ATHLETES can be good students, too (GGUSD photo).

High school students do more than play sports and have romances. The CIF-SS, the governing body for prep athletics, also honors athletes with top academic honors.

Here are the “Student Athletes of the Year” from schools in our West Orange County area.
• Edison: Adelaide Bellinger (lacrosse), Kai Hara (cross country, track and field);
• Garden Grove: Adam Pena (cross country, track and field), Ortega Zamine (swimming, water polo).
• Huntington Beach: Alia Pasternak (flag football, track and field); Kailan Gan (volleyball).
• La Quinta: Simon Pham (tennis), Katelyn Vo (basketball);
• Ocean View: Morgan Carles (swimming), Santiago Valle (swimming, water polo);
• Orange: Natalie Ramirez (tennis), Xavier Valentine (football);
Westminster: Robert Lapine (baseball), Thy Bui (tennis).

Students honored are nominated by their schools. They must be a senior with a minimum of 3.5 GPA over the past three years with a letter in at least one varsity sport and participating in extracurricular activities (music, drama, service groups, etc.)

Top poloist is honored

Junior Gaby Zifcak of Ocean View High School, a utility player has been named to the Division 7 All CIF-SS girls’ water polo team.

Nationally ranked at bat

The MaxPreps national rankings for baseball and softball include some area teams. They are:
Baseball
Huntington Beach (3-0), Mater Dei (6-0).
Softball
Orange Lutheran (7-1), Huntington Beach (5-0)
Pacifica (6-4) is ranked 38th in California.

  Coaches, parents, fans, etc. are encouraged to send results, stats, photos, feature ideas to us at orangecountytribune@gmail.com.