Valexsia Droughn and Joey Herrera have been named the 2017-18 Ventura College Athletes of the Year. Droughn is a state champion sprinter on the women's track and field team while Herrera is an All-Western State Conference and All-State golfer.
Droughn was one of the most dominant sprinters in program history. She dominated the 100 and 200 meter runs throughout the season, claiming Western State Conference titles in both events. She set a new standard in the 100m with a mark of 11.83 while running the second fastest 200m in school history at 24.37.
Droughn finished second in both events at the SoCal Regionals, but claimed the state title in the 100m on the tension-filled third start after two false-start disqualifications. She also was state runner-up in the 200m. Droughn was also a part of the WSC champion 4x100m relay team that posted a time of 48.98, the fourth-fastest time in school history.
Droughn was also named Female Collegiate athlete of the Year by he Ventura County Star at the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet at the Reagan Library.
Herrera completed a stellar two-year career for the Pirates on the links. The 2017 state runner-up, he was the medalist at the 36-hole WSC Championships, carding a 2-over 144 on the day, two strokes better than the runner-up competitors.
On the season overall he had the second-lowest score in conference competition, claimed medalist honors five times and had 11 Top-5 finishes. In 20 rounds of competition, he scored even par or better on eight occasions, posting a red number four times.