By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR
Dr. Philip Willenbrock feels like he inherited more than just a lot of hard work when he took over the Highline Public Schools Director of Athletics job from Terri McMahan and the reigns of the Scholar-Athlete, Coach and Community Recognition Banquet she founded that go with it.
“It takes a lot of effort, but it’s well focused energy,” he said after the seventh annual version – and his first in charge – held at Mount Rainier High School on Tues., May 23. “We’re recognizing not only the athletes but the coaches and the community members that usually aren’t recognized.”
McMahan was the district’s Director of Athletics from 2010-2017 and made the state Hall of Fame for her efforts that included the banquet.
“It’s always tough to follow a Hall of Famer,” Willenbrock said. “Terri established systems that are efficient and have the student athletes at heart.”
One coach from each high school and middle school in the district was honored as Coach of the Year, and standing in that group for the second year in a row was football head coach Tremain Mack from Mount Rainier.
“The biggest thing is to see the kids getting awards,” Mack said. “I added it up and nine kids I’ve coached have won scholarships. This was a surprise to me. It means a lot that your peers think enough of you to vote you in. Two years in a row is special.”
Also honored as Coach of the Year were Highline football head coach Mark Cross, Tyee head boys and girls tennis coach Stefan Green and Evergreen girls soccer head coach Richard Sando at the high school level.
The middle school Coach of the Year winners were track, girls basketball and volleyball head coach Kirk Lerwick at Sylvester, volleyball head coach Danielle Alford-Warfield at Cascade, track and field head coach Claudia House at Pacific and volleyball head coach Shawna Moore at Chinook.
High school community contributor awards went to Steve Berg for Mount Rainier, Kurt Salvatori for Highline, Pat Thompson for Evergreen and Jenn Truong for Tyee.
Scholarship awards for seniors went to two boys and two girls from each high school and ranged from $1,000 to $3,500.
The top $3,500 awards went to Suzana Dukic of Tyee and Emmanuel Cruz Soria of Highline.
“I’m really happy,” said Dukic, who played volleyball and basketball for the Totems while earning a grade point average of 3.99. “I’m so thankful that my family could be here. They’re my No. 1 supporters.”
Dukic is bound for the University of Washington to major in science.
Cruz Soria competed in cross country and boys soccer at Highline, posting a 3.5 GPA. He is also bound for the UW and will study architecture.
There were six $2,500 winners in Naleia Gomes of Mount Rainier, Kirby Bui of Evergreen, Muhammad Sesay of Tyee, Sabrina Pietron of Evergreen, Ty Shanklin of Highline and Anita Chung of Highline.
Gomes competed in gymnastics and track and field, had a 3.45 GPA and will study pharmacology and biochemistry at Highline College, while Bui competed in cross country, wrestling and track and field and will take his 3.7 GPA to the UW to study engineering.
Sesay competed in cross country, basketball and track and field, had a 3.24 GPA and will study mechanical engineering at Seattle Pacific University.
Pietron posted a 3.9 GPA and competed in volleyball, basketball and track and field and will study nursing at Pacific Lutheran University.
Shanklin will take his 3.41 GPA to Pacific Lutheran University to study nursing or kinesiology. He competed in football, wrestling and track and field.
Chung is also bound for PLU and has a 3.89 GPA. She competed in cross country, track and field and drill and plans on majoring in kinesiology/pre-med.
Ami Yoshino of Mount Rainier won a $2,000 scholarship. She competed in basketball and track and field with a 3.8 GPA. She is bound for the UW to study computer science.
There were three $1,500 winners in Kareem Eastman Jr. of Evergreen, My Link Quach of Evergreen and Michelle Lopez of Tyee.
Eastman competed in football, basketball and track and field. He posted a 3.8 GPA and will go to college at South Seattle for general studies and film.
Quach played soccer and basketball and also competed in track and field. She has a 3.71 GPA and plans on studying accounting and finance at PLU.
Lopez competed in swimming, gymnastics and track and field while posting a 3.91 GPA. She plans on going to the UW to study pre-med.
