San Diego’s Athletes of the Month include state champions, winter sports stars

Joeisha Ryan Tirado

Valley Center

Football

The senior stepped up big, leading Valley Center to the Division 6-AA state championship by rushing for three TDs in a 36-35 win over San Jose Lincoln.

Dax Hall

Santa Fe Christian

Boys basketball

Scoring 27.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game, the senior led his team to a 15-1 record with the lone loss being a 54-52 setback to Hayward Moreau Catholic in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.

Josiah Bowman

Sage Creek

Boys cross country

No one in Division 4 could beat the UCLA-bound senior who roared across the Woodward Park 3.1-mile course in 15:03.4 to capture the championship by seven seconds.

Promise Martin

Mater Dei Catholic

Girls basketball

Averaging a team-high 12.5 points and 11.3 rebounds a game, the 5-foot-8 senior guard led the Crusaders to a 12-1 record in December. The lone loss was 48-46 to Orange Lutheran.

Alyssa Luna

Olympian

Girls water polo

The junior scored 41 goals and had 36 assists in leading the Eagles to a 6-3 record. The assists and total points lead the San Diego Section.

Mary Snider

Rancho Bernardo

Girls wrestling

Competing at 155 pounds, the returning state finalist captured the Buckeye and the Sierra Nevada tournaments en route to an 18-1 record. She wrestled up in her loss to a state champion.