Breitbard Stars of the Month, March 2008

The professional and amateur Stars of the Month represent basketball and soccer. The amateur Stars of the Month cover basketball, wrestling, baseball and softball. The high school Stars of the Month represent basketball, track, swimming, baseball and softball. The Stars of the Month from throughout the 2008 calendar year will be honored at the 63rd annual Salute to the Champions dinner on a date to be announced in late February, 2009.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton of USDHS. Photo: LA Lakers.

U.S. Olympian Marvell Wynne, pictured here on the right playing for Toronto of the MLS, is a Poway High alumnus. Photo: Toronto FC.

PROFESSIONALS: Luke Walton and Marvell Wynne

LUKE WALTON (Basketball, L.A. Lakers/USDHS) – Walton, a fifth-year pro, put together his best month of the season as the Lakers went on to win the NBA's Pacific Division. He scored a season-high 19 points with six rebounds and three assists off the bench in a win over Washington. He averaged 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 15 games in 21 minutes a game. He is a four-time Star of the Month.

MARVELL WYNNE (Soccer, U.S. Olympic team/Poway High) – Wynne, a third-year pro with Toronto in the MLS, was named to the 20-man roster for U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team that earned a berth in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The U.S. Under-23 team earned the Olympic bid by advancing to the finals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. Wynne, a 5-foot-9, 171-pound defender, was a starter for the U.S. team that beat Canada 3-0 in the semifinals but lost to Honduras 1-0 in the final. He is a two-time Star of the Month.

AMATEURS

Joe Baker, Erin Floros, Charde Houston, De'Jon Jackson, Brian Matusz, Michelle Osier, Gyno Pomare and Amanda Rego.

JOE BAKER (Wrestling, Navy/Poway High) – The junior 133-pounder at the Naval Academy earned All-American honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Tournament. He’s the first Poway athlete to earn All-American honors in college and the first San Diegan to do so since Stephen Neal of San Diego High in 1999. He is a two-time Star of the Month.

ERIN FLOROS (Softball, SDSU/Mt. Carmel High) – The junior, making a comeback from a torn ACL knee injury that ended her sophomore season, was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the first week of the month. She batted .353 with a team-high 10 RBI over the weekend as the Aztecs went 5-1 at the San Diego Classic. She started all six games and recorded a .450 on-base percentage. Floros recorded the game-winning singles in back-to-back games against Eastern Michigan and Oregon, while also scoring the game-winning run versus Harvard. She is a two-time Star of the Month.

CHARDE HOUSTON (Basketball, Connecticut/San Diego High) – The senior forward was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East women’s tournament as she led the No. 1-ranked Huskies to the Big East Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Houston had a double-double in the tournament final win over Louisville with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Houston was later drafted in the third round by the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. She is a seven-time Star of the Month.

DE’JON JACKSON (Basketball, USD) – The under-rated player that USD coach Bill Grier calls the glue that holds the team together hit the biggest shots in USD history with 1.2 seconds remaining to upset Connecticut 70-69 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the time a San Diego college men’s team won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Jackson earlier was named to the All-WCC Tournament team when he helped the Toreros earn an NCAA bid by winning the title. He led the Toreros with 24 points in a quarterfinal win over Pepperdine. He is a first-time Star of the Month.

BRIAN MATUSZ (Baseball, USD) – The 6-foot-5 junior All-American Brian Matusz was named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Month after posting a 4-0 record and striking out a conference-best 46 batters in just 33 innings. The left-hander posted a miniscule 0.27 ERA, and held opponents to a .162 batting average on the month. He tied the USD program record with 16 strikeouts in an eight-inning effort against Harvard on March 22. He gave up one earned run and had two complete games in his four starts. He is a two-time Star of the Month.

MICHELLE OSIER (Basketball, UC San Diego) – The 6-foot-1 junior forward was named first-team All-California Collegiate Athletic Association for the third straight year. She led the Tritons to the NCAA West Regional semifinals. She is only the third player in UCSD history with to surpass career totals of 1,000 points and 800 rebounds. She is a two-time Star of the Month.

GYNO POMARE (Basketball, USD/El Camino High) – The junior forward/center was named to the All-West Coast Conference team for the second straight year and made the All-WCC Tournament team after he led the Toreros the WCC Tournament title. The Toreros advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 and upset Connecticut in the first round. Pomare hit 10-of-12 field goals and finished with a team-high 22 points. He is a three-time Star of the Month.

AMANDA REGO (Basketball, USD/Mission Bay High) – The senior point guard was named the Most Oustanding Player of the West Coast Conference women’s tournament as she led the Toreros to the title and the school’s first NCAA berth since 2000. Rego also earned All-WCC honors for the second straight year for the regular season. She established USD career records for assists and steals. She is a three-time Star of the Month.

The high school Stars of the Month are selected and presented jointly by the Hall of Champions and the Union-Tribune.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Rachel Brown, Dominique Conners, Courtney Craig, Niko Kanakaris, Emily Mattoon, Nico Reaves, Danielle Spence, Jeremy Tyler, Keegan Yuhl.

RACHEL BROWN (Softball, Scripps Ranch) -- The Harvard-bound pitcher went 10-0 for the month with a 0.00 ERA. In 77 innings, she allowed just 15 hits and struck out 161 batters. Scripps Ranch climbed to No. 5 in the San Diego Section and No. 4 in the state in Division II. She is a first-time Star of the Month.

DOMINIQUE CONNERS (Basketball, La Jolla Country Day) -- The USD-bound guard led the Torreys to a State CIF Division IV runner-up finish after winning titles for the San Diego Section and Southern California Regionals. Conners averaged 14.1 points a game this season. She is a second-time Star of the Month.

COURTNEY CRAIG (Softball, El Camino) -- The Texas-bound Craig led the Wildcats at the plate and on the mound as a relief pitcher as El Camino was ranked No. 3 in the San Diego Section and No. 12 in the state for all divisions. Craig was 3-1 on the mound as a closer. She was batting .485 with seven home runs for the season. She is a first-time Star of the Month.

NIKO KANAKARIS (Baseball, Christian) -- The senior first baseman/designated hitter was 22-of-42 for a .524 average with five home runs and 16 RBIs as the Patriots finished the month with a 10-3 record. He is a first-time Star of the Month.

EMILY MATTOON (Track and field, Rancho Bernardo) -- The junior pole vaulter got off to a fast start by clearing 12 feet, 8 inches to make her the state leader by eight inches at the end of the month. She is within range of the CIF San Diego Section record of 12-9. She is a second-time Star of the Month.

NICO REAVES (Track and field, Lincoln) -- The CIF San Diego Section's defending champion in the 400 meters (while competing for Mount Miguel) leads the section and ranks third in the state with a time of 47.77 seconds to win the Mt. Carmel Invitational. He is a first-time Star of the Month.

DANIELLE SPENCE (Swimming, Mt. Carmel) -- The junior won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races to lead Mt. Carmel to the Sundevil Invitational team title. She is the San Diego Section leader in the 200 free and has been the leader in three events during the month. She is a first-time Star of the Month.

JEREMY TYLER (Basketball, San Diego High) -- The nation's No. 1-ranked sophomore by Rivals.com and CalHiSports.com State Sophomore of the Year led the Cavers to their first CIF San Diego Section title since 1975 with a 74-68 overtime win against El Camino in the Division I finals. Tyler finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds in the game. San Diego went on to win one game in the Southern California Reginoal before the Cavers were eliminated. He is a first-time Star of the Month.

KEEGAN YUHL (Baseball, Poway) -- The sophomore pitcher with a fastball in the low 90s opened the season with a 4-0 record, providing the San Diego Section's No. 1-ranked team a lift in crucial wins against El Capitan and Cathedral Catholic en route to the Hilltop Tournament title. He finished the month with 14-1 over El Camino when he had six strike outs in five innings before coach Bob Parry began substituting with a big lead. He is a first-time Star of the Month.

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.