27 Cougars Named to 2020-21 Canyons Elite Program

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

The College of the Canyons Athletic Department has announced the members of its 2020-21 Canyons Elite class of student-athletes comprised of each program's top performers in the classroom, in their sport and in the community.

Founded in 2018, Canyons Elite annually recognizes second-year Cougars student-athletes who rank among the leaders on their team in academic GPA; have logged significant hours in The Learning Center (TLC) each semester; contribute to their team at a high level; and are active members of the campus community.

Those student-athletes selected to the Canyons Elite group are looked to as leaders and representatives of their respective programs, as serve as ambassadors for the COC Athletic department.

The Canyons Elite program is administered by Matt Crater, COC Student-Athlete Success Coordinator, and Albert Loaiza, COC Student-Athlete Counselor.

"Canyons Elite recognizes our collegiate student-athletes from a holistic perspective," said Loaiza. "These young men and women have accepted the challenge to be the best they can be on their team, in the classroom and around campus.

"They should be proud of that decision," added Loaiza. "It's our hope that they will be able to take what they've learned as COC student-athletes, apply it to all aspects of their life and put themselves on a path of success."

This year's Canyons Elite class includes 27 student-athletes (12 male/15 female) with a combined GPA of 3.72. Five Canyons Elite student-athletes will begin the 2020-21 academic year with perfect 4.0 GPAs. 

"Juggling classes, homework and tutoring, practice, conditioning sessions — and all the other challenges that come with being a college student — is a feat in itself," said Crater. "The students selected to Canyons Elite have gone above and beyond that standard and excelled in all these areas. We are proud to recognize all the hard work they have put in to achieve this level of excellence."

COC women's soccer, women's volleyball, softball, men's track & field and football programs will each be represented with at least three Canyons Elite selections.

Also included among this year's group of honorees are four All-Western State Conference (WSC) honorees, representing the athletic department's fall sports teams. Conference and statewide awards were not presented for spring sports programs following the cancellation of the spring 2020 season due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Additionally, all fall 2020 community college athletic seasons have been tentatively shifted to the spring 2021 semester as part of a contingency plan adopted by the CCCAA Board of Directors earlier this summer.

A full list of 2020-21 Canyons Elite selections is included below: 

• Doyle Kane — Baseball
• Joel Carrillo — Men's Basketball
• Diamyn Davis — Women's Basketball
• Tarek Khezri — Men's Cross Country
• Jisselle Lomeli — Women's Cross Country
• Moises Haynes — Football
• Taylor Lewis — Football
• Trevor Ojoh — Football
• Aidan Rosette — Football
• Chisato Kawahara — Softball
• Nataly Miranda — Softball
• Jenna Rorick — Softball
• Dylan Sullivan — Men's Soccer
• Nicole Bulnes — Women's Soccer
• Brianna De Santiago — Women's Soccer
• Alexandra Prezioso — Women's Soccer
• Jacob Gibbs — Men's Swim & Dive
• Mikaela Martinez — Women's Swim & Dive
• Taylor Cohen — Women's Tennis
• Lauren Hannah — Women's Tennis
• Miguel Galvan — Men's Track & Field
• Cole Shirakata — Men's Track & Field
• Sean Tomer — Men's Track & Field
• Samantha Breitbach — Women's Track & Field
• Bree Kelley — Women's Volleyball
• Kianna Perry — Women's Volleyball
• Kayla Tait — Women's Volleyball

Stay up to date with the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.