Honors: Ross, Morse share Newport-Mesa District Athlete of the Year

laurels

Barry Faulkner

Though aligned on separate sides of the Back Bay rivalry and about

as physically diverse as two elite athletes can be, the ample

accomplishments achieved by Corona del Mar High’s Liz Morse and Newport

Harbor’s April Ross are not without similarity.

Both recent graduates led their teams to CIF Southern Section and CIF

State championships as seniors, while climbing to the top of the nation’s

individual summit in their respective sports.

So it is that both share the distinction of being Daily Pilot

Newport-Mesa District Female Athletes of the Year for 1999-2000.

Ross, bound for USC, earned distinction in volleyball, basketball and

track and field during a prep career highlighted by being named Gatorade

National Player of the Year in volleyball last faJuly 6, 2000ll.

A 6-foot-1 outside hitter, who also played setter and middle blocker,

Ross helped the Sailors win two CIF State Division I championships, as

well as three straight section crowns in Division I-AA.

Quick, strong, agile and intensely competitive, Ross shared Southern

Section Division I Player of the Year honors as a senior. She was also

the Newport-Mesa District and Sea View League MVP, helping the Tars

finish 37-2. Newport was 98-6 with Ross in the starting lineup the last

three years.

She will likely concentrate on volleyball at USC.

A field-event specialist, she was seventh in the section’s Division II

finals in the high jump this spring and also eighth in the triple jump.

Her track and field achievements include a section high jump title as

a freshman and a Sea View crown in the high jump as a senior.

Though she passed up her senior basketball season, she excelled in the

sport, as well. As a junior, she was Newport-Mesa District Co-Player of

the Year and she was all-district and all-league as a sophomore and

junior.

She was the Sea View League’s Athlete of the Year and was named Orange

County Female Athlete of the Year by county athletic directors.

Ross also shone in the classroom, accumulating a 3.5 GPA.

Morse, who entered high school as a devotee of soccer, emerged as a

running sensation.

The Princeton-bound standout won the state 800-meter championship this

spring, in a time of 2:08.16, which was then the best in the nation by a

prep competitor.

She also won the CIF Southern Section Division III 800, as well as the

section Masters Meet 800, helping the Sea Kings win the team title by

also winning the 400, anchoring the victorious 1,600 relay and finishing

third in the 200 at section finals.

She was also Pacific Coast League champion in the 400 and 800, helping

CdM earn the league championship. Her incredible track campaign also

included winning the 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 relay at the Orange County

Championships, winning the 800 at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational

and running a national high school-best in the indoor 800 at an

invitational meet in Los Angeles.

As a junior, she was third in the state 800-meter final, after winning

her specialty at the Masters and section meets. She also ran with

distinction as a freshman and sophomore.

In addition to her work on the track, she was a cross country

stalwart.

She was 13th individually at state finals last fall, where Coach Bill

Sumner’s squad claimed the Division IV crown. CdM also won the Southern

Section team title, as Morse finished second in the Division IV race. CdM

also won the PCL crown last fall.

She was fifth at state finals as a junior, when CdM missed a state

championship by one point.

In her sophomore cross country campaign, CdM was fourth in the state

and second in the section.

She was this year’s PCL Athlete of the Year.

Among the top academicians in her class, she finished high school with

a 4.3 GPA.

She was also universally praised for her selfless support of her

teammates.

accompanying graphic (list in a box?)

Past Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa District Female Athletes of the Year

1991-92 - Maureen McLaren (Newport Harbor)

1992-93 - Olivia DiCamilli (Costa Mesa)

1993-94 - Gina Heads (Newport Harbor)

1994-95 - Melissa Schutz (Newport Harbor)

1995-96 - Katie Grogan (Costa Mesa)

1996-97 - M.E. Clayton (Newport Harbor)

1997-98 - Julie Collett (Costa Mesa)

1998-99 - Jamie DeNoewer (Costa Mesa)