The Desert Sun unveils its top athletes from the fall sports season

We had history-making performances, epic winning streaks, personal bests and even the ultimate prize of a CIF-SS championship.CHATTING WITH JOANNACHATTING WITH WILLWhy Saveyra: Guerrero won both Desert Empire League meets, each time besting not just everyone in the DEL, but everyone in the DVL, too, as the leagues ran together. Under the sweltering sun in the first meet, Guerrero ran the three-mile race in 18:55.2 in brutal conditions. In the second meet, she was the one that was scorching, winning again, this time with a personal-best time of 17:43.14. She led the Blackhawks to another league title along the way.

Juliette Rothe, Xavier Prep volleyball

Why Will: Make that CIF-SS champion Will. Yes, Walz and the Aztecs went all the way to the CIF-SS finals this season and came home with the Division 5 trophy. Walz was named the Desert Empire League defensive MVP. And it’s his ability to do whatever it takes to win in the pool that makes him a special player. He could’ve scored more goals, but on certain nights he focused his energy on defending the other team’s best player. Other nights his goal-scoring was needed. He had the goal of the year when he scored with one second left in the semifinal against Garden Grove to give the Aztecs a remarkable 10-9 win. In the championship game, Walz had three goals and played constricting defense in the team’s 10-4 win over Warren. Walz then drew the highest honor, being named the Division 5 All-CIF-SS Player of the Year.

Why Juliette: The reason Rothe was the choice for the second year in a row can be expressed in one specific play during a rivalry game against Palm Desert this year. Rothe, the team’s setter, ran full speed and dove outside the court near the scorer’s table to keep a ball alive. As the play continued, the Aztecs hit a return to what appeared to be an open area in the Saints’ defense, but before the ball could hit the floor it was Rothe again now diving on the opposite side of the court to keep the ball alive. The point continued and finally it came back to Rothe, who set her teammate for a winning kill. The senior was named co-MVP of the Desert Empire League and helped the Saints continue their 33-game league winning streak. She finished the year with 842 assists, 199 digs and 90 kills for good measure.

• The season: “It went really well. Our team was cohesive from the start so it helped when we may have been tired at the end of the year we still stuck together and finished really strong.”
• Her career as a whole: “It’s crazy to think because it feels like freshman year was so long ago. My four years here have been great. Fun. Made friends. I don’t look back at my high school career with anything but happy thoughts.”
• Athlete you idolize: “Misty May Treanor. I’ve looked up to her forever. She’s such a hustler. Great role model to look up to.”
• Favorite food: “Sushi. Always has been, always will be. My parents introduced me to it at an early age and I’m not picky.”
• Your nickname is JuJu, does anyone call you Juliette? “Some of my teachers do at first, but then it usually ends up being JuJu. When I was little, it was Juju Bee and it developed into JuJu or even Joodge.”

Will Walz, Palm Desert water polo

Why Luis: Fernando-Martinez, a junior, made this an easy choice by outdistancing everyone in his path all season. Fernando-Martinez won both Desert Empire League meets in runaway fashion. In the extreme heat of the first one, he finished in 15:57.42, more than 30 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. In the second meet, he shaved 27 seconds off his time with a finish in 15:30.02.

Let’s meet the top stars in volleyball, cross country, girls’ golf, girls’ tennis, flag football and boys’ water polo:

• On winning CIF-SS title: “It was amazing. Having some home games and then all of our fans watching us in the final. That semifinal game against Garden Grove was crazy. To have a lot of close games and then go and win CIF by a large margin compared to the other games. That second half, we just kind of knew we had it. We were more prepared. Felt like they weren’t going to score.”
• At what point in the season did you feel like this group could win a title? “I think after the second-round game, which was on the road and we won in overtime. I was thinking this is getting real. I felt like we had a good chance.”
• Favorite music: “I like 80s music, they just don’t make music like they used to. Otherwise something lo-fi something chill.”
• Favorite food: “I really like Mexican food, Chipotle, a good steak. Anything to keep my body going and burning calories.”
• Athlete you admire: “Water polo I like guys like Ryder Dodd and his brother (Chase, from the U.S. Olympic Team). I also watch a lot of college basketball. I’m a Duke fan.”

Saveyra Guerrero, La Quinta cross country

The fall high school sports season was a particularly great one for desert athletics.

Why Jaeda: Diaz, known to most as a softball stud, decided to give flag football the old college try and she fell in love with it. She did a little bit of everything for the Rajahs both offensively and defensively. She was the key cog in their undefeated run to the first-ever girls’ football Desert Empire League title. She was named the league’s defensive MVP for her efforts.

• As a senior how do you look back on your high school cross country career?: “I succeeded in things that I didn’t know was possible. Cross country and track weren’t my first option, it was actually soccer. My mom (Omeyra who ran track) was begging me to try cross country, ‘Just do it for me, baby.’ And I did it. My first practice wasn’t the best, but after my first competitions and invitationals, it immediately became my new passion.”
• Nickname: “They call me ‘Twin’ because I have a twin (Raisa) and some parents call me Twinkie because they can’t tell which is which.”
• Dream vacation spot: “I’d go to Utah to run the Zion Trails. I’ve been there once, but I’d go again. There’s this trail called Angel’s Peak. It’s a really long trail and you go up the canyon and the view is beautiful.”
• Athlete you look up to: “I guess I would say I look up to my twin sister, Raisa. She always motivates with everything I do. If we’re talking about the person who is yelling at me to go faster and always in my corner, it’s her.”
• Binge-watching anything? “Yeah, I just finished Arcane, it’s this new animated series. It’s very deep, I like it.”

Joanna Bushnell Crist, La Quinta golf

Why Joanna: Crist, a junior, returned to the top of the Desert Empire League girls’ golf chase this year, winning the DEL individual title for the second time in three years. After leading the La Quinta Blackhawks and the entire DEL in scoring average, Bushnell Crist shot rounds of 70 and 75 at Cimarron Golf Resort in Cathedral City to win the league individual title by two shots over Palm Desert’s Sophia Waddell. Bushnell Crist did not advance in CIF-Southern Section individual play, but she did lead the Blackhawks to a team postseason berth, where she shot the team’s best score, a 77 in the Division 3 team regional in Victorville.

CHATTING WITH JAEDA

• What’s your favorite club in your bag?: “I would have to say my driver. I think it sets me apart as a player and it’s probably my biggest strength.”
• Why do you love golf?: “I love that it challenges me and it’s beautiful outside and I love being with my teammates, that’s the best part. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid and my dad introduced me to it. I loved holding the club like a hockey stick and hitting as hard as I can.”
• Favorite music: “I love Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams. I think that they are great singers, of course, but also great people who set a good example. I always wanted to go to the Eras Tour to see Taylor but I couldn’t. But I am going to see Gracie in August, so I’m excited about that.”
• Dream vacation spot: “I’d be happy to go anywhere in Europe, but I’ve always wanted to go to Amsterdam. It really caught my eye, so pretty.”

Allison Smith, Palm Desert tennis

Why Allison: This was a pretty easy choice as Smith was the top singles player in the desert throughout the year. She won the Desert Empire League individual finals 6-1, 6-1 and helped the Aztecs to an undefeated league season. Smith is a talented player, of course, but also has a level-headed temperament on the court that goes a long way to her success. She never gets too high or too low, always focused on the task at hand.

CHATTING WITH ALLISON

• Favorite food: “Do I have to answer quick? Hmmm … let me see … popcorn.”
• Favorite music: “Everything I think right now I’ve been listening to a lot of SZA’,’s album S.O.S. I’ve never been to Coachella, but I’d love to go this year. My friends have gone and tell me it’s fun, but I’ve never gone.”
• Dream vacation: “Probably like Brazil would be cool. I want to go to Brazil and see that culture and learn more about it.”
• Is there a pro athlete you admire?: “Yeah, Billie Jean King. She did so much for women’s rights and women in the sport of tennis. And she’s obviously a good person to look up to.”
• When you go to the BNP Paribas Open, what do you look for when you watch those women play? “It’s fun to watch them play and I don’t look for anything specific, but I think it’s so cool how hard they work and see it show up on the court.”
• Recap your season: “This was probably one of my favorite seasons. We had success, but more than that the team was so fun this year, and I got even closer to my friends on the team and that was great.”

Luis-Fernando Martinez, La Quinta cross country

CHATTING WITH SAVEYRA

CHATTING WITH JULIETTE

• Favorite music: For me Mexicano Romantica. My parents listen to it a lot and I like it I don’t know why.
• Favorite food: “Has to be Taco Bell, bro. I always rely back on Taco Bell. Among my friend group they’re scared when I go to Taco Bell, especially when the nacho fries come out. Oh my. I order four and the people behind the counter think I’m getting it for a big group, but it’s all for me and I finish it.”
• Dream vacation: “Cancun. To me I just like the culture over there. A lot to do, all the things I love.”
• Athlete you admire: “Gonna have to be a runner for Arkansas. His name is like Yaseen Abdalla. He was really slow in high school, but he did great his senior year and then in college he exploded and has like the third fastest 3,000-meter ever. I look up to him, because it’s like no matter where you are you can always do really good.”
• Senior year goals: “I really have a fish to fry. I had a breakout race in San Bernardino and beat a bunch of these really good runners and then at CIF I rolled my ankle, and some of those guys that I beat earlier went to CIF, went to State, and it really showed me that you can’t rely on one good race, anything can happen.”

Jaeda Diaz, Indio flag football

There were many great performances, but these seven athletes were the best. The Desert Sun has chosen its top athletes in all seven fall sports, and that sensational seven-pack has been named The Desert Sun’s All-Fall Team.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

• Choosing flag football: “I decided to play as soon as I heard about it. I really wanted to try something new and it just seemed like a really fun sport to do. I really didn’t have much expectations going in. I had to learn the whole game, it was a new sport to all of us. We did our best and it showed on the field.”
• What did you know about football? “I only knew the basics, I didn’t know all the rules and all the little things and strategies about it.”
• And now? “Oh, I fell in love with it. I love watching football on TV now, I watch all the time. I definitely have a better understanding for what’s going on and that makes it much more entertaining to watch. I see the defensive players how they try to stay with their person and how the offensive player is trying to get open.”
• On the one-point win over Shadow Hills that won them the title: “We just knew it was going to be a really huge game for us and we showed what we can do. It was tense but our togetherness I think helped us come out on top.”
• Next year: “I’m definitely going to play flag football again. I became close to all my teammates out there, learned about football. Next year we won’t have to start from scratch.”

CHATTING WITH LUIS