Celebrating the accomplishments of local college athletes . . .

Last week I recapped the top 10 events of the college sports season. Now it’s on to the individual performances, most of which were pivotal in the strong finishes of their teams.

1. Jessica Granados, Sr., Cal State San Bernardino volleyball – The Beaumont High School alum led the Coyotes to the Division II championships match and a record of 30-4 with 438 kills, 205 digs, 67 blocks and 33 service aces. The honors are too many to list but she was a first-team All-American which says it all.

2. Annie Perizzolo, So., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimming – Led the Athenas to a sixth-place finish at Division III nationals by placing second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a school and SCIAC record of 2:16.19. She also placed fourth in the 100 breast aided by a prelim time of 1:03.09 that was also a school and SCIAC record. If that weren’t enough she was part of two relays, one placing fourth and the other fifth.

3. Carlos Perez, So., San Bernardino Valley College cross country/track – The Barstow product helped the SBVC team to its third straight state title in cross country in the fall with a third-place individual finish of 20:19.05 that broke a school record. Then in track last month he finished first in the state meet in the 1,500 meters with a winning time of 3:56.83.

4. Mitchell Fedorka, Jr., University of La Verne golf – The Upland native led the Leopards to a second-place finish at the Division III national tournament. He finished with a 3-under 285 that tied him for medalist honors but he ended up losing a sudden-death playoff so officially he was second.

5. Larry Gordon, Sr., Cal Poly Pomoma men’s basketball – The Montclair High School graduate ignited the Cinderella run of the Broncos who left many nationally-rnkaed opponents in their wake on the way to an appearance in the Division II title game where they lost a heart-breaker to undefeated and No. 1 Findlay in overtime. Gordon’s regualr season wasn’t up to what he has done in past years but he stepped up huge in the postseason, like all good players are supposed to do. He is the fourth All-American in school history.

6. Drew Hedman, Sr., Pomona-Pitzer baseball – The first baseman was named Division III Player of the Year for helping the Sagehens (37-7) to the best season in school history. He led the nation in home runs (24), RBI (87) and was second in average (.489). He had a whopping .994 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .569.

7. Brenda Martinez, junior, UC Riverside cross country and track – The Highlanders are a little out of our core coverage area but she is a local – from Rancho Cucamonga. So I am including her. She is the one person here whose season isn’t over as Division I nationals are looming.She has rewritten the school record books in cross country and the distance track events and hs put the school on the map. Ranks third in the nation in the 1,500 meters and at last check had a time that placed her 17th in the world.

8. Ross Schunk, Sr., University of Redlands soccer – The Bulldogs forward broke career records for games played, scoring and goals scored and was the mainstay on a Redlands team that remained the dominant force in the SCIAC. He also got chosen in the MLS soccer draft by the Colorado Rapids, a significant accomplishment for a player out of a Division III school.

9. Lawrence Wang, Sr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tennis – Played No. 1 for the Stags who were ranked No. 3 much of the season. Finished his career with the most wins in doubles and was No. 2 on the career singles list. He also won the prestigious Ojai tournament in singles and with his partner in doubles.

10. Brandon Brown, Jr., Cal State San Bernardino basketball – The 6-foot-7 forward helped the Coyotes to their eighth conference title in 10 years by averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds and would have been the conference MVP had it not been for one Larry Gordon.

Honorable mention:

Eisha Sheppard, San Bernardino Valley College women’s basketball
Winston Robinson, Chaffey men’s basketball
Gene Webster, Cal State San Bernardino men’s golf
Matt Sartori, San Bernardino Valley track/cross country
Brianna Gonzales, University of La Verne volleyball
Mackenzie Smith, University of Redlands track
Dwight Gordon, Victor Valley College men’s basketball

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