THE WESTERN SUN/MAY 6-19, 2015 11
Student-athletes excel on field, in class WIlliams, Sharova, Medina, men’s swim team, sand volleyball stood out By Chris Abdelmalek Western Sun sports editor The term student-athlete is one that should be recognized not only for the athlete part but the student part as well. These athletes performed well on and off the field this season. The players were selected based on their individual and team success this semester. Through coaches’ submissions and discussions based on the panel here at the Western Sun, these are your 2015 Spring Semester Student Athletes. Chris Williams was the leader of the baseball team in terms of statistics. Leading the Rustlers in home runs and runs batted in. He excelled at his positioned as well. Williams played in all 39 games this season and was names Co-Player of the year in the Orange Empire Conference. Ali Medina was a standout for the Rustlers softball team. She led the team in hits and batting average as well. She was a true leader on and off the field of play. Medina supported the team in every way possible. When she was on the bench she cheered her fellow batter and when playing on the field in a defensive role, Medina would call out signals and help her team set up on defense.
The entire men’s swim team deserves the honor of student-athlete of the semester. The men’s team once again took home state honors for the third straight year. Their 15 championships since 1995 are the most by any college in the state. GWC MEN’S SWIM team won its third straight state championship. Their dominance in the pool is unmatched by any one individual. It takes a team effort to win this many titles. For the first time in school history, the Rustlers had a sand volleyball team. This was the first year that the sport was commissioned by the state athletic board. As it is a special year for the program, the entire team is honored with the student athlete of the year. The program accomplished an incredible feat going 11-0 in the regular seaGWC SAND VOLLEYBALL made it to state semifinals. son and finished third in the state. Daria Sharova was an outstanding athlete the minute she stepped onto the track for Golden West College. She took the state title in the 100-meter hurdle finishing with a record 14.92 seconds. She also finished in the top 25 in the 200-m dash, the High jump and the Long jump. She accomplished all this at the age of 19, but Sharova is used to the pressure of competition coming from Russia where she competed in many international events for her CHRIS WILLIAMS ALI MEDINA DARIA SHAROVA country.
Three-peats sound sweet for swimmers By Christopher Abdelmalek Western Sun sports editor
A championship is hard to get. To win one a team must have determination and the desire to get to the pinnacle of their sport. To win two championships is tougher. The target on your back gets heavier and heavier as teams give it their all to knock you down. The pressure to win can be tough, but when you are part of the Golden West College swim team, the pressure to win is unbelievably high. The Golden West College men’s swim team recently took home its third straight, that’s right straight, state championship, this past week in the CCCAA finals at Cal State Los Angeles. This is amazing feat in the fact that Coach Mark Shubert has been coaching these swimmers to the peak of their ability all year long.
Golden West finished with seven event victories. The 200-yard butterfly was captured for Gabriel Hernandez with a time of 1:48.69. Bradley Toland, Dalton Kenefick, Jeremy Grden and Fletcher Norseen took the 400yard relay. The men took home the honor again of being called champs for the third time in a row and 15 overall since 1995. The final tally for the team was 555.5 points, nearly 76 points over Diablo Valley College. The women’s side did what they could to stay up with the men’s championship run. Although the team itself did not take home the state championship honors, finishing fourth with 328 points 94 behind Santa Rosa College, the Rustlers did manage to take home some great individual event titles. The 800-meter freestyle relay state championship was taken by Madison Varisco Suzanna Gonzales, Melisa
MADISON VARISCO, Suzanna Gonzales, Melissa Thorn and Raeny Remmetake home the state title for 800-yard freestyle Thorn and Raeney Remme. Varisco also took the 100-m butterfly and the 100-m backstroke. Gonzales took first in the 1650-yard freestyle event. Even though individual championships are
nice they team obviously would have loved to finish with the overall championship. But this just fuels the fire for next year.