Brick’s hard work pays off

Rick Devereux

There is a proverb that says if you work hard you will become a

leader, but stay lazy and you will never succeed.

If that is true, it is no wonder that Cassey Brick was named the

Girls Athlete of the Year at Costa Mesa High. The recent graduate

worked hard to help her teams earn league titles and postseason

berths, and along the way she accumulated individual accolades.

Brick won the Golden West League long jump her junior year with a

leap of 15 feet, 11 1/4 inches, which helped the Mustangs win their

first league title in girls track and field since 1974.

The team finished second in the Golden West League when she was a

senior captain. She won the league title in the 300-meter hurdles

(50.57) and set a personal best of 49.12 to finish 14th in the CIF

Division III preliminaries. Brick also claimed second in league in

the 100 run (13.25).

As a point guard, Brick amassed 288 career points as a three-year

letter winner on the varsity basketball team. She increased her

productivity every year, going from an honorable mention choice on

the all-league team as a junior with 99 points to second-team

all-league honors as a senior with 187 points.

Her willingness to do whatever the team needed helped Brick win

the co-MVP for the Mustangs her senior year. The team played much of

the year without a center, and Brick, standing all of 5-foot-3,

accepted the role as the fill-in post defender while playing on the

perimeter on offense.

She scored 17 points in the first half against Los Amigos on Dec.

17, on her way to a career-high 21. Brick made 51 three-pointers in

her last two years on the team and nailed four threes in a game on

three different occasions.

The team was in danger of missing the playoffs her senior year,

but Brick stepped up her game when Mesa needed her most.

She threw in 32 points and eight three-pointers as the Mustangs

won three of their last four regular season games to push the team to

an 11-13 record and help Costa Mesa earn a spot in the postseason for

the 15th consecutive year, the longest postseason streak of area

basketball teams.

Brick plans to play basketball at Irvine Valley College next year.

She was also a member of the league champion cross country team as

a senior.