Breitbard Stars of the Month, August, 2006

PROFESSIONALS

JIMMIE JOHNSON (Motor sports, El Cajon) – The NASCAR driver became just the second man to win the Nextel Cup’s two biggest races in the same year. He won the All-State Brickyard 400 on Aug. 6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway six months after winning his Feb. 19 win in the Daytona 500, an event considered the Super Bowl of NASCAR. An early flat tire dropped Johnson to as low as 38th place before he worked his way back to the front. In 1996, Dale Jarrett was the last man to win Daytona and the Brickyard in the same year.

DAVE ROBERTS (Baseball, Padres/Rancho Buena Vista High) – The veteran leadoff batter hit .371 in the month of August, sixth best in the National League. He finished the month batting 312 overall while having already established single-season career highs in hits (123) and triples (11). He also is on pace for career highs in runs and RBIs. His 40 stolen bases ranks fourth in the NL and is the best season total since by a Padres player since Bip Roberts in 1990. He tied a career high with four hits in a win Aug. 30 at Arizona and set a season high with three RBIs in a win on Aug. 18 over Arizona at Petco Park.

DANNY WAY (Skateboarding, Encinitas) – He won his third straight Big Air Contest in the X Games 12 Skateboarding competition at the Home Depot Center in Carson on Aug. 6. He landed a backflip off the 70-foot ramp. He is the only skater to win the competition in the three years of the event. Way’s score of 95.00 beat the runner-up’s mark of 93.00.

JOEL ZUMAYA (Baseball, Detroit Tigers/Bonita Vista High) – One key to the Detroit Tigers’ success in 2006 as the American League Central leaders has been the relief pitching of Zumaya, with rookie right-hander clocked as high as 104 mph. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder serves as the setup man for closer Todd Jones. He finished the month leading AL relievers in strikeouts with 79 in 65 2/3 innings and in holds with 26. His record was 6-2 with a 1.94 ERA and opponents batting .177.

AMATEURS

NATE BOMAN (Baseball, USD/Patrick Henry High) – The Toreros’ left-hander spent the summer pitching for the Yarmouth Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, the prestigious summer collegiate league, while making a successful comeback from torn labrum surgery that forced him to miss USD’s 2006 season. Boman was named to the All-Star team and helped Yarmouth Dennis win the Cape Cod League title. He finished the year with a 3-2 record, 2.94 ERA and 38 strikeouts. Despite missing the season, Boman was a ninth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels signed him on Sept. 7, one day before classes began when he would have thus re-entered the draft for 2007. His USD career record and his career ERA of 2.27 is a USD record.

MIKE FRESHLEY (Swimming, San Diego) – The 65-year-old Freshley won a world championship in his event at the 11th annual FINA World Masters Swimming Championships on Aug. 10 at Stanford University. Freshley won the 65-to-69 division of the 400-meter freestyle long course event with a time of 6 minutes, 18.74 seconds.

JADE MACHADO (Beach Volleyball, UCLA/La Costa Canyon High) – The UCLA sophomore setter/defensive specialist won the gold medal in the 20-and-under division of the USA Volleyball Beach Junior Olympics in El Segundo. Jade teamed up with her younger sister, Jaz, a La Costa Canyon High senior honored as an August Star of the Month as high school honoree. The Machado sisters won gold medal match 21-6, 21-5. Jade was the All-CIF Player of the Year at La Costa Canyon in 2004 and Jaz won the same honor in 2005 as a junior at La Costa Canyon.

JAMIE PUTERBAUGH (Golf, SDSU/La Costa Canyon High) Puterbaugh, a junior for the Aztecs’ upcoming golf season, won his second straight San Diego City Amateur Championship that was played over two weekends in mid-August at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Puterbaugh, celebrating his 22nd birthday during the final round on Aug. 20, finished the tournament with a 1-under par total of 287.

NICO SARDO (Water polo, USC/The Bishop’s School) – The 18-year-old Sardo helped the USA men’s under-20 national team to a gold medal in the 2006 Pan American Games in Montreal. In the gold medal match on Aug. 14, Sardo scored one of the USA goals in the 9-1 win over Brazil and tied for third in scoring among the Americans with 12 goals in seven matches. Sardo was San Diego’s All-CIF Player of the Year in 2005 as a senior at Bishop’s and will play at USC as a freshman in the fall.

ERIKA SUTTON (Soccer, San Diego State) – Sutton led the Aztecs to an upset of No. 21-ranked Purdue as SDSU opened the season with two wins en route to winning the Purdue Boilermakers Cup. The sophomore scored two goals and assisted on another in the Aztecs’ 4-0 win over Purdue in the final. Earlier, she scored SDSU’s first goal in a 2-0 win over Butler. Sutton, a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection in 2005 from Arvada, Colo., was named a MWC Offensive Player of the Week.

PREPS

JULIANN FAUCETTE (Volleyball, Westview High) – Faucette, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter for the Wolverines who is bound for Texas, helped the USA Women’s Volleyball Junior National team (20-and-under) win the gold medal in the NORCECA Contintenal Women’s Junior Championship on Aug. 4 in Monterrey, Mexico. The U.S. won with a marathon five-set match by the scores of 25-15, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 15-9 over the Dominican Republic. Faucette was second on the team in kills in the final with 10. The NORCECA is the North, Central, American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation. Faucette is ranked the No. 2 high school player in the nation on the top 100 list compiled by PrepVolleyball.com.

JAZ MACHADO (Beach Volleyball, La Costa Canyon High) – The La Costa Canyon High senior setter won the gold medal in the 20-and-under division of the USA Volleyball Beach Junior Olympics in El Segundo. Jaz teamed up with her older sister, Jade, a UCLA sophomore honored as an August Star of the Month as an amateur honoree. The Machado sisters won gold medal match 21-6, 21-5. Jade was the All-CIF Player of the Year at La Costa Canyon in 2004 and Jaz made it a family repeat by winning the same honor in 2005 as a junior at La Costa Canyon.

NICK NOONAN (Baseball, Francis Parker School) – The 6-foot-1, 175-pound shortstop was one of 38 high school juniors named to play in the fourth annual Aflac All-American High School Classic played on Aug. 12 at San Diego State’s Tony Gwynn Stadium. Noonan, an All-CIF choice in the spring at Francis Parker, helped the West to a 9-8 win with two hits and a walk.

Contact Tom Shanahan at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.