Lopez, McCarley earn CCCSIA Athlete of the Month honors for September

SACRAMENTO, Calif. The California Community College Sports Information Association is pleased to announce it’s 2017 September Athletes of the Month. Riverside City College’s Hannah McCarley and Glendale Community College’s Raymond Lopez were named the respective award winners.

Hannah McCarley | Riverside City College | Women's Water Polo | Freshman
McCarley has paced the Tigers in the pool by providing a solid foundation in the cage en route to Riverside's 13-1 start on the season. She has been a key component in the team's success by amassing a total of 116 saves thus far which ranks her second overall in the state. Throughout September, she has landed in double-digit saves seven times on the season highlighted by a 16-saves effort in a 8-2 win over San Joaquin Delta. Additionally, she has halted each team to under nine goals en route to her 13 wins between the pipes. Her lone loss came in a double-overtime thriller against SJD, proving it takes more than four quarters to defeat the freshman phenom.

Raymond Lopez | Glendale Community College | Men's Cross Country | Sophomore
Raymond Lopez had an outstanding month as a runner in September winning four of five races including the Fresno Invitational Sept. 9, the Southern. California Preview Sept. 15, the Golden West Invitational Sept. 22 and the Western State Conference Preview Meet Sept. 29. He took second at the season opening Mark Covert Classic Sept. 2 but was the first community college runner to finish in a race that included four-year schools. His leadership as team captain is evident as he has led the Vaqueros to top three rankings in the state and Southern California and to team wins in the Southern California Preview, the Golden West Invitational and the WSC Preview Meet as well as second place in the Fresno Invitational and fourth place in the Mark Covert Classic.

Honorable Mention
Emily Burns | College of the Canyons | Women's Volleyball | Sophomore
College of the Canyons sophomore outside hitter Emily Burns has enjoyed a tremendous start to the season. Burns finished the month of September with 239 kills across 15 matches, good for a rate of 4.51 kills per set and a .323 hitting percentage. She also added 39 aces at a rate of 0.73 per set. Those totals helped Burns accumulate 301.5 points, for an average of 5.69 points per set. Heading into the first weekend of October, Burns ranked third in the state in kills, sixth in kills per set, third in points, fifth in points per set, and seventh in aces. Her high level play has been instrumental in Canyons obtaining a No. 14 state ranking, No. 8 regional ranking and 12-3 overall record.

Mapuhola Sekona | West Valley College | Women's Volleyball | Freshman
Mapu Sekona helped West Valley to a 9-4 mark in September and a first-ever ranking in the CCCAA top 25. The business major from Honolulu posted double-digit kills in 12 of WVC's 13 matches, with 20 or more kills in six contests. Sekona is currently ranked 2nd in the state in kills (253), 3rd in kill-per-set (5.16), 6th in service aces (42), and 2nd in points-per-set (6.3). In the Coast-North, the Vikings' team captain leads the total kills chart by a staggering 110 kills and is 1st in service aces, SA/Set, 2nd in points-per-set, 3rd in total digs, 5th in hitting % and 11th in blocks-per-set. Off the court, Mapu helps put the "community" in community college by coaching youth volleyball at the Mountain View Volleyball Club.

Brandon Sotomayor | East Los Angeles College | Men's Wrestling | Sophomore
Opened 8-0 on the season Brandon has won the West Hills Invitational and the Santa Ana Invitational winning the Outstanding Wrestler at the former...also Ranked #1 in the state in the 285 lb. weight class

Marko Kruska | West Valley College | Men's Water Polo | Freshman
Marko Kruska was the backbone of a West Valley team that posted a 14-1 mark in September, outscoring its opponents 277-75. The freshman GK from Belgrade, Serbia recorded 120 GK blocks, had 11 steals and four assists, and contributed to the Vikings' 18.5 goals-per-game average with four scores of his own. Kruska gave up a single goal in WVC's 22-1 win over San Joaquin Delta and combined with Eric Tallman to shut out American River 17-0.

Brandon Aiyuk | Sierra College | Football | Sophomore
Brandon's success has propelled Sierra College to a 3-2 start, and our current 3 game winning streak. After the first ½ of the season (All during September) he leads the state in total touchdowns, receiving touchdowns, punt return yards, all-purpose yards and total points. Brandon has hauled in 12 total TD’s, 10 receiving (leads state), 1 Punt return & 1 Kick-off return. He has 25 Receptions for 521 yards for an average of 104.2 yards per game, good for 5th in the state. He sits in the top spot in the state in all-purpose yards per game with 181.4. Brandon was also selected as our student athlete of the week for his standout performance against College of San Mateo.

Andrea Martinez | Folsom Lake College | Women's Soccer | Sophomore
In ten games in September, Andrea scored 15 goals (2nd in the state) and tallied 5 assists, totaling 35 points (also 2nd in the state). 

(Voting was conducted among the CCCSIA Executive Committee)