Heritage High's Atkins, Sage Honored as Athletes of the Month

Cynthia Nemelka of RE/MAX Diamond Realty presents the Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Month award to track and field standout Torrey Atkins. Also honored was softball player Jordan Sage (below).

Hurdler and relay runner Torrey Atkins and softball standout Jordan Sage of Heritage High School were honored this week with the Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Month award, sponsored by RE/MAX Diamond Realty.

Cynthia Nemelka of RE/MAX Diamond Realty presented the honorees with a Target gift card. They also received a certificate from Menifee 24/7 for their accomplishments in March.

Atkins was named Athlete of the Meet at the recent Mt. Carmel Invitational. He set the meet record in the 110-meter high hurdles with a personal best time of 14.15, then established a personal best in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 39.56.

"I didn't know if I had the record when I ran the race," Atkins said about his meet record time in the high hurdles. "I knew it was fast. Then my coach was on the phone and running toward me, and he told me.

"There's something about Mt. Carmel I just love. I like the hard tracks, not the bouncy ones. And the hurdles felt really short because I'm tall, so I basically just walk over them."

On Saturday, Atkins will compete in the invitational heat of the high hurdles at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational against some of the nation's top athletes.

Sage is one of the top players for the softball team, which is in first place in the Sunbelt League with a 7-0 record and 12-6 overall. She She has a 4-3 pitching record and is batting .390.

She originally committed to a college in Nebraska but has decided to play at Mt. San Jacinto College next year.

"Jordan has been doing a great job both offensively and defensively," said her coach, Angela Ramiro. "I don't know what we would do without her. She is truly an asset to our team."

Heritage High Athletes of the Week: Gonzalez, Sage, Atkins

From left: Jordan Sage, Torrey Atkins, Adrian Gonzalez are the Heritage High Athletes of the Week.

Three standout student-athletes are honored today as Menifee 24/7 Athletes of the Week from Heritage High School.

Junior pitcher Adrian Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 0.37 ERA for the Patriots baseball team, which took a record of 4-4 overall and 1-1 in Sunbelt League play into today's game against Paloma Valley. He is also hitting .308 on the young season.

"So far, we're doing pretty good," Gonzalez said. "The chemistry on the team has matured since last year. We play more like a family. I think we can keep winning as long as we play together."

Gonzalez plays third base when he isn't pitching.

Senior softball player Jordan Sage is the top pitcher for the softball team, which took a 1-0 league record into today's game against Paloma Valley. She originally committed to a college in Nebraska but has decided to play at Mt. San Jacinto College next year.

"Jordan has been doing a great job both offensively and defensively," said her coach, Angela Ramiro. "I don't know what we would do without her. She is truly an asset to our team."

Junior track and field standout Torrey Atkins had four first-place finishes in meets last week. He swept the 110-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles in a dual meet on Thursday and pulled off the same double in the Beaumont Cougar Classic last weekend.

Atkins also broke the Cougar Classic 300-meter hurdles record with a time of 39.63.

Four Heritage High Softball Players Sign Letters of Intent

Four standout players from the Heritage High softball team signs letters of intent as family members look on.

The success of the Heritage High School softball program became evident again today, when four members of the team signed national letters of intent to accept college scholarships.

Students, parents and friends packed the school's theater to hear the announcement and cheer on the four standout players:

Lexi Blevins, University of Tulsa: The Patriots' top pitcher, Blevins posted a 12-6 record with a 1.37 ERA and 145 strikeouts.

"I always wanted to go to a university in the south," she said. "I have family out there; it was a perfect fit.

"Signing now is a stress reliever. Now I can just focus on my senior year. I want to work on getting stronger and faster with my pitching."

Blevins also considered Ohio State and UMass. She plans to study to be a veterinarian.


Nichole Chilson, Arizona State University: An outfielder for the Patriots, Chilson was the team's leading hitter with a .500 batting average, 10 doubles and 28 RBIs.

"I originally made a verbal (agreement) to Ball State, but the head coach moved to Arizona State and he offered me a scholarship there," Chilson said. "I'm ready to go to college. I'm ready for the move."

Like Blevins, Chilson hopes to become a veterinarian.

Jordan Sage, York College (Nebraska): A pitcher, Sage had an 8-3 record last spring with two shutouts. She also hit .311 on the season.

"I have a best friend who went to York," she said. "It's a private school with a small Christian community. I like that."

Asked what it means to have four players from the same team sign college scholarships so early in their season year, Sage had a simple answer:

"We must have a good team," she said with a smile.

Juliet Eaton, Austin Peay (Tenn.) State University: Eaton, a first baseman and third baseman, was one of the team's most effective hitters. She batted .438 with 3 home runs, 4 doubles and 24 RBIs.

"I also visited Montana State, St. Louis and  Humboldt State," she said. "I fell in love with Austin Peay, the school, the college town ... I just love the setting."

Eaton plans to study kinesiology so she can learn to help student-athletes with their nutrition needs.

Last spring, the Patriots softball team was 20-9 overall and 13-2 in the Sunbelt League. That level of success, along with the national recognition of players such as these, continues to add to the program's reputation.

"This is huge," said Patriots softball coach Angela Ramiro. "I'd like to think I had some part of it, but I know a lot of it is the hard work the players did on their own over the years. They're all very committed. They're amazing young ladies. We think this is our year to take CIF."