The first Athlete of the Week award winners of the new year are both from the basketball court.
Athena Saragoza of Santa Barbara High and Beau Allen of San Marcos were honored for their performances on the hardcourt at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
Saragoza led the Dons to a 3-1 record in the Tournament of Champions. She saved her best performance for the last game, scoring 28 points in a 93-80 win over Righetti, a team Santa Barbara lost against (56-46) back on Dec. 1.
The 28-point performance came after a cold-shooting game in a 38-35 loss to eventual champion Foothill Tech.
In the other tournament games, the sophomore guard had 23 points in a win over Pioneer and 15 in a victory against Simi Valley.
Allen poured in 27 points and made five clutch free throws in overtime in a 77-76 victory over CIF-ranked St. Bonaventure.
Allen made his last two free throws with 16 seconds left that tied the score and gave the Royals the lead.
The male honorable mention selections for the award include Diego Espinosa (Santa Barbara High soccer), Julio Montes (San Marcos soccer) and JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB basketball).
The other female athletes nominated were Faith Tedesco (Santa Barbara High water polo) and Iyree Jarrett (Westmont basketball).
The athletes of the week are voted on by the local sports media. Coaches are encouraged to submit nominations by Saturday night. Send nominations to sports@noozhawk.com.
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