Athletes of the Year

Walker Kehrer and Ali Riley Top List in 2006

Walker Kehrer had a breakthrough year on the junior tennis circuit, climbing to as high as No. 3 in Southern California in singles and No. 1 in the nation in doubles in the Boys 16s rankings. His success is primarily a product of hours and hours of practice on the same Palisades Tennis Courts where he first learned to play. In May, Walker won three major tournaments, beginning with the Boys 16s singles title at the Anaheim Tennis Center Junior Open, one of the largest junior events in Southern California. Later the same week, he took third place at the Boys 16s USTA National Open in Sacramento. The next week, Walker won the Quiksilver Junior Championships, a national tournament in Newport Beach. Just 24 hours later, Walker’s Brentwood varsity tennis team beat Beverly Hills to win the CIF title. In June, Walker won the 16-and-under division of the Southern California Sectionals–the largest annual junior tournament in the United States. July brought another national title as Walker took first place in the 16s at the St. Louis Clay Court Championships. Walker’s next major achievement came in September. Playing in one of his first 18-and-under tournaments, he won the Northridge Matador Juniors at Cal State Northridge. Amazingly, he won seven straight matches, defeating five seeded players and never dropping a set. He is currently in Scottsdale, Arizona for the Winter Nationals. Sharing the top spot on this year’s list is Ali Riley, who had a remarkable year on the soccer pitch. Ali rises early every morning and, with a ball under her arm, heads to the Palisades Recreation Center field to perfect a move she’s been working on. It is that kind of tireless dedication to her craft that makes Ali one of the premiere players at her age. In February, Ali’s goal in the Southern Section semifinals helped Harvard-Westlake High prevail on penalty kicks. The Wolverines lost the Division I championship game but Ali was named First Team All-CIF. In April, she was invited to play for New Zealand at the Under-20 World Cup qualifiers in Samoa and she made the most of her opportunity. Ali scored in every game to help the Kiwis earn a berth in the finals in Russia, where she was selected FIFA Player of the Match in New Zealand’s overtime loss to the host nation. In August, Ali earned a spot in Stanford’s starting lineup as a striker after having playing midfield on her prep and club teams. She had one goal and one assist in the playoffs as the Cardinal advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16. Ali was named to the All-Pac 10 freshman team and her performance on the international level was so exceptional that New Zealand Soccer voted her Women’s Youth Player of the Year and Women’s Senior Player of the Year– the first time anyone has ever been nominated for both awards. Peter Gilmore Once again, Peter saved his best efforts for the big races and proved that he is among the elite marathon runners in the country. Peter finished seventh in the Boston Marathon in April with a personal-best time of 2:12:45. He followed that with a 12th-place finish in the Falmouth Road Race, where he was the second American finisher. He placed fourth in the B.A.A. Half Marathon in October 8, running the 13.1-mile course in 1:04:30. Although he lives and trains in San Mateo, Peter returned to the Palisades on July 4 for the Will Rogers 5K, winning his hometown race for the eighth time. Peter saved his peak performance for last, however. Starting off the pace in the early stages of the New York Marathon in November, he eventually passed every American in the field to cross the finish line 10th in 2:13:13. Kelly Irvin On the court and on the sand, Kelly was all-everything this year in girls volleyball. She and partner Ashley Lee won the gold medal in the U-18 division at the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Beach Championships in August. Irvin and Lee then represented the United States at the Youth World Championships in Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda, where they tied for ninth in the U-19 division. As successful as she was on the beach, Kelly was just as good indoors. Playing outside hitter, she led Marymount High to its sixth straight CIF title and first in Division I-A. Two weeks later, the Sailors won the Division IV state title. Kelly, who lives in the Highlands, was voted Sunshine League most valuable player for the second year in a row and made First Team All-CIF. Baxter Humby The “One-Armed Bandit” enjoyed another successful year in the ring, fighting five times in California without a loss and adding two more title belts to his growing collection. His first big fight was in February when he captured the International Muay Thai Council Super Welterweight World Championship. In June, he won the XTMC Super Welterweight title. Baxter currently holds two other belts, the WMTF Middleweight belt and the Japanese Welterweight Shootboxing title. Just two weeks ago he defended his IMTC title at the San Manuel Casino with a first round knockout. On Monday, an amendment by the California State Athletic Commission requesting that any applicant missing all or part of a limb be denied a license was later appealed and Baxter, born without most of his right arm, is training for his next title defense in January. Corinne O’Brien The 2006 season resulted in another “perfect 10” for Corinne. The 13-year-old Palisades native won her fourth consecutive state championship in artistic gymnastics, winning the gold medal in the balance beam. On the way to her Level 8 state title, Corinne also won gold medals at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy Classic as well as gold and silver medals at three other highly competitive invitational meets. Participating in the Junior Olympic Program of USA Gymnastics, Corinne went on to win the silver medal in the all around competition at the USA Region 1 Championships. A seventh-grader at Windward School, Corinne won the balance beam, floor exercise and all-around at the Go For It Classic in January. One month later, she won the vault and all-round at the Lights, Camera, Action Invitational at UCLA. Paris Hays Not only did Paris win all of his races for the Palisades High swim team last spring, he clocked personal-best times when it mattered most. At the City finals in May, Paris won the 50 Freestyle, the 100 Freestyle and anchored the Dolphins’ winning 200 Medley and 200 Freestyle Relays. In June, he was presented the Post Cup Award as outstanding senior athlete at PaliHi. Kristabel Doebel-Hickok Palisades High’s senior captain placed ninth in the girls’ Division I race at the state cross country championships in Fresno, capping a stellar season in which she went undefeated in league dual meets and finished second at the City Section finals. On the track, Kristabel qualified for the state meet in both the 1600 and 3200, finishing third and second, respectively, at the City finals in May. Tom Hill Tom finished ninth in the over-45 age group at the Mulholland Challenge, a grueling 112-mile bike race with a climb of 12,205 feet. He rode the course in seven hours and 44 minutes. In July, he completed the L’Etape, the 15th stage of this year’s Tour de France. He pedaled the 118-mile course through the French Alps fast enough for a silver medal in his age group. Beth Bellamy A former professional tennis player, Beth is now dominating the sport of paddle tennis. In March, at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, she swept the Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles divisions. She lost only one game in singles on her way to winning the championship. Brian Greenberg Only 13 months after taking up the sport, the Palisades High junior won the pole vault at the City Section finals in May. Brian was the only one of nine finalists to clear 12-6. His personal best height of 13-0 was achieved at the Rotary Invitational in April. He also won the Western League finals, clearing 11-0. Katy Nikolova Completed a near-perfect junior year two weeks ago by winning the City Individual singles title to finish the season undefeated against City Section opponents. She also notched a key victory in Palisades High’s win over Taft in the City team finals November 17. Katy won 39 out of 40 singles sets she played this season. Jared Brown Took first place in the Under-19 age group at the UCLA Iron Bruin Triathlon in April. Jared’s combined time of one hour, 19 minutes and 12 seconds placed him 49th overall in a field of 210 competitors. A ninth-grader at Wildwood Academy, Jared joined the Southern California Junior Elite Team and and works with coach Ian Murray. He also came in fifth out of 12 in his age group and 33rd out of 357 competitors at the USA Triathlon National Club Championships in Las Vegas. Stephanie Sommer A junior outside hitter on Lighthouse Christian Academy’s girls volleyball team, Stephanie was a first-team All-CIF selection for the third straight year after leading the Saints to a 14-5 record and into the Southern Section Division V-AA semifinals in November. Stephanie also plays for Cari Klein’s Sunshine Volleyball Club 18s team. Robbie Bellamy Started the year ranked among the top 10 tennis players in Southern California in his age group. Injuries caused Robbie to miss the first half of 2006 but he recuperated in time to net the singles title at the Santa Monica Junior Open. He also has a full year of eligibility in the 12s and is steadily moving back up the rankings. Last week he beat No. 57-ranked Adam Bagby 6-0, 6-3 at the Westcoast Junior Open and on Saturday he beat No. 45-ranked Dylan Brown 6-1, 6-3 in the California Bowl. Kristin Quinn Talk about going out in style, Kristin just completed her senior volleyball season at Amherst College, where she served as the team co-captain and was named New England Player of the Year. A 1999 St. Matthew’s graduate, she was second in the nation in Division III in hitting percentage and third in blocks per game. Andy Megee The only Palisades High baseball player to earn All-City first-team honors in 2006, Andy led the Dolphins with a .466 batting average, 11 doubles, three home runs, two triples and 28 runs batted in. Palisades’ third baseman was also a first-team All-Western League choice with a .851 fielding percentage and a .739 slugging percentage. Amanda Lisberger Whether suiting up for her high school team or her club team, Amanda has one objective: kick the ball into the net. Her left-footed deflection clinched the Under-17 Surf Cup championship for her Eagles Soccer Club squad in August–one of many game-winning goals she scored this year. A junior at Brentwood, Amanda not only plays soccer, she competes in track and field in the spring. Cole Cook A junior pitcher at Palisades High, Cole was chosen to play in the Area Code tournament in August as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Gray team. The 6-6 right-hander was one of 36 players nationwide selected to play in the Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic in July in Wareham Center, Massachusetts. Cole made the All-City second team after posting a 7-3 record with a 3.01 earned run average and 91 strikeouts in 60 innings. Caitlin Blosser A rising star in soccer, Caitlin was recently named Most Valuable Player at the United States Club Soccer Super Y North American Championships in Tampa, Florida after her team, Real SoCal, won its age group. Caitlin led her team in scoring during the tournament with five goals and three assists. A Calvary Christian alum and now a sophomore at Brentwood, Caitlin was named to the All-CIF second team as a freshman. Brian Beckwith The former Loyola High standout is now making waves at the University of Hawaii. A 6-6 setter, Brian was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s All-American First Team after pacing the Warriors to second place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. He ranked second nationally in assists per game (13.52) and averaged 1.43 digs and 0.89 blocks per game. Claudia Campos Was the first Palisadian woman to finish the Palisades-Will Rogers 5K, winning the 45-49 age division in 20:43. Claudia was fifth among females and first in her age group at the Santa Barbara Triathlon in October, completing the swim/bike/run in 3:31:31. To prove it was no fluke, she won her age division again three weeks later at the USA Triathlon National Club Championships in Las Vegas, completing the course in 2:43:07. Raymond Elie Ray did it all as the quarterback for the Palisades High football team in the fall, leading the squad to the playoffs for the first time since 2003. He ran or passed for over half of the Dolphins’ touchdowns and doubled as a defensive safety, intercepting seven passes. His electrifying 97-yard run in the playoffs against Marshall was Palisades’ longest scoring play of the season. Ani Mardirossian Just call her Marymount’s “Renaissance Woman.” As versatile as any athlete in the Palisades, Ani has participated in a variety of sports for the Sailors–including tennis, volleyball, track and field and cross country. Last spring she reached the City Section prelims in track and field. In the fall, Ani played No. 1 doubles on the varsity tennis team and was chosen First-Team All-Sunshine League. She also went 3-0 in singles matches.