COASTERS: The Year-End Awards II

Steve Virgen

One might have thought Orange Coast College men’s volleyball coach

Chuck Cutenese would select this team’s Most Valuable Player(s). But it

was the the players who voted and the results delivered a three-way tie.

Fittingly, Ed Chun, Nick Ptaschinski and B.J. Lightvoet each received

the MVP awards Saturday at the team’s banquet.

Everyone was happy. But, sometimes only one MVP is selected. In the

NBA, Tim Duncan and even Shaquille O’Neal did not share Allen Iverson’s

award.

Continuing from the previous Coasters column, here are my selections

for the OCC male and female athletes of the year. I promise there won’t

be any three-way ties.

For Male Athlete of the Year, I narrowed it down to three finalists:

Lightvoet, Tyler Townsend (swimming) and Scott Beerer (baseball).

Lightvoet closed out a spectacular career in leading the Pirates to an

Orange Empire Conference championship and to the state title match. He

battled a pinched nerve in his hitting hand toward the end of the season,

but that hardly held him back. He still earned a spot on the state’s

all-tournament team.

The 6-foot-3 outside hitter and Costa Mesa High product slammed 231

kills this season and amassed 584 for his career, fifth most in OCC

history. He shared the OEC Player of the Year honor with Ptaschinski.

Lightvoet will play for William Woods University in Missouri next season.

Coast coaches voted Townsend Male Athlete of the Year. He broke a

10-year-old national junior college record in the 100-yard backstroke

(48.1), won three state titles and contributed in two relay state

championships.

Beerer, a Newport Harbor High product, was a first-team All-OEC

selection as a freshman for his role as a utility player. He was second

on the team in batting average (.370) and compiled a 5-2 pitching record

with a 2.73 ERA. He struck out 52 and walked 14 in 69 1/3 innings.

And if that wasn’t enough, Beerer played every position in one game

April 12, against Reedley in the College of the Sequoias Tournament.

However, I must go along with OCC coaches and say Townsend is the Male

Athlete of the Year. Out of all the males, he won the most state titles.

For female Athlete of the Year, the finalists are: Cynthia Tran

(badminton), Heather Shurtleff (cross country/track and field) and Lauren

Wilson (volleyball).

Tran never lost a match as she built a 30-0 record and won the state

singles title to go along with her conference championship. She lost just

one game the entire season, winning 60 games.

Shurtleff also won a state championship in cross country. And, she was

No. 2 in the state in the 10,000 meters.

Wilson was basically a Division I volleyball player at outside hitter

for the Pirates. With 442 kills, she broke OCC’s single-season record

Beth Waterman set in 1999 with 404. She also recorded 37 digs, an OCC

single-match record, in a playoff match against Pasadena City November

21.

The winner here is Shurtleff. Talk about a gold rush. Shurtleff won

four conference titles with victories in the 10,000, 5,000, 3,000 and

1,500. She said there was basically no competition, but that doesn’t take

away from the fact that she earned the championships, including three in

one day.

I’m sure you’re wondering: What about Erin Kennedy? She, in fact, is

the OCC female Athlete of the Year. My award is based on wins and

championships. If it wasn’t for Golden West, the former Newport Harbor

High standout probably would have received my award.

OCC’s newest coach, John Knox, inherits a rich tradition with the

Pirates’ track and field teams. The Pirates’ men finished 17th in the

state and the women were 21st.

Tony Magana, an Estancia High product, took third in the 3,000-meter

steeplechase (9:43.60), and was eighth in the 10,000 (32:53.21). Carl

Olsson was third in the 110 high hurdles (14.62), while Steven Taelemon

finished seventh in the pole vault (16-1).

For the women, Shurtleff grabbed second in the 10,000 (38:09.81) and

fourth in the 5,000 (18:59.48). Julie Kroening, a Costa Mesa High

product, finished sixth in the 400 low hurdles (68.06) and eighth in the

heptathlon with 3,881 points.