Big-time seasons have paid off for several members of Crescenta Valley High School’s spring sports teams this month.
In water polo, senior two-meter player Elissa Arnold earned Pacific League Player of the Year honors. She scored 92 goals and led the Falcons to a fifth straight league title. The Falcons advanced to the semifinals in Division V, one game away from playing in their second straight championship, but lost to Warren 16-9.
Arnold, who is bound for the University of Michigan, leaves the program having won a CIF title in 2013, and advanced to the semifinals in all four years as a player. Senior teammates Ashley Taylor and Lynley Fernandez, and sophomore Audrey Taylor were selected to the All-League first team.
Eric Patten, the senior center for the surprising Falcons boys’ basketball team, was named the Pacific League’s co-Player of the Year along with Pasadena’s Ajon Efferson. Patten averaged 18.8 points and 13.3 rebounds this season, including 1.6 blocks.
Head Coach Shawn Zargarian earned honors as the league’s Coach of the Year, and senior guard Eric Bae, who was relied upon for outside shooting and tough defense, was named to the All-League first team.
Crescenta Valley shared the league title with Pasadena, the first for the program since 2004. The Falcons, who went 20-9 overall and 12-2 in league, lost in the first round of the CIF Division 1-AA playoffs to Orange Lutheran.
In girls’ basketball, Falcons’ senior guard Ella Stepanian was voted as the Pacific League Player of the Year. Stepanian excelled this season after she missed her entire junior year with a torn ACL in her right knee, and led Crescenta Valley to a second-place finish in league with an 11-3 record, 20-9 overall.