West Valley’s Jake Fuller receives award

Photo by Paul Robeson, Sports Editor

SCHOLAR–ATHLETES: West Valley’s Alyssa Christensen and Jake Fuller hold the plaques they received last Thursday at the Scholar-Athlete awards banquet put on by the Exchange Club of Redding and the Record Searchlight. Along with the plaques Christensen received $200 as a runner-up and Fuller took the top men’s honors with a $750 scholarship.

Photo by Paul Robeson, Sports Editor

DISCUS THROW" Jake Fuller throws the discus to take first place honors in the event. His best throw this year was 186 feet 3 inches.

Photo by Paul Robeson, Sports Editor

WAITING FOR THE BATON: Alyssa Christensen looks for her teammate in a relay race.

Jake Fuller of West Valley High School and Samantha Camuso of Foothill High School were named the top winners of the Exchange Club of Redding-Record Searchlight Scholar-Athlete awards. This is the 25th year for the awards.

Each winner received a check for $750 and a plaque.

Alyssa Christensen, of West Valley, received a runner-up plaque and $200 as did three other women athletes and four other men athletes in the Record Searchlight’s circulation area. Each student who achieved at least a 3.3 grade point average and participated in at least one sport during their senior year was in contention for the award.

The awards were presented by guest speakers Todd and Becky Freeland-Sloat who are both teachers at Fall River High School, and former Scholar-Athletes themselves. Their daughter, Kelsey, was also a finalist this year.

Fuller has a 4.34 GPA and has been an elite discus thrower for four years. Last year Fuller finished fifth in the state in discus. He was a Junior Olympics Elite Youth All-American in discus, javelin and hammer. He has competed in cross country and swimming and is an active member in the community. His work in the Don’t Drop Dead program, which aims to raise awareness and help prevent teen-related motor vehicle accidents, was one of his favorite projects. The Prudential Financial Corporation named him the California High School Volunteer of the Year in March 2006.

This year he beat his last year’s shot put record by a quarter of an inch with a 48 foot 10.25 inch throw. In the discus throw, as a junior, he threw 180 feet 4 inches. This year it was 186 feet 3 inches.

Fuller recently received word that he was awarded the Ed Mendrix Scholar-Athlete of the year for the northern section of California. He plans on attending the University of California at Davis where he received a scholarship.

In the 100-meter run Christensen holds a 12.68, while in the 200-meter run it is 26.51. In the 400-meters, as a junior it was 63.74 and as a senior 1:01.92. In the 400-meter split relay she holds a 59.3. In the 100 high hurdles she is recorded as 15.07a and in the 300 low hurdles it is 44.72 for this year. As a junior she had a 13 foot 10 inch long jump.

Christensen, who holds a 4.08 GPA, plans on attending Brigham Young University and studying sports medicine.