News
ENLARGE
For Scott Valentine, the way he sees it, he probably wouldn't have competed in cross country or Alpine skiing if he didn't live here in Nevada County.
Nevada County and the greater Lake Tahoe region are gifts that keep on giving to an athlete like Valentine. Nevada Union saw fit to give the graduating senior a gift of its own when the school awarded Valentine the Albert Ali Outstanding Athlete Award, an award recognizing athletic achievement, as well as academic excellence.
“I definitely was a little surprised,” said Valentine, one of the school's valedictorians.
He and his coaches have seen the award typically go to athletes in more higher profile prep sports such as football and basketball. But his accomplishments consistently pushed his personal profile to the top.
Valentine finished ninth at the state meet for Alpine skiing this past year. And although he only won a cross country race his sophomore year, he was the Miners' top runner his junior and senior year with times consistently in the 17-minute range. His best 5K time is 16:40.
“He's an outstanding, well-respected young man,” said Alpine skiing coach Ken Ramirez. “I think he's a great representative for the school.”
It's the second athlete that Nevada Union cross country coach Gene Gilligan has coached who has won the award — the last being Dan Freitas, now a junior at UC Santa Cruz.
Valentine certainly was pleased.
“I think I did pretty good,” Valentine said.
Yet, the four-year cross country, four-year Alpine skiing, two-year volleyball athlete and the one-year track athlete isn't convinced he would have been the accomplished competitor he became if he lived elsewhere.
“I probably wouldn't be doing (those sports) if I didn't live in Nevada County,” Valentine said.
Skiing would be harder to take up if he lived elsewhere, Valentine said. And he might not have become the top-notch runner he became without the beautiful and varied terrain to run in western Nevada County, he added.
“I could just run around exploring,” Valentine said. “It's just incredible.”
“I enjoy running through downtown Grass Valley as much as I enjoy Grouse Ridge,” Valentine said.
Valentine probably didn't muster a sense of discipline and determination in his athletic endeavors all on his own. His parents served as models of an athletic foundation that was always there.
His dad, Doug, is a cyclist and a mountain biker, and he golfed when he was in high school. His mother, Kirsten, is a Bikram yoga enthusiast, and ran track, competed in basketball and Alpine skiing in high school. Younger brother Mark and younger sister Sadie also compete in high school sports — volleyball and tennis, respectively.
Gilligan sees Valentine as being one of the more unique athletes he's coached.
“He's naturally gifted as an athlete and as a scholar,” said Gilligan.
By the nature of the sport, cross country requires discipline, Gilligan said.
“There's no time out; there's no recess,” Gilligan said. “(That determination) needs to come from within.”
Valentine is a quiet leader and was seen as a role model by his teammates, Gilligan said.
“If you run with Scott, you run all the miles,” Gilligan said. Sure, some kids said they would “never run with Scott again” after a tough training run, but three days later they're back to training with him on a long run, he said.
Many consider track to be similar to cross country, in that running is the central element to the sport. But one main difference drove Valentine away from the sport after competing in the sport his junior year.
“When I got to racing, the two mile is eight times around the track,” Valentine said. “It's just not something I enjoy.”
There it is. It comes back to competing athletically in the uniquely beautiful environment that is Nevada County.
“Every single ski course and cross country course is different,” Valentine said.
Valentine plans to attend Duke University in the fall. He plans to run cross country and compete in Alpine skiing at the club level.
Contact Sports Writer Greg Moberly via e-mail at gmoberly@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4234.
Nevada County and the greater Lake Tahoe region are gifts that keep on giving to an athlete like Valentine. Nevada Union saw fit to give the graduating senior a gift of its own when the school awarded Valentine the Albert Ali Outstanding Athlete Award, an award recognizing athletic achievement, as well as academic excellence.
“I definitely was a little surprised,” said Valentine, one of the school's valedictorians.
He and his coaches have seen the award typically go to athletes in more higher profile prep sports such as football and basketball. But his accomplishments consistently pushed his personal profile to the top.
Valentine finished ninth at the state meet for Alpine skiing this past year. And although he only won a cross country race his sophomore year, he was the Miners' top runner his junior and senior year with times consistently in the 17-minute range. His best 5K time is 16:40.
“He's an outstanding, well-respected young man,” said Alpine skiing coach Ken Ramirez. “I think he's a great representative for the school.”
It's the second athlete that Nevada Union cross country coach Gene Gilligan has coached who has won the award — the last being Dan Freitas, now a junior at UC Santa Cruz.
Valentine certainly was pleased.
“I think I did pretty good,” Valentine said.
Yet, the four-year cross country, four-year Alpine skiing, two-year volleyball athlete and the one-year track athlete isn't convinced he would have been the accomplished competitor he became if he lived elsewhere.
“I probably wouldn't be doing (those sports) if I didn't live in Nevada County,” Valentine said.
Skiing would be harder to take up if he lived elsewhere, Valentine said. And he might not have become the top-notch runner he became without the beautiful and varied terrain to run in western Nevada County, he added.
“I could just run around exploring,” Valentine said. “It's just incredible.”
“I enjoy running through downtown Grass Valley as much as I enjoy Grouse Ridge,” Valentine said.
Valentine probably didn't muster a sense of discipline and determination in his athletic endeavors all on his own. His parents served as models of an athletic foundation that was always there.
His dad, Doug, is a cyclist and a mountain biker, and he golfed when he was in high school. His mother, Kirsten, is a Bikram yoga enthusiast, and ran track, competed in basketball and Alpine skiing in high school. Younger brother Mark and younger sister Sadie also compete in high school sports — volleyball and tennis, respectively.
Gilligan sees Valentine as being one of the more unique athletes he's coached.
“He's naturally gifted as an athlete and as a scholar,” said Gilligan.
By the nature of the sport, cross country requires discipline, Gilligan said.
“There's no time out; there's no recess,” Gilligan said. “(That determination) needs to come from within.”
Valentine is a quiet leader and was seen as a role model by his teammates, Gilligan said.
“If you run with Scott, you run all the miles,” Gilligan said. Sure, some kids said they would “never run with Scott again” after a tough training run, but three days later they're back to training with him on a long run, he said.
Many consider track to be similar to cross country, in that running is the central element to the sport. But one main difference drove Valentine away from the sport after competing in the sport his junior year.
“When I got to racing, the two mile is eight times around the track,” Valentine said. “It's just not something I enjoy.”
There it is. It comes back to competing athletically in the uniquely beautiful environment that is Nevada County.
“Every single ski course and cross country course is different,” Valentine said.
Valentine plans to attend Duke University in the fall. He plans to run cross country and compete in Alpine skiing at the club level.
Contact Sports Writer Greg Moberly via e-mail at gmoberly@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4234.
