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Busters' Agreda named MVP in KJCCC
Published 11/5/2009 in Sports
By MIKE KESSINGER
mkessinger@gctelegram.com
He would rather have another Region 6 title, but Federico Agreda will certainly take any individual honor he receives in soccer with pride.
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Garden City community College sophomore Federico Agreda was named the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year for the Broncbusters.
The Garden City Community College sophomore was awarded the highest individual honor in the Jayhawk Conference this week as the Most Valuable Player. Agreda, a two-year starter, is the first Broncbuster to be awarded the top honor in the conference. A year ago, playing beside All-American Mario Ojeda and All-Conference pick Steve Shaw, Agreda was named to the second team.
"In a way, winning the MVP didn't get the team anywhere," Agreda said. "We didn't win the region and that's what we were working for the whole season. Like I told my teammates, it's an individual award, but I also take it as a team award, because they helped me out to get the MVP award."
The award comes after Agreda led GCCC to its most successful two-year run. The Region 6 champions and fourth-place finishers at the NJCAA national tournament last year, the Busters have been 34-7-1 in two seasons. This years's team, which reach new heights in the rankings, was a preseason No. 4 pick and was selected to win the conference. The Busters finished third in the conference standings and were knocked out of the Region 6 championship in the semifinals by eventual champion Barton County 3-0. The Busters finished 15-4.
"He would have been my pick," GCCC men's soccer coach Stephen Gorton said of Agreda being the conference MVP. "I'm glad everybody saw the same thing we've been seeing all year."
Agreda, one of 14 Busters from Miami, was joined by three teammates on the conference first team — freshman forward Whitney Browne, sophomore midfielder Ulises Caba, and sophomore defender Uzi Tayou. Caba was an all-conference and honorable mention All-American pick as a freshman.
The Busters had two players named to the conference's second team — sophomore midfielders D.J. Zuniga and Mariano Leo — and one to the honorable mention team — sophomore forward Frank Tayou.
As frustrating as it was for the Busters to fall short of their goal to reach a second straight national tournament, Agreda refuses to take anything away from the team's accomplishments since his arrival. Growing up with several of his teammates from Miami, he's enjoyed the opportunity to play with so many of them again. The last two years have marked the final time he'll have been a teammate with most of them, and so being a part of what this group has done makes it that much more rewarding.
"We created a big family and we had an amazing career in two years," Agreda said. "Winning the region, district, taking Garden City to a national tournament — actually appearing on the map. This year we wanted to do the same thing, but it's a game and sometimes that's how it is, you win, you lose. But ya know, I'm happy about these two years."
Jayhawk Conference soccer notes: The Garden City Community College women's team had one selection to the conference squad after finishing the season 4-10. Sophomore defender Taylor Eason was tabbed on the honorable mention team. It is the second straight year Eason was the only Lady Buster honored by the conference at the end of the season. She was a second team All-Conference pick as a freshman.
Fatai Ayoade, who led Johnson County to the men's Jayhawk Conference regular season title, was named the conference coach of the year. Barton County forward Kevin Ellis was picked the freshman of the year. Garden City High School graduate Ricardo Yeverino was a second team all-conference pick at forward.
On the women's side, former Lady Buffs' Cindy Benitez and Ortensia Alcantara — who both play for Butler — were honored by the conference. Benitez, Garden City's all-time leading scorer, was named to the first team as a freshman forward. A midfielder, Alcantara was selected to the second team for the second time.
Hutchinson coach Sammy Lane was named the conference coach of the year. Barton County had the two players that took the other two top honors as midfielder Flavia Bernardes was named MVP and freshman forward Shala Giardini, freshman of the year.
See conference teams in Scoreboard, Page B2.
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