Hartford Press Box

Hartford student-athletes achieve success, land on All-Conference teams

After a loss by the volleyball team almost a month ago, Husky fans bid adieu to fall sports in Hartford. Student-athletes wearing green and white experienced their fair share of great successes, as well as disappointment when games, matches and meets didn’t go their way. However, their achievements throughout the past several months didn’t go unnoticed, as participants on the cross-country, soccer and volleyball teams were featured on their league’s all-conference lists.

Beginning with the soccer pitch, the Huskies finished with a 21-1-1 record and were the league champions in the Southwest 10 Conference once again. Because they were on top of the conference standings, it comes with the most selections when it came to all-conference recognition. When the final lists were released, no less than twelve members of this year’s team were selected for all-conference honors.

Seven players, including Brody Johnson, Dylan Kuehnle, Anthony Mejia, Erick Morales, Melvin Parra, Alexis Rivas and Caiden Smith, received first team all-conference honors, while Sebastian Gonzalez, Kameron Kuehnle and Allan Zaldivar were selected for second team all-conference recognition. Earning honorable mention all-conference were Jairo Lorenzo-Reyes and Alexander Soriano.

On the cross-country trail, all-conference honors are not necessarily determined by the finish in the final team standings, but rather, the results of the individual runners in each of the three conference jamborees. Both Hartford teams had solid runs throughout the conference campaign, as they both finished in third place in the final standings. Meanwhile, a total of nine runners (four young men and five young ladies) ran well enough to take home all-conference recognition.

On the men’s side, Josais Robles and Carlos Ruiz took home first team all-conference honors, while Robert Lenza and Jairo Lopez earned second team all-conference recognition. On the ladies side, Katlina Wadlington and Lillian Wolf took home first team all-conference honors, while Laura Barcenas, Marianna Hopper and Leah Fish earned second team all-conference recognition.

Finally, on the volleyball court, it was not quite the successful season that the Lady Huskies envisioned, especially during the league campaign. Hartford finished with a record of 2-7 in Southwest 10 Conference matches, which put them towards the bottom of the final standings. Much like soccer, the all-conference selection process is dictated by your results in league matches, which meant that the Lady Huskies didn’t have many opportunities to be featured.

When the final selections were handed down, two players received honorable mention all-conference from the Southwest 10 Conference. Those players are Kaylee Blocker and Abby Valdes.

The Hartford Press Box congratulates these fine student-athletes on their achievements this fall! Our attention will now turn to winter sports, which will begin with a pair of boys basketball games during the week of Nov. 27. Next week’s column will get into more detail on the teams and their schedules looking ahead, so stay tuned.

But, for now, let everyone relax for the long holiday weekend and enjoy the blessings of being with their family and friends during these special days. May our readers all have a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday, no matter where they spend it!

As always, GO GREEN! GO WHITE!