Section honors Pearson, Wagner with scholarships

By Marty James

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Wednesday in the Napa Valley:

Napa High School’s Alexandra Pearson and Vintage’s Zachary Wagner will be honored by the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section later this month as recipients of A. Dale Lacky Scholarships for outstanding athletic performance, community service and academic success during their four years of high school.

The Sac-Joaquin Section said $34,000 in scholarships will be awarded to the 50 winners of A. Dale Lacky Scholarships.

The award, honoring former Section and State CIF President A. Dale Lacky, recognizes the top male and female student-athletes within the section.

The scholarship committee has selected five male and five female students as the recipients of a $1,000 scholarship. The other nominees will be awarded a $600 scholarship from the section.

All schools were allowed to play one extra volleyball match and an extra boys and girls basketball game with 50 percent of the profits going directly to the foundation for the scholarships. More than $22,000 was generated through the foundation games. The balance of money came through the annual golf tournament and other sponsors.

All of the winners will be recognized at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Breakfast Awards Ceremony, which will take place on April 21 at Elkhorn Country Club in Stockton. The program will start at 9 a.m.

The section will also be honoring three male and three female model coach winners at this breakfast as well.

Pearson and Wagner are the recipients of $600 scholarships.

Pearson lettered in track and field for four years, in volleyball for two, and in cross country this year. For two years she helped her volleyball team earn a spot in the section playoffs and helped her cross country team qualify for the section meet this year.

For the last three years, her 4x400 relay team has qualified for sub-sections and she is leading the team this year as a captain. She is a four-year member of the marching band, selected to be an assistant drum major and band section leader by her peers, and is a member of the jazz band this year.

Pearson, who carries a 4.49 GPA, was selected as a Supreme Court Justice at the Girls State Convention last year.

Wagner has competed in basketball and tennis for four years and football for two years before trading in his cleats for running shoes.

In his senior year, he was named captain of all three of his teams. His first year out for cross country, Wagner was named Rookie of the Year. He has also earned the Coaches Award twice in tennis and All-Monticello Empire League recognition in basketball.

Wagner was named all-Napa County honorable mention as a forward in basketball for the Crushers during the 2007-08 season.

He has served his community through Vintage’s athletic leadership class, as well as being active in 4-H, church and Boy Scouts. He was recognized by the Napa Valley Unified School District as student of the month, selected as a Boys’ State Delegate, and is an AP scholar with honors.

Ranked second in his class, Wagner has an impressive 4.82 GPA and will attend Brigham Young University to study biology.

———

Dan Lemieux and Bob Saunders, organizers of the fifth annual Shannon Lemieux Memorial Aquatics Day, will be the guests of the KVON SportsVine Saturday.

The hour-long show starts at 9 a.m. on KVON-1440 AM and is hosted by Terry Simpkins, Charles Kennedy and Mark McLeod.

This year’s Shannon Lemieux Memorial Aquatics Day is April 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Vintage High Aquatics Center. All proceeds will go to the Shannon Lemieux Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has awarded 41 scholarships to graduating seniors at Justin-Siena, Napa and Vintage.

A donation of $5 for adults and $3 for students and children will be taken at the gate.

The May 2 SportsVine will be dedicated to Dennis O’Donnell, a 1961 Napa High graduate, who passed away Feb. 16, 2008 due to respiratory failure from ALS.

He was 64.

O’Donnell was an assistant football coach from 1981 to 1986 under Les Franco at Napa High. He worked as a sales rep for Valeo, Fitness Quest, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Berkey and Harbinger.

Franco, Joe Flax and Bim Coyle will be the guests of the show that day.

———

Ryan Kostecka is batting .328 with four doubles and a triple for the Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Ore.) baseball team.

Kostecka, who went to Napa High, also has a .971 fielding percentage.

———

Caroline DeVincenzi is enjoying a very good freshman year of softball at Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Ore.).

The Justin-Siena graduate is batting .299 after 28 games.

———

Micah Putnam’s senior year of softball at Cal State Northridge is going well. The Matadors’ second baseman has started all 35 games and is batting .261 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, 24 RBIs and six stolen bases.

Putnam went to Justin-Siena.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009