Cuesta College Athletics recently honored its outstanding team
members for the year, with the Outstanding Athletes of the Year Award, George Silveria
Career Award Winner and Hansen Scholar Athlete Award.
This year’s winners of the Outstanding Athlete of the Year Award
are Baseball player David Lamar (Carpinteria HS) and Swimmer Shanna
DeMichelle (Napa HS).
Lamar is a two-year member of the Cuesta Baseball team and is the 2003
Western State Conference Player of the Year and member of the 2003 All State
Team. He has played both third and first base in the field for the Cougars this
year, but has been a fixture in the clean-up spot in the batting order. The
2003 Cuesta Baseball MVP leads the team with a .407 batting average, 70 hits,
five triples, six home runs and, 51 runs batted in. Coach Bob Miller nominated Lamar,
stating “David is a team leader and has the respect of teammates and
opponents. He has a solid approach and comes to play everyday.” He has been the constant in the Cougars
run to a seventh consecutive Western State Conference title and #2 seed in the
2003 Southern California Regional Playoffs this weekend at Cuesta. Lamar also was an All State Player for
the Cougars during their 2002 WSC title and State Final Four season.
DeMichelle’s career was summed up by retiring Swimming and Diving
Coach Terry Bowen, who stated “She is the most talented swimmer in the Cuesta
College women’s swim program ever!” DeMichelle won three events at this year’s Western
State Conference Championship (WSC) Meet and was named the WSC Swimmer of the
Year for the second straight year. She then went on to post All-American times
in three events and break two school records at the State Championships. She finished second in the State in the
200 individual medley (2:12.67) and was third in both the 200 freestyle
(1:55.49) and the 100 butterfly (:58.79).
DeMichelle also was a three-time All-American for the Cougars in 2002
and leaves the program with records in four individual events. This year she
set the records for the 100 butterfly and the 200 individual medley and last
year she broke the 1000 (10:50.78) and 1650 (18:13.08) freestyle records, along
with an unofficial mark in the 200 butterfly.
Also nominated for the award were Heather Nursement (Basketball), Ashly
Cisneros (Soccer), Kristen Sampley (Volleyball), Nina Van Alfen (Softball), Christina
Reyes (Cross
Country, Track), Brandon Roberts (Baseball) and, Lindsey Irons-Kilmer (Tennis), Matthew
Tesoro
(Wrestling) and Meghan McKelvey (Water Polo).
George Silveria Career Award
Cuesta College has named aquatic star Katie Dacus (Lompoc: Cabrillo HS)
as the winner of the its George Silveria Memorial Career Award. Dacus competed
for two seasons in both women’s water polo and swimming for Cuesta
College and was a two-time Team MVP in water polo.
Dacus first came to Cuesta the fall of 2001, following in the footsteps
of her older brother Jeff, who was a two-time all-conference water polo player
and two-time State 50 Freestyle Champion.
She made an immediate impact by leading the three-year old program in
scoring and to within a game of the State Tournament. She was named to the All
Western State Conference (WSC) First Team and the All Southern California
Second Team. She also was voted
the team’s co-MVP with fellow All SoCal player Courtney Christy (Univ of
Pacific). Dacus led the team with
58 goals after stepping in to a new roll by moving into the two-meter position
and becoming the focus of the Cougars’ offense.
In the spring of her freshman year Dacus was a member of the
women’s swimming team that finished second in the WSC and 17th at the
State Championships. Dacus qualified for the State Meet on several relay teams
after earning All-WSC Honorable Mention at the conference meet.
The George Silveria Memorial Career Award recognizes athletes who,
during their careers at Cuesta College, best exemplify sportsmanship, athletic
ability, leadership, scholarship, citizenship and coachability
Warren E. Hansen Scholar Athlete Award
This year’s winners of the Warren E. Hansen Scholar Athlete Award
are wrestler Jeremy Waldram (Tehachapi HS) and pole-vaulter Leilani Greene (Los Osos: Morro Bay
HS). Both of these athletes will
represent Cuesta at the State and National Levels with the COA Pepsi Scholar
Award and the National Alliance of Two-Year Athletic Administrators Scholarship
Award.
Waldram is a two-year wrestler at Cuesta College and has maintained a
perfect 4.0 while at Cuesta College. He was named to the 2002 All Western State
Conference (WSC) First Team after being accorded All-WSC Honorable Mention as a
freshman in 2001 and has also been a two-time member of the All-WSC Academic
Team. He captained the 2002 Wrestling
team and was then named Team MVP after placing seventh at the State
Championships. Waldram will transfer to Cal Poly, SLO as a pre-med student.
Greene is still competing at Cuesta as the top ranked pole-vaulter in
the State. She has eclipsed the former Cuesta mark of 11-0 three times this year
and it now stands at 11-10. She is
the 2003 WSC Pole Vault Champion and will be trying to qualify for her second
straight State Meet this weekend in Bakersfield. She placed sixth at last
year’s State Meet as Cuesta’s lone representative. Greene also was the Team Captain for
the 2002 Cross Country team that reached the State Meet and finished 18th. She
has maintained a 3.57 GPA at Cuesta and is planning to transfer to Georgetown
University in the fall.
This award has been named the Warren Hansen Scholar-Athlete Award in recognition of former Cuesta Athletic Director Warren Hansen’s 36-year commitment to academic excellence. A student must maintain a 3.5 GPA and be nominated on the basis of their citizenship and athletic performance.