Abayari, Brown Earn No. SB County Athletic Round Table Honors

After nearly a month off for winter break, the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table returned to Giavanni’s Pizza and Pasta in Orcutt on Monday. Only a handful of athletes were in attendance for the first gathering of the weekly luncheon for 2015.

While the Round Table had been off since December 15th, athlete of the week awards for the week of December 22nd were announced, as were the top honors for this week.

For this week, Athlete of the Week awards were given to a pair of basketball players from the Lompoc Valley, Aaron Abayai from Cabrillo and Chrisshnay Brown from Lompoc.

Abayari was honored after averaging 33 points in a pair of league opening wins. Against Nipomo last Wednesday, the senior guard scored 29 points, including 20 of 25 free throws in a 69-56 victory. Two nights later versus Morro Bay, Abayari poured in 38 points in a 91-49 rout. Behind his efforts, the defending Los Padres League champion Conquistadores are 7-7 overall and 2-0 through the first week of the league schedule.

“It’s really nice,” said Abayari. “I’ve never really got anything like this accomplishment until now. I’ve been working hard. I’m in the gym all day working hard for these kinds of things.”

For the girls, Brown wrapped up the award after two solid performances against Templeton and Orcutt Academy. In the two games, the senior forward led the Braves to a pair of victories averaging 11.5 points and 10.5 rebounds. Through the first 11 games of the season, Brown is averaging a team leading 9.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

“It’s nice because I’m hoping to get recognition for colleges,” said Brown. “It’s good in my senior year. I want to finish the year great. I want to finish strong.”

For the week of December 22, Nicole De La Guerra of Hancock College was named as the Female Athlete of the Week due to her success at the Monterey Peninsula College Tournament. The Pioneer Valley graduate averaged 20 points over three games, helping to lead the Bulldogs to a third place finish.. The sophomore guard/forward is averaging 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 for the Bulldogs (0-2, 8-10), who host Ventura College on Wednesday.

Male Athlete of the Week honors for the week of December 22 went to Jo Jo Walker of St. Joseph basketball. The sophomore guard averaged 16.5 points in four games at the Mission Prep Christmas Classic. Walker scored 17 points and had the game winning shot against Pasadena in the Knights opening game of the tournament. For the season, Walker is averaging a team leading 16.3 points and 5.4 assists per game.

The Round Table will be off once again next week for the Martin Luther King holiday. The next gathering is scheduled for Monday, January 26.