MC’s Tongamoa, UCM’s Coles earn All-American nods

There aren’t many jokes Kamilo Tongamoa isn’t willing to be a part of.

With a personality as big as his 6-foot-5, 305-pound frame, the Merced College defensive tackle is almost constantly on the giving or receiving end of playful banter. From one’s playing ability, to their success when talking to women, to family, virtually everything in the pantheon of a person’s everyday life was fair game as far as Tongamoa was concerned.

It made the offense he took to teammates dubbing him “All-American” all the more laughable. It was a nickname that made sense. The sophomore entered the season with the pedigree (his brother Sione plays at the University of Cincinnati), the prototype body and the hype (having already committed to Iowa State). Still, for Tongamoa it was no joke.

“I’ve dreamed of being an All-American since I was a little kid,” Tongamoa said. “You could definitely say that them calling me that made me mad, because I wasn’t an All-American yet. It was something I still had to earn.”

Tongamoa did just that. He finished second on the team with 80 tackles, recorded a team-high nine sacks and led the state with 25 tackles for a loss. The nickname became official on Wednesday as Tongamoa was named to the 2016 All-America Community College Football first-team defense. He becomes the 51st All-American in Merced College program history and the first to earn the honor since 2006.

“I found out (Tuesday) when coach (Bob) Casey sent me a text,” Tongamoa said. “I thought he was messing with me until he sent me a picture of the list after it. I was pretty excited. It made my day. Honestly, it made my year. The goal since I came onto the campus was to play in and win a bowl. That’s what I was focused on this season. To get named All-American is kind of the perfect way to end my career.

“It’s an honor and it’s even better to become the first one to earn it under Casey.”

Tongamoa was one of three Blue Devils recognized by the state on Wednesday, joined by offensive lineman Nyquel Alexander and punter Noah Croninger on the CCCAA Region II offensive and defensive first teams.

“I went to the All-America meeting and a lot of the upper-tier coaches were really talking up their guys,” Casey said. “I finally got a little annoyed and said ‘Look, you can say whatever you want, but none of the guys are better than Kamilo and he has the numbers to prove it.’ He had some things to prove after sitting out last season. He worked hard and nobody we faced could really contain him.

“We had fewer All-Region guys than we had a year ago, but I think that’s the kind of team this was. We didn’t have that many individual stars, but the group played as a team and was successful because of it.”

Women’s soccer

Desiree Coles said she entered the 2016 season focused on team glory and not individual play. The UC Merced senior believes it freed her up to have her finest season in an award-winning career.

The Bobcat center back turned in a a career-high three goals, three assists and nine points, all while anchoring a defense that surrendered .67 goals per game, good for 17th in the nation. Coles was already recognized as the Cal-Pac Defensive Player of the Year. She can add NAIA All-American honorable mention to her impressive list of accolades.

Coles becomes the third Bobcat and first women’s soccer player to earn an All-American nod.

“I didn’t expect it at all. It’s an incredible honor,” Coles said. “I think I went in not expecting too much of myself this season, I was just really focused on winning a conference championship. I think that took any pressure off of me and allowed me to just play.

“It definitely helped having three years of experience. You’re just more comfortable out there. You know what players to watch out for and how teams are going to play. I’d still trade it all for a conference title, but it’s a great way to end my career.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 9:01 PM with the headline "MC’s Tongamoa, UCM’s Coles earn All-American nods."