They’re making the grade
From the Salernos to the Ebiriekwes, these athletic brothers excel in the classroom.
All-league in football. Allleague in soccer. Starter in lacrosse. Student-body president with a 4.67 gradepoint average. All A’s in four years of high school.
Senior Matthew Salerno of Encino Crespi probably needs a cot to sleep on because he seemingly never leaves campus.
“I spend my life pretty much here,” he said.
Ditto for his younger brother, Christopher, a freshman who plays the same three sports. Their older brother, Michael, a freshman at Southern Methodist, did the same. All three were A students. In fact, Matthew and Christopher are straight-A students. Michael had a 4.57 GPA but got a couple of Bs.
“How do I explain it? I don’t know,” their father, Mike, said. “They work very hard. Their mom is an elementary school teacher. We’ve tried since an early age to tell them it’s more important what you do in the classroom than on the field. We often look at each other and wonder where they came from.”
Mike and his older brother, Butch, were football standouts at Crespi. Matthew was Crespi’s top receiver last season and will walk on at Notre Dame. All three boys love being multisport athletes.
“That’s just how we roll,” Matthew said. “We don’t know any other way.”
Catholic schools such as Crespi rely on families to send them all their siblings, from oldest to youngest. At least that’s how it was done in the 1980s and 1990s. Crespi sports programs flourished behind families such as the Faurias, Kielings and others.
The Salernos have kept that tradition going. If only people could take a tour of the family house, you’d think you were visiting a sporting goods store.
Christopher will be all alone come the fall. The pressure will be on to keep getting A’s. No big deal for a Salerno brother.
Big on academics
In the Crenshaw home where the Ebiriekwe brothers grew up, the family edict is that education is key. The three brothers’ report cards prove the point.
Kevin is a 6-foot-6 senior basketball player for Crenshaw, averaging 19 points with a 3.2 grade-point average. Steven is a 6-7 junior also playing basketball and an honors student. The oldest, Chemize, is a 6-5 former basketball player who’s student-body president at San Diego State.
“My parents are very big on academics and education so we can have great opportunities,” Kevin said of his mother and father, who came from Nigeria.
Crenshaw (21-6, 8-0 Coliseum League) has won 16 City Section titles in upperdivision basketball. The Cougars won consecutive Division I titles after the creation of the Open Division the last two seasons. They want to play in the Open Division this season.
A win over View Park Prep on Feb. 7 should do it.
Nike Extravaganza
In case no one has noticed, there have been few long lines at gyms this season of people trying to get into basketball games.
“The circus has left the town,” one Chino Hills fan said.
Yes, LaVar Ball and LaMelo Ball are attracting attention in Lithuania. Meanwhile, Chino Hills has moved on. The Huskies are 14-8 and led by 6-9 junior Onyeka Okongwu.
They will be in the featured game against host Santa Ana Mater Dei at 8:45 p.m. Saturday in the annual Nike Extravaganza. There are nine games scheduled and plenty of seats to fill.
Coaching honor
Robert Garrett of Crenshaw was selected the NFL’s high school football coach of the year at the Pro Bowl. The Don Shula Award brings a $15,000 donation to the football program. Garrett was nominated by the Chargers.