Five student-athletes from Point Loma High School received All-CIF honors following the Fall sports season.
Leading the group is girls golf standout Lauren Gomez, who won the CIF individual tournament making her the top golfer in all San Diego and Imperial County schools.
Gomez was also named CIF Player of the Year, a more amazing accomplishment since Gomez is only a freshman (see related story).
The Pointers girls volleyball team made history by winning a state championship, their first in this sport. Among a roster of talented players was senior Charlie Ekstrom, who was named second team All-CIF, making her one of the elite players in the region.
Ekstrom has accepted a beach volleyball scholarship and signed her national letter of intent to attend Stanford University.
Three members of the Pointer football team were recognized for their dominant play during the recent season.
“This was a very good senior class,” said Mike Hastings, head football coach, “And we have some good up-and-comers too. When you have big wins over Lincoln, Madison and Cathedral it can help your players get more recognition of their talents.”
Leading the charge was offensive lineman Davey Folsom who was a repeat selection after earning first team All-CIF honors last season as a junior. The 6-foot 4-inches tall, 315 pound Folsom gave fans much to cheer about as he drove opposing players onto their backs with devastating blocks and he also was a force on defense.
“I have learned more than just how to play football these past four years,” Folsom said. “I have learned lots of valuable lessons I can use in my future. I have created some of the strongest bonds I have with people and coaches on the staff and I will cherish them for the rest of my life.”
“Davey earned it with a much better season as a senior. He played at a very high level this season in my opinion,” Hastings noted.
Folsom is mulling several collegiate offers including Air Force, USD and Cal Poly. He is still talking with Cal, Washington, Montana and UC Davis.
Also earning first team honors was senior defensive lineman Mathew Fa’alele, a 6-foot 2-inches tall, 245 pounder who made himself known to opposing ball carriers with big and memorable hits. Fa’alele has been offered a “preferred walk-on” status at the University of Washington and said he plans to accept it.
“Mathew had an exceptional senior year on both sides of the ball,” said Hastings.
“It’s a big honor for me and for Point Loma,” Fa’alele said, “And it makes colleges aware of me. I want to thank coach Hastings and all the other coaches for supporting me.”
Rounding out the selections is second team All-CIF defensive back JL Skinner, a 6-foot 5-inches tall, 165 pounder who was able to use his height to disrupt other team’s pass attempts. Making the honor more meaningful, Skinner is only a junior and has what should be a very productive senior season ahead of him.
“JL was a force this year despite the fact he was hurt a little bit,” Hastings said.
‘When I first heard about it I was kind of surprised,” Skinner said, “Because there’s a lot of players in San Diego who deserve to be in the spot I’m at. I just felt so blessed and want to thank everyone.”
Skinner has already begun to receive D-I college inquiries.
