SMC Honors Student-Athletes of the Year

has selected its 2010-11 Student Athletes of the Year, and 16 individuals have been honored for their scholastic achievements and athletic talents. The awards were presented Thursday morning at the annual breakfast sponsored by SMC's General Advisory Board. The students and their coaches are:

Samantha Bozek – Women’s Softball (Coach: Char Wilson)

Bozek made the Dean’s List several times and was team captain in 2010 and 2011, helping her gain confidence and leadership skills. She arrived at SMC with a focus on fashion and is excited at the prospect of pursuing a career either in the fashion industry or business marketing.

Dayne Contarsy – Men’s Water Polo (Coach: Erik Matheson)

Contarsy was named the Corsairs' Most Valuable Player in 2010. He maintains a 3.0 GPA, was a state champion junior life guard and volunteers at the McBride Special Education Center. He plans to continue his career at Long Beach State. Contarsy started swimming lessons at the age of 6 and has dedicated his life to water sports ever since, first joining a club team before joining the water polo team at El Segundo High. 

Sean Foley – Men’s Volleyball (Coach: John Mayer)

A member of the 2009 Junior Olympic All-Tournament Team ranks as Foley's proudest achievement in his sport. He has played since a young age and has been named MVP on a number of occasions. Foley also achieved national academic honor roll in high school and currently maintains a 3.75 GPA. Foley's community involvements include participating in bike rides for cancer, Relay for Life and coaching middle school volleyball. He is studying kinesiology with an emphasis on exercise sciences and looks forward to a career in physical therapy.

Melvin A. Guerrero – Men’s Track and Field (Coach: Larry Silva)

The first person from his family to go to college, Guerrero came from Hollywood High and is now a sophomore at SMC. His sport at SMC is track and field and he placed eighth in the shot put at the Western States Conference finals this spring. He has also coached track at his high school for the past three seasons. After being put on academic probation when he arrived at SMC, Guerrero made the Dean’s List that same year. His academic aspiration is to graduate from a university with a degree in psychology.

Jennifer Hager – Women’s Soccer (Coach: Aaron Benditson)

Hager's academic and athletic success began at Calabasas High, where she earned four varsity soccer and track accolades while maintaining a 3.2 GPA. She lived up to expectations by leading the Corsairs' soccer squad to a 14-2-5 overall record in her first season and earning a place on the All-WSC first team. An injury sidelined her for the 2009 season, but hard work and determination allowed her to resume her career in 2010, captaining the team to a 12-4-5 mark. Hager has signed an athletic scholarship to Cal State San Marcos. Her extra-curricular achievements include a Gold Award from the Girl Scouts and the Quartermaster title from the Sea Scouts--the highest possible honors in those organizations.

Brian Hawthorne – Football (Coach: Gifford Lindheim)

Hawthorne started as a freshman at SMC and has made All-Conference. He had eight interceptions in the fall and is being considered by a number of universities. He graduated from Narbonne High and is concurrently attending the Art Institute in Santa Monica as well as SMC. 

Spencer Hirahara – Men’s Cross Country (Coach: Eric Barron)

The Mira Costa High graduate was voted 2011 Most Valuable Athlete in cross country at SMC. Hirahara is a regional qualifier in cross country and actively participates in Phi Theta Kappa, the honor and service society. He plans to transfer next year to a four-year institution to study kinesiology.

Kelsey Keil – Women’s Volleyball (Coach: Nicole Ryan)

Keil attended Palisades Charter High, where she started playing volleyball as a sophomore. At SMC, she was one of the Corsairs' team captains and earned second team All-Western State Conference honors after being second in attack percentage in 2010-11, averaging eight kills per match. Keil was selected to the SMC Scholar’s Program for honors students and next fall will attend UCLA, where she plans to major in business and pursue a Master’s degree in business management.

MacKenzie Shea Lee – Women’s Cross Country (Coach: Eric Barron)

Lee was the lead runner for the SoCal women’s cross country team and was chosen Most Inspirational and Most Valuable Athlete. The El Segundo High graduate is a first-year student at SMC and has been accepted into the Scholar’s Program, carrying 16 units in the fall with a 3.44 GPA and a 4.0 GPA during the winter.

Michelle Liu – Women’s Swimming (Coach: Steve Contarsy)

At the 2011 Western States Conferences championships, Liu won gold medals in the 100 individual medley, 200 individual medley (setting a new conference record) and 100 freestyle. She hopes to repeat this accomplishment at the CCC State Championships. Liu grew up in China but is studying abroad at SMC and plans to transfer to Loyola Marymount University.

Jeff Lum – Men’s Swimming (Coach: Steve Contarsy)

Lum won gold medals in the 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle events at the Western State Conference finals--setting records in all three. He wants to repeat those results at the CCC State Championships. Lum went to high school in Hong Kong and won the 100 freestyle at the Asian Games in November. He is studying Kinesiology and plans to transfer to USC.

Kailey Makuta – Women’s Water Polo (Coach: Steve Contarsy)

Makuta was the Corsairs' third leading goal scorer and was named to the State Conference second team. She attended UC San Diego in 2009-10 but Kinesiology was unavailable there and she transferred to SMC, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She plans to transfer to Long Beach State in the fall. Makuta swam the 200 and 500 freestyle events at El Segundo High, where the girls won the Southern Section Division III title in 2008. 

Katerina Mozolyuk – Women’s Tennis (Coach: Richard Goldenson)

Mozolyuk played No. 1 singles this spring and posted a 24-0 record while leading the Corsairs to their first dual team championship. She won the Ojai Tournament received the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s “Rookie of the Year” award and is currently the No. 1-ranked community college player in California. The native of Nikolaev, Ukraine, came to the United States at the age of 4 and played varsity tennis her senior year at Santa Monica High. She has a 3.4 GPA at SMC and wants to major in accounting. 

Haley Newell – Women’s Basketball (Coach: Lydia Strong)

A two-year starter and team captain for the Corsairs, Newell was a first team All-Conference player as a freshman and sophomore. She is one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the WSC and averaged 13 points per game in 2010-11 and led SMC to second place. The Taft High graduate is an English major and signed a scholarship to play basketball at Southern Oregon University.

Ayana Robinson – Women’s Track and Field (Coach: Eric Barron)

The Santa Monica High graduate was a 2010 Western States Conference finals qualifier in the shot put with a personal-best 9.23 meters at her last meet. She is a member of the Black Collegians and has been admitted to Baylor University and Texas Southern University. She will study communications at one of them.

DeShawn Stephens – Men’s Basketball (Coach: Jerome Jenkins)

Stephens was actively recruited by over 30 Division I schools as he led the Corsairs to a 20-8 record and the Western State Conference championship. He has chosen to continue his career at San Diego State, where he will transfer in the fall. A graduate of Chatsworth High, Stephens arrived at SMC in the spring of 2009 and, after a stellar freshman season, was recognized as one of the top 100 junior college players in the country.