Paloma Athletes of the Week: Vinluan, Bogroff, Bennett, Cowan

Paloma Valley Athletes of the Week, left to right: Marc Vinluan, Felix Bogroff, Ashlyn Bennett, Alexandra Cowan.

Recipients of the Paloma Valley High School Athlete of the Week awards, sponsored by Menifee 24/7, are cross country runner Marc Vinluan, football player Felix Bogroff, golfer Ashlynn Bennett and volleyball player Alexandra Cowan.

Vinluan is hoping for big things for the Wildcats cross country team after competing in his first varsity meet last week at the Bronco Round-Up in Escondido. Vinluan worked hard last year to become one of the JV team's top runners despite dealing with a knee injury that requires constant therapy. He said Saturday's meet helped him gauge where he's at in preparing to realize his full potential.

"The meet was an eye opener," Vinluan said. "It showed me what I have to work on, like my stamina and my kick at the end. It just takes hard work and commitment."

Bogroff, a senior safety in the Wildcats' defensive backfield, leads the team in total tackles after the first two games with 16. He had eight each in big wins over San Benardino and Sultana. This is his third year as a varsity starter.

"Everything just comes to me more smoothly now," said Bogroff, whose goal is to "beat last year's stats," which included a total of 88 tackles, second on the team.

Last year, Bogroff averaged 6.8 tackles per game. He's ahead of that pace so far this season. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound defensive back is considering attending University of Redlands next fall.

Bennett is a junior who also played on the varsity girls golf team as a freshman. She has been playing the sport since she was 4 years old, when she started hanging out on the course with her father.

"I used to play in the sand traps, then I started wondering why I couldn't play golf, too," she said. "My dad taught me. I've never had a private lesson outside that."

Bennett's best nine-hole score ever was the 42 she recorded last week in a match against Temecula Valley at the Temecula Legends Club.

Cowan's position with the girls volleyball team is libero, which is the starting unit's defensive specialist. It's her job to receive serves whenever possible, absorb the hard hits from the opposition and set up the front-row players for kills.

Cowan's key stat is "digs," or digging out hard-hit balls to preserve a rally for her teammates. She ranks second on the team with 13 digs heading into today's match at West Valley High in Hemet.

"I like the satisfaction of facing the opposition's hitting and getting the ball back," said Cowan, a senior in her second year on the varsity team. "I try to get as many digs and return as many serves as I can. There's a big joke in volleyball that libero is the ballhog."

In addition to a certificate from Menifee 24/7, the athletes received an Athlete of the Week T-shirt from the Paloma Valley athletic department.