Athletes honored at AOTW Awards Banquet
EL CENTRO — The athletic community of Imperial County came together to celebrate the achievements of student-athletes from throughout the 2017-18 school year during the sixth annual Athlete of the Week Awards Banquet at Old Eucalyptus Schoolhouse on Wednesday night.
The event recognized almost 80 kids who earned the title of Athlete of the Week from Imperial Valley Press during the school year and also celebrated the achievements of the various coaches who helped make the past year an extraordinary triumph for sports throughout the Valley. A total of seven awards were up for grabs, including Coach of the Year, Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Jr. Male and Jr. Female Athletes of the Year and Readers’ Choice Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Southwest High’s John Mitosinka was presented with the Coach of the Year honor, after leading the football team to an appearance in the CIF State Div. 4-A title game. One of Mitosinka’s players, Tyler Saikhon, took home the Male Athlete of the Year honor.
Saikon had a standout year in football, basketball and track and field. He competed in a CIFSan Diego Section final in all three sports.
While Saikhon helped make headlines for Southwest, Logan Nemlowill did the same for Brawley Union High, and for her efforts was named the Female Athlete of the Year.
Nemlowill helped Brawley’s volleyball team to an undefeated league title, was recognized as the league Player of the Year. In swimming, she helped break multiple relay records and was named to the All-IVL Swim team in three events: the 200 medley relay, the 200 free relay and the 100 breast.
The Junior Athlete of the Year honors highlighted some of the Valley’s youngest talent in Sophie Ruiz and Dominic Lerma. Ruiz was recognized for her efforts on the softball field, while Lerma was celebrated for his talent in the pool.
Ruiz was a member of the Imperial Valley Girls’ Softball League 8U All-Star team and helped the squad to a runner-up finish in the USA Softball Southern California 8-and-under All Star District Tournament.
In that tourney, Ruiz finished with a .833 batting average and tallied two home runs, five runs scored and six RBIs.
Lerma dominated in the boys’ 11-to-12-yearold division of the El Centro Sunsations’ annual swim invite last summer, where he competed in five events and took first place in all of them: the 50 fly, 50 back, 100 individual medley, 50 breast and 50 free.
Rounding out the winning student-athletes were the Readers’ Choice winners Eduardo Valenzuela and Georgia Gomez.
Valenzuela is a recent Vincent Memorial Catholic High School graduate who was recognized as an Athlete of the Week last fall for his efforts on the school’s football team. Overall, Valenzuela helped the Scots to a Manzanita League title, a CIF-San Diego Section Div. V title, a regional championship and an appearance in the state football final.
He also helped Vincent Memorial’s boys’ soccer team to a Manzanita League title and an appearance in the CIF-San Diego Section Div. V final. Gomez, meanwhile, was recognized for her efforts in the water.
The Frank Wright Middle School seventh-grader was recognized as Athlete of the Week on July 15, 2017, after she competed in the max of four events, and went home with four first-place finishes at the annual meet hosted by the Brawley Sunstrokers.
Gomez competed in and won the 50 fly, 50 breast, 50 back and 50 free in the “A” Division for the Sea Lions, Imperial’s swim team.
At the event, the winners and attendees were also joined by 2014 Southwest High graduate Brandon Crabtree, who served as the keynote speaker and shared his story of tragedy and triumph with the sport of swimming.
In 2012 Crabtree missed the Olympic trials by less than one hundredth of a second and stepped away from the sport for four years. He described struggling to find his place out of the water.
During his four-year break, the 22-year-old said he was even asked to leave his parents’ house due to his behavioral issues and resorted to living in his car before deciding to get back in the water with encouragement from his mother.
“She told me that when you do good deeds in life, good things will follow,” he said.
In 2016 Crabtree made a triumphant return to the water and earned All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference First Team honors, Conference Swimmer of the Year and set new records in the 50 free and 100 free at the conference championships for San Diego Mesa.
In 2018, Crabtree earned repeat honors as PCAC Swimmer of the Year, State Swimmer of the Year and broke a national collegiate record in the 100 fly.
Crabtree urged the student-athletes present to go after their goals and not be distracted by the success or opinions of others.
“Show them what you are made of,” he said.