Finding the balance between sports and school is a difficult task.
But Christopher seniors Maddie Peterson and Tomas Zamora were able to not only do that, but excel at both. Their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom led to them being named the Gilroy Dispatch Female and Male Athlete of the Year at Christopher, respectively.
“All the sports that we’ve played, it really means something,” Peterson said. “An award just proves that.”
Peterson was a standout in field hockey for the Cougars, playing for all four years of her high school career. She scored four goals and had nine points this season and was named the Monterey Bay League MVP. Her leadership on the field also led to her winning a sportsmanship award.
“The whole sport (field hockey) in itself I like,” she said. “(I like) playing, the family — your team becomes your family — and then just the chemistry, team chemistry.”
The senior was also co-captain of the Cougars girls basketball team and was named the Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to that, Peterson also established herself as being No. 1 in the shot put event in track and field for Christopher.
But what’s most impressive is that she was able to juggle all that while still maintaining a 3.3 GPA.
“In my family school always comes first — regardless of extracurricular activities,” Peterson said. “They were always there to help. If I needed help, I just asked them for help.”
Brains and brawn are not exclusive to Peterson, however. Zamora — a four year wrestler and football player — will also finish his high school career with an impressive track record. He will graduate with a 3.5 GPA along with a league championship at 181 pounds. Zamora also qualified for the Central Coast Section tournament two times.
Zamora was an impressive force on the football field, too. The senior lineman had 31 tackles this season, a sack and a recovered a fumble for the Cougars.
But his accomplishments were not without sacrifice. There were many nights where he would stay up late after a long day of practice in order to stay on top of his school work.
“My family was my biggest support system,” Zamora said. “I’d come home late from practice or from training and my mom would stay up with me while I was doing my homework. It was nice to just know that she was there for me. There would be long nights sometimes after training, doing your homework and projects. It was very difficult.”
All the hard work has paid off for Zamora and Peterson who will be moving on to college in the fall.
Peterson will be attending the University of the Pacific at Stockton where she hopes to walk-on to their field hockey team. If not, she said she will join the club field hockey team in order to continue doing what she loves.
Zamora will attend Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo where he hopes to be a member of their Division I wrestling team. It’s there that he will keep the same work ethic that has made him so successful at the high school level.
“I just always tried to be better. I don’t really look up to anybody as an athlete. I’m just always inspired to do better and be better than everybody that I go against.”
