HS GAMETIME ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Patriot baseball player KYLE SKIPWORTH set a state record for hits in consecutive at-bats during a season in which he was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and then was the No. 6 pick in the baseball draft. San Bernardino Cajon basketball player LAYSHIA CLARENDON capped a superb season by dominating in the playoffs and leading her team to a CIF-SS championship. Those accomplishments have earned both the top honor by HS GameTime.

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BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

BY MICHAEL BECKER

SHINING ON THE DIAMON D

In the past 14 days, Kyle Skipworth’s varsity baseball season came to an end. He took home state player of the year honors presented by Gatorade, then, five days later, the national award. He was taken sixth overall in the baseball draft by the Florida Marlins and will soon sign a professional contract.

Today he’ll be among the first class of seniors to graduate from Patriot High School. Now, add one more modest achievement to the list.

Skipworth has been chosen as the HS GameTime Boys Athlete of the Year.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” Skipworth said.

In most years, The Press-Enterprise will honors an athlete of the year who excels in multiple sports. Previous winners include Norco’s Toby Gerhart and Big Bear’s Kriss Proctor. Skipworth’s dominance in baseball provided an exception.

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The 6-foot-3, 195-pound catcher helped lead Patriot to the CIF Division 4 semifinals. He batted .543 with 13 home runs and had 47 RBI. The trifecta of arm strength, a left-handed hitting stroke and power at the plate made Skipworth one of the top high school prospects in the draft.

“I hate to single out a guy above anybody else, but he was our team catalyst,” Patriot coach Tim Kleveno said. “If we looked to somebody, he was our leader, our captain, the guy we looked up to.”

Insiders expect Skipworth to move quickly through the Marlins organization, a farm system considered bereft of top catching talent.

“He’s intelligent, he’s aware of the game, he’s a baseball guy,” said Jim Fleming, Marlins vice president of player development and scouting. “We like guys who have a baseball background.”

THE VOTE

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

BY MICHAEL BECKER

TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL

Another side of Layshia Clarendon came out in the CIF-SS basketball playoffs. When her San Bernardino Cajon team needed a defensive stop, she obliged. When it needed a bucket, she delivered.

Strong players lead teams to exceptional seasons, but only the best have the ability to take over in the tensest situations. Clarendon did just that to lead Cajon to its first CIF girls basketball title.

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She earned Division 2A co-player of the year, CIF-State Junior Player of the Year by CalHiSports, and San Andreas League Player of the Year. Now she’s been selected as the HS GameTime Girls Athlete of the Year.

“She’s been our best player ever,” Cajon coach Mark Lehman said during the basketball season. “Nobody has played basketball like her at Cajon.”

Clarendon, only a junior, will spend the summer touring the country to play in the top summer basketball camps. Most of the Pacific-10 Conference colleges are recruiting the 5-foot-9 guard, who averaged 20.7 points during the season. Led by Clarendon and center Darshae Burnside, Cajon won 30 games this season, beating Chino Hills Ayala in the Division 2A championship game.

She had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the final. In the semifinals against Perris, Clarendon fought through a consistent double-team to score 27 points, including a steal and subsequent layup in the final minute to give Cajon the lead for good.

“She is like a female Kobe,” Ayala coach Mel Sims said after the championship game. “She is just very difficult to stop; whenever she has the ball in her hands she is deadly. You’re torn between double-teaming her and her finding teammates, or letting her score.”

THE VOTE

GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR