Hargreaves, a native of Manchester, England who came to the states at age-20 to attend Pt. Loma Nazarene College in San Diego.

On the road, Feb. 27 at third-seeded Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) in the quarterfinals, Newquist scored the only goal in a 1-0 upset.

"Oh my, a fantaaastic goal,” said Hargreaves, using the word fantastic again and drawing out the word like only the English can.(Read full post)