St. John Bosco running back Sean McGrew followed up a sensational sophomore season on the gridiron by getting to the 100-meter state track final. Photo: Scott Kurtz.
Among those earning top state honors are Joe DeMers of College Park, Sean McGrew of St. John Bosco, Drew Anderson from Miramonte of Orinda and Nifae Lealao of Capital Christian. Anderson also gains first-ever State Three-Sport Athlete of the Year selection.
For announcement of the Cal-Hi Sports Boys 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 boys sport, CLICK HERE.
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Congratulations to the following boys for being selected as a 2013-14 Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Year:
SENIORS
Nick Nevills (Clovis) Football, Wrestling
Academically, our overall State Athlete of the Year was impressive as well. He was named the B’nai B’rith Student-Athlete Award winner in May as the Fresno area’s top scholar-athlete and had a composite GPA of 3.58.
Note: For other seniors who would be Athletes of Honor, please check below underneath each CIF division.
Joe DeMers has been outstanding in the more unusual combination of baseball and basketball. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Joe DeMers (College Park, Pleasant Hill) Basketball, Baseball
Our State Sophomore Athlete of the Year from last season followed it up with another impressive year in multiple sports. He was a finalist for our Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year after leading the Falcons to the CIF North Coast Section Division II championship. On the mound, he was 12-2 with a 0.65 ERA while striking out 94 in 86 innings. He also hit .371 with 32 runs batted in. After averaging 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds as a sophomore in basketball, he improved this season to marks of 17.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season.
More Junior Athletes of Honor:
T.J. DeFalco (Huntington Beach) volleyball; Matt Katnik (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) football, track; Keisean Lucier-South (Lutheran, Orange) football, basketball; Malik McMorris (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) football, track; Lars Nootbaar (El Segundo) football, baseball; Darrin Paulo (Grant, Sacramento) football, track; Victor Pham (Menlo School, Atherton) tennis; Ivan Rabb (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland) basketball; L.J. Reed (Cosumnes Oaks, Elk Grove) football, basketball; Josh Rosen (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) football; Justin Suh (Evergreen Valley, San Jose) golf; Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) wrestling.
SOPHOMORES
Sean McGrew (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) Football & Track
He rushing for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns last season in football and caught the attention of anyone that didn’t know who he was during the CIF Open Division playoffs. That’s when he rushed for 367 yards and seven touchdowns on 17 carries against Centennial of Corona. Already with offers from multiple Division I football teams, McGrew showed off his speed during the track season as well. He set a school record in the 100 meters and made it to the CIF state final. Ironically, leaving the door open for McGrew to take this honor this time was last year’s State Freshman Athlete of the Year, Aaron Pico, who was an undefeated state wrestling champion and also from St. John Bosco. Pico, however, has given up his remaining high school and college eligibility so he can wrestle freestyle and also to train for a possible career in MMA.
More Sophomore Athletes of Honor:
Devin Asiasi (De La Salle, Concord) football, basketball; Lonzo Ball (Chino Hills) basketball; Ben Hallock (Harvard-Westlake, North Hollywood) water polo; Mickey Moniak (La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad) baseball; Michael Norman (Vista Murrieta, Murrieta) track; Maxime Rooney (Granada, Livermore) swimming; Israel Saavedra (Modesto) wrestling.
FRESHMEN
Justin Mejia (Clovis) Wrestling
Another key member of the Cougars’ state championship winning wrestling team, Mejia was the lone freshman to capture a CIF state championship as he took home the title in the 106-pound division by defeating senior Chris Lacayo from Santiago of Corona by a 4-3 score in the finals. Mejia, who lost just once all season, will be one of several key wrestlers back next season as the Cougars look to try and capture their fifth straight state title. According to the CIF, he was just the 12th freshman in state history to win an individual title.
More Frosh Athletes of Honor:
Tyjon Lindsey (Poway) football, track; Tommy Palomera (Chatsworth) baseball; Cody Riley (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) basketball; Charlie Wehan (Aliso Niguel, Aliso Viejo) soccer.
Note: DeAndre Ayton (Balboa Prep, San Diego) for basketball was not eligible because he didn’t play for a high school or prep school team.
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:
Nick Nevills (Clovis) Wrestling
This is another category that most years falls automatically to the overall State Boys Athlete of the Year. That’s the case again this time with Nevills.
More Division I Athletes of Honor:
(Seniors Only) Joey Banks (Franklin, Elk Grove) football, wrestling; McQuin Baron (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) water polo; Coltin Gerhart (Vista Murrieta, Murrieta) football, baseball; Curtis Godin (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) track; Blake Haney (Stockdale, Bakersfield) cross country, track; Stanley Johnson (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) basketball; Tim Mehl (Loyola, Los Angeles) soccer; Nate Moore (Castro Valley) track; Marquis Morris (De La Salle, Concord) football, track; Kyle Plantier (Temecula Valley, Temecula) football, baseball;
DIVISION II SCHOOLS:
Alex Van Dyke (Cosumnes Oaks, Elk Grove) Football, Basketball
Outstanding on the gridiron and on the court, he already was our 2013-14 Grid-Hoop State Player of the Year after earning All-State honors in both sports. The son of a former NFL wide receiver, Van Dyke was third team all-state in football after catching 54 passes for 1,042 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Wolfpack. On the court, he averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds per game to earn Division II all-state honors for a team that reached the NorCal Division II regional finals.
More Division II Athletes of Honor:
(Seniors Only) Deven Boston (Buena Park) football, basketball; Kyle Gornay (Redlands) swimming; Damonte Holiday (Hoover, San Diego) football, basketball; Fred Huxham (Redwood, Larkspur) cross country, track; Jose Nuno (Oak Hills, Hesperia) soccer; Kevin Nutt (Edison, Fresno) football, track; Curtis Ogren (St. Francis, Mountain View) swimming; Rashaad Penny (Norwalk) football, basketball; Chandler Ramirez (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose) football, wrestling; Logan Webb (Rocklin) football, baseball.
DIVISION III SCHOOLS:
Drew Anderson (Miramonte, Orinda) Football, Basketball, Baseball
His success on the football field came as no surprise but his success on the basketball court and baseball diamond helped put him over the top for this honor as well as the East Bay Male Athlete of the Year award by the Contra Costa Times. Leading the Matadors to the CIF North Coast Section Division II championship, Anderson passed for 4,074 yards and 47 touchdowns. Averaging 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game on the basketball season, he was even better during the playoffs as he had 34 points and 20 rebounds in an upset win over Burlingame in the Northern Regional Division III quarterfinals. Anderson then ended the year playing organized baseball for the first time since eighth grade and hit .414. He was voted second team All-East Bay in that sport.
More Division III Athletes of Honor:
(Seniors Only) Robbie Berwick (Atascadero) football, basketball; Kaelin Crisosto (Enterprise, Redding) football, basketball; Aidan Goltra (Campolindo, Moraga) cross country, track; Miracle Tausaga (Mt. Miguel, Spring Valley) football, wrestling; Jacob Tuoti-Mariner (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) football, volleyball.
DIVISION IV SCHOOLS:
Adoree’ Jackson (Serra, Gardena) Football, Track
Our Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Football State Player of the Year did a bit of everything on the football field. The USC-bound speedster rushed for 639 yards and five touchdowns, caught 38 passes for 812 yards and seven scores while also returning kicks and scoring six more touchdowns. On defense, Jackson intercepted six passes and returned three of them for scores. While he got disqualified for viewing video on a cell phone that ended his hopes of winning a state championship in the long jump, Jackson still has hopes of qualifying for the Olympics in 2016. This is the second straight year he’s been D4 State AOW and the third straight year he’s been tops in at least one of our state athlete of the year categories.
More Division IV Athletes of Honor:
(Seniors Only) Andrew Celis (Marin Catholic, Kentfield) football, baseball; Bryce Dixon (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) football, basketball; Drew Miller (Stevenson, Pebble Beach) football, baseball; Victor Raigoza (Orland) football, wrestling; Derek Van Leeuwen (Ontario Christian) football, soccer, volleyball.
Nifae Lealao of Capital Christian of Sacramento is the honoree for Division V. Photo: Mark Tennis.
DIVISION V SCHOOLS:
Nifae Lealao (Capital Christian, Sacramento) Football, Basketball, Volleyball
It’s football that Nifae is best known for and it’s what he’ll play at Vanderbilt after he had 71 tackles and 3.5 sacks last season. But the big man showed he has some quick feet as he also played basketball and volleyball. While his numbers dropped a little on the court this season, he did average 9.9 points and 3.8 rebounds as a four-year varsity player for a team that went to the CIF NorCal Open Division final. Lealao also was a four-year varsity player on the volleyball team and had 43 kills this season.
More Division V Athletes of Honor:
(Seniors Only) Abu Danladi (Dunn, Los Olivos) soccer; Josh Davis (St. Margaret’s, SJ Capistrano) football, lacrosse; C.J. McCord (Sage Hill, Newport Beach) track; John Luke Reinke (Tri-City Christian, Vista) football, basketball; Alan Yoho (Flintridge Prep, La Canada) cross country; Colin Zeng (King’s Academy, Sunnyvale) diving.
THREE-SPORT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
Drew Anderson (Miramonte, Orinda)
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 (so we’ll be able to list Colin Kaepernick of Turlock Pitman for 2005-06), but for now we’ll start by naming Anderson as the honoree for the 2013-14 school year. He also has been selected as the 2013-14 Division III State Athlete of the Year.
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
