Each week, publications from the The Southern California News Group’s 11 properties (Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin, Redlands Daily Facts, Whittier Daily News and Pasadena-Star News) nominate Athletes of the Week for their respective region.
Each nominee is entered into the overall Southern California Athlete of the Week county-wide vote.
Click on the newspaper links below the athlete’s name to read about their performance from last week, and then vote for who you think is the best athlete this week.
Readers are allowed to vote multiple times. Voting ends at midnight, but final totals aren’t always immediately reflected due to processing.
GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK VOTING
The overall winner will be announced on Friday, Feb. 14
Voting poll at bottom of the page.
Aboubacar Cisse, Chaparral: Cisse, a senior striker and co-captain, tallied one goal and two assists as the Pumas defeated Great Oak 3-1 to finish unbeaten (8-0-2) in the Southwestern League. Cisse leads the team with 15 goals and nine assists this season. Chaparral opens the Division 5 playoffs at home Wednesday against Beaumont.
Jazz Gardner, Los Altos: The 6-foot-10 freshman had a triple-double — 10 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocks — in a 72-51 victory over South Hills, as the Conquerors went undefeated in the Hacienda League and finished the regular seaon 24-3. Earlier in the week, Gardner had 15 points with 17 rebounds, five blocks and three assists in a 70-55 win over Charter Oak. The previous week he had 21 points and 22 rebounds in a 77-73 win over Diamond Ranch. Los Altos opens the Division 1 basketball playoffs on Wednesday at home against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
Wilhelm Breidenbach, Mater Dei: He scored 46 points over two Trinity League games as the Monarchs clinched the league championship. Breidenbach, a 6-foot-9 forward, scored 22 points with six rebounds in a win over St. John Bosco and scored 24 with seven rebounds in a win over JSerra. Breidenbach has scholarship offers from many colleges, including Arizona and Nebraska.
Peyton Watson, Long Beach Poly: The guard came up big in two victories as the Jackrabbits won their 11th successive Moore League championship. Watson scored 20 points as Poly defeated Wilson, and he scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots in a victory against Millikan. The Jackrabbits (15-12) are home Wednesday against Crossroads in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.
Brad Brothers, Palos Verdes: Brothers anchored the Sea Kings defense in a pair of Bay League shutouts as PV clinched the Bay League title. Brothers had six saves in a 4-0 win over Leuzinger and four in a 1-0 win over Peninsula.
Hector DeLeon, Rialto: DeLeon scored five goals last week as Rialto won the San Andreas League title with wins over San Gorgonio and Rim of the World. The Knights (6-2-2 in league) finished ahead of Jurupa Hills (6-3-1) and Eisenhower (5-2-3) in league. Rialto hosts Chaffey in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs on Wednesday.
Corey Cofield, Birmingham: Cofield’s was instrumental in Birmingham winning the West Valley League title and receiving the top seed in the City Section’s Open Division. He tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Taft and had 23 points in a victory over Granada Hills. He ended the regular season with 13 points and eight rebounds in a victory over Chatsworth. Cofield was the West Valley League MVP in 2019 and is a candidate for this year’s award.
