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Superior Junior High School Athletes honored at last week’s banquet. Kelli Luberda | Sun
Lindsay Ketron and Jesus Castellanos were named as the Diablo Award Winners for 2014-15.
Kelli Luberda | Sun
Superior Sun
Lindsay Ketron and Jesus Castellanos, both eighth graders at Superior Junior High, were named recipients of the 2014-15 Diablo Award, which is awarded each year to the top male and female athlete.
Superior Jr/Sr High School Athletic Director Billy Duarte also announced other award winners at the annual sports banquet, which took place on April 30 at the school.
Ketron won two other awards, including Best Offensive Player (basketball) and Most Valuable Player (volleyball).
Castellanos also won multiple awards, including Offensive Player of the Year (football), Best Offensive Player (basketball), and Offensive Player of the Year (baseball).
Most of the student-athletes at Superior are compete in multiple sports and several athletes won multiple awards last Thursday.
“Education and athletics go together, obviously,” Duarte told theSuperior Sun. “It’s always good when we have student-athletes who can take on both and be successful.”
“If they continue to work and grow as people, and players, we’re going to see that translate in the next year,” he continued. “It’s all about the work and the most important work is in the classroom.”
Other winners were:
Football
Steven Ybarra, MVP; Cedric Mendoza, Defensive Player of the Year; Sammy Lopez, Most Improved Player.
Volleyball
Seventh Grade, Alondra Munoz Ochoa, Best Offensive Player; Julissa Garcia, Best Defensive Player; DeAndrian Bogenschutz, MVP. Eighth Grade, Anisah Cardenas, Best Defensive Player; Makayla Martinez, Most Improved Player.
Spiritline
Malayza Rogers, Most Spirited; Graciela Medina, Leadership Award; Kreona Hayes, Most Improved.
Basketball
Seventh Grade Boys, Sammy Lopez, MVP; Daniel McConnell, Best Defensive and Offensive Player; Carlos Moreno, Most Improved Player. Eighth Grade Boys, Steven Ybarra, MVP; Jared Moreno, Best Defensive Player. Seventh Grade Girls, Julissa Garcia, MVP; Kayla Cardenas, Most Improved; Alondra Munoz Ochoa, Best Defensive Player. Eighth Grade Girls, Anisah Cardenas, MVP; Makayla Martinez, Most Improved Player.
Baseball
Daniel McConnell, Defensive Player of the Year; Brayan Aguilar, Most Improved Player.
Softball
Korinna Romero, MVP; Makayla Martinez, Offensive Player of the Year; Hailey Neal, Most Improved Player; Anisah Cardenas, Defensive Player of the Year; Julissa Garcia, Coaches Award.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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