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Sacred Heart’s mainstay caretaker, Breeana Koemans, delivered

(Raul Roa/Staff Photographer)
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The top-10 female high school athletes from the 2011-12 season were voted on by the Glendale News-Press sports department. These are selections 2-10. See the Aug. 22 edition for the Female Athlete of the Year.

2 Breeana Koemans, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer, senior — Koemans, who will attend Northeastern, played 21 games for the Tologs and recorded a team-high 15 goals and 12 assists for 42 points. The All-Area Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year was named the Mission League’s co-Most Valuable Player.

A talented forward who helped Sacred Heart win the CIF Southern Section Division I championship in 2011, Koemans finished her decorated career with the Tologs with 155 points, second most behind Jessica Reyes (195). She finished tied for first in career games played (95) and games started (94) for the Tologs.

She earned a spot on the All-CIF Division I first team this season to cap her amazing career.

“Breeana had arguably the greatest four-year high school career of any local high school player — male or female,” Flintridge Sacred Heart co-Coach Frank Pace said. “She has won or shared in virtually every individual award and team championship there is in leading us to national prominence.”

3 Jocelyn Chia, Crescenta Valley High golf, sophomore — After turning in an outstanding freshman campaign, Chia, the two-time All-Area Girls’ Golfer of the Year, proved she could elevate her game even more. Chia won her first Pacific League individual championship, shooting a league average of 37.6, and helped the Falcons finish second in league and sixth at the CIF Southern Section Central Team Divisional.

Chia made her second appearance in a row in the CIF Individual Final and Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. Qualifying Tournament.

“Last year, she came in with the reputation of being a good player and she easily proved that,” Crescenta Valley Coach Lee Pope said. “This year, you could see right at the start that she improved playing in junior tournaments and she was going to be able to knock off a couple of strokes off her game, which she did.”

4 Hannah Cookson, Crescenta Valley High softball, sophomore — Cookson provided the Falcons with plenty of offensive punch and a trip to the postseason.

Pacing the area with 16 home runs and a .731 average, Cookson collected 49 hits, including five doubles and three triples. She drove in 53 runs and scored 41 en route to being named to the All-Area first team. She was also named to the All-CIF Division III and All-Pacific League first teams.

“She’s got to be [All-CIF],” Crescenta Valley Coach Mark Samford said. “I don’t know who else has better stats than that anywhere, to be honest.

“It was great fun [coaching Cookson]. She’s a great kid. That 16 home runs put her pretty high on the list for the state record. It was fun to watch her be mature about it and the approach she took. [She] never got up or down, she just came in, did her business and played really well and was a great teammate.”

5 Kirsten Vose, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimming, freshman — Vose provided a glimpse of Sacred Heart’s future after starring during her first season. Vose played a major role in helping the Tologs win the Mission League title, topping defending champion Alemany.

Vose also won individual league championships in the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes 12.56 seconds and the 100 breaststroke (1:08.26). At the same league finals meet, she teamed with Katie Altmayer, Emily Balog and Meg Ryan to help the Tologs win the 200- (1:50.08) and 400-freestyle relays, the latter in a league- and meet-record 3:39.51.

At the CIF Division I finals, Vose took second in the 100 breaststroke in a personal-record 1:03.53 to help the Tologs finish 14th in the team standings.

6 Andrea Kevorkian, Flintridge Prep tennis, freshman — Nothing seemed to faze Kevorkian, who took the local tennis scene by storm.

Kevorkian went 54-3 and led the Rebels to the second round of the CIF Division II playoffs, where she finished 5-1 after going 30-0 in the Prep League and being tabbed the league’s most valuable player.

In addition, Kevorkian won a pair of matches to advance to the third round of the CIF Individuals Tournament.

“Andrea showed me a lot in that she played well against some good players,” Flintridge Prep Coach Ron Catano said. “She showed how strong mentally she can be.”

7 Stephanie Vargas, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy cross-country/track and field, senior — Participating in the always tough Mission League cross-country final, Vargas proved she was up to the task in completing the race in grand style, finishing fourth in 19:47.

At the CIF prelims at Mount San Antonio College, Vargas took third (18:07). At the CIF Division IV finals, Vargas finished ninth individually in 18:32, the third-best area mark, before finishing 27th (19:10) at state.

In track and field, Vargas clocked 59.41 to take second in the 400 meters at the league final. The Tologs’ 4x400-meter relay team of Vargas, Drew Washington, Noëlle Niederhaus and Kayla Montgomery finished fourth in 3:57.26 at league finals en route to advancing to the CIF Division IV finals.

8 Katie Altmayer, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimming, freshman — Another in the long list of Tologs who have immediately excelled throughout the program’s storied history, Altmayer helped Sacred Heart capture the Mission League championship and won an individual title of her own in the 200 freestyle in 1:57.31 at the league finals meet.

She also played a role in the Tologs winning league titles in the 200-medley relay 400-freestyle relay by teaming with Vose, Balog and Ryan.

9 Gabriel Isacson, Crescenta Valley High water polo, junior — Proved to be the backbone of a Falcons squad that captured the Pacific League championship and made an appearance for the second season in a row in the CIF Division V semifinals.

Isacson garnered plenty of postseason awards after helping the Falcons finish 31-1. She earned spots on the All-Area and All-CIF Division V first teams after blocking 228 saves.

She also collected 19 steals and 18 assists. Crescenta Valley fell, 9-7, to eventual-champion Temescal Canyon in a semifinal contest.

“With Gabriel, she was recognized as one of the better shot blockers,” Crescenta Valley Coach Pete Loporchio said. “She’s got that mobility, natural ability and an instinct for the ball.”

10 Katelyn Almeida, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, senior — The University of New Mexico-bound Almeida excelled once again on defense for the Tologs, who suffered their fair share of injuries. She collected one goal and three assists for the Tologs, but played a major role on the defensive unit that allowed only 19 goals in 21 matches. For her solid work, Almeida earned All-CIF Division I third-team honors. In addition, she earned a spot on the All-Mission League first team.

“She played as well last year as she did this year, but it was more visible and move obvious,” said Sacred Heart co-Coach Frank Pace, whose team went 13-5-3. “There was a light that shined on her this year that wasn’t there before. She stepped up and led us.”

Honorable mention: Mallory Carcich, Crescenta Valley soccer; Casey Cousineau, Flintridge Prep soccer/track and field; Iva Icheva, Crescenta Valley swimming; Ali Johnson, Crescenta Valley cross-country/track and field; Abby Letts, Flintridge Prep tennis/soccer.

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