The month of April was a banner month for the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, with teams advancing in the playoffs and others collecting individual honors. Athletes from Mt. San Jacinto College, Grossmont College, College of the Desert and Palomar College were named the Athletes-of-the-Month for April.
Two men and two women emerged as the top performers for the month of April, with Mt. San Jacinto's Carson McCaffrey and Grossmont's Austin Dickman representing the men and Desert's Areli Moreno and Palomar's Allie Hughen representing the women. The month also provided some tough challenges when making picks, as we have five other athletes making the honorable mention list.
ATHLETES-OF-THE-MONTH (MEN)
Carson McCaffrey, Baseball, Mt. San Jacinto College
McCaffrey was a workhorse for Mt. San Jacinto in April, batting .368 (21 for 57) with three homeruns, 10 RBI and five doubles. He hit safely in 12-of-14 games, collecting two hits in nine of the 14 games. In addition, McCaffrey pitched 20.1 innings on the mound for the Eagles, finishing the month 1-1 with 19 strikeouts.
Austin Dickman, Swimming, Grossmont College
Dickman was awarded the Pacific Coast Conference Co-Swimmer of the Year after a solid finish at the PCAC Finals. He was a star during the conference championships, winning three different events. Dickman won the 100 fly, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, standing at the top of the podium on three occasions. He also contributed to first place finishes for the 400 medley relay and 200 medley relay teams.
ATHLETES-OF-THE-MONTH (WOMEN)
Areli Moreno, Softball, College of the Desert
Moreno was a solid performer for College of the Desert for the month of April as the Roadrunners went 7-4. She finished the month batting .533 (16-for-30) with a .563 on-base percentage, collecting five doubles, one home run, 13 runs-scored and 16 RBI in 11 games. Moreno had a hit in 9-of-11 games, including a three-game stretch where she went 9-for-10. In addition, she appeared in four games on the mound, finishing 1-0 in 9.1 innings of work. Moreno was awarded with Second Team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference recognition at the end of the season
Allie Hughen, Softball, Palomar College
Hughen had a sensational month for Palomar, finishing 7-0 with one save and a microscopic 0.46 ERA on the mound. In addition, she batted .417 (10-for-24) at the plate for the Comets, including a seven-game hitting streak. Hughen was also recognized by the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference with First Team All-PCAC status following the regular season, as the Comets remain in the CCCAA Southern California Regional Tournament as the No. 3 seed in Southern California.
HONORABLE MENTION ATHLETES-OF-THE-MONTH
Athlete | School | Sport |
Jaden Burns | San Bernardino Valley | Baseball |
Jacob Montes | Palomar | Men's Golf |
Darilyn Hernandez | San Bernardino Valley | Women's Track & Field |
Huyen Lam | Grossmont | Women's Badminton |
Vanessa Tirado | San Diego City | Softball |