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.

Clovis West High's Kendall Brock had a dreamlike season – a school-record 2,329 yards rushing, a 9.2-yard average per carry, 40 TDs, a 12-1 record and a Central Section Division I championship.

Shannon Leary took the opportunity – her last before trading volleyball for vineyards – and ran with it all the way to a TRAC title.

Buchanan High's Macy Bricks repeated her section D-I title, led the Bears to a runaway team crown and placed once again in the state finals.

C.J. Albertson's time of 14:51 in the CIF State Championships D-I race placed him fourth overall and clearly in the local spotlight.

Lauren Martin's introduction to water polo came with a healthy dose of trepidation. Now she strikes fear as one of the most physically imposing players in the Central Section.

Genetics have undoubtedly played a factor in Jared Osborn's rise to Central Section water polo elite status.

Robin Draper and Pookie Gonzalez couldn't be more different on the tennis court. But for all their differences in style, it's virtually impossible to differentiate the success of The Bee's Co-Girls Tennis Players of the Year.

The beginning seemed aimless, almost without a plan. Then again, Madchen Ly was only 8 when her father, Pheng, drove her out to Hank's Swank, a southeast Clovis par-3 golf course and driving range.

Ask coaches who they thought was the best high school boys tennis player in the Valley this season and the answer comes back loud and clear: Josh Lorentzen.

Eric Karch was a sixth-grader with vision in 2004 when Mike Colla's right arm and bat powered Clovis West High to its first Central Section baseball title.

No disrespect intended to the umpires of the Central Section, but Buchanan High softball coach Dean Gregory will side with the batting eye of Kelsey Dodd every time.

As Tristin Baxter prepares to head off for college in the Arizona desert, she leaves in her wake a high school swimming career nearly unmatched in Central Section history.

The first time Cary Wright stepped on the starting blocks as a club swimmer, the then 8-year-old surveyed the field and said, "I am going to be better than all these other kids."

Because of his dominant midseason run, Nate Jessup is The Bee's boys golf Player of the Year.

Clovis East's Willy Irwin placed first and second in the discus and shot put at the CIF State Track and Field Championships. And his 208-foot, 10-inch discus throw was the best throw in the nation.

Jenna Prandini of Clovis High won two golds and a silver at the CIF State Championships in the best performance by a section representative in the 37-year history of girls competition at that level.

Bullard High's Alexis Gonzalez went 21-0 this season in girls badminton while winning a second-straight Central Section individual tournament singles title.

A severe knee injury took away Kyle Peterson’s junior season. So what did the 6-foot-1 senior do to make up for lost time?

Even after accomplishing the ultimate goal for a California high school wrestler, Madera High's James Cook wasn’t quite satisfied.

Mario Diaz doesn’t let a whole lot hold him back. Not double- and triple-teams on the soccer field or the challenges of being in a new country without his parents.

The Orlich girls longed for the day they could play in front of the large home-court crowds they saw support their father, Tom, as the boys basketball coach at Clovis West High.

The latest Bee boys basketball Player of the Year has followed a journey like none before him.

When it was Kacey Held’s time to take center stage for Buchanan High, the senior striker certainly caught people’s attention.

The first signs of something – and there was no way of knowing then – came 16 years ago. That's when Tyler Bray was 2.

Without shortchanging the importance of any other player during her five seasons at Clovis West High, volleyball coach Rhonda DeRuiter was quick to point out the catalyst behind the program's rise to Central Section prominence after 29 titleless seasons.

Justin Vilhauer never dreamed of standing so high, looking down. "No, not on the top of the mountain," he says.

Then a freshman at Buchanan High, Macy Bricks suddenly was letting off the throttle after dominating as a cross country runner since fourth grade.

With a player as accomplished as Tristin Baxter, there wasn't much guesswork when it came to figuring out the offensive focal point for the Clovis West High girls water polo team.

Putting the ball in the back of the cage has never been a problem for Buchanan High boys water polo player Kyle Kittlitz.

For all of Gabrielle Gatewood's accomplishments on the tennis court, she was caught a little off guard by the attention she received from some opponents during her final season at Redwood High.

Asia Adell's golf story begins 12 years and 2,200 miles ago. She's 5 and observing dad, Alvin, from their home in Montgomery, Ala.

Willy Irwin had returned home with two medals from the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Buchanan’s Veterans Memorial Stadium three weeks ago.

Carlo Prandini, as a 9.7-second college sprinter in the 100-yard dash in the early 1970s, could run. Theresa Ray (now Prandini), as a 17-foot long jumper at Memorial during the same era, had some springs.

The aggression Josh Lorentzen uses to lead the El Diamante football team in the fall, he applies to overpower opponents on the tennis courts in the spring.

There was a time when Michael Weaver’s parents couldn’t get him near a golf course. Now they can’t pull him away.

At the moment, about 6 p.m. on a late May day in Easton, Andrew Rich had already delivered a career statistical combination unmatched in the 115-year history of high school baseball in the central San Joaquin Valley — 180 hits and 35 pitching victories in four years at Washington.

Dean Gregory teaches science at Buchanan High, but he knows his mathematics equations, too.

A quick tilt of the head to the right and Clovis East High opponents knew trouble was in store.

The perfectionist in Tristin Baxter comes out quickly when discussing her accomplishments at the Central Section swimming and diving championships.

Chris Dominguez simply wasn’t satisfied with his efforts at the 2008 Central Section swimming and diving championships, not that they were anything to complain about.

Mai Thao grew to 5 feet this year. "I finally reached that height," the Clovis East High senior says. "I'm so excited."

A few days before Christmas, Edison High’s boys basketball team routed Central 83-58 for the Holiday Invitational Tournament title, and Tigers coach Arturo Ormond found Jameal York in tears.