Not surprisingly, Lathrop’s boys volleyball team swept postseason league awards following its remarkable and historic 2022 campaign.
The Spartans (15-0 WAC, 31-1 overall), under Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Toa Fa’ali’i repeated as
Lathrop did it with a tight-knit core of nine seniors, much of whom started playing together in middle school. Gaining the WAC’s top two individual honors were outside hitter Christian Green and setter Tory Sumbler, who were both named to the first-ever SJS All-Section Boys Volleyball Team.
Green garnered MVP recognition from the conference. Overall, he ranked among the top hitters and servers in the Section and the state. In league matches, he averaged 3.5 kills per set and totaled 149. Green also led the team with 67 service aces while contributing 11 blocks and 69 digs on defense. He will continue his career with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana.
Sumbler was awarded as Offensive Player of the Year. He finished with 803 assists overall, good for second most in the SJS. Sumbler tallied 350 assists in league (8 per set) but was an all-around contributor to the attack, adding 46 kills and 44 aces. He also led Lathrop with 23 blocks to go with 82 digs.
Four other Spartans seniors earned all-conference spots, and another made the honorable-mention list
Outside hitter Arman John and libero Diego Sanchez are on the first team. John was another explosive option on the attack, as he contributed 125 kills and 26 aces. Sanchez finished as the team’s dig leader with 149 in WAC play.
Right-side hitter/setter Jerico Santillan (61 kills, 72 assists) and middle blocker Christopher Millan (47 kills, 11 blocks) were selected to the All-WAC second team, while middle Aaron Obasuyi earned honorable mention.
BASEBALL
Infielder/pitcher Jasper Tover is the lone All-WAC first-team selection for Lathrop (6-8 WAC, 8-11 overall), which wound up a win away from making the postseason for the first time. He hit for a .413 average and had a .438 on-base percentage, collecting seven steals and 12 RBIs along the way. From the mound, he held a 3.44 ERA and fired 46 strikeouts.
Senior Jeremiah Estante (.277, .493 OBP, 17 steals, six RBIs), sophomore Adrian Zuniga (.231, .394 OBP), junior A.J. Duenez (.361, eight steals, 15 RBIs; 2.27 ERA, 50 strikeouts) and senior Noah Martinez (.345, five steals, 10 RBIs) made the second team. Omare Cross (.346, 15 RBIs) received honorable mention.
WAC champion Mountain House (12-2, 19-10) racked up all of the top honors, as Cameron Valentine was voted MVP, Roy Gardner got Outstanding Pitcher and Stephen Gatehouse is Coach of the Year.
Shelby Aquino is Lathrop’s lone representative on the All-WAC softball team. She hit .333 in league while providing steady defense in the outfield. The Spartans finished 0-14 in league, 1-18 overall.
Gary Carpopreso is Coach of the Year after leading Los Banos (13-1, 18-6) to the outright championship. Los Banos’ Paige Smith is part of a three-way split for the MVP award with Brooklyn Heffernan of Ceres and Delaney Pratt of Beyer.
