GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.
Lauren Bustos (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2006) junior defender, Fordham soccer: The soccer season is long gone, but Bustos is still being bestowed a seemingly never-ending stream of accolades.
The former two-time All-Area Player of the Year was selected to the Soccer Buzz Magazine Second Team All-Northeast Region, as released Thursday, making her a regional All-American.
Bustos was joined by teammate Kim Boulos, a senior forward, on the team.
The region includes players from 43 universities and colleges.
After playing a crucial role in a terrific 2008 Fordham season, Bustos was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, the first Fordham player to win a major Atlantic 10 award, and was also named to the conference’s first team.
With Bustos leading the backline, Fordham shut out the opposition eight times, including five conference shutouts.
Fordham finished the past season with a 12-4-2 record, and ranked 10th in the Northeast Region by Soccer Buzz Magazine.
Helen Suarez (Glendale Community College, 2007) junior guard, Cal State Monterey Bay: The former Vaqueros standout led the Otters to history on Saturday, as Cal State Monterey Bay defeated Cal State San Bernardino in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game for the first time ever, 66-58.
Suarez, who was leading the conference in assists with 4.81 per game as of Monday, had 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in the game. It was her third straight game with over 20 points.
She’s second in the conference with 16.4 points a game and second in the conference with 2.38 steals a contest.
Suarez has started in all 16 games for the Otters (9-7, 4-6 in conference).
The Otters return to conference action today on the road against Cal State Stanislaus.
Shana Palencia (Hoover, 2006) junior driver, Bucknell water polo: The former All-Area and All-Pacific League standout for the Tornadoes has enjoyed a large deal of individual success, while the Bison have struggled, albeit against some of the very best teams in the nation.
The Bison began their season Saturday at the Michigan Kick-off, losing to No. 3 UCLA, 17-0, and were also dealt losses to No. 7 San Jose State and No. 8 Arizona State.
Bunched in between the losses, however, was an 11-8 win against Colorado State.
Palencia had a career-high seven points in the match, setting a career mark with four assists in the match and equaling a previous career-best of three goals.
For the season, she’s tied for first on the team with 12 points, leading the team with seven assists to go with five goals.
Palencia, who has 114 career points with 65 goals and 45 assists, had 42 goals and 24 assists last year.
Bucknell (1-3) returns to action at the Princeton Open on Feb. 7 against Villanova.
Casey Sripramong (Glendale, 2008) freshman driver, Redlands water polo: Redlands began its season Sunday at the Redlands Mini-Tournament, losing its opener to Pomona-Pitzer, 9-7, before defeating Cal St. San Bernardino, 17-16, in overtime.
In the overtime win, Sripramong, a former All-CIF, All-Area and All-Pacific League standout for the Nitros, notched her first collegiate goal.
Redlands returns to action on Feb. 7 at the UC San Diego Tournament.
