Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer’s Kaauwai earns All-CIF recognition
On a wall inside the weight room at Crescenta Valley High are name plates featuring each athlete who has received All-CIF recognition in the school’s history.
The honor roll grew after boys’ soccer player Dallas Kaauwai received All-CIF Southern Section Division III recognition after the CIF released first-team selections across all seven divisions Monday.
Kaauwai, a senior forward/midfielder, finished with 17 goals and five assists for 39 points.
Kaauwai helped Crescenta Valley win the Pacific League championship for the first time since 2012. Second seed Crescenta Valley (18-5-3, 12-0-2 in league) reached the second round of the playoffs, falling to California.
“He had a great season and it’s an awesome honor for Dallas and the school,” Crescenta Valley coach Grant Clark said. “It will be awesome to see his name on the wall in the weight room.
“He brought so much to our team. He was a big reason for our success and he had a great supporting cast. He helped his teammates. Dallas was like a coach on the field in that he always tried to help his teammates improve.”
Eight Falcons have been bestowed All-CIF recognition since the start of the 2011-12 season, when Crescenta Valley won the Division IV championship. They are Pavle Atanackovic, Alex Berger, Salar Hajimirsadeghi, Nick Ruiz, Pablo Sotilloi, Justin Wright, Henry Barkhordarian and Kaauwai.
“That’s quite a group,” said Clark, who guided the Falcons to the CIF title in 2012. “It’s great to see Dallas be a part of that group.
“He’s got a great head on his shoulders and he got attention from the opponents each game.”
Sebastian Hertel of Irvine University was named the division’s player of the year. Top seed University beat La Habra to win the CIF crown.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
