Breitbard Stars of the Month, January, 2006

PROFESSIONALS

JESSE BENNEFIELD (Hockey, San Diego Gulls) – The rookie right-winger for the Gulls represented San Diego’s pro franchise the in the ECHL All-Star Game played on Jan. 25, 2006 in Fresno. Bennefield had 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) through 23 games when he was selected for the All-Star game. He had a stretch of nine games when he scored 14 points with seven goals and seven assists.

JOHN BALDWIN (Pairs figure Skating, Poway) – Baldwin, a Poway High alumnus, and Rena Inoue, his partner in pairs team figure skating, won the U.S. Nationals title. They became the first skaters in history to land a throw triple axel in the U.S. Nationals competition. Baldwin made comeback in skating when he paired with Inoue.

AMATEURS

COREY BELSER (Men’s basketball, USD) – Belser, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward from Spannaway, Wash., led the Toreros during a four-game winning streak in West Coast Conference play. He also had a 23-point game in a win over Eastern Washington, but his best game may have been his defensive performance in a 64-63 loss to No. 5-ranked Gonzaga. Belser held All-American Adam Morrison 12 points under his season average (28.2) with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting with three offensive fouls. After the season Belser was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and the National Defensive Player of the Year.

DUNCAN BUDINGER (Men’s volleyball, Long Beach State/La Costa Canyon High) – The 6-foot-8 middle blocker was named as the National Player of the Week by American Volleyball Coaches Association as part of a 2-0 start for the No. 1-ranked 49ers. He averaged 3.33 kills and a 2.33 blocks per game in wins over UC San Diego and Cal Baptist. LBSU won its first seven matches before suffering a loss. Budinger was named a second-team All-American at the end of the season by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

CHARDE HOUSTON (Women’s basketball, Connecticut/San Diego High) – Houston recovered from a injury that limited her playing time December by leading the Huskies to an upset of No. 3-ranked LSU. The 6-foot-1 Houston scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for No. 5-ranked UConn. She also led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds in a win over St. John’s. Houston was averaging 10.7 points and 5.0 rebounds at the end of January.

MICHELLE OSIER (Women’s basketball, UCSD) – Osier was twice named Athlete of the Week in the California Collegiate Athletic Association as Tritons were 8-0 for the month and climbed to No. 21 in the national Division II rankings. The 6-foot-1 forward from Placerville averaged 23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game during the month. She had two 26-point games in wins over Chico State and Sonoma State.

MARCUS SLAUGHTER (Basketball, SDSU) – The Aztecs moved into first place in the Mountain West Conference race with a record of 7-1 record for the month. Slaughter averaged 16.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the free throw line. He had four double-doubles in the month, including 20 points and 20 rebounds in a victory over UNLV.

CANDICE WIGGINS (Basketball, Stanford, La Jolla Country Day) – The Cardinal finished the year as a second-team All-American and the Pac-10 Player of the Year. It was the second straight year she earned All-American honors and the conference's Player of the Year award. She averaged 21.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Wiggins scored in double figures in every game this season, extending her streak to 36-straight games with 10 or more points. She was a Pac-10 Player of the Week in January when she was honored by the Hall for the month.

PREPS

STEPHEN CARR (Boys basketball, Eastlake High) – Carr, who accepted a football scholarship offer from Stanford, led the Titans’ basketball team to an unbeaten month in and first place in the Mesa League standings. The 6-foot-3 guard/forward averaged 17.5 points for Eastlake as the Titans climbed to No. 2 in the San Diego rankings and the Top 10 in the state Division I rankings.

ANDREW HUERTA (Boys soccer, Orange Glen High) – The midfielder/forward led Orange Glen with his defense to a No. 1-ranking in the San Diego Section and first place in the Valley League as the Patriots won 17 of their first 20 games. Huerta also led the Patriots to the Grossmont Tournament and was named to the all-tournament.

CORY LEHMAN (Wrestling, Poway High) – Lehman led Poway to the team title of the Raul Huerta Memorial Tournament in Canyon Springs when the 189-pounder was named the Most Outstanding Heavyweight. Lehman’s month also included a third-place finish in the Five Counties Invitational that helped the Titans win the team title in the state meet-caliber event.

ELISE PATY (Girls basketball, San Diego High) – Paty broke the CIF San Diego Section career record for three-point field goals when she hit four in a win over Morse on Jan. 17 to give her 323 and counting in her four-year varsity career. The 5-foot-8 guard averaged 18.0 points a game for a team that went unbeaten for the month was ranked in the Top 10 among the state’s Division I schools.

PRECIOUS ROBINSON (Girls basketball, Mount Miguel High) – The 6-foot post player led the Matadors to an unbeaten month as they remained atop the San Diego rankings and among the Top 10 teams in the state in Division II. Robinson averaged 15.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots a game for the month.

SARAH VAN NORMAN (Girls water polo, The Bishop’s School) – Van Norman, a member of the U.S. Junior National 20-and-under team, led her the Knights to a No. 1-ranking in San Diego as they won 14 of 16 matches. She had 57 goals, 8 assists, 24 steals and 47 drawn exclusions (drawn ejections for a power play). She also led Bishop’s to the Tyr Cup Invitational in Placentia and was named the tournament MVP.

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