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Making choices, even under duress, has never been a problem for Christian Rossi. The Clovis North High senior quarterback wowed coaches in the fall while routinely escaping trouble in the pocket, keeping his progression of receivers in order and firing strikes on the run.
-- Billy East, Senior, Buchanan
Clovis West High senior McKenzie Jacobsen, at 6-feet, 6-inches tall, has long towered over her peers in school. A midseason change in approach and tempo provided a spark that turned her into a standout on the volleyball court, too.
Connor Cookingham always had the raw skills -- most notably a laser-like left-handed shot -- to be a dominant water polo player.
For all Mary Brooks has accomplished in a young water polo career that already has taken her to the international level, there was one glaring omission on her résumé: a section title. But she took care of that.
During Hagen Reedy's march the past couple of years toward becoming the fastest female cross country runner in Central Section annals, Buchanan High coach Brian Weaver occasionally threw a number at her, a goal, a new standard.
Joining Runner of the Year Hagen Reedy on the Bee's 2012 Fall All-Stars in girls cross country are:
Elite-level high school tennis players often spend their offseasons hitting the courts on the club circuit. Megan Lee, however, spends her winters in the gym and springs and summers on the diamond.
MERICA JIZMEJIAN
He reached the final 175-yard grass stretch at Woodward Park running against only the clock, for there was nobody with him.
He's qualified because: It wasn't that he merely captured a fifth consecutive Central Section title with the Stallions; what distinguished this one was that it not only came in Division I, but it established section
The eight runners who are joining Madera South's Jose Herrera, the Bee's Runner of the Year, on the All-Bee team are:
Combining a short game, her strength, with driving distance, Clovis West senior Camille Orito is The Bee's Player of the Year in golf.
Clovis West's Ken Shipley is The Bee's Girls Golf Coach of the Year.
The Bee's girls golf first-team all-stars and honorable mentions.
Four years ago, Bryson DeChambeau was looking to elevate his golf game and Mike Schy thought he had just the tool. So the Riverbend Golf Club teaching pro handed DeChambeau, then a Clovis East freshman, a copy of “The Golfing Machine.”
First Team and Honorable Mention selections for the 2012 All-Bee boys golf team.
Years as coach: 10
Lindsey Clarkson went from parked to perfection en route to being named The Bee's Softball Player of the Year.
Niko Pacheco was in control as a quarterback while leading Bullard High to the Central Section Division I championship game last December.
Lissette Mendivil has the smile of a cheerleader, the pleasant personality of a young lady you want babysitting your children and the wherewithal to be a high school discus champion in the most powerful track and field state in the land -- California.
Here are The Bee's Softball First Team and Honorable Mention selections for 2012.
Today, Willie Alexander III is a 51-foot triple jumper locked into Long Beach State on scholarship. Three months ago, The Bee boys track and field Athlete of the Year from Central High was so distraught by an ankle injury he was prepared to give it up.
The setter/strike combination of Buchanan's Jon Ferrari and Tim Moses was not only the best in Fresno County this season, but one of the most electric the area has ever seen.
Before winning the 2010 Central Section individual singles boys tennis title, Ryan Andrada wasn't even the best player on his own team.
Matt Bilello traveled an unusual route to a pair of record-breaking performances at the Central Section Division I Swimming and Diving Championships.
McKenna Fife and Mary Brooks weren't about to let the streak end on their watch. So the latest in a long line of Clovis West High standouts went out and made sure the Central Section's longest current championship streak extended to a 16th season.
Bullard High's badminton star Pookie Gonzalez closed a 105-2 career with a 29-0 record and a fourth straight Central Section individual title while being named Bee Player of the Year a third consecutive time.
The chemistry between Central High boys soccer standouts Matthew Olmos and Pedro Hernandez was on perfect display in a late January game that propelled the Grizzlies to the Tri-River Athletic Conference title.
Elise Krieghoff's athletic focus has shifted solely onto soccer as she prepares for college at Cal Poly. But for the past four years, the Buchanan High standout has been one of the best two-sports-in-the-same-season female athletes the Central Section has seen.
The way Nikko Reyes describes it, he and Isaiah Martinez “weren’t anything to write home about” during their youth wrestling days. Martinez tells the same tale, saying neither he nor Reyes had the national credentials of their contemporary — Selma’s Alex Cisneros — before entering high school
History has recorded Grant Verhoeven's body of work -- a truckload of gaudy numbers combined with class on the court and success in the classroom. Next: Stanford of the Pac-12 Conference, where Johnny Dawkins awaits with a tingle.
Hanford High junior forward Bayli McClard is The Bee's girls basketball player of the year.
Deontay Greenberry of Washington High set state single-season receiving records for yards (2,165) and touchdowns (33) — scoring at least once in every game — while becoming only the fourth Central Section representative in 121 years to be named Mr. Football State Player of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports.
Ashley Vander Tuig blossomed into a dominant all-around player while helping Central Valley Christian win its third straight Central Section Division IV championship.
Phillip Clayman, one of the premier defensive players in the Central Section, helped ignite a 28-5, Tri-River Athletic Conference championship and Central Section Division I runner-up season with 116 steals and 28 field blocks while often guarding the opposing team's top scorer.
For all Hannah Harvey did in the pool to help Clovis High capture a second straight Central Section girls water polo title -- and she did plenty -- it was her efforts behind the scenes that Cougars coach Noah Minton appreciates most.
Player of the Year Claire Jaramishian of Bullard capped a perfect season (16-0 in singles, 6-0 in doubles) by teaming with Pookie Gonzalez to defeat defending champions Kathryn Ashford and Megan Lee of Buchanan 6-3, 6-2 for the Central Section individual doubles championship.
Hagen Reedy delivered the best season in history for a female within the natural boundaries of the Central Section. She won Tri-River Athletic Conference, section Division I and state D-I titles before placing seventh at the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland.
C.J. Albertson, The Bee's repeat boys Runner of the Year, won the Tri-River Athletic Conference title, placed fourth at the section Division I final with a bad foot, finished sixth in the state, eighth in the Footlocker West Regionals and 36th at Nationals.
Alanna Loyd shot the best round of the day with a 1-over 74 while leading Clovis North to its second straight Central Section Division II championship. Co-Golfer of the Year Hannah Sodersten of Clovis East enjoyed a career that ranks among the finest in Central Section history.
Michael Tolladay beat out the rest of a 48-player field and won the Central Section individual championship, draining a 10-foot birdie putt to end a six-hole playoff.
Jeff Brown led Buchanan in virtually every major offensive category, including a .430 average and 40 RBIs, and he caught 224 of the team's 226 innings for a staff that compiled a 1.73 ERA.
In a 25-0 season against section competition Gonzalez was threatened once, and that occurred against Clovis High's Bee All-Star Chiara Nardocci for the section individual tournament title. Gonzalez rallied from an 11-6 deficit to win 15-14.
Chris Brusenback became Buchanan's first section 100 gold medalist, regardless of gender, in the program's 19-year history with a wind-aided 10.65. His season-best legal of 10.80 is a school record.
Jenna Prandini is a national long jump champion, five-time state gold medalist, B'nai B'rith winner, Clovis High honor student, homecoming queen and student body president.
Sierra Hyland was the driving force as the Miners won a school-record 28 games and stormed to a Central Section title during its first season since being promoted from Division II.
Loreen Whitfield became the fourth swimmer in Central Section history to win eight individual titles – the maximum possible – during this year's Central Section finals.
Cary Wright has produced 14 career top-three finishes at the Central Section finals and is the only boys swimmer to win four gold medals at the section finals the past two seasons. He is a repeat selection as The Bee's Boys Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year.
Fiery Jonathan Ferrari, cool and combative under pressure, refused to let Buchanan High go down in the Southern California Regional championship. Buchanan rallied for a 3-2 victory – winning 15-12 in the fifth set – behind Ferrari's 42 match assists to capture the championship.
Ryan Andrada knew returning shots consistently alone wasn't going to make him a champion. He had to start making shots of his own. And that's just what he did establishing himself as the section's premier singles player.
J.P. Medina wasn't about to let his last chance go to waste. Not after he could do no more than sit and watch as his top-seeded Buchanan High boys soccer teammates were upset on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the Central Section Division I playoffs last season by Centennial.
After amassing 67 goals and 29 assists through three very successful, yet injury-slowed seasons, Bullard High girls soccer player Lynn Williams showed what she could really do given a complete year of health.
Following his success at some of the nation's premier youth tournaments, Alex Cisneros was projected for greatness before he stepped foot on a high school wrestling mat – he certainly hasn't disappointed.
His Godbrother, De'Jon Jackson, was named Bee Player of the Year for Clovis West High in 2006. His brother, Brandon Johnson, landed the honor for the Golden Eagles in 2007. So did Denzel Johnson have a choice?
It began without a plan – certainly not a 12-year plan – father Tom simply helping little Madison and friends a bit older play basketball.
Also online: Videos / Fresno Beehive / CentralValleyMoms.com / Clovis Independent / Fresno Famous / Vida en el Valle / Sierra Star
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