The Cuesta College Athletics department released their nominees for their 55th annual Athlete of the Year honors on Thursday afternoon and the list featured not one or two, but four athletes from the North County that have the potential to come home with the prestigious award.
Atascadero and Paso Robles each landed two athletes of the list of nominees and all four are familiar names that also dominated their high school competition in Atascadero’s Tina Bell (water polo), Abby Richey (track and field) and Paso Robles’ Corban Payne (track and field) and Juan Camacho (wrestling).
All together the four athletes from the North County brought home two All American honors, one CCCAA All- State, one spot on the Western State Conference first and second team and two 2019 Cuesta team MVP’s.
The winners for Male and Female Athlete of the Year were selected on Tuesday, May 25 via a virtual banquet. Water polo player Jack Felsted won Male Athlete of the Year while Martha More won Female Athlete of the Year.
ABBY RICHEY- Track/Field
*2020 CCCAA Regional Qualifier- Heptathlon
*Team Leader 200 meters- :27.00
*Team Leader Long Jump- 16′ 1.5″
*Team Leader Javelin- 94′ 4″
*#4 All Time at Cuesta in Heptathlon (2019)- 3,703 pts
2019 All-WSC Spring Academic Team
Tina Bell – Water polo
*2019 All American Water Polo
*2019 CCCAA All State Water Polo Second Team
*2019 All Western State Conference First Team
*2019 Cuesta Women’s Water Polo Team MVP
*Team Leader in Saves- 368 (1st in State)
*#2 All Time Season Saves- 368
Corban Payne -Track/Field
*2020 CCCAA Regional Qualifier- Shot Put
*Team Leader Shot Put- 51′ 4.25″
*Team Leader Discus- 144′ 7″
*#2 All Time at Cuesta in Shot Put- 51′ 4.25″
*#3 All Time at Cuesta in Hammer- 157′ 11.75″
*#4 All Time at Cuesta in Discus- 144′ 7″
Juan Camacho – Wrestling
*2019 CCCAA All American Wrestling
*2019 CCCAA State Wrestling Meet Qualifier- 3rd Place
*2019 CCCAA Regional Finalist- 2nd Place
*2019 All Western State Conference Second Team
*2019 Cuesta Wrestling Team MVP
*Team Leader in Wins- 22
