Magnolia Tavizon has been named Central Valley High School’s Western Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“I know there are a lot of talented athletes at CV, so to be picked among all of them is a huge honor,” she said. “I’m extremely lucky to be surrounded by so many good people like my leadership teacher Mr. Merchant and our Athletic Director Mr. Magni who put me in this position and both accompanied me to the ceremony for this award.”
Tavizon had a cumulative grade-point average of 4.396 at Central Valley.
She was presented Associated Study Body 4 Year Legacy, CYSO Lou Toste Soccer, Lucas Elementary and Maury McCaffrey Memorial Math/Soccer Scholarships during the Senior Awards Night Banquet.
“My parents are my biggest supporters and motivators,” she said. “They never fail to tell me how proud they are of me and their own hard work and sacrifice is what motivated me to excel in school in the first place. They never put too much pressure on me but stressed that I should take advantage of the opportunities I have. They helped me realize we take simple things for granted, and that’s what makes me push myself every day.”
Tavizon took four advanced-placement (AP) courses senior year, including Statistics, Environmental Science, English Literature and American Government and Politics.
She earned 21 college credits from AP classes sophomore and junior years.
“The most challenging part was definitely just balancing my responsibilities and navigating a busy schedule,” Tavizon said while talking about life as a student-athlete in high school. “I was involved in multiple clubs and ASB at CV, so I really had to keep organized. I missed events such as other CV sports games with friends or family parties. But it was 100 percent worth it. The bond I built with my teammates and the improvement I saw as a player was very valuable to me, and I wouldn’t trade this season for the world.”
Tavizon earned four varsity letters in soccer.
“I’m very blessed and thankful to each and every one of my coaches and teammates, not just this season, but since my freshman year,” she said.
Tavizon made 34 saves en route to leading Central Valley to a 20-4-2 overall record, first-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference standings (12-1) and berth to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I playoffs.
“This was easily my best season, and I credit all of my individual success to my defense, who had my end of the field absolutely locked down each game,” she said. “I couldn’t have pulled off any of my performances without their support on the field. As a team, a lot of our success was a result of our chemistry. We were also lucky enough to have a lot of new players who weren’t afraid to step up and be key parts of our lineup, which was really impressive to see and took our game to another level.”
Tavizon totaled 136 saves in 56 career games.
She was named Central Valley’s Central California Conference Sportsmanship Award winner as a junior.
“She always supported her teammates,” head coach Miguel Larranaga said. “She’s very positive.”
Tavizon’s teams at Central Valley won a combined 42 games, claimed one conference title and made two appearances.
“I’ve been playing soccer for nine years and discovered goalkeeping somewhere around my second year,” she said. “My dad has been a goalkeeper his whole life and is my biggest inspiration. The most enjoyable part of playing the position is definitely making game-winning saves, not to mention how nice it is to not have to run as much as field players. Easily the most challenging part of this position is the mental battle of trying not to blame yourself for a team loss. Since keepers only touch the ball a small portion of the game, even if you win, it’s inevitable to find yourself dwelling on small mistakes or goals given away.”
Tavizon will be the first person from her family to attend college.
She’ll continue her education and playing career at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.
Tavizon will major in health and physical education.
She wants to coach soccer in the future.
“I was lucky enough to be offered a roster spot,” Tavizon said. “I’m super pumped to be starting there my freshman year of college and take my soccer career to the next level.”
