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Athlete of the Week Compton Cross Country Football Long Beach Poly Long Beach State Millikan 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

Holly Ibarra, Millikan Flag Football

Holly Ibarra has been leading Millikan flag football’s offense this year, and she didn’t take her foot off the gas this week. The senior quarterback came up big in a huge Moore League win against Long Beach Poly, running one in and throwing the game-winning touchdown to secure the victory. She also threw five touchdowns in the Rams’ 41-12 win over the St. Anthony Saints.

Tommy Pincherli, Wilson Boys’ Cross Country

Tommy Pincherli showed that it was a great day to be a Bruin at the El Dorado Park Moore League Cluster Meet. After a fourth place finish last year, Pincherli dropped 13 seconds off his time to win the race with a time of 15:09.12.

Nadia Mejia, Wilson Girls’ Cross Country

Nadia Mejia led her team to a dominant win at the El Dorado Park Moore League Cluster Meet, winning the race herself with a time of 16:58.16. This time broke the course record by more than 20 seconds, which Mejia had previously set herself. She becomes the first girl in league history to run under 17 minutes on the course.

Jaden Hernandez, Long Beach Poly Football

Jaden Hernandez dominated in all three phases of the game for Poly in a win over Lakewood. He had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and two sacks on defense, two first-down receptions at tight end on offense (including one on fourth down), and a punt of more than 60 yards on special teams.

Micah Hawkins, Compton Football

Compton got their first Moore League win of the year in a 48-27 victory over Cabrillo, and Micah Hawkins was a big part of this success. The Tarbabes focused their offense on their ground game, where the senior had 97 yards with two rushing touchdowns along with a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown. 

Thomas Jones, Wilson Football

Thomas Jones does a little bit of everything when he’s on the field for Wilson, and Friday night’s win over Millikan was no exception. The senior had five catches for 108 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and a made FG.

COLLEGE

Levi Taylor, Long Beach State Cross Country

Levi Taylor had a good showing at the UC Riverside Invitational over the weekend. Taylor ran the eighth-fastest 8,000-meter time in school history, placing 13th out of 224 competitors with a time of 24:08.2. Taylor’s speed helped the Beach claim second place at the Invitational.

Nina Fife
Nina Fife is a sophomore at Pepperdine University double majoring in Journalism and English with a writing and rhetoric emphasis. She began working with The562 in the inaugural intern class before being hired as their Social Media Director and now Assistant Editor. Nina is a proud Long Beach schools alum who graduated with valedictorian honors.