Foothills Sentry April 2020

Foothills Sentry April 2020 Page 15 Former Olympian andVPHS athlete to be inducted Gavin Arroyo, one of the best aquatic athletes to come out of SoCal in the 1990s, will be in- ducted into the 36th USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. As a senior at VPHS, Gavin was named Swimmer of the Year and Water Polo Player of the Year. At UC-Berkeley, Arroyo led the water polo team to three straight NCAAChampionships, including an undefeated campaign in 1992. He also began carving out a role on a USA Men’s Senior National Team, and made his Olympic de- but at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. In 1997, Arroyo helped the U.S. team earn gold at the FINA World Cup—the second World Cup crown of the decade for Team USA. He capped an eight- year run with the U.S. with a sec- ond-straight Olympic appearance in 2000 in Sydney. While starring for Team USA, Arroyo was one of the first U.S. athletes to be- come a mainstay abroad, enjoy- ing a seven-year career in Greece and Spain. Arroyo remains entrenched in water polo, now in his 14th season coaching at Long Beach State, and having won MPSF Coach of the Year on three occa- sions. Arroyo is also in charge of the Men’s Development and Ju- nior National Teams. A.J. Jenkins from Santiago Canyon College was named Orange Em- pire Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable, and California State Player of the year, averaging 23.5 points per game. Caitlin Baxter from Villa Park High soars over the bar in the Foot- hill-Villa Park meet. Foothill edged VP, 69-57. The National Football Foun- dation, Orange County Chapter presented scholar-athlete awards to 76 athletes at the 50th Annual National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame banquet at NFF Orange County Chapter celebrates 50th annual scholar-athlete banquet Jonathan Acosta, left, and Marcus Manion, El Modena High, received scholar-athlete awards from the NFF Orange County Chapter. Acosta has a 3.88 GPA, and received a chapter monetary award; Manion carries a 3.83 GPA. Gabe Gallardo, left, and John Holcomb, right, from Foothill High flank head coach Doug Case after receiving their NFF scholar- athlete awards. Gallardo has a 3.95 GPA, and Holcomb, a 3.64 GPA; Holcomb also received the Rams Deacon Jones award. Great Wolf Lodge, Mar. 9. Our local high schools were well represented. Scholar-athletes from Canyon High School were Vincent Hourigan, Joey Rouly and Jeff Holley; El Modena High School honorees were Marcus Manion and Jonathan Acosta. Acosta was also selected to re- ceive one of only 13 $1,000 chap- ter awards. Foothill High School scholar- athletes were Gabe Gallardo and John Holcomb; Holcomb was also the recipient of the Los An- geles Rams Deacon Jones award. Davin Ancich was the scholar- athlete from Villa Park High School, and Simon Sampson was the honoree from Tustin High School. Chapman College schol- ar-athlete honorees were Noah Kjos, Ryan Moles and Jacob Wil- banks. VPHS catcher Carter Kay applies the tag on Foothill's Jacob Nava. The umpire ruled the runner safe on a disputed call, resulting in an ejection. Foothill cruised to an 11-2 win. Lucas Holden (24), a Canyon High grad playing for SCC, was named to the second team All-OEC Conference. Holden was number four in the conference in field goal percentage (52.3%) and (44.4%) from the 3-point range, scoring 8.8 points per game. Danielle Patron, a senior from Foothill High School, gets up and over the bar in the Foothill-VP dual meet.