Southwest athletes awarded for highest GPA
This 2016-2017 winter sports season, three male athletes, Cameron Jungers, Jose Bernal and Julien Tabarez, were awarded by California Interscholastic Federation of San Diego for having the highest grade point average on their different teams.
The Cymer Award is an academic award given out by CIF during the sports season to juniors and seniors.
All the schools submit their players’ unweighted GPA and add them all together to determine which school has the highest GPA in their respective region.
Joe Evangelist, the Southwest athletic director is in charge of submitting the athletes’ grades.
“Our school was in boys’ basketball, boys’ soccer and boys wrestling. Of all those schools these three teams had the highest GPA of all the other schools in the inland region,” Evangelist said. “This is a program that CIF started five or six years ago. It’s just a way to honor and promote the concept of student athletes.”
The athletic coaches make sure to push the importance of maintaining a high grade to their athletes. If the athletes don’t comply, there can be consequences.
Basketball coach Jon Hinshaw said he makes sure all the players work hard in school and on the court.
“Coach Valenzuela, Coach Rubio and I tell (the players) ‘you need to take care of what you need to take care of in the classroom first. And if you do, that translates to you playing on the court without any conditions,’” Hinshaw said.
For some student athletes, it can be hard to balance sports and school. But Bernal, a 17-year-old junior, has created somewhat of a routine to keep is grades in check.
“It’s tough to handle school and sports at the same time but you have to balance your homework and studies with the work and effort you put into sports,” Bernal said. “I
usually get started on my school work during class and after school I go home and rest for a couple hours then head back to school to practice for another two hours. When I get out of practice I get home around 8 p.m. I shower and after go straight to my studies and homework and go to sleep around 11 p.m. or midnight. By the morning I’m tired, but it’s a routine.”
Jungers, a 17-yearold junior, said handling school and sports can be tough, but it’s all about
time management.
“Sports are important,” Jungers said. “But school is what’s actually going to do something important for me in my life, so I take pride in it.”
He said his motivation doesn’t just come from inside. His parents and coaches also push him.
“My parents motivate me a lot because they kinda keep me on track and help guide me. But they mostly just have me do everything on my own,” he said. “They (coaches) also
know schools a lot more important than sports, so they actually help a lot in keeping us all on track.”
Taberez, an 18-year-old senior on the wrestling team, was awarded for having the highest GPA in his team. He uses self-motivation and time management skills to handle both grades and activities.
“I’ve always been very competitive. My competitive nature pushes me to do my best,” he said. “My family motivates me because they always keep me on the
right track.”
Taberez said his favorite class was the First Responders, a pre-Emergency Medical Technician class taught by Andrea Corella.
Corella said he’s a good kid in class, could be quiet at times, but overall he’s a very intelligent student.
“This is his first time in the academy, so he didn’t really have the background of the other academy students but he’s actually meeting and exceeding his peers in the class as far as the knowledge that the
class has.” she said. “He’s a joy to have in class, he sits in the front, super easy to talk to, participates in class. He’s one of those dream students, he comes in and wants to learn, and he does he applies (his knowledge) in every lesson.”
Being able to balance school and sports isn’t easy, but although it may be difficult and demands time and sacrifice, the recognition for hard work is something students-athletes cherish.