Jessica Romero and Bria Wilson both made a little bit of history this year.
Romero, guard and forward for the basketball team, was named the Western State Conference North Conference MVP, a first in City College women’s basketball history.
Wilson, co-captain of the softball team, was one of the top three hitters in the state.
Both women have also been named Female Athletes of the Year.
Bria Wilson
Wilson, who helped propel the women to their first playoff berth, is also the recipient of the Louise Davis Inspirational Leadership Award.
“Bria is our team leader this year, having strong leadership qualities on and off the field,” said coach Paula Congleton.
Wilson came to Santa Barbara from Victoria, Canada, and is majoring in history.
“I want to go back to Canada and become a history and P.E. teacher,” Wilson said.
In January Wilson tried out for the Olympic team. Although she did not make it, she said she would try out again if invited.
“It was really fun,” Wilson said. “I learned a lot and got to train and practice with the women I watched growing up.”
Last season Wilson transitioned from second base to shortstop, with no complaints and never missing a step at the plate.
“It’s not an individual effort, though. It’s all a team effort,” Wilson added.
As a freshman last year, Wilson was named to the Western State Conference first team all-conference, first team for Southern California, and the All-State team.
“Our goal this year was to make regionals,” she said. “It was our team’s first run to postseason.”
Wilson averaged .514 in more than 130 plate appearances and broke the school record with 14 homeruns this year, Congleton said. She also maintained a 3.5 GPA while taking 14 units a semester.
Wilson said she plans to transfer to Virginia Tech this fall. And she will keep playing softball.
Jessica Romero
Romero scores high in classes as well as on the court, posting a 3.15 GPA.
“She’s very unselfish…an old school player,” said coach Sandrine Krul. “She’s all about the team.”
Other schools tried to recruit the 5’10” guard-forward for the team as a freshman, but Romero wanted to stay at City College.
Romero averaged 16 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. With this personal accomplishment, she made history again, helping her team to its best record ever. The standing record, 23-7, was crushed by this season’s record of 26-9.
“She helped us create history,” Krul said. “We beat Ventura College who hadn’t lost a conference game in 15 years.”
Romero played basketball throughout high school at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
Romero is being recruited by New Mexico State and Cal State Bakersfield, which just made the jump to Division One.
