Aotw
Athlete of the Week Cabrillo Lakewood Long Beach Poly Long Beach State Millikan Wilson

The562.org’s Athletes Of The Week

The Week of Champions deserves a supersized Athletes of the Week–congrats to all the winners.

HIGH SCHOOL

Kelly Hawkshaw, Millikan Baseball

In a must-win game, Millikan starter Kelly Hawkshaw took a no-hitter into the sixth against Poly. Hawkshaw retired 11 in a row from the second to the fifth inning, and Millikan went on to win and take over first place in the Moore League by themselves. The Rams can clinch another league title this week.

Darren Hall, Long Beach Poly Tennis

Last year in the Moore League boys’ tennis championships, Long Beach Poly’s Darren Hall was eliminated in the quarterfinals while his teammate Felippe Dacudao went on to win the singles title. The tables were turned last week as Hall defeated Dacudao in the singles final 6-2, 6-2, claiming the individual Moore League title. Millikan’s Vincent You and Brandon Vinhnee won the doubles title.

Tyler Schafer, Wilson Golf

Wilson senior Tyler Schafer made history last week by winning his third consecutive Moore League individual title, becoming just the fifth to ever do that. He did it with a record-setting 15-under par performance after birdieing the final hole. That broke a 19-year old record set by James Oh. Schafter is signed with Long Beach State.

Cassie Camou, Lakewood Softball

Lakewood kept itself in Moore League championship contention with a mercy-rule 10-0 win over first-place Wilson, sparked by leftfielder Cassie Camou’s big day at the plate. Camou hit two homeruns, driving in a total of five runs in the victory.

Dylan Gambino, Cabrillo Baseball

Cabrillo had never beaten Long Beach Poly on the baseball diamond but made history last week after a big outing from sophomore stud Dylan Gambino. Gambino pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just two hits in a 6-1 win for the Jaguars, striking out four and walking six. Gambino threw 108 pitches in the outing.

Anja Oca, Long Beach Poly Swimming

Poly made history last week with the school’s first-ever three-peat in the pool for the girls’ swimming team. The Jackrabbits’ leader was senior Anja Oca, who was on the school’s 200-yard medley relay, and then went on to break the meet record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 0:55.98. Oca has signed a scholarship with the University of Tampa.

Julia Fielder, Millikan Gymnastics

Millikan gymnastics won their eighth league title in the last nine years, and senior Julia Fielder repeated as the individual league champion. The reigning Moore League Gymnast of the Year finished with 36.150 points, and used her elite floor routine to edge teammate Laura Faynor, who finished second with 36 points.

COLLEGE

Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State Volleyball

Junior Josh Tuaniga was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament after helping guide Men’s Volleyball to the program’s second NCAA title with a five-set win over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The 49ers hit .339 in the national semifinal and .325 in the national championship.

Mike Guardabascio
An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He's won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.
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