Cal-Hi Sports – NorCalPrepScores.com Athlete of the Week – Week 5 Fall 07

We go back to Southwest Santa Clara County to the slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains below the site of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, to honor a young man who has a unique make-up to the three varsity sports he competes in for Los Gatos, and who someday has aspirations to work amongst the clouds. On the gridiron he’s a big part of why the Wildcats are No. 3 in this week’s Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area Top 20 Rankings.

Then, the caravan actually does embark from the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin out to the Amador Valley, where we witnessed a volleyball match that had more spirit, and attendance than most state championship matches. On top of that, our honoree brought it home for her side of town, on her team’s arch-rival’s court…plus, you’ll be surprised at what else this bright, attractive young woman can do besides spike volleyballs. And lastly, even the parents of this Duke-bound prodigy have something in common with last week’s award winner Katherine Fischer’s folks. A connection to Silicon Valley giant Hewlett-Packard.

Sophia Dunworth ( Amador Valley, Pleasanton)

Every so often a girl’s high school athlete comes along who seems ticketed for stardom in one way, shape, or another. We could see it in Lisa Leslie, Candice Wiggins, and Kerri Walsh to name a few we were blessed to cover.

It may be a bit premature to mention Dunworth’s name in the same breadth as those three women, but after the performance the 6-1 senior outside hitter has given the past couple of weeks, coupled with her other talents, plus Sophia’s full scholarship to Duke; it makes her a legitimate candidate to reach similar heights.

The site Tuesday Oct. 16 was Foothill High in Pleasanton where arch cross-own rivals Amador Valley and Foothill were tangling for the town’s volleyball bragging rights. Foothill and the Dons were both undefeated in league play and Foothill is the defending EBAL and NCS Div I champion which made the atmosphere all that more intense.

The house was packed so full that Foothill AD Matt Sweeney had to open additional bleachers to accommodate the loud, raucous, overflow but very well-behaved crowd.

The competing student cheering sections were alternating screaming “MVP” for Dunworth and Dons star 6-2 senior OH Betsy Sedlak. In the end, however, the final screams were by Sophia herself who spiked home the winning point to give Amador Valley (18-2, 6-0 in EBAL at press time) a 3-1 victory, a 16-match winning streak, and the early inside track in the race for the league title.

For the match Sophia had 28 kills, three blocks and two aces. Prior to that in her past two matches against Monte Vista ( Danville) and California of San Ramon, Dunworth registered 28 and 34 kills respectively.

So far this season she now has 263 kills, 32 aces, 120 digs, and 22 blocks. Last season, when colleges were competing to get her to commit, Sophia finished with 384 kills, 34, aces, 219 digs and 36 blocks.

“Sophia has always played at a college level from day one. She just needed to develop her skills, but really it’s her athleticism that makes her so great,” said Dons coach Rich Cortez about his four-year starter. “She’s always been very mature. No matter how she plays, she always has a smile on her face and her calm encouraging demeanor settles the team.”

What makes Dunworth tough to block is her ability to get up high enough to spike the ball directly down with intense velocity. “We have two great setters (freshman Kelsey Williams and sophomore Kayla Nilon) who really get me the ball in good position,” Dunworth told Cal-Hi Sports.

One would think with the work required to maintain elite status as a volleyball player, a 4.11 GPA, the studying that comes with it that together with athletics earned her a ticket to Blue Devil-land, Sophia’s plate would be full. In fact, quite the contrary.

Besides volleyball, music is a big part of Sophia’s life. She plays clarinet and obo in the Dons marching band, obo and English horn in the school’s concert band, and also sings in church. At Duke, Dunworth plans to participate with musical groups during the volleyball off-season. “Scheduling time to complete all my studies, plus volleyball, and still have a social life is a balance I’ve had to work at since my freshman year,” Sophia said.

Music and some sports is also a big part of the make-up of the Dunworth family. Mom Emmie, an entrepreneur computer programmer, is a singer and musician, while dad Peter, a computer programmer at Hewlett-Packard, swam in college.

Older sister Allie, a junior at Stanford isn’t into sports but she’s a musician and fine student. Little sister Kristina, a middle-schooler is more like Sophia. She plays two sports, loves to study, and excels in music too.

With brains, athletic talent, strikingly good looks, and a very mature way of expressing herself, Sophia should fit in very well back in Durham. “It’s hard to explain how awesome it is to know I’m going to Duke. It’s such a great school,” said Dunworth, who plans on studying Marine Biology or Life Sciences with an eye on a career in some type of research.

There are a lot of spikes to be made for Amador Valley before the season concludes. The tough EBAL schedule continues, and then the NCS playoffs where the Don’s only titles came in 1978 and 1998.

Before she leaves home for the Carolinas, there’s some unfinished volleyball business for Sophia to take care of out in the Amador Valley and beyond.

Nick Kalpin ( Los Gatos)

“I like the fact the guys and the coaches have faith in me to get the yards,” said this weeks boy’s honoree, Wildcats football, wrestling and baseball star Nick Kalpin (pronounced cal-peen).

Not only has Nick gotten the yards, but he’s consistently getting them in big bunches. Big enough to make him the No. 2 rusher in the Bay Area, and No. 1 in the CCS after four 200-yard games in a row and a total of 1130 yards rushing (188.3 yards per game average) and 15 touchdowns for a team now ranked No. 3 in the Bay Area Top 20. “Nick’s the guy who’s gotten our offense going,” coach Butch Cattolico told Cal–Hi Sports.

Last week in a 56-21 victory over Los Altos that gives Los Gatos a 5-0-1 record, the 6-0, 206-pound Kalpin rushed for 213 yards on 23 carries, scored five touchdowns including a 56-yard run, caught a 27-yard pass, fielded one punt, had a 37-yard kick-off return, and had eight tackles from his outside linebacker position on defense.

The previous three weeks, Nick rushed for 227 yards against Independence ( San Jose), 203 yards against rival Palo Alto, and 240 yards two weeks ago against Saratoga where he also had eight tackles.

When the ground game wasn’t clicking and Kalpin only managed 59-yards rushing against tough and solid St. Francis ( Mountain View) in a 3-3 tie, the defense led by Kalpin and 6-3, 230-pound teammate and fellow linebacker Kiko Alonso, who has been offered a scholarship to Oregon, picked up the slack. While Alonso led the way with 16 tackles and a sack, Kalpin chipped in with eight tackles and caught two passes on offense.

“He can do it all and he’s got good size. Run, block, and catch the ball, plus the kids respect Nick because of his work ethic. After practice he goes out to the track by himself to run sprints. He leads by example and hard work and he’s not a showboat.” Cattolico said. “Off the field he’s a quiet, polite young man who is highly thought of in the school community.”

The hard work and prowess on the gridiron has gotten Kalpin and his nearly B grades a look from several colleges with Portland State tops on the list of those who feel he’s a fit for their program.

Others who have expressed interest in the three-year starter, who was all-league as a sophomore, and junior of the year last season in the De Anza League, are San Jose State, UC Davis, Cal-Poly, and Oregon.

For his part Kalpin is humble but determined on the subject of goals for this season. “I want to make things happen for our team when I get the ball, but without our line opening the holes it can’t happen.” Kalpin told Cal-Hi Sports. “Before the season our team had three goals. Beat Paly and win league, win CCS, and go undefeated. As for me, I would like to double my almost 1300 yards from last season with 2400 yards and 35 touchdowns.” Quite an accomplishment if he could do it and in fact, Kalpin is not that far off the pace of those numbers.

Although an only child, Nick is not the only athlete in the family. Dad Jim, a machinist, played some high school football, while mom Adrienne, a real estate appraiser, was athletic in her youth, played softball, and has brothers who were athletes.

With the kind of determination he shows on the football field, in the batter’s box and on the baseball field as the Wildcats DH and first-baseman, and on the mat where Nick qualified for the State Wrestling Championships in the 215-pound class, Kalpin has a great head start on becoming a commercial pilot and following in the footsteps of his grandpa and uncle, who were airline pilots for United and Alaska Airlines respectively.

Before then, however, college is a medium-term goal, and the short-term goals are some league and CCS titles, and some more state championship appearances in wrestling, and even though it’s a real long-shot, possibly football in Carson.

Honorable Mention

Boys

German Fernandez, cross country (Riverbank), TJ Barni, water polo (Campolindo, Moraga), David Henderson, football (Lincoln, San Francisco)

Girls

Tarah Murray, volleyball (St. Mary’s, Berkeley), Maggie Steffens, water polo (Monte Vista, Danville), Kerri Kummer, golf (Foothill, Pleasanton)