Winter 2006-2007 All-Area:Malik Earns Highest Honors; Hofman and Jones Named Coaches of the Year

Though their season is long over, the La Cañada boys’ basketball continues to make headlines. Star senior Adam Malik was unanimously chosen by the writers and editors of the Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press and La Cañada Valley Sun as the 2007 All-Area Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for his outstanding contribution to local high school basketball.

“Adam’s a great player, even if it’s a big game or not,” Spartan forward Christian Nitu told the News-Press. “But when our backs are against the wall, he demands the ball. He has that hunger, that thirst not to lose.”

As a sophomore, Malik came off the bench, while previous Spartan standouts Rhett Anderson, Craig Ballard, Phillip Anderson and Malik’s older brother Abe grabbed the spotlight in a CIF semifinal charge.

“Sophomore year, I came in and was a little boy,” Malik recalls.

During his junior season, Malik was a starter and an All-CIF selection, an All-Area pick and an All-Rio Hondo League choice, but he says he was “still the little brother.”

But with his senior campaign, he stepped into the spotlight.

Early in the season, Malik struggled from the outside, so Coach Tom Hofman began running the offense through him on the inside.

Through the struggles, the Spartans became a complete team, just as Malik would eventually become a complete player — a weapon both on the perimeter and in the paint.

“Playoffs was the most fun I’ve ever had,” the 2007 All-Area Player of the Year says. “We just savored that moment.”

Adam Malik contributed 823 points to the Spartans this season, including a personal record 43 points against Mission Bay in the second round of the state tournament.

Head Coach Tom Hofman’s hard work and dedication to his league champion and CIF finalist team were also recognized. Hofman was unanimously voted the 2007 All-Area Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year.

The La Cañada Spartans amazed the community by ending their season at 30-4, making them the boys’ basketball team in La Cañada with the most wins in school history. Under Hofman’s leadership, the team easily won their Rio Hondo League Championship and defeated Crossroads, Santa Clara and Price in post-season play before taking Campbell Hall, arguably the best high school team in the state, to overtime in the CIF Southern Section Championship.

The Spartans lost but were given a bid to the Division III state tournament where they beat Hanford West and Mission Bay before finally ending their season with a loss to Artesia, the MaxPreps number one ranked team in the nation — a full month after regular season play had ended.

Joining Malik with honors was teammate and senior Darren Ho, who was named to the All-Area Second Team.

First Team picks included Justin Cook and Josh Thomas of Renaissance Academy, Chris Smith of Burroughs High, Clay Sierra of Crescenta Valley High and Zareh Zargaryan of Hoover High.

The Second Team consists of Hamlet Hovhanesian of Glendale High, Hector Harold of Renaissance Academy, Darren Ho of La Cañada High, Braden Shaw of St. Francis and Robert Linda of Burbank High.

La Cañada High School Head Coach Jordan Jones was named the 2007 Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year. Jones came into his first year coaching at La Cañada with a team that had had talent in previous years but were unable to achieve. Jones led the team to a Rio Hondo League title and under his leadership the Spartans advanced to the CIF semifinals.

The boys’ soccer All-Area Player of the Year is Nick Posthuma of St. Francis. Posthuma was named First Team All-CIF in Div. I and was the competitive Mission League’s Player of the Year. He scored 24 goals for the Knights and had 14 assists. The Knights went 25-5 for the season.

Dominic Baioccio, Kyle Campbell and Devin King of La Cañada made the All-Area First Team selection.

Baioccio, a senior, was selected All-CIF Division V first team and All-Rio Hondo League first team, as he tallied nine goals and seven assists for the league champion Spartans. Junior Campbell earned All-CIF Division V second-team and All-Rio Hondo League first-team honors after scoring 12 goals, and senior goalie Devin King was selected as the All-Rio Hondo League Most Valuable Defensive Player and All-CIF Division V second team.

Also named to the 2007 First Team were Bryan Castillo of Burroughs, Joe Franco, Nick Swart and Sean McGuinness of St. Francis, Sean Harbouche of Glendale, James Hernandez of Hoover, Tade Mirizain of Crescenta Valley and Giovanni Rollie of Flintridge Prep.

The All-Area Second Team roster includes La Cañada’s John Borlund, Vatche Ailian of Hoover, Cody Carlson of Burbank, Dan Buckley, GP Gonzales, Pat McCoy and Nick Goldreich of St. Francis, Lenny Labastida and Emilio Vallejos-Baeza of Crescenta Valley, Brian Lee of Flintridge Prep and Rudy Nava of Burroughs.

In girls’ basketball, Kourtney Zilbert of Burroughs High School was named 2007 All-Area Player of the Year. She led her team in scoring and rebounds to win the Pacific League Championship and was named to the Pacific League First-Team.

Bellarmine-Jefferson High School Head Coach Bryan Camacho was named All-Area Coach of the Year for girls’ basketball. He led his team from a previous four-win season in 2006 to the CIF quarterfinals to finish the 2007 season at 20-8.

La Cañada High’s Joy Lelo, Courtney Robinson and Laurel Meyers of Flintridge Prep, Molly Roach of Crescenta Valley High and Heather Hanson of Providence High were named to the First Team.

Emily Ballard of La Cañada High, Annette Arzoo of Hoover High, Elizabeth Hawthorne of Bellarmine-Jefferson, Arielle Orona of Flintridge Sacred Heart and Cassie Pappas of Crescenta Valley High were all named to the All-Area Second Team.

Local girls’ water polo was dominated by Glendale and Burbank teams this season, though the 2007 Player of the Year was Crescenta Valley’s Lybov Tchougounova. This senior was co-MVP of the Pacific League and was named to the CIF Div. IV First Team. Tchougnouva scored an amazing 116 goals for the Falcons and led the team with 35 steals.

The 2007 Girls’ Water Polo All-Area Coach of the Year is Bob Zirovich, who coached the Glendale Nitros all the way to a CIF semifinal after finishing just fourth in the Pacific League.

The All-Area First Team is comprised of Lachee Singleton and Ani Shirinian of Burbank High, Lily Broussard, Vanuhi Ovasapyan, Sara Wolf and Shaggy Abolian of Glendale High and Ashley Masters of Crescenta Valley High.

La Cañada schools were well represented in the All-Area Second Team. Kristine Cato, Eunice Kahng and Berit Keasler of La Cañada High were given honors along with Lauren Sauer of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Kjirsten Speer of Flintridge Prep. Keri Kunkel of Crescenta Valley High and Casey Sriprimang of Glendale were also named All-Area Second Team.

In girls’ soccer, Burbank High’s Kristina Amela was named 2007 All-Area Player of the Year. She was the tri-Pacific League MVP with 32 goals for the season.

Crescenta Valley Head Coach Cesar Hidalgo was chosen as the All-Area Coach of the year due to his team’s domination of the Pacific League and CIF second-round appearance.

The 2007 All-Area First team is comprised of Nancy Avesyan, Colleen Boyd and Jessica Pih of La Cañada High joined by Carly Crowder and Stefanie Chan of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. Lauren Von Der Ahe of Flintridge Prep and Catrina Flores, Emma Dearman, Kim Carcich, Brittany Berger and Tori Baldridge of Crescenta Valley High finished the First Team roster.

Athletes named to the Second Team were Ayana Sumiyatsu, Kristen Heintz and Kyle Edwards of Flintridge Prep, Pip Harrigan, Carter Vettese and Lisa Shaw of Flintridge Sacred Heart, Richelle Mascaro and Astrid Casteneda of Crescenta Valley, Sarah Mizuki of Glendale, Melanie Fielder of Burbank and Kelsey Carapia of Bellarmine-Jefferson.

In addition to the All-Area honors, La Cañada wrestlers Spencer Tompkins and Justin Luthey were named All-Southern Section athletes for the 160 and 215 weight classes, respectively.