Tigers net 14 first-team honorees

Douglas High School reaped the rewards of a successful season for its fall sports programs when the coaches' postseason individual honors were released this week.

Douglas placed a total of 14 athletes on first-team all-region or All-Sierra League squads and had two coaches win Coach of the Year honors.

This came on the heels of a season during which Douglas had two teams ranked No. 1 in their respective sports for the majority of the year, claimed three league titles, three regional titles and two state runner-up awards.

For a complete list of honorees, visit www.recordcourier.com. Postseason football honors will be released after the state title game in the first week of December.

The Sierra League champion Douglas girls' soccer team led the way, placing a total of eight athletes on the postseason lists, including four on the first team.

Senior Ally Freitas, who finished with 55 goals in her four-year career and 29 this season, was named the Sierra League Midfielder of the Year, despite playing mostly at forward.

She was edged out in Offensive Player of the Year voting by Carson's Brandi Vega, who broke the state records for career goals and assists this year. It was Vega's fourth year winning the award.

Senior Dany Heidt was named a first-team midfielder after a season during which she scored three goals and dished out 10 assists.

Douglas' super freshmen, Tia Lyons and Katie Dry, each earned first-team honors as well. Lyons had 24 goals and six assists and Dry scored nine goals to go with seven assists.

Senior Mackenzie Cauley was a second-team honoree for her play on defense this season, as was junior C.J. Baumgartner in the midfield.

Alex Laing earned an honorable mention despite her 10 assists and seven goals this year.

Douglas also earned a Sierra League title in volleyball and garnered three first-team honorees.

Senior setter Megan Mitchell was named the league's Player of the Year after a season during which she posted more than 600 assists and led the team in aces and service points.

Senior middle blocker Jessica Waggoner and senior outside hitter Taryn Williams each earned first-team all-league honors. Both, along with Mitchell, were three-year starters for the Tigers.

Coach Suzi Townsell was named the league's Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers to their second-consecutive league title.

Juniors Jourdan Buke (outside hitter) and Mysta Townsell (defensive specialist) each earned second-team honors and sophomore Shannon Dugan earned an honorable mention.

Despite not making the playoffs in an extremely deep league, Douglas still managed a number of key postseason honors.

Senior Ross Gardner was a first-team midfielder and came up just short in Player of the Year voting to Carson's Adam Updegrove. His seven goals and 10 assists were made even more impressive considering he started the year primarily on the defensive end of the field.

Junior Edgar Arceo earned first-team forward honors with 16 goals and four assists on the year. In his three years at the varsity level, he has scored 39 goals.

Midfielder Andrew Andraski and defender Brian Randall garnered second-team honors to round out the postseason list for Douglas.

Two-time regional champion Bethany Wurster was named the Sierra League and Northern 4A Player of the Year in golf. Tiger coach Steve Gustafson was named the region and league Coach of the Year after his team went undefeated in the regular season over the past two years.

Senior Michelle Nikkels was named first-team all-region while junior Heather Henderson and senior Shelby Louie were second-team honorees.

Louie was a first-team all-leaguer while Henderson and Nikkels were each second-teamers.

Sophomore Amelia Ritger earned her second first-team all-region selection after winning her second consecutive Northern 4A regional title, but was snubbed for the second-consecutive year on the player of the year voting.

North Tahoe's Anja Whittels took the honor after an undefeated year in the High Desert League, but Ritger had posted a 67 consecutive wins against Northern Nevada competition.

On the boys' side, freshman James TenBroeck was a second-team honoree, despite his third-place finish at the regional tournament which earned him a berth at state.

Douglas senior Taylor Biaggi earned first-team all-region honors after qualifying for state for her fourth-straight season.

Senior Amanda Boyd took second-team honors.