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November 14, 2006
Release: #0621

News Release
For Immediate Release

SACRAMENTO, CA . . . The Community College League of California Commission on Athletics (COA), in partnership with the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) today named Sarah Apgar (Southwestern College, cross-country) and Vuna Tuihalamaka (El Camino College, football) the COA Student Athletes of the Month for October 2006.

Sarah Apgar competed in three cross-country meets in October and ran away in all three as she finished first in the UC San Diego Invitational, the Mt. San Antonio Invitational and the Pacific Coast Conference Championship.

Her 17.44 clocking at the Mt. San Antonio Invitational was the fastest time for any Jaguar in the history of the invitational. She also started the month of November where she left off in October, finishing second at the Southern California Regional.

Vuna Tuihalamaka, a two-year starter for El Camino, posted 37 tackles-15 of which were solo-3 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and blocked a punt to help the Warriors to a perfect 3-0 record during the month. A team captain, Tuihalamaka leads El Camino in nearly every defensive statistical category.

The 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker from Hawthorn High School, received conference honors for Week 7 when he posted 14 tackles and blocked a punt and Week 8 when he had a season-high 15 tackles in a win over Cerritos.

Women's Honorable Mention, October 2006:

-Melissa DeJonckheere, Riverside water polo - DeJonckheere, a freshman from Arlington High School, helped Riverside to the 30-0 record and the state's No. 1 ranking through October. DeJonckheere, who is second on the team in goals, led the Tigers in scoring five times during the month. She had five in a win over No. 2 Long Beach City for the championship of the Battle at the Beach Tournament.

-Andy Gierman, Santa Monica soccer - Gierman has helped the Lady Corsair to a regional ranking of 12th and a state ranking of No. 23. This past month, Gierman excelled as she allowed just 5 goals over the course of eight games. Four of her games in goal resulted in shutouts. She averaged eight saves match this past month. She currently ranks 39th statewide in goals against average. Not bad considering she has played 1800 minutes in goal this season.

-Elizabeth Sanchez, Cerritos soccer - Sophomore goalkeeper Elizabeth Sanchez is one of the main reasons the Falcon women's soccer team is ranked #4 in the state. During the month of October, the Falcons went 8-0-0 as a team, with Sanchez posting a 7-0-0 record with six shutouts and made 25 saves in 26 shots for a 0.14 goals against average. All of her wins came in South Coast Conference play, as the Falcons have already clinched their first title in school history. In addition to her seven wins and six shutouts, Sanchez picked up her first career assist in a win over Los Angeles Harbor.

-Heather Curtis, Citrus water polo - Curtis, a sophomore this year for the Lady Owls water polo team, broke three school records during the month of October, and finished the month 1st in the state in saves. On October 25th Curtis set a new record for saves in a game by stopping 21 shots. In the same game Curtis also obliterated the single-season saves record surpassing Jennifer Thomas who held the previous record of 253. Along with the records of saves in a game and season, Curtis also broke the record for most assists in a season. At the end of October, Curtis was 1st in saves in the state and 7th in the state in assists. In the month of October Curtis, tallied totals of 213 saves, 36 assists, and 12 steals.

-Andrea Bischop, Canyons cross-country - Bischop posted two solid performances during the month of October as she finished second in the Western State Preview Meet and the Western State Championship at Cuesta College. It was her third and fourth second-place finish this season.

-Katy Harris, Fresno City cross country - Harris was the individual champion at the Central Valley Conference women's cross country championships with a winning time of 20:53.59 over 5,000 meters. She is also one of the unsung heroes on FCC's women's soccer team. For the season, Katy has 4 assists, but her ability to break up threats and dribble the ball towards the attack zone make her a linchpin of a 15-3-1 team which is ranked No. 2 in Northern California and No. 8 in the state.

Men's Honorable Mention, October 2006:

-Travis Lee, Mt. San Antonio football - This season the Mountie football team has been lead by the play of Travis Lee, a 5-9, 165-pound wide receiver/ punt and kick returner. Although many teams have avoided kicking to him, he has still accumulated an amazing 735 yards in punt and kick off yards this season. The two-time Mission Conference special teams Player of the Week led the Mission Conference at the end of October in all-purpose yards, receptions per game and average punt return (26.0 yards). During the month of October he racked up 403 all-purpose yards in a three-game month.

-PT Gates, Saddleback football - Gates ran 42 times for 205 yards (4.88 average) for four TDs and added 11 receptions for 66 yards and one TD to keep Saddleback undefeated in October. He had 18 carries for 66 yards and two TDs in a 49-21 victory over Cerritos, then added 20 carries for 102 yards and the game-winning 9-yard TD reception in overtime to defeat Orange Coast, 23-17. He finished out the month with four carries for 37 yards and two scores in the first quarter of a 38-6 victory over Golden West before being removed from the game. Gates leads the Gauchos in both rushing and receiving this season.

-Christian Flores, Cerritos water polo - Cerritos College freshman men's water polo player Christian Flores scored 44 goals in the month of October to go along with 21 assists and 23 steals to help the Falcon team to a 7-7 record during the month. In the Saddleback Tournament, he scored a team high eight goals in a game against Grossmont and had five steals against Chaffey.

-Terence Scott, Canyons football - During the month of October, Scott became the Western States' top receiver and individual scorer. He averaged 138 offensive yards and 101 receiving yards during the month. He has scored a touchdown in nearly every game this year. At the end of October he had posted 49 catches for 730 yards and nine touchdowns.

-Mike Williams, Cuesta wrestling - Williams has dominated the opposition this season as he has posted a 17-1 record. However, October might have been his best month, as he took second at the West Valley Tournament. He then went undefeated (3-0) at the Southern Duals. He then beat the state's No.2-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds in Bakersfield Jason Carrasco. He is a 2006 all-star selection at 174 pounds.

-Conner Ruggio, Citrus water polo - Ruggio led all Owls in the month of October scoring 48 goals, grabbing 32 steals, and dishing out 11 assists. During that span he led his team to a 9-7 record, including a 9-4 run since October 6th. In the state statistical leaders, Ruggio ranks 7th in scoring. On the season, Ruggio has compiled some impressive numbers including leading the team in scoring (78) and steals (45), while ranking second on the team in assists (45).

About the COA:
The Community College League of California Commission on Athletics (COA) is a non-profit organization per IRC Section 501 (c)(3). As authorized by the State Legislature, the Education Code provides the COA the opportunity and authority to establish the rules and regulations to administer the athletic activities of the nearly 25,000 student athletes at California's community colleges. To view the latest news, information, and updates of all 23 COA-sanctioned sports, and for COA Athlete of the Month history and nomination procedures, visit www.coasports.org.

Student athlete biographies provided by the CCCSIA.

COA