28 athletes earn athletic scholarships

DOWNEY - As the spring sports seasons come to a close, it is time for many student-athletes at Downey high schools to decide where they want to attend college and play their respective sports they excelled at in high school at the next level.At the time of this writing, 17 student-athletes from Downey High School and 11 from Warren High have been offered athletic scholarships to play sports at the collegiate level. These colleges range from Division I to NAIA to even smaller schools and represent an excellent opportunity for a young athlete to get an education as they represent their respective schools in athletic competition. Downey High Four Vikings received scholarships for fall sports. Melody Burdette will be playing volleyball at Indiana State University, Joy Miley and Makayla Taylor will be playing volleyball at Cal State Long Beach and Mark Kohzhaya will be playing football at Whittier College. Three student-athletes received scholarships for winter sports. Dakari Archer will be playing basketball at Biola University, Kristin Johnson will be playing basketball at Park University and Megan Nevarez will be playing water polo at U.C. Davis. Ten student-athletes received scholarships for spring sports. Nick Farina and Austin Weisenberger will be playing lacrosse at Adams State University. Lakisha Wheat will be running track at Indiana Tech and Gabrielle Gonzalez will be running track at Chapman University. Eric Enriquez and Andres Velasco will also be running track at Cal State Long Beach. Norma Flores will be swimming at Whittier College and Brenda Oporto will be swimming for Tiffin University. Matt Lostetter will be playing volleyball at UC Merced and Anissa Urtez will be playing softball at the University of Utah. The Downey High School administration, faculty and staff are very proud of their student-athletes and wish them the best of luck at the next level and in the next chapters of their lives. Warren High Three Warren High student-athletes received scholarships for fall sports. Fortino Santana will be running cross country at Whittier College. Xitlali Avila will be studying English and psychology and running cross country at Cal State Long Beach. Avila's 4.2 G.P.A. and mindset of "if not now, then when?" approach will serve her well in college. Ricardo Vachon, a three year starter at offensive tackle, two-time All-S.G.V.L. first team selection and senior captain will be playing football for Azusa Pacific University. Vachon, holder of a 3.4 G.P.A., plans to study physical therapy at APU. Four student-athletes received scholarships for winter sports. Victoria Hernandez will be playing soccer at U.C. Irvine and Nathan Castillo and Brandon Herrerias will both be playing soccer at Cal State Los Angeles. Celeste Moreira will be playing water polo at Whittier College. Four student-athletes received scholarships for spring sports. Justene Reyes will be playing softball at Monmouth University and Amanda Vallejo will also be playing softball at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Michael San Angelo will be playing baseball at Whittier College, Geoffrey Noonan will be playing baseball at Vanguard University and Daryl Donerson will also be playing baseball at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Warren High School administration, faculty and staff are very proud of their student-athletes and wish them the best of luck at the next level and in the next chapters of their lives.

********** Published: May 30, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 07