De Los Santos, Lowe to receive prestigious awards
Mercer County’s final high school basketball games of the year will once again serve as a backdrop for the presentation of two of the county’s most prestigious individual awards.
The CYO High School All Star games take place Sunday, Mar. 24 at the iconic CYO gymnasium on Broad Street in Trenton. The girls tip off at 1 p.m. and the boys are scheduled for 2:45. Between games, Ewing High’s Jaycee Lowe will receive the Renee Keister Award; while Hopewell Valley’s Milo De Los Santos will get the Jack Cryan Award.
Lowe, who was also The Trentonian’s Player of the Year, averaged 21.7 points this year while collecting 85 rebounds, 50 assists and 39 steals. She scored 1,425 career points. Her award will be presented by its namesake, Renee Balke (formerly Keister), a standout at McCorristin (now Trenton Catholic) High School in the early 80s whose career was cut short by an accident at home. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Keister’s courage and zeal allowed her to create productive life and, with husband Pete, raise a family of successful athletes.
Listening to Ewing coach Mike Reynolds, Lowe has those same qualities.
“Jaycee is such a wellrounded student athlete,” Reynolds said. “She is incredibly intelligent and hard-working, and has always been committed to team success over individual accolades. Jaycee was always an intense competitor during our toughest games and showed an ability to lead both verbally and by example.
“She is an excellent student and someone who gets along well with all different types of people. Jaycee never backed down from challenging situations and based on her approach to each day it’s no mistake that she’s been successful, which I’m sure will only continue in the years to come. We have been very fortunate to have her as a person and player at Ewing the last four years.”
De Los Santos was the driving force behind a Bulldogs team that was expected to rebuild, but ended up going 18-8 thanks to its senior swingman. De Los Santos averaged 21.5 points and made 62 3-pointers, and his hustle was reminiscent of Jack Cryan himself. Cryan was a standout at Notre Dame and Rider before cancer ended his life at an early age. His award will be presented by Brian O’Reilly, a 1985 Cryan award winner for Notre Dame.
“Milo is a good choice for the award because he represents the character of Jack with the class, dedication and desire both on and off the court,” said HoVal coach Matt Stein, who was high school teammates with Cryan awardwinner Jeff Molinelli. “Milo always stayed composed and delivered under pressure even in our most physical games. His composure and confidence were a result of his tremendous work ethic during and out of season, which made him one of the most versatile guards in the league.
“The final piece that matched him with Cryan was the desire to win and to want to be the best possible player. From the offensive side to the defensive side Milo was all over the court. Besides the characteristics on the court, Milo’s leadership is also felt off the court. He is someone who wants to be a role model for future Bulldogs. He is always well mannered and respectful and wants to help any way he can. His attitude towards our family-type atmosphere is what set him apart and led to another successful year for us. Over the past three years it has been a privilege to coach Milo De Los Santos.”
Each award winner will take part in the All-Star games. For the girls, the Green Team is coached by Steinert’s Kristin Jacobs and the roster features Notre Dame’s Natalie Smith and Melanie Flowers, Steinert’s Natalie Mehl, Victoria Comfort and Jayda Bing, Hamilton’s Dami Adigun, Hopewell’s Meggy Wiley, Princeton’s Catherine Dyevich, Trenton’s N’Dia Stepps, Peddie’s Katie Rodriguez, Hun’s Jada Jones, West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Anvi Agarwal, Stuart’s BeyShanna Clark and Lowe.
The girls Red Team, coached by TCA’s Bob Fusik, includes ND’s Leah Johnson, Natalie Wright and Amy Jones, TCA’s Naomi Shorts and Habiba Elgizawy, Pennington’s Diamond Christian and Leah Johnson, Nottingham’s Sara Haas, Trenton’s Maliajah Robinson, Ewing’s MyAsia Jackson, Hightstown’s Vicky Velez, Allentown’s Giovanna Carotenuto and Lawrence’s Khalin Hemingway.
The boys Blue Team, coached by Trenton assistant Walt Kelly, is comprised of Trenton’s Elijah Kelly, Michael Davis and Jose Estevez, WW-PS’ Luke Burston, Ewing’s Caleb Stokes and Craig Wren, Hightstown’s Jeff Clark and Luke Vista, Steinert’s Mario Mazur, Hamilton West’s Richard Alexander, Hun’s Andrew Seager, Allentown’s Joe Baldachino, Lawrence’s Malik Southward, Lawrenceville’s Matan Zucker, Peddie’s Gabe Millstein and Pennington’s Bo Hartpence.
The Gray Team, coached by Robbinsville’s Conor Hayes, features ND’s Justin Yu and Michael Kane, TCA’s Lamar Burgess and Peter Sorber, Nottingham’s Derek Williams, Peddie’s Latrell Reid, Robbinsville’s Cory Bork, Ewing’s Delvon Doggett, Lawrence’s Jack O’Reilly, Hopewell’s Patrick Johnson and De Los Santos, Hun’s Shamar Florence and Eric Fleming, Lawrenceville’s Ryan Conroy, PDS’ Diggy Coit and Pennington’s Patrick Higgins.
Other awards that will be presented during the afternoon include Mike Novembre receiving the CYO John “Mincey” Manczak Referee of the Year Award, while the girls Most Valuable Player will receive the Sandra Valenza Oropel MVP Award and the boys honoree will receive the Andrew Kusnirik MVP Award. The game sponsors are IAABO Board 193, DJ Nebbs Entertainment and Doctors Express.