Round Table: Almaguer and Valencia named Athletes of the Week

Oct. 19—Bella Almaguer is the primary defender on Righetti's water polo team.

Leo Valencia is the placekicker on the Santa Ynez football team.

Two players in positions that typically don't get a ton of recognition.

Almaguer and Valencia, though, aren't typical athletes.

Almaguer scored four crucial goals and helped lock down the Paso Robles offense in a 12-8 Mountain League win on Oct. 13. She then helped the Warriors go 3-1 at a tournament over the weekend.

Valencia has set two school records over the last two weeks. He hit four field goals against Ventura Buena on Oct. 8 then hit three more in a win over Ventura on Oct. 15.

With nine field goals on the season, Valencia set the school's season record for made field goals. His four makes against Buena set the school's single-game record.

Both Almaguer and Valencia were honored at the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table luncheon on Monday.

Almaguer was named the Female Athlete of the Week and Valencia was named the Male Athlete of the Week during the ceremony held at Giavanni's Pizza in Orcutt.

"Your play can kind of go unnoticed when everybody is making goals and scoring. You don't always get recognized for the steals and the blocks," Almaguer said. "But, for me, the Paso Robles game was really important because I was able to step up on offense and defense. It's nice to be rewarded for that."

Almaguer had no idea she was named the Athlete of the Week. "I didn't even know I was coming here," she said.

"Bella is our primary defender and she's the unsung hero on our team," Righetti coach Chris Yee said. "She does all the dirty work and doesn't get any of the glory."

Valencia scored 11 of his team's 23 points on Friday, hitting three field goals and two extra points. One of the field goals he nailed was 45 yards.

Valencia was named the Cal-Hi Sports SoCal Special Team Player of the Week on Oct. 12. He also won the Santa Maria Times' Player of the Week honor on Oct. 15. He then picked up another accolade on Monday for his efforts in the win over Ventura.

"It feels great, it's not something I expected but I've been putting in the work," Valencia said. "I have to thank my coaching staff and the players, they always put me in the best position to succeed. I am never worried about the kicks because I know everything is going to be alright."

Santa Ynez athletic director Ashley Coelho mentioned that Valencia has a 5.0 GPA.

"It's really hard sometimes. You've got some late nights doing homework," he said. "I get home from practice, take a shower and it's 8 p.m. Then you've got four or five hours of homework. It takes some dedication."

Santa Ynez

Coelho brought a solid contingent for the Pirates besides Valencia, including football standouts Nolan Oslin, Brandon Welby, Owen Hunt, Nwar Samaan and Tanner Padfield. Also present for the Pirates were cross country runners Victoria Bernard and Jeremy Linane.

Hancock College

Kim Ensing introduced cross country coach Louie Quintana, who in turn introduced two of his top runners, Samuel Santos and Armando Guzman.

Quintana said his team is focused on running well at the West State Conference Finals Friday at Glendale College.

Hancock will host the next Round Table luncheon on Oct. 25.

Lompoc

Athletic director Claudia Terrones brought a strong group of student athletes to the Round Table, including linebacker Michael Lewis.

Terrones commended Lewis for his work ethic, noting he works 30 hours a week at Wendy's and also carries a high GPA.

"He maintains a 3.5 GPA and I'm proud of him and he knows that," Terrones said of Lewis. "I love watching him play because of his passion."

Terrones also introduced football player Isaac Velasquez and cross country runners Lauren Jansen, Kalianne Lawver and Joseph Sprecher.

Orcutt Academy

Athletic director Chad McKenzie brought cross country runners Elizabeth O'Leary and Devyn Kendrick.

Kendick is a tri-varsity athlete and is on track to become the first quad-varsity athlete at OAHS, meaning she'll play four sports this year. Kendrick is a standout on the CIF champion girls basketball team at OAHS and is doing cross country and volleyball concurrently. She'll do track in the spring.

Pioneer Valley

AD Anthony Morales brought a large contingent of Panthers, including cross country runners Makayla Gonzalez, Milani Estrada, Kevin Beltran and Aidan Burke. Adan Rubalcava and Rudy Mendez represented the PVHS football team.

Morales shared an anecdote featuring Rubalcava after his impressive performance in Friday's football game at Paso Robles. Rubalcava had 135 yards rushing, 35 yards receiving and 15 tackles on defense.

"The announcer from Paso Robles came down to the field and talked to Adan after the game," Morales said. "He told him, 'I get into these games for free, but you were worth the full price of admission. You were all over the field and never came off.' It's a credit to Adan, his teammates and the PVHS coaching staff."

The Panthers host St. Joseph in a Mountain League game on Friday.

Righetti

Football coach Tony Payne brought his entire offensive line: Matthew Graack, Ronny Hensic, Gilberto Chavez, Isaac Ruiz and Darrin Orlick.

"I personally coach them harder than I coach everybody else," said Payne, a former offensive lineman himself. "It's harder to be a lineman on my team than any other position. These gentlemen handle it with grace and toughness. I'm just impressed with them. They pushed Arroyo Grande all over the field on Friday."

The Panthers play at Mountain League leader Paso Robles on Friday after last week's 39-35 loss to Arroyo Grande.

St. Joseph

Water polo coach Bianca McNeil brought standouts Sebastian Altheide and Cooper Smith.

"These are two of my starters and they're both newer to the team," McNeil said. "They've each got 10 goals this season. We have some wins under our belts and we're doing pretty well."

The Knights have a critical Ocean League game against Pioneer Valley on Wednesday.

Santa Maria

Head football coach Albert Mendoza brought along one of his top linemen in Jose Carreon.

"Our boys continue to battle," Mendoza said after his team lost to Atascadero 31-20 on Friday. The Saints play at Morro Bay on Friday, an Ocean League game they have a shot at winning.

"One guy that always shows up on film, but maybe doesn't have the greatest stats is Jose," Mendoza said. "Jose is a monster, man. He gets double-teamed every play and just battles. He frees up a lot of guys on our defense and he never comes out. A guy his size would usually want some breaks, but he's in there the whole game battling."

Valley Christian

AD/football coach Pete Fortier brought along Josiah Kerley and Caleb Young. The Lions have a critical game at Coast Union on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Cambria.