The playoffs have brought out the best in Brandon Sanchez and Amber Melgoza of Santa Barbara High.
The two Dons seniors have been brilliant in their respective sports in the CIF Playoffs and were honored Monday at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon as the Athletes of the Week.
Sanchez scored five goals in two wins to send the Santa Barbara boys soccer team into the CIF Division 1 semifinals on Tuesday at Los Alamitos. In a second-round game at Santa Margarita, he recorded a hat trick and scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 overtime victory. The Loyola Marymount-bound midfielder followed that performance with two goals and an assist in a 3-2 upset of state top-ranked Paramount.
Melgoza poured in 31 points to lead the Santa Barbara girls basketball team to a 48-45 win over perennial power Mater Dei in the CIF Open Division consolation round. She then scored 27 in a 64-62 loss against fourth-seeded Vista Murrieta. In a first-round game the previous week, the University of Washington-bound forward had 30 points and 11 rebounds in a loss against third-seeded Chaminade. Melgoza and the Dons will play in the CIF State Regionals next week.
The honorable mention choices include Bolden Brace (Santa Barbara boys basketball) Ben Brown (Santa Barbara basketball), Ryan Clark (UCSB baseball) Austin Bush (UCSB baseball), Jasmine Ware (UCSB women’s basketball) Sierra Palladino (San Marcos girls soccer), Aysia Shellmire (Westmont women’s basketball) and Ashley Ludlow (UCSB softball).
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