Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Basketball players honored by BVAL
By Kevin Sparrer
Kelly Gregg was not only a leader on the Westmont girls basketball team this winter; she led the entire league.
Gregg, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, was named the Most Valuable Player in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League for her contributions to Westmont's third-place finish.
Though the Warriors did not win the division, Gregg dominated for Westmont with 305 points throughout the course of the season, hitting 41 percent of her two-pointers and 40 percent of her threes, totaling 99 points from beyond the arc and adding 68 at the free-throw line while shooting 78 percent there.
Gregg averaged 11.7 points per game, a full four points higher than the next-highest scorer on the Westmont roster.
Desiree Collins of Santa Teresa was named the Senior of the Year as a forward, while Beatrice Conejero was the Junior of the Year as a guard from Leigh.
Conejero scored 131 points this year and averaged 16.4 points per game.
Lanyssa Fiaui received the Sophomore of the Year award as an Evergreen Valley guard, while Elle Koshiyama of Westmont was the Freshman of the Year. Koshiyama scored 99 points with 29 twos, seven threes and 20 free throws as a guard for the Warriors.
Evergreen Valley's Dan Johnson was named the Coach of the Year in the Mt. Hamilton Division.
The first team all-league award winners were Evergreen Valley sophomores Fiani and Alyssa Prudencio; Santa Teresa seniors Tanisha Bisbee and Rosa Tirado; Prospect juniors Jennifer Jasper and Simone Scott; Piedmont Hills junior Allison Abad; and Westmont junior Stephanie Priest.
The second team all-league award winners were Evergreen Valley sophomore forward Madison Sanders and senior guard Candice Marquez; Santa Teresa junior guard Marisol Gonzalez; Piedmont Hills senior forward Tichelle Thomas; Prospect sophomore forward Mariah Rogers; and Westmont senior forward Alyssa Kanzaki and freshman guard Koshiyama.
Santa Teresa girls
DeAndra Perkins was named the MVP of the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL for her skills as a post player for Oak Grove.
Silver Creek actually had two point guards win co-Senior of the Year awards in Monica Erezo and Kathleen DeLaCruz.
Oak Grove's Vanessa Enriquez was named the Junior of the Year and Sobrato's Shealyn Kunze was the Sophomore of the Year.
Sobrato head coach Rodney Tabares received the Coach of the Year award.
The first team all-league winners were Willow Glen senior guards Hayley Tharp and Brittany O'Brien; Sobrato sophomore guard Melissa Cachopo; Oak Grove junior post Kelina Burris; Silver Creek junior guard Victoria Phan; Mt. Pleasant sophomore guard Samantha McClosky and sophomore post Kendra Laundry.
Those girls who made the second all-league team were Willow Glen senior post Daisy Quintero; Pioneer junior guard Hayley Schorr; Sobrato sophomore guard Courtney Sedlak; Lincoln freshman post Brianna Jimenez; Silver Creek senior guard Maria Mamaril and sophomore guard Tiaa Daug; and Oak Grove junior guard Jelina Burris.
West Valley girls
San Jose's Trisha Yamaichi was named the MVP for her skills at guard in the West Valley Division this year, while Katie Emick of Live Oak and Marissa Montenegro of Yerba Buena both won the co-Senior of the Year award as forwards.
Ali Quilici of Del Mar was named the Junior of the Year as a center after leading her team by scoring 266 points this year and averaging 11.6 points per game. Quilici hit most of her shots inside the arc, with 102 twos and only a pair of threes. She also popped 56 free throws. Along with scoring, Quilici also pulled down 170 rebounds to average 7.4 boards per game, which was the second highest on her team.
Carly Yamaichi of San Jose was named the Sophomore of the Year as a guard, and Yerba Buena's Juan Ramos was named the Coach of the Year.
The first team all-league players were Independence senior guard Leonie Solia and junior guard Jeanelle Bonifacio; Overfelt junior guard April Romales; Andrew Hill senior guard Danielle Caoili; Del Mar junior guard Josie Steeves; San Jose sophomore guard Yamaichi; and Yerba Buena senior guard Mhary Alcaide.
The second team was Overfelt sophomore center Jessica Celeste; Live Oak sophomore guard Nikki Patel; James Lick senior center Yvonne Garas; Yerba Buena junior forward Alezibeth Keo; Del Mar senior forward Elli Batinich; and San Jose sophomore guard Aly Yamaichi and junior guard Chantelle Phang.
Mt. Hamilton boys
For the second year in a row, Oak Grove has had a co-MVP in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL for boys' basketball. This year forward Tyree McCrary of Oak Grove was named the co-MVP with guard Devon Mynhier of Piedmont Hills.
Piedmont Hills forward Daniel Ginn received the Senior of the Year award while Pioneer's Terrance Duncan was named the Junior of the Year as a forward.
Westmont guard Brian Scott received the Sophomore of the Year award for scoring 407 points, with 153 points from beyond the three-point line. He also hit 76 free throws and was the No. 2 scorer on the team.
Mitch Priest of Santa Teresa received the Coach of the Year award.
The first all-league team consists of Oak Grove senior guards Stacy Long and Kelly Kaigler; Piedmont Hills senior forward Sean Visser; Westmont senior guard Max Schneider; Santa Teresa senior guard Chris Fisher; and Pioneer senior guard Mike Beltramo.
The second all-league team includes Leigh senior guards Alex Ellinwood and Tyler Nii; Leland junior forward Gregg Hipwell; Westmont junior forward James Weimer; Santa Teresa senior forward Matt Rockhold; Pioneer senior guard Nick Maggipinto; and Sobrato senior forward Tam Buich.
Santa Teresa boys
Silver Creek possessed the best player in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, with center Chijoke Nquzi being named the MVP in the league.
Evergreen Valley's Khoi Nguyen and Prospect's Natnael Taye won co-Senior of the Year honors as guards. Taye finished the season with 403 points and an average of 16.1 points per game. The majority of his points came from inside the arc with 238 in two pointers and another 108 at the line, where he shot 78 percent this year.
Willow Glen center Jimmy Renneke was named the Sophomore of the Year and Overfelt forward Maktar Abdi received the Freshman of the Year award.
The first team included Willow Glen sophomore center Renneke; Evergreen Valley senior center Dereke Paul; Andrew Hill senior guard Abubaker Sirvr; Del Mar senior guard Dallin Blank; Silver Creek senior forward Billy Dick; and Overfelt's Erwin Taliaoa at guard and Eli Rivera at forward.
The second team consisted of Andrew Hill junior guard Hai Nguyen; Willow Glen senior guard Ricky Huynh; Prospect junior guard Steven Tucker; Overfelt senior guard Stephen Casem; Silver Creek senior guard Juan Holtz; Evergreen Valley sophomore forward Larry Melton; and Del Mar junior forward Semer Rocevic.
West Valley boys
Guard Tont Lor of Mt. Pleasant was voted the MVP of the West Valley Division this year, while James Lick forward Adrain Packer received the Senior of the Year award and Roy Talactac, Independence's forward and center, was named the Junior of the Year.
Lincoln guard Rich Azure received the Sophomore of the Year award for leading his team with 198 points and averaging 12.4 points per game as a guard. Azure hit only nine threes this year but dropped 51 free throws to shoot 74 percent at the line. Azure also helped his team with 60 assists and 42 steals this year.
Mt. Pleasant guard Chris Lopez won the Freshman of the Year award, while Independence's Skip Yenchik received the Coach of the Year honor.
The first all-league team consisted of Independence senior guard Irie Sanders; Gunderson senior guard Christian Silva, senior center Deshaun Duncan and junior guard Moses Kinnah; Mt. Pleasant sophomore guard Rich Lopez; Yerba Buena senior guard and forward Michael Montenegro; and San Jose senior center Ramondo Davila.
The second team was Independence junior forward Jamal Mason; Mt. Pleasant junior forward Kevin Ibanna; Branham freshman center Robby Anderson, junior guard Brandon O'Campo and senior guard Gino Valletta; and James Lick junior forward and center Raymundo Huro and senior forward and center Martin Torres.
