SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Tatiana Cornejo captured Athlete of the Year for cross country, while first-year varsity mentors Melanie Cleland and Marisa Kolokotronis each earned Coach of the Year honors for cross country and water polo, respectively, as the Delta League rolled out its complete list of year-end honors for fall sports. In all, a total of 19 Troubadour athletes captured All-Delta League accolades in the school's five Delta League fall sports.
Cornejo led a perfect 1-2-3-4-5 SFHS finish at the Delta League championship meet back on October 30, with Cate Joaquin, Grace Dunham, Daphne Witherell and Kelsey Sutch crossing in second through fifth places. Kayla Towne (seventh) and Ryann Strawn (ninth) also placed among the individual top 10 to pick up all-league distinction. Cleland joined the Troubie coaching staff in December 2020, continuing a career that includes high school, college, professional and international experience.
Junior Julia Geer was the lone St. Francis representative on the All-Delta League rolls for girls' golf. She posted the Troubies' low round in most tournaments and duals throughout the fall, including all three Delta League center matches: an 85 at Haggin Oaks in early September, an 87 at Bartley Cavanaugh on October 11 and a season-best 76 at Wildhawk one week later.
The All-Delta League honors for tennis were based on the two individual tournaments at the end of October. Senior Safaa Umar advanced to the title match of the singles draw before losing to top seed and Player of the Year Aileena Hu of Franklin. Two days later, freshman Tatum Walbeck and junior Allie Dinh reached the semifinal round of the doubles tourney.
Senior setter Carli Padilla, senior libero Justine Pulmones and junior middle blocker Sophia Garza represented SFHS on the volleyball honor roll. Padilla averaged 8.5 assists per set while leading the attack to a .264 hitting average. Pulmones led the Troubies with 322 digs (4.0 per set). Garza paced her team with 220 kills and a .474 attack rate while ranking second on the team with 52 blocks.
St. Francis water polo had five All-Delta League honorees in seniors Baya McIntosh, Emma Kropf and Rory Peters; and juniors Ava Stimson and Gauri Mathrakott. Stimson led the Troubies with 39 goals and added 17 assists for 56 points, second only to Mathrakott's total of 60 (33 goals, team-leading 27 assists). Mathrakott added 84 steals to her offensive output. McIntosh tallied 11 goals, 16 assists and 27 steals; Kropf had totals of 6-15-9 and Peters went 9-8-23 in those corresponding categories. Kolokotronis, a two-time All-American as a Troubie herself, took over the varsity program this fall after previously serving as head JV coach and varsity assistant.
Each school has one Sportsmanship Award honoree as selected by the coaching staff.
CROSS COUNTRY
Tatiana Cornejo (Sr., Elk Grove)
Grace Dunham (So., Sacramento)
Cate Joaquin (Sr., Carmichael)
Ryann Strawn (So., Sacramento)
Kelsey Sutch (So., Carmichael)
Kayla Towne (So., Sacramento)
Daphne Witherell (Jr., Sacramento)
Coach of the Year: Melanie Cleland
Athlete of the Year: Tatiana Cornejo
Sportsmanship Award: Claire Silva (Sr., Sacramento)
GOLF
Julia Geer (Jr., Davis)
Sportsmanship Award: Chelsea McMahon (Jr., Davis)
TENNIS
Allie Dinh (Doubles, Jr., Sacramento)
Tatum Walbeck (Doubles, Fr., Fair Oaks)
Safaa Umar (Singles, Sr., Sacramento)
Sportsmanship Award: Lauren Lai (Sr., Sacramento)
VOLLEYBALL
Carli Padilla (Setter, Sr., Sacramento)
Justine Pulmones (Libero, Sr., Folsom)
Sophia Garza (Middle Blocker, Jr., Rancho Murieta)
Sportsmanship Award: Zoe Hopkins (Sr., Folsom)
WATER POLO
Gauri Mathrakott (Jr., Sacramento)
Rory Peters (Sr., Elk Grove)
Ava Stimson (Jr., Fair Oaks)
Baya McIntosh (Sr., Sacramento)
Emma Kropf (Sr., Sacramento)
Coach of the Year: Marisa Kolokotronis
Sportsmanship Award: Teaghan Brostrom (Jr., Sacramento)
