DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Desert Hot Springs boy’s basketball captain, power forward and center Jacob Niro is the latest student-athlete of the week. “This year he was our heart,” head coach Justin Flores said. “He’s really what you want as a coach [and] in a player.” Jacob Niro is a senior on the

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Desert’s girls water polo star Nadia Frutkin is this week’s student-athlete of the week. “Nadia has been just a really key component for our team this year,” Elise Stein, the Aztec’s assistant coach said. “She’s one of our captains. She is a very selfless player.”  Frutkin has played water

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Xavier Prep’s girls basketball small forward Grace Thomsen is this week’s student athlete of the week. She’s on our Mount Rushmore,” head coach Thaddis Bosley said. “She’s on that list of some of the greatest players we’ve ever had.”  In her four year on varsity at Xavier Prep, Bosley says

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs High School’s girl’s water polo utility Alaina Vega is this week’s student athlete of the week. “Alaina, what can I say? She’s, just an all around, student, a warrior in the classroom because she’s a student first, then an athlete second,” said head coach Michael Marks. Alaina Vega

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) — Rancho Mirage soccer standout Jerome Carter is our latest student-athlete of the week. “He’s unstoppable. He has all the moves, all the skills that a player, that a forward needs to have, but he also cherishes part of the game by being a contributor and part of the team,” said

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – Coachella Valley point guard Albert Sauceda is this week’s student athlete of the week. “For Albert, he’s like a big brother figure for a lot of these guys,” head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “He’ll try to lighten the mood, or when somebody’s down, he’ll try to, like, hey, you know, it’s okay.

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – La Quinta striker Jada Barnes is this week’s student athlete of the week. “When I first made varsity, and I was in sophomore year, I actually did not get a lot of playing time, and because of that, that pushed me to use whatever playing time I had to my

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) — Palm Desert high school standout golfer Luke Ringkamp is our latest Student Athlete of the Week. No. 1 recruit in CaliforniaNo. 7 ranked junior in USA@pdhsofficial standout Luke Ringkamp is this week's @KESQ student-athlete of the week. Here's some bonus content from my shoot with the @PepperdineMGOLF commit. @CoachMBeard @KenjiitoKESQ

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Desert senior point guard Paul Dreisbach is this week’s student athlete of the week. “What he does really well is he kind of is bringing along our freshmen group, and he does things the right way,” Aztecs head coach Justin Sobczyk said. “So he’s setting the right example, and

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) — Coachella Valley senior running back Ivan Camargo is this week’s student athlete of the week. “He is a rare mix of academic success and academic focus and just relentless, tireless art and execution on the field,” Arabs head coach Bill Johnson said. Ivan Camargo, a bruising running back with breakaway speed,

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) — Palm Desert senior wide receiver and defensive back Jonah Toland is this week’s student athlete of the week. Jonah Tolan has been a human highlight reel all season long for the Palm Desert Aztecs, but his journey to become the player he is today began in his freshman year.  “We knew

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) — Yucca Valley senior quarterback Aiden Shannon is this week’s student athlete of the week. Switching from wide receiver to quarterback is a very rare position change and very difficult to do, but that wasn’t a problem for Aiden Shannon, who was ready to lead the team once he stepped onto the

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — Palm Springs senior linebacker and running back Koa Rapolla is this week’s student athlete of the week. When coaches recruit players for their football team, they’re looking for an X factor, an athlete who can do it all, and that is the exact type of player Koa Rapolla is for Palm

Desert Christian Academy running back Cashton Scott is this week’s student-athlete of the week. Every time Cashton Scott gets the ball, he cashes in for six, but he’s never played for the recognition he’s always wanted to give glory to the man above every time he steps onto the field. “I try to play the

Xavier Prep girls’ volleyball outside hitter Lyla Barkett is this week’s student athlete of the week. Barkett is a star for the Xavier Prep Saints, leading the team with 178 kills and 62 aces, but what makes her a one-of-a-kind athlete is the energetic attitude she brings every time she steps onto the court. “Her

Palm Springs senior running back/edge rusher Layla Joy is this week’s student athlete of the week. “Every snap of every play on both sides of the ball, the kid just won’t come off the field, she just goes 100%,” head coach Mark Abercrombie said. Layla Joy, an athlete who plays until the whistle blows, has

La Quinta golf captain Joanna Bushnell Crist is this week’s student athlete of the week. “There’s no way you get as good as she is in this game without putting in thousands of hours on the golf course working,” head coach Mark Williams said. “She’s just relentless. She practices every day, and just does everything

Shadow Hills linebacker David Caris is this week’s student athlete of the week. “I’m very devoted to be the best person I can be,” senior Caris said. “I know how important education is after high school, and on the field, it’s just what I love to do. I love playing football, so I want to

La Quinta defensive back and wide receiver Major Hinchen is this week’s student athlete of the week. “He was pretty heavily recruited,” head coach Juan Ramon Ruiz said. “I don’t think we’ve had a guy like that for a long time around here in the valley, so it was great to see that. He had

Indio libero Anitzi Zarco is this week’s student athlete of the week. “She’s always a great, positive person on the court,” head coach Meagan Nolasco said. “She likes to bring them up and give them corrections. It’s nice to have somebody on the court that could be a voice when I’m so far away on

Palm Desert senior girls’ tennis captain Allison Smith is this week’s student athlete of the week. “She’s an excellent player. She’s a friend to everybody. She’s a great captain. She listens to everything that I tell her and she puts it into use,” head coach Owen McIntosh said. Alison Smith has done it all at

Rancho Mirage wide receiver/defensive back Jeremiah Johnson is this week’s student athlete of the week. “Just an ultimate leader on the football field, in the weight room, and in the classroom,” head coach LD Matthews said. “Our younger players and students in our school and our program couldn’t ask for a better role model on

Coachella Valley’s libero Aiyanna Inzunza is this week’s student athlete of the week. “She’ll be the type of person to always be there for you when you need it,” senior outside hitter Yamarani Vega said. “She’ll give you the advice you need. She’ll bring you up when you’re at your lowest. She’s the best person

Palm Desert second baseman Stevie Hutchinson is this week’s student athlete of the week. Stevie Hutchinson really did it all. He not only led on the field with the highest batting average, but also off the field as a captain, cementing his name in the baseball program here at Palm Desert High School. “He puts

Cathedral City third baseman, catcher, and pitcher Amya Navarro Guzman is this week’s student athlete of the week. At Cathedral City High School, there is one word to describe Amaya Navarro Guzman.  “She shows leadership that teaches the underclassmen girls how to play, the rules they need to learn, the plays they need to learn,

Indio third baseman/ catcher Clover Cordova is this week’s student athlete of the week. Clover Cordova is a name to remember here at Indio High School. She not only plays three sports, but she was selected as the Rajahs girls’ athlete of the year. “I’ve been training Clover since she was about ten years old,”

La Quinta pitchers Max Mora and Javier Vasquez are this week’s student athletes of the week. Most baseball teams, if not all, have at least one ace, but it is really special for a team to have two go-to pitchers to start on the mound, and that is the case right here at La Quinta

Palm Desert beach volleyball player Hannah Albert is this week’s student athlete of the week. “When you get around Hannah off of the volleyball court, she’s just a very fun person to be around,” head coach Chris Braun said. “She relaxes her teammates sometimes. You know, these bus rides to our matches can be kind of

Palm Desert 4×100 meter, 100 meter, and 200 meter track star Madison Whitley is this week’s student athlete of the week. There’s no question that Madison Whitley is a great student-athlete. She’s a multi-event champion, has a 4.1 GPA, and a personality that lights up the room. “She’s everything you want a student athlete to

Xavier Saints beach volleyball player Ava Campbell is this week’s student athlete of the week. The last name Campbell here at Xavier Prep is well known. There’s Mark Campbell, who is the president of the school and the father of Ava Campbell, who is a beach volleyball star. Ava wouldn’t be the person she is