Abbey Weitzeil churns through the water for her team at Saugus. She’s been one of the state’s top girls swimmers since her freshman season. Photo: Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
We are doing one change this year and that’s making it a requirement for each divisional state athlete of the year to have competed for their school. Among those earning top state honors are Arianna Washington of Long Beach Poly, Abbey Weitzeil of Saugus and Courtney Corrin of Harvard-Westlake. We also are starting a new category: State Three-Sport Athlete of the Year.
For announcement of the Cal-Hi Sports Girls State Athlete of the Year for 2013-14, CLICK HERE.
For a rundown of every 2013-14 State Player of the Year or Performer of the Year in every CIF girls sport, CLICK HERE.
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Congratulations to the following girls for being selected as a 2013-14 Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Year:
SENIORS
Ariana Washington (Long Beach Poly) Track
The CIF state finals in Clovis turned out to be a crowning moment for Washington and her teammates. She blazed to victories in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in nation-leading times of 11.22 and 22.96 seconds and helped Poly win the 4×100 relay in a national best 45.19. From a historical perspective, Washington’s sprint double was her third in a row, a feat that has only been matched by all-time great Marion Jones, who did it four straight years. Washington, who will sprint next at the University of Oregon, also just finished second in the 100 at the USATF Junior Outdoor National Championships and will compete later this month at the IAAF World Junior Championships (which will be in Eugene).
Note: For other seniors who would be Athletes of Honor, please check below underneath each CIF division.
Christina Chenault from Carondelet of Concord starred in basketball and in track & field during 2013-14 school year. She is the younger sister of 2012-13 State Athlete of the Year Chelsea Chenault, who shined in swimming. Photo: Willie Eashman.
JUNIORS
Kyla Ross (Aliso Niguel, Aliso Viejo) Gymnastics
As the overall State Athlete of the Year, Ross also becomes the de-facto pick among all junior girls. Only injuries probably will derail her from taking top honors among all Class of 2015 girls next year.
More Junior Athletes of Honor: Christina Chenault (Carondelet, Concord) basketball, track; MaKenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach) water polo; Lauren Heyn (Del Oro, Loomis) basketball, track; Hayley Hodson (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) volleyball; Kat Klass (San Ramon Valley, Danville) water polo; Katie McLaughlin (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) swimming; Ma’ane Mosley (St. Mary’s, Berkeley) basketball, track; Taylor McQuillin (Mission Viejo) softball; Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) basketball; Abbey Weitziel (Saugus) swimming;
SOPHOMORES
Courtney Corrin (Harvard-Westlake, North Hollywood) Soccer & Track
Last year’s State Freshman Athlete of the Year continued to make strides in both soccer and track and despite being one of the best sophomores in the nation in both sports there doesn’t seem to be a desire yet for one to be given up. Corrin earned All-CIF Southern Section Division I honors in soccer for a 20-2-2 team that lost in the semifinals on penalty kicks to eventual champion Santa Margarita. Corrin scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga in the second-round. In track, Corrin was the L.A. Daily News Athlete of the Year. She was second at the CIF state meet in the long jump at 20-0.25 and also ended with the fourth best mark for the season in the nation at 20-8.25. In addition, Corrin helped the Wolverines finish fourth in the 4×100 relay and she had a top mark of 43.66 seconds in the 300 hurdles.
More Sophomore Athletes of Honor: Polina Edmonds (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose) figure skating; Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte, Orinda) basketball; Katie Kibby (Vacaville) softball; Andrea Lee (Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach) golf; Mecca McGlaston (Dublin) track; Fiona O’Keeffe (Davis) cross country, track; Ena Shibahara (Peninsula, RH Estates) tennis.
FRESHMEN
Reonna Collier (Piedmont Hills, San Jose) Track
In her first year of hurdling, Collier proved to be a sensation. At the CIF state meet, she ripped off an amazing time of 40.90 – the 10th best in state history even including seniors – and won the first of what could be plenty of individual state titles. In the same meet, Collier also was fourth in the 100 hurdles and ran a leg on Piedmont Hills’ 4×400 relay team that finished second. The San Jose Mercury News Girls Track Athlete of the Year also became the first freshman to win four events at the CIF Central Coast Section finals.
More Frosh Athletes of Honor: Ayanna Clark (Long Beach Poly) basketball; Tara Davis (Agoura, Agoura Hills) track; Kaelin Roberts (Long Beach Poly) track; Taylon Snow (Chino Hills) softball; Brooke Wynalda (Westlake, Westlake Village) soccer; Angel Yin (Arcadia) golf.
Coach and trainer Chris Asher works with state stat stars and players from state-ranked teams of all ages, helping them to improve their speed, quickness and agility. He is based in Hollywood, also has a role with the UCLA track program and serves athletes within many miles of his location. For more about him, CLICK HERE. For a video about his Gold Medal Excellence training program, CLICK HERE.
DIVISION I SCHOOLS:
Abbey Weitzeil (Saugus) Swimming
This selection also could have easily gone to Long Beach Poly’s Ariana Washington, but we simply decided instead of writing her up twice (she’s the senior girl athlete of the year) that we’d rather spread it around and give out an honor to Weitzeil, a junior from Saugus who otherwise wouldn’t have gotten any of the major statewide athlete of the year honors since Kyla Ross also is a junior. Weitzeil set national high school records in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle on her way to winning her third consecutive CIF Southern Section Division I titles in both events. Although she won’t have the opportunity to compete at the world championships like last year’s Girls State Athlete of the Year, Chelsea Chenault from Carondelet of Concord, Weitzeil will likely make the U.S. national team this summer that will compete in August at the Pan Pacific Championships. It was a close call between Weitzeil and Santa Margarita’s Katie McLaughlin (another national elite swimmer) but Weitzeil had the edge in four of six high school events and set two national records compared to one.
More Division I Athletes of Honor: (Seniors Only) Sarah Baxter (Simi Valley) cross country, track; Morgan Bertsch (Santa Rosa) basketball, track; MacKenzie Cerda (Edison, Huntington Beach) soccer; Johanna Grauer (Amador Valley, Pleasanton) softball; Chanell Hoffman (Santiago, Corona) volleyball; Crissy Jones (Los Alamitos) volleyball; Geralynn Leaupepe (Camarillo) basketball, track; Geraldynn Leaupepe (Camarillo) basketball, track; Taylor Nelson (Granite Bay) volleyball; Amy Okonkwo (Etiwanda) basketball, track.
DIVISION II SCHOOLS:
Stamatia Scarvalis (Dos Pueblos, Goleta) Track & Field
This is the division that Aliso Niguel and Kyla Ross would have fallen into had we not decided to change up our criteria a bit and make it a requirement for each state division honoree to be a competitor for one’s school. Scarvalis recently cemented her status as one of the greatest throwers in state history by winning her third straight CIF state title in the shot put and her second in a row in the discus. Her best mark in the shot of 53-9.25 also is No. 2 on the all-time state list and was No. 2 in the nation. In the discus, she reached 172-7, which also was No. 2 in the nation. After the CIF state meet, Scarvalis went to an unofficial state hammer throw competition where she won with a toss of 161-6. She will compete next at UCLA.
More Division II Athletes of Honor: (Seniors Only) Kailey Hill (Ramona) golf, basketball, softball; Bethan Knights (Northwood, Irvine) cross country, track.
Junior Makenzie Fischer led Laguna Beach to a 30-1 record last fall. Photo: LagunaBeach.com.
DIVISION III SCHOOLS:
Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach) Water Polo
Makenzie, a junior, follows in a very strong group of world-class water polo players coming from the Golden State, including 2012 State Athlete of the Year Maggie Steffens (a standout at the 2012 Summer Olympics for the U.S. national team). Makenzie, in fact, is currently playing with Steffens on the U.S. national team this summer and has been among the U.S. team’s leading scorers. Last fall, she was named the CIF Southern Section Division I player of the year. Based on its enrollment and placement in other sports, however, we have put Fischer and Laguna Beach in D3 for athlete of the year consideration.
More Division III Athletes of Honor: (Seniors Only) Talisha Dozier (Mt. Miguel, Spring Valley) volleyball, wrestling, track; Megan Reid (Miramonte, Orinda) soccer, basketball; Taylor VanZee (Hemet) volleyball, softball;
DIVISION IV SCHOOLS:
Jordin Canada (Windward, Los Angeles) Basketball
The Cal-Hi Sports Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year led Windward to two wins over eventual CIF Open Division champ Long Beach Poly although her team was upset later on by Etiwanda. She ended with 16.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game. In the McDonald’s All-America Game, the UCLA-bound standout had 10 points and seven assists for winning team and easily could have been MVP.
More Division IV Athletes of Honor: (Seniors Only) Mariya Moore (Salesian, Richmond) basketball; Maddy Price (Menlo School, Atherton) track; Lexi Tubbs (Modesto Christian) basketball, track.
DIVISION V SCHOOLS:
Lindsey Engel (Crean Lutheran, Irvine) Swimming
Before she got to Crean Lutheran, the school had no swimming team. But now on her way to Stanford, after essentially starting the program by herself, Crean Lutheran has won back-to-back CIF Southern Section title. Engel also ended her prep career with eight CIFSS individual titles plus two all-time Orange County records. She also has had international experience from the 2013 World Junior Championships. She already has been named the Orange County Small Schools Girls Athlete of the Year.
Another Division V Athlete of Honor: (Seniors Only) Julia Maxwell (Branson, Ross) cross country, track.
THREE-SPORT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
Sarah Robinson (Gunn, Palo Alto)
This is a new category for this year, celebrating those who have made the difficult choice of being on three separate teams for their school. We’ll eventually add a list to the state record book for each year as well. For now, we’ll start by naming Robinson as the honoree for the 2013-14 school year. She is headed to Stanford as part of what some believe is the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation for women’s soccer. She played for the U.S. U-17 national team in 2012 that won the CONCACAF title and is regarded as one of the most promising players in the U.S. U-18 national pool. Many in the Bay Area, though, know her for cross country and track. Robinson placed fourth in the CIF Division I state cross country final, then in the spring placed first and second at the CIF state meet in track in the 1600 and 3200. Although her win in the 1600 was aided when two front-runners – Anna Maxwell of San Lorenzo Valley and Destiny Collins of Temecula Great Oak – collided and fell, she still clocked 4:44.25 and went 10:12.40 in the 3200. Many who try that double fade in the 3200. In the CIF Central Coast Section finals, Robinson led Gunn to the team title with a first in the 3200, a second in the 1600 and a fifth in the 800. She already has been selected as the San Jose Mercury News Girls Athlete of the Year.
Note: Thanks to Erik Boal of the L.A. Daily News for contributing opinions. Erik happened to have seen just about every girl on our list through his various assignments during the school year, including the best in tennis and golf.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
