Central Valley’s girls flag football team experienced a major turnaround this fall thanks in large part to the play of Ayleen Apreza, Giana Breshears, Alicia Espinoza, Abigail Krauss, Jocelyn Rivera, Dulce Del Valle, Mekenzie Buenrostro and Damaris Cisneros.
Apreza, Breshears, Espinoza, Krauss, Rivera, Del Valle, Buenrostro and Cisneros were honored during the Western Athletic Conference’s year-end head coaches’ meeting on Oct. 27 in Ceres.
They helped lead the Hawks to a program-best third-place finish in the WAC standings with a 9-5 mark.
Central Valley dropped out of the race for the WAC title during the final week of the regular season.
“This is the first year we’ve had this many players recognized,” Hawks’ head coach Tony Cordova said. “It shows our program is getting better. The hard work is starting to pay off.”
Apreza, Breshears and Espinoza were named to the WAC First Team.
Apreza was the leading vote-getter for offensive players.
“It’s exciting to see her get that recognition. She didn’t let us down. She made big plays in big games.”
Apreza, a sophomore receiver/running back, caught 53 passes for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 603 yards and two touchdowns on 94 carries on the season.
She had 19 tackles, nine interceptions and one sack at safety.
“She’s really quiet. She doesn’t say much. You get her the football, she does all her talking with her play on the field.”
Breshears was the leading vote-getter for defensive players. She had 58 tackles and 16 sacks at middle linebacker.
“She’s a special player."
Espinoza, senior outside linebacker, had 60 tackles, five interceptions and one sack.
“We didn’t have to worry about her side of the football field. She always contained the outside.”
Krauss, a senior quarterback, and Rivera, a senior running back/receiver, were both named to the WAC Second Team.
Krauss completed 186 of 339 passes for 1,733 yards with 28 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
She also rushed for 467 yards on 70 carries.
“Abigail should have made First Team. She was a huge part of our success this year. She made our team way better.”
Rivera ran for 343 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries and caught 15 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown.
“She did a fantastic job this year."
Buenrostro, a freshman running back/receiver, and Del Valle, a senior outside linebacker, were WAC honorable-mention selections.
Buenrostro caught 19 passes for 104 yards and eight touchdowns.
She had seven tackles and three interceptions at safety.
“She played like a season veteran."
Del Valle had 50 tackles, three interceptions and one sack.
“She was a key part to our defense. She was always poised.”
Cisneros, a senior defensive back, was named Central Valley’s WAC Sportsmanship Award winner.
She tallied 24 tackles and two interceptions.
“She was always the first one at practice and last to leave. She led by example.”
