Pacific Athletes of the Week: Sept. 20, 2012
Dustin Wilson
Kinnick football
Last week — “Put the game on his back,” coach Daniel Joley said, after Wilson scored two touchdowns as Kinnick downed American School In Japan 13-6 last Friday, improving to 3-1 this season.
Wilson, a junior, rushed for touchdowns of 18 and 7 yards and finished with 64 yards on seven carries, helping the Red Devils amass 250 rushing yards on 51 rushing attempts. Kinnick did not attempt a pass during the game, choosing to “do what we do right,” Joley said of his spread-option offense that primarily features running reads.
“He has developed into a premier option quarterback,” Joley said. “Dustin has asserted himself as one of the leaders of our offense. He is a student of the game of football and understands how to analyze and counter the strategy of the opposing defense. He is an honor student who works just as hard in the classroom as he does on the football team.”
Jienniphyre Soderlund
Kubasaki Volleyball
Last week — Racked up a combined 50 assists in three matches, all Dragons victories, as Kubasaki got off to its best start since 2005. That came on the heels of the team’s trip to Guam for the Shieh preseason tournament, in which they played as Shisa Volleyball Club and finished second to Academy of Our Lady of Guam.
Soderlund, a senior, began the week with 18 set assists to power the Dragons to a 25-11, 25-11, 25-7 win Tuesday at Okinawa Christian School International. Two days later, she recorded eight more assists as the Dragons beat Kadena at home 25-13, 25-11, 25-15. And on Saturday, Soderlund’s 32 assists lifted Kubasaki past Miyazato, a Japanese team, 25-18, 25-14, 11-25, 18-25, 25-20.
Coach Michael Hogen refers to Soderlund as a “breath of fresh air.” She’d missed most of Kubasaki’s summer workouts to vacation on Miyako Island. While away, “the team grew without her,” Hogen said. “Then she comes back into the mix and the team is that much better with her. There’s no limit to how hard I can push her; she just wants more and more. She’s taken on a quiet leadership role.”
