NIAA honors student-athletes

The Meadows quarterback Garrett Gosse’s favorite target on the football field was wide receiver Max Newman.

Their roles were reversed during basketball season, when point guard Newman would look for Gosse on the wing or in the high post.

Chemistry isn’t the only thing the Mustangs teammates share. Gosse and Newman have been honored as part of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s Southern Nevada Top 10 Student-Athletes of the Year.

“I would say that they listen to what they’re told, and they strive to excel in everything they do,” Frank DeSantis, The Meadows’ football and baseball coach and athletic director, said of Gosse and Newman. “They don’t settle; they’re always trying to get better.”

The NIAA, Farmers Insurance Group and Lifetouch team to present the awards to the 10 seniors. The NIAA will honor the Southern Nevada Top 10 at a banquet at 6:30 p.m. May 23 at Sam’s Town. Winners will receive $1,500 scholarships.

Following are this year’s winners:

Toyoltazu Endo, Durango — A team captain in swimming and tennis, Endo earned a total of five varsity letters in the two sports. Endo reached the round of 16 in the Sunset Region singles tournament as a senior. Endo, who ranks No. 1 in a class of 528 with a weighted 4.8 GPA, plans to study mechanical engineering at Cornell.

Trent Gneiting, Palo Verde — A post player in basketball and outside hitter in volleyball, Gneiting earned a total of five varsity letters in the two sports. Gneiting was a second-team All-Northwest League pick in volleyball as a junior and a starter in basketball as a senior on a team that reached the Sunset Region final. Gneiting, who has a weighted 4.474 GPA, plans to study business at Brigham Young.

Garrett Gosse, The Meadows — A quarterback in football, forward in basketball and pitcher in baseball, Gosse earned a total of 12 varsity letters in the three sports. Gosse won Class 2A state football titles in 2008 and 2009, was a 2A first-team all-state pick in all three sports as a junior and won the national male Wendy’s High School Heisman as a senior. Gosse, who has a weighted 4.87 GPA, plans to study engineering in college.

Megan Hamrick, Pahrump Valley — A middle blocker in volleyball, forward in basketball and thrower in track and field, Hamrick earned a total of nine varsity letters in the three sports. Hamrick was a second-team All-Southwest League pick in volleyball as a junior. Hamrick, who ranks No. 2 in a class of 263 with a weighted 4.5319 GPA, plans to study chemical and biological engineering at Colorado State.

William Lara, Virgin Valley — A forward/midfielder in soccer, guard in basketball and swimmer, Lara earned a total of six varsity letters in the three sports. Lara was named the Class 3A Southern League Most Valuable Player and a first-team all-state pick in soccer as a senior. Lara, who ranks No. 1 in a class of 142 with a weighted 4.75 GPA, plans on going to medical school and becoming a doctor in Mesquite.

Holly Laswell, Needles — A middle blocker in volleyball, post in basketball and infielder in softball, Laswell earned a total of 10 varsity letters in the three sports. Laswell was a first-team All-Class 2A Southern League pick in volleyball and basketball as a senior and won 2A state softball titles in 2009 and 2010. Laswell, who ranks No. 1 in a class of 66 with a weighted 4.23 GPA, plans on studying nursing at Long Beach State.

Max Newman, The Meadows — A receiver in football and point guard in basketball, Newman earned a total of eight varsity letters in the two sports. Newman’s 37 career touchdown catches rank second in NIAA history, and he helped the Mustangs win Class 2A state football titles in 2008 and 2009. Newman, who has a weighted 4.27 GPA, plans to play football at Hamilton College (N.Y.) while studying creative writing and world politics.

Janika Ross, Boulder City — A midfielder in soccer, forward in basketball, middle distance runner in track and field and swimmer, Ross earned a total of five varsity letters in the four sports. Ross ran on the Class 3A Southern League champion 3,200-meter relay team as a junior and took second-team all-league honors in soccer as a senior. Ross, who ranks No. 1 in a class of 157 with a weighted 4.8 GPA, plans to study health sciences and dentistry in college.

Renee Vogel, Faith Lutheran — A tennis player and pole vault and high jump standout in track and field, Vogel earned a total of seven varsity letters in the two sports. As a junior, Vogel took fifth in the pole vault at the Class 4A state meet. As a senior, she reached the round of 16 in the Sunset Region singles tournament and won the Nevada female Wendy’s High School Heisman. Vogel, who ranks No. 1 in a class of 146 with a nonweighted 4.0 GPA, plans to study political science and compete in track and field at Yale.

Halle Wakefield, Virgin Valley — A setter in volleyball, guard in basketball and pitcher in softball, Wakefield earned a total of seven varsity letters in the three sports. Wakefield was a 3A second-team all-state pick in softball as a junior. Wakefield, who has a weighted 4.757 GPA, plans to study nursing at BYU.