The VC Athletics Department is proud to honor our outstanding academic achievement with the Scholar Athlete of the Year awards. Sofia Godina, a standout in cross country and track and field was named the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year while Rick Djouwe of the men's basketball team and Julian Tellez of the state champion men's tennis team are the Pirates' Male Scholar Athletes of the Year. These three earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average during their two years at Ventura College.
Godina was a two-sport standout who earned All-American status in both. The Rio Mesa High School product was the first individual Western State Conference champion for the women's cross country team since 1994 and finished second at the 3C2A State Championships in the fall. In the spring she was the WSC champion in the 1500m while finishing second in the 800m, third in the 5k run, fifth in the 10k run, and she was a part of the sixth-place 4x400m relay team. At the 3C2A State Championships Godina claimed the bronze medal in the 1500m with the second-fastest time in school history. She did all this while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Djouwe was a great contributor to the men's basketball team for two seasons, first as a redshirt in 2022-23 and this past year playing in 26 games for the orange and black. Originally from Cameroon in Africa, he averaged seven minutes per outing in his appearances, scoring 19 points and pulling down 42 rebounds. He also earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during his two years at Ventura College.
Tellez, a graduate of Taft High School in Woodland hills, was a member of the 3C2A state champion men's tennis team. He earned first team All-WSC honors as the No. 4 singles player and was second team All-WSC in No. 3 doubles. He qualified for the 3C2A State Championships at The Ojai in singles and doubles, advancing to the semifinals of the doubles competition with partner Rafael Matias. He provided the memorable championship-clinching point for the Pirates against American River in his No. 4 singles match. Tellez also was perfect academically with a 4.0 GPA for two years at VC.
All three of these outstanding sophomore student athletes were honored at the 16th VC Athletics Hall of Fame Induction and Student Athlete Recognition Banquet on May 5 at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel.
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Sofia Godina |
Rick Djouwe |
Julian Tellez |
