Sun-Star honors winter male athletes of the year for basketball, wrestling and soccer
Aurrion Harris was like a Swiss Army knife for the Golden Valley High School boys basketball team.
The 6-foot-2 senior could play anywhere on the court for the Cougars.
Harris was comfortable playing in the paint, mixing it up with opposing post players. While Golden Valley point guard Zack Fernandez was out with illness for a few weeks early in the season, Harris played point guard, running the offense and distributing the ball.
Harris was named the Central California Conference MVP after leading the Cougars to their second straight Central California Conference title. He averaged 14 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Harris is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
“I enjoy doing different things on the court a lot,” Harris said. “If you’re a leader, coaches expect different things. It makes me work harder. It pushes me to do more.”
With Harris leading the way, the Cougars went 11-1 in CCC action and 25-8 overall, reaching the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals and the second round of the NorCal Division IV playoffs.
“My job was to bring the energy to my teammates,” Harris said. “I had to show how hard we had to work at practice.”
Some of Harris’ top games came in the postseason.
The senior scored 20 points against Sierra and then followed that up with 12 points and 18 rebounds in a win over Christian Brothers. Harris added 21 points and 14 rebounds in a loss to Vanden.
“The playoffs was so much fun,” Harris said. “We wanted to go further in sections, but we came up short. Us five seniors all felt like we accomplished something.”
Wrestling
Willie Ward-Williams, Golden Valley
Willie Ward-Williams’ wrestling origin story is a unique one.
It started when Golden Valley wrestling coach Chopper Mello was summoned to the administration office to watch a surveillance video.
“One of the associate principals asked if I could watch a video,” said Mello, who is the Sun-Star Wrestling Coach of the Year. “The video showed someone picking a fight with Willie during a P.E. class on the blacktop when he was a freshman. I’m watching this video and I see him do a perfect double-leg takedown. He picked the other kid up and put him down.
“The associate principal asked if I could work with him and keep him out of trouble.”
That’s how Ward-Williams joined the Cougars wrestling team. Four years later, Ward-Williams compiled a 47-7 record, helping lead Golden Valley to a CCC championship and being named the CCC Most Valuable Player.
Ward-Williams is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Wrestler of the Year.
“When my career is over, one of the kids I’ll truly miss is Willie,” Mello said. “He brings leadership to the room. He picked up the sport in four years. I’m going to remember all my wrestlers, but I’m not just going to remember Willie as a wrestler, I’m going to remember him giving everything he had.”
Ward-Williams racked up a list of accomplishments his senior year that included advancing to the CIF State Meet for the first time, finishing fifth at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters, first at the Division III championship, and first at CCC, Lloyd C. Engel Invitational and Mike Tamana Invitational.
“I feel good about my season,” Ward-Williams said. “I have some little regrets, but I feel good. Just to see the coaches’ faces, they were proud.”
For Ward-Williams one of the highlights was winning the CCC team championship.
“Last year, El Capitan won,” he said. “We were all mad after losing to them. We kept that in our heads. Right after the match, Coach told us we were going to win a league title next year. This is going to make you work harder during the offseason.
“It makes you look back at all the hard work you put in. I wouldn’t want to win with any other team.”
Soccer
Jose Guerrero, Hilmar
Jose Guerrero scored the most goals in Merced County this season.
The Hilmar junior’s 36 goals ranked No. 2 in the Sac-Joaquin Section and No. 11 in the state, according to MaxPreps.
Guerrero was named the Best Offensive Player by the Trans-Valley League coaches and helped lead the Yellowjackets to a second straight Sac-Joaquin Section championship.
Guerrero is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“It’s a blessing to have him,” said Hilmar coach Louie Bettencourt, who is also the Sun-Star Coach of the Year. “He’s an outstanding player and he’s very good to coach. There’s not enough I can say about him.”
Guerrero recorded six hat tricks, including three goals against Escalon in the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals and three more goals in the section title win over Linden.
“I love playing in the big games against the big teams,” Guerrero said.
For Guerrero, the feeling of scoring a goal never gets old.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “For me, it’s just the adrenaline you feel. You want to keep experiencing that feeling every game.”
Guerrero started picking up the game of soccer as a 4-year old. His older brother would teach him the basics.
He played on his first team as a sixth grader and has been hooked ever since.
“He stepped up and did the job for us and did it well,” Bettencourt said. “He’s a great player, all the way around. He could have scored more for us, but he’s an unselfish players. There were times he could have scored more goals but he passed it off to a teammate.”
All-Area Honors
Basketball
Dillon Greenwood, El Capitan
Gerald Braxton, Buhach Colony
Avery Townsel, Golden Valley
Robert Smid, Atwater
Cortez Tyler, Merced
Joe Serena, El Capitan
Will Tate, Hilmar
Ryan Hickman, Chowchilla
Colton Dukes, Atwater
Brody Collins, El Capitan
Dishawn McCutchen, El Capitan
Christian Magallanes, Golden Valley
Coach — Adrian Hurtado, El Capitan
Wrestling
Noble Santos, Hilmar
Jose Navarro, Pacheco
Efrain Duenas, Hilmar
Jose Bernabe, El Capitan
Mark Labass, Hilmar
Aristeo Prado, Golden Valley
Abraham Granados, Merced
Broc Perry, Hilmar
Jesus Garcia, El Capitan
Diony Navarro, Pacheco
Jose Villsenor, Pacheco
Steven Silva, Hilmar
Isaiah Serena, El Capitan
Joseph Trinidad, Buhach Colony
Gilberto Solorio, Atwater
Coach — Chopper Mello, Golden Valley
Soccer
Diego Hernandez, El Capitan
Yareth Martinez, Livingston
Alfonso Torres, Atwater
Adiran Bracamontes, Buhach Colony
Osiel Garcia, Pacheco
Gustavo Gonzalez, El Capitan
Fernando Castaneda, Hilmar
Julian Valencia, Le Grand
Carlos Morales, Golden Valley
Jairo Olivarez, Livingston
Michaelaron Ortez, Merced
Alex Pena, Atwater
Abel Velasco, Le Grand
Jimmy Perkins, Pacheco
Coach: Louie Bettencourt, Hilmar
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 2:09 PM.
