Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Esquerra, Rotseart, Garces win MVP awards for Willow Glen
By Kevin Sparrer
There is no greater accomplishment in sports than being named the Most Valuable Player in the league, and there is no greater pride for a school than to have more than one MVP.
The Willow Glen Rams get to boast that pride this year with three players earning the MVP award in the five sports Willow Glen competes in during the fall season in the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Senior Aracely Esquerra earned the MVP award for her performance in field hockey in the West Valley Division, senior Reese Rotseart was named MVP for his skills in water polo in the Santa Teresa Division and senior Marcos Garces was the MVP for football in the West Valley Division as a running back.
Garces earned the award by rushing for 1,798 yards this season, more than 1,200 yards more than the next closest player on his team. Garces also scored 192 points for the Rams this year and caught 12 passes for 157 more yards.
The Rams were also honored when junior Charlie Findeisen was named Junior of the Year award in the division. The defensive end tallied 73 tackles during the season, including an outstanding 16 quarterback sacks.
Head coach Andy Penwarden was also named Coach of the Year in the West Valley Division after leading the Rams to the championship.
Senior guard Mike Roseland proved himself by earning the Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award. Roseland also led the Rams defensely with 119 tackles.
Along with all of the specific awards that the Rams earned in football this season, they also had a number of all-league players.
There were three Rams named to the first team offense as well as another three named first team defense. Those earning first team offensive honors were senior quarterback Juan Baron, who passed for 995 yards; senior fullback Anthony Doan, who carried the ball for 450 yards; and senior offensive tackle Luke Ahmed. The first team defensive players included senior free safety Sam Canchola, who finished with 49 tackles; senior defensive end Uriel Basilio, who had 68 tackles including 13 sacks; and senior defensive end Greg Garrity, who finished with 64 stops.
The Rams also had a couple of players named to the second team. For second team offense it was sophomore running back Mike Gibilisco, who ran for 546 yards and four touchdowns. The second team defense included senior defensive back Eliseo Anaya with 38 stops; senior defensive lineman Cory Kingston with 38 tackles; and senior defensive lineman Justin Fuller with 61 stops.
The Rams field hockey team also had quite a number of players selected to the all-league teams for their performances this season. Head coach Erin Booth was named Coach of the Year after leading Willow Glen to the West Valley Division championship. Seniors Nadia Conroy and Kathryn Cremer and sophomores Taylor Lundquist and Danielle Yaconelli were named to the all-league first team. Seniors Rebekah Cremer and Jennifer Uride won second team honors.
In boys water polo, there were a number of extra awards presented to the division champion Rams. Sam Brandt was named the Sophomore of the Year, Michael Holback earned Freshman of the Year and head coach Brian Balistreri was named the Coach of the Year in the Santa Teresa Division.
Brandt was also named first team all-league along with junior Charlie Kane and junior Geoffrey DuBridge.
Sophomore goalie Kyle Tom was one of two players named to the all-league second team all-league. The other player was junior Dustin Shean.
Willow Glen also had a couple of all-league players from the girls volleyball team this season. Junior Leah Mee was named first team all-league and sophomore Kelsey Lotourette made the second team.
Senior Jamie Furtado was the only player from Willow Glen named all-league in girls water polo. Furtado earned second team all-league honors.
