Students, schools honored at CIF-SS Champions for Character dinner

Darryl Thomas, the athletic director and former football coach at Covina High School, does not appear to be an Oakland Raiders fan.

"I completely disagree with 'Just win, baby,'" he said.

As a speaker and honoree at the Jim Staunton Champions for Character Dinner that honored a variety of achieving student-athletes and administrators aboard the Queen Mary on Monday night, Thomas was one of many figures whose spirit was in concert with "Pursuing Victory With Honor", a program founded by the Josephson Institute Center for Sports Ethics that promotes sportsmanship, commitment and integrity between players and teams of the CIF Southern Section.

Fourteen student-athletes and nine administrators were honored Monday night in addition to the five Commissioner's Awards distributed by CIF-SS commissioner of athletics Rob Wigod.

"There are championships that we give out every season, and this is a championship we believe we give out every day," Wigod said. "These are the young people and the administrators and leaders that truly exemplify what this is about, and it's not always about winning and losing. It's about doing it right, learning about life. Learning the lessons that athletics can teach you, and that's why we really make this a high priority."

Among the schools to receive a Commissioner's Award was San Luis Obispo High School, a school recognized for its response to a severe head injury and concussion suffered by a Adrian Padilla, a visiting football player with Oxnard High School.

San Luis Obispo High organized a prayer vigil and passed along a collection of cards and messages to Padilla as the Southern Section's northwestern outpost rallied behind the senior safety, who has since recovered.

Examples of selflessness and leadership abounded Monday night, with many of the student-athletes honored using up their little free time away from school and practice time to volunteer and join leadership and Rotary groups. Lauren Joseph, a triathlete at Pasadena's Mayfield High School where she is a nominee for student body president in 2012-13, spent time feeding the homeless at Union Station and volunteering at hospitals while coaching elementary school students at two local schools.

"Pursuing victory with honor means to me that every single day in training you give a hundred percent," Joseph said. "It's not about the end result. It's not about winning. It's about the journey and supporting everyone around you and receiving that support."

For Nick Avne, a two-time team captain of the football team at Heritage High School in Romoland who contributed time to the school's Thanksgiving Food Drive, the lessons learned through athletics have guided him as a member of Heritage's student council and as a model citizen.

"Being an athlete has basically molded me with everything I do in life. It has made me the person I am. For one, it keeps me in line. I have to conduct myself well…[by] playing sports," he said.

"This is a great honor," Avne said of his award. "Sometimes you think to yourself the way you conduct yourself, it's not getting realized. To get this award means my hard work and what I've done, it's being shown, and people are realizing what I'm doing."

For the first time, an entire league was presented with a Commissioner's Award as the Pacific Coast League – comprised of Beckman, Corona del Mar, Woodbridge, Irvine, University and Northwood – was acknowledged for their grassroots support of the CIF and as champions of Pursuing Victory With Honor.

"I've had the pleasure of attending this breakfast they've had the last three, four years, and they really make it a high priority to get all the schools involved, all the coaches involved, nominate worthy young people to get this award and recognition for character and sportsmanship, so we just felt that it was really, really special in that league," Wigod said. "It's not something that a lot of leagues are doing, and maybe the hope would be that some others would see what they're doing and maybe emulate it and see if this spreads a little bit more around our section."

"We want people to know we're all about championships and rewarding the great teams and all, but we also want to make sure we take the time to recognize the great people, too."

Honorees

Nick Avne, Heritage High School
Kevin Brown, University High School
Tanya Carrazco, Azusa High School
Brianna Contreras, Heritage High School
Lauren Joseph, Mayfield High School
Caitlin Markey, Providence High School
Wedge Molthen, St. John Bosco High School
Andrew Pacheco, Alta Loma High School
Jennifer Pillon, St. Joseph High School / Lakewood
Monica Quila, Pacifica High School / Oxnard
Jewelyn Sawyer, Gahr High School
Monica Sheldon, Marlborough High School
Elizabeth Snow, Millikan High School
Karley Wester, Edison High School

Administrators
Rob Dearborn, Athletic Director, Moorpark High School
Willie Dillon, Head Wrestling Coach, Pacifica High School / Oxnard
Jon Hurst, Principal, Elsinore High School
David Lappin, Head Baseball Coach, Loara High School
Jacalyn Littrell, Assistant Principal, Gladstone High School
Mike Manzo, Athletic Director, Bishop Amat High School
Darryl Thomas, Athletic Director, Covina High School
Mark Williams, Athletic Director, Temescal Canyon High School
Julie Zierold, Principal, Heritage High School

Schools
Edison High School
D'liese Melendrez, Principal
Rich Boyce, Athletic Director

El Modena High School
John Briquelet, Principal
Steve Bernard, Athletic Director

Polytechnic High School / Pasadena
Debbie Reed, Principal
Steve Beerman, Athletic Director

Rio Mesa High School
Ray Gonzales, Principal
Brian Fitzgerald, Athletic Director

Commissioner's Awards

Camarillo High School
Glenn Lipman, Principal
Mike Smith, Athletic Director

Heritage High School
Julie Zierold, Principal
David Drake, Athletic Director

San Luis Obispo High School
Leslie O'Conner, Principal
Vic Ecklund, Athletic Director

Upland Christian High School
Tamara Solis, Principal
Mark Edgemon, Athletic Director

Pacific Coast League