By Bill Dickens
MaxPreps.com
Three-sport high school lettermen used to be commonplace a generation ago.
No longer.
It’s not that they do not exist, rather that they are much fewer in number.
Torrey Pines’ Trevor Newquist maintains a hand in three sports – volleyball, basketball and soccer. His 3.53 grade point average has helped him earn a soccer scholarship to UC Irvine.
Newquist, however, is focused on two sports for the Falcons at the moment. In his latest endeavors, the 6-foot-3 senior cashed in 39 points in Avocado League wins over San Pasqual and Fallbrook, including 25 markers against Fallbrook.
During that same stretch, Newquist also had three of the Falcons’ soccer team's four goals in 2-0 wins over San Pasqual and Fallbrook.
The senior closed December as the leading scorer on the Falcons varsity basketball and soccer team in his first year playing the sports concurrently in high school. He continues to head the basketball scoring list.
“I find I'm eating a lot more and sleeping a lot harder,” Newquist told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Since basketball and soccer are played at the same time of year, scheduling conflicts become a reality. Newquist and his coaches have come to an agreement that basketball takes priority. That decision was based on the fact that Newquist has played three years with the basketball team.
El Capitan’s Molzen has Vaqueros on the rise
Senior Jon Molzen, who’ll probably advance to college as a wide receiver, is proving he is also a blue-chipper on the basketball court. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard-wing, registered 49 points, 25 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and blocked eight shots in his last two games as the Vaqueros gained a share of the Grossmont North League lead with defending circuit champion Grossmont.
Foothills Christian’s runaway thief
El Cajon’s Foothills Christian guard Kalob Hatcher logged seven steals in the Knights 100-30 victory over Midway Baptist on Saturday (Feb. 7) to move into second on the CIFSDS record list with 439 thefts for his career. He passed Lincoln Prep’s John McCartney, who totaled 437 steals from 1987-90. The all-time leader is Hoover’s JayDee Luster (2004-07) with 559.
El Camino ‘Cat gone wild
Senior center Luke Evans of the CIFSDS’ top-ranked El Camino turned in another powerful week. The 6-foot-8 Evans scored 26 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a 69-52 win over Poway and followed that with 29 points and 22 rebounds in a 94-49 win over Rancho Buena Vista.
Wolverines’ mat master
Westview senior Michael Hadley pinned all four of his foes to win the 189-pound weight class at the Robert Jenkins Memorial Tournament, and was named the most outstanding wrestler for upper weight divisions. He was one of three individual champions for Westview, which won the team title.
Other Top Performances
– Seeing her it is hard to believe San Diego guard Tia Dixon is only a freshman. Dixon averaged 23 points, seven assists and four steals in wins over Morse, Serra and El Capitan. She hit 11 three-pointers during the three games, including seven against El Capitan.
– Escondido senior guard Joe Hudson netted 32 points, including five 3-pointers, in a 74-50 victory over Fallbrook and followed that with 20 points in a 72-54 win over Mission Hills.
– Devyn Iglehart of San Diego’s Horizon Christian was a scoring machine in the Panthers’ three games last week. The 6-foot junior tallied almost all of Horizon’s offense, scoring 41 points in a 57-51 loss to Francis Parker, 29 in a 55-51 setback against La Jolla Country Day and 24 in a 56-33 win over Olympian.
– Senior Michelle Bearg of Escondido’s Calvin Christian sank a school-record seven 3-pointers against Tri-City Christian, finishing with 25 points.
– Ramona soccer standout Chris Huber notched an assist on the first goal and then booted in the game-winner with fewer than two minutes remaining in a 2-1 win over Oceanside.
Coming Attraction
Here is a boys basketball game to check out – Foothills Christian at San Diego on Valentine’s Day at 7 p.m. The winner of that one could argue it should be ranked the top team in the CIFSDS. At the moment, the No. 1 rung is held by El Camino.
Dickens Dealings
Coaching changes during the course of a high school basketball season are rare. In the CIF-San Diego Section this year, however, there have been at least two published coaching shifts midstream – one by superintendent order and another by choice.
Officially, Kenny Roy, head coach of the troubled San Diego Cavers, was put on administrative leave last month. Roy’s woes center around three controversial transfers – two of whom have since been declared ineligible. That ongoing soap opera continues as the fate of the third player involved is yet to be determined in court.
Meanwhile, the highly successful Santee Santana High girls basketball program has experienced three coaching changes this season. Actually those switches occurred over a six-day period. That shifting of the whistle involves incumbent Jim Mottershaw, the section’s winningest girls basketball coach Wade Vickery and Jeff Bickford.
Mottershaw began his third season at Santana in November and guided the Sultans to a 14-5 start this year and then suddenly turned in his resignation on Jan. 26. Although the veteran coach could not be reached for comment, the official line handed down by the school’s administration is he turned in his clipboard for personal reasons. Mottershaw, who has coached at both the high school and college for over 40 years, posted a 57-23 mark during his stint at Santana.
Vickery was thrust into the jump seat less than 24 hours after Mottershaw’s sudden departure and guided Santana to a 43-19 romp over El Cajon Valley. It was Vickery’s CIFSDS record 610th win against 119 losses.
Now it is Bickford’s turn. His title is interim coach, which means he’d better win or Santana will be looking for another coach next season. An assistant for the Sultans’ boys team, Bickford is looking at a tall task – a tough act to follow and all that kind of stuff.
So far, Bickford has directed Santana to a split in four games.
