Proving virtually every “expert” wrong, the San Diego Padres rode into the month of August in first place with the best record in the National League and leading the way was unsung outfielder Chris Denorfia, who topped the list of 12 Hall of Champions Stars of the Month.
Additionally, Big Air skateboarder Jake Brown and vert standout Pierre-Luc Gagnon scored gold at the X-Games held in the historical Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Denorfia batted .277 for the month with all six of his season home runs to go with a triple and a pair of doubles which led to a .615 slugging percentage as well as a .333 on-base percentage.
Brown defended his Big Air title and led a San Diego County sweep as he edged Vista’s Bob Burnquist 93.66-93.00. Encinitas’ Rob Lorifice finished third at 87.66. Gagnon not only scored on two monster runs to capture the vert crown, he had to get past fellow San Diegan Shaun White to do it.
Other professionals honored for their efforts last month included former Rancho Bernardo High pitcher Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, golfers Tiffany Joh and Aaron Goldberg and racquetball Hall of Famer Jacqueline Paraiso.
Amateur standouts included Oceanside High’s Jake Fely and Lincoln High’s Victor Dean for their efforts in the Alex Spanos All-Star Classic football game, Tanya Gandy and Kelly Rulon, who were members of the victorious USA National women’s water polo team, and La Jolla Country Day junior-to-be Maya Hood who led her school to a runner-up finish in the San Diego Classic basketball tournament.
PROFESSIONAL
JAKE BROWN (Skateboarding, X-Games) – Led a San Diego County sweep in the X-Games Big Air skateboard competition. Brown captured the event at the Los Angeles Coliseum when he scored 93.66 points to edge Vista’s Bob Burnquist. Burnquist, who was right behind at 93.00 points, had won the event three times. Encinitas’ Rob Lorifice was third at 87.66 points.
CHRIS DENORFIA (Baseball, San Diego Padres) – Had a break-out month as he hit .277 with six home runs, 14 RBI, a pair of doubles and a triple. The six homers – the left-fielder’s first of the season – helped push his slugging percentage for the month to .615 with an on-base percentage of .333. Denorfia was one of the major reasons the Padres remained atop the National League West heading into August.
PIERRE-LUC GAGNON (Skateboarding, X-Games)—The Canadian native now living in Carlsbad captured his third straight men’s vert by coming from dead last to the top of the victory stand with scores on 47 and 46 on his last two runs. Gagnon trailed Shaun White after his first two runs but rallied to win his 20th X-Games medal—seven of which have been gold. White was second at 85 points.
AARON GOLDBERG (Golf, SDSU alum)—Fired an 11-under par 273 for 72 holes to capture the Canadian Tour’s The Players Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, by a single stroke, earning an exemption for the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto. His opening round of 6-under 65 included six birdies and 12 pars while his final round was composed of six birdies and 11 pars over the Pine Ridge Golf Club.
COLE HAMELS (Baseball, Philadelphia Phillies, Rancho Bernardo alum)—Had a glittering 2.16 ERA for the month of July, the highlight of which was allowing just one hit over eight innings against the heavy-hitting St. Louis Cardinals. The only hit was a solid single but he finished with seven strikeouts and walked just one before leaving and getting no decision as the Phillies won 2-0 in 11 innings. Hamels had a 40-14 strike-walk ratio in 41.2 innings.
TIFFANY JOH (Golf, Rancho Bernardo alum) – A birdie putt on the fourth extra hole allowed Joh to capture her first Duramed Futures Tour title after firing a 10-under par in the ING New England Classic in Bloomfield, Conn. The UCLA grad soared to the 10th on the Futures money list with the victory over Gerina Mendoza, who led by five strokes in the final round before Joh made her move.
JACQUELINE PARAISO (Racquetball, Grossmont High alum) — The racquetball Hall of Famer not only won the singles title, she teamed with New Jersey’s Aimee Ruiz to add the doubles crown at the World Outdoor Racquetball championships in Huntington Beach. Paraiso defeated Rhonda Rajsich, 15-12, 8-15, 11-5 for the singles title and then teamed with Ruiz to win the doubles over Rajsich and Marth McDonald, 15-7, 12-15, 11-9.
AMATEUR
VICTOR DEAN (Football, Lincoln High)—Headed to Fresno State University, the 6-foot-6 Dean showed his sure hands and toughness as the major offensive threat for the South in the 24th Alex Spanos All-Star Classic. In the 27-3 loss, Dean caught four passes for 100 yards, including a 45-yarder.
JAKE FELY (Football, Oceanside High)—Just as he did during the fall in leading the Pirates to the Division I State Bowl Championship, the San Diego State-bound senior harassed the South into a total of five interceptions in guiding the North to a 27-3 victory over the South in the Alex Spanos All-Star Classic.
TANYA GANDY (Water Polo, Rancho Bernardo High alum)—Scored in every game in helping lead the U.S. to victory in the FINA World League Super Final at La Jolla. Gandy’s crucial last-second goal sent the title game into a shootout and the U.S. went on to beat Australia 12-11 for its fifth title in the last seven years.
MAYA HOOD (Basketball, La Jolla Country Day)—Led the Torreys to three impressive tournament finishing, capped by a second place in the San Diego Classic where the 5-foot-10 junior-to-be tossed in a team-high 11 points and 7 rebounds. She was voted the second best player in the tourney after LJCD downed state powers Long Beach Poly and Stockton St. Mary’s before falling by nine points to tall and deep Brea-Olinda of Orange County in the title game, 40-31.
KELLY RULON (Water Polo, USDHS Alum)—The 2004 Olympian, who has a knack for scoring in critical situations, scored once on a penalty shot in regulation play and again during a shoot-out to lift the U.S. past Australia, 12-11, in the title match of the FINA World League Super Final at La Jolla. The Americans won for the second straight year and Rulon was the hero in that victory last year as well.
Posted on August 9, 2010 by Steve Brand
