LBCC Volleyball's Peterson, Mt. SAC Swimmer Harary Are 2018-19 MacKenzie Scholarship Winners
PASADENA - Long Beach City College women's volleyball and beach player Kaitlyn Peterson and Mt. San Antonio men's swimmer Jason Harary are the recipients of the 2018-2019 Don MacKenzie Memorial Scholarships. The two student-athletes receive $1,000 awards from the South Coast Conference.
The MacKenzie Scholarships annually go to sophomore student-athletes who exhibit strong academics and high performance on the field of play. In some cases, the student-athletes chosen are ones who also have overcome obstacles and involve themselves in community service. The awards honor the memory of MacKenzie, a long-time SCC commissioner from 1979-2004.
Peterson was an All-SCC selection in both indoor women's volleyball and beach volleyball for the Vikings this past season, playing on conference champion teams in each sport. On the beach team, she was ninth in state pairs and played for the state runner-up LBCC team.
She played prep volleyball at Heritage High in Brentwood (Contra Costa County). A sociology major at Long Beach, she achieved a 3.91 GPA. She earned an IGETC Certificate of Achievement. Peterson will transfer to USC as a film and business major. She is the first student-athlete from LBCC to receive a MacKenzie scholarship award since 2013. Peterson played for Vikings head coach Misty-May Treanor.
Harary keeps collecting awards after a brilliant swim season at Mt. SAC. The sophomore was the SCC Co-Swimmer of the Year and broke two conference records in the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medley events while helping the Mounties earn the conference team title with a school-record 964 points. He also won the 200 backstroke and was a part of four relay wins.
At the CCCAA Championships, Harary earned State Men's Performance of the Meet in winning the 400 IM title as well as the 200 IM gold medal. He also won a silver medal in the 200 backstroke and helped Mt. SAC to its best-ever state finish in third place, the highest among any Southern California region school.
Harary garnered nine All-American honors including five individual events and four relay races en route to being named the Mt. San Antonio Spring Student-Athlete of the Year. Out of the water, Harary volunteers through his church's Bread of Angels Program that helps feed the homeless and for Mt. San Antonio College's Swim Invite Series for high schoolers. With a 3.82 GPA, Harary earned a swim scholarship to Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), where he will major in tourism, conventions and event management.
In May, Harary was selected for the National Alliance of Two Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) 2018-19 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Harary came to Mt. SAC after attending his hometown Brea Olinda High. He swam at Mt. SAC for head coach Marc Ruh. Harary is the first Mounties athlete to win the Mackenzie award in three years.
(Robert Lewis, South Coast Conference)