November Cellular One Athletes of the Month

Cellular One of San Luis Obispo, in an extension of its sponsorship of the Cuesta College Athletics Department, is proud to announce this month’s selections for the Cellular One Athlete of the Month. This distinct honor recognizes two Cuesta College Athletes each month during the school year who have performed to the highest standards in their sport. 

Jeff Chaney
Water Polo

Our male selection for November is sophomore two-meter man Jeff Chaney, who has established himself as the ultimate offensive force in the State and is still getting better. He leads the Cuesta offense with 55 goals this year and is among the State Leaders in that statistical category, but it is in creating opportunities that Chaney is without a peer. Chaney is so impossible to guard that he has drawn 81 ejections this season, giving the Cougars a huge amount of 6-on-5 power play offenses.

The goal of the two-meter player is to control the offense by passing to the open man, scoring and earning ejections. Nobody has done that better this than Chaney, who is also third on the team with 18 assists. His 81 ejections this year shattered the old mark of 65 set in 1996 by All American Eric Billington and his career total of 114 is only ten behind two-time All American Jarrett Ochoa’s career mark of 124.

The Cougars are 21-9 and ranked #7 in the State. They are favored to win their second straight Western State Conference title and 21st in the program’s history. The Cougars will also reach the post-season for the 27th consecutive season.

Rebecca Reyes
Cross Country

Rebecca Reyes has been as good, or better than advertised this season. The latest in a long line of talented runners from her family, including All State siblings Sergio and Christina, Reyes was expected to take center stage this year, and she has. 

Reyes has been the Cougars’ top runner in every race this year on a team that already had two State Qualifiers returning from the 2004 season. She finished fourth in the season-opening Southern California Regional Preview Meet in San Diego, along with the recent Western State Conference Championships. Those two races bookend a freshman season that has been marked by consistent dominance and five top-five finishes.

Reyes has already been named to the 2005 All Western State Conference First Team and this weekend in San Diego, she will try to lead the Cougars back to the State Meet for the first time since 2002, when her sister Christina led the team. 

The Cougars finished in second place in the Western State Conference and will compete in the 2005 Southern California Regional Championships this weekend in San Diego. The Cuesta harriers are expected to reach the State Tournament for the second time in the last four years.