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Athlete of the Week Baseball Jordan Long Beach Poly Millikan Softball Swimming Track & Field Wilson

The562.org’s Athletes of the Week

The562’s Athletes of the Week is sponsored by the Long Beach Century Club.

Congratulations to our Athletes of the Week and thanks to the Long Beach Century Club and Naples Rib Company for their support.

HIGH SCHOOL

Max Pemberton, Long Beach Poly Baseball

Long Beach Poly junior Max Pemberton was Mr. Walkoff for the Jackrabbits this playoffs, with back-to-back walkoff hits to start the postseason including one in the second round last week.

Tiare/Kiele Ho-Ching, Long Beach Poly Softball

The Ho-Ching sisters have brought energy and big bats to the Jackrabbits this year, and they delivered a viral walkoff playoff moment last week, with the highlight of Kiele’s inside the park homerun that scored them both being picked up by ESPN.

Xai Ricks, Long Beach Poly Track & Field

Long Beach Poly junior Xai Ricks won the CIF-SS title in the 400 and helped lead Poly to qualify second in the 4×400, as well as taking fourth in the 200. His points were a big part of the Jackrabbits’ CIF-SS title on the boys’ side.

Aujane Luckey, Wilson Track & Field

Wilson’s girls’ track and field team won the CIF-SS title for the first time since 2006, and star senior Aujane Luckey was a huge part of it. Luckey won the title in the 400 and took third in the 200, also contributing to two relays wins for Wilson.

Jordan Washington, Jordan Track & Field

Jordan junior Jordan Washington won the 100/200 double crown at the CIF-SS Finals on Saturday, and is the second-fastest qualifier in both races into this weekend’s Masters meet. Washington’s 10.24 100 is a new wind-legal Division 1 record.

Lamarr Kirk Jr., Long Beach Poly Track & Field

Long Beach Poly senior was one of two individual CIF-SS champions for the Jackrabbits’ boys’ team, which claimed the CIF-SS Division 1 title. Kirk Jr. won the 800 in 1:54.93, outleaning the competition to win by .02 in the closest race of the day.

Kaylin Edwards, Wilson Track & Field

Sophomore Kaylin Edwards is one of the brightest young track stars in the state, and she was a big part of Wilson’s CIF-SS title win last weekend. Edwards won the 300 hurdles, took second in the 100 hurdles, and was a big relay contributor as well.

Jason Parra, Millikan Track & Field

Millikan’s Jason Parra defended his CIF-SS Division 1 title in the 3200, running 8:58.26 at last week’s championships. Parra was the fastest 3200 runner of the day in any division and will be the top seed into this weekend’s Masters meet.

Colin Geer, Long Beach Poly Swimming

Long Beach Poly senior and Michigan signee Colin Geer won the 200 IM at the CIF State meet last weekend, continuing his record-setting season that already saw him set a CIF-SS Division 1 record in the event. Geer also took second in the 100 butterfly.

Sammie Hamilton, Wilson Swimming

Wilson junior Sammie Hamilton took third at the CIF State meet in the 500 freestyle. Hamilton, the top girls’ swimmer in Long Beach this year, will be one of the best returning swimmers in the state next year as a senior.

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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