Kyle Reuther, a two-sport athlete, was named the Free Lance/Pinnacle's Male Athlete of the Year
The story has been told before. Kyle Reuther was an eighth-grader at Rancho San Justo when shop teacher and San Benito High School junior varsity water polo coach John Agan, in a way, recruited him for the pool.
The way everything turned out to near perfection, though, is what makes the story rather interesting.
"I had him earmarked as a goalie the first time I saw him," Agan said. "But it's hard to find kids that want to play water polo in the first place. It's even more difficult to find goalies. You have to find kids who are willing to sit in front of a target."
Reuther's willingness, though, as well as his work ethic, not only had him coming out for water polo freshmen year - "I was more than happy to see him come out as a freshman," John Agan said - but it turned him into arguably the top goalie in the Tri-County Athletic League and this year's Free Lance/Pinnacle Male Athlete of the Year.
"A really deserving kid," varsity water polo coach Tom Agan said. "A hard-working kid, great attitude, very talented - one of the most talented goalies we've ever had."
As keeper, Reuther was a first team all-TCAL selection two years in a row, and racked up nearly 200 blocks in the cage this past season.
"With goalies, you look at the blocks and he had a huge number of blocks," Tom Agan said. "But he was always good at getting the ball down the pool and starting our offense, and not all goalies do that."
Kelsey Russell, a three-sport athlete, was named the Free Lance/Pinnacle's Female Athlete of the Year
For a brief moment on Tuesday, San Benito High School senior and three-sport athlete Kelsey Russell thought about whether she would have tried out for the wrestling team while attending Rancho San Justo, had it not been for a conflicting schedule.
It's not necessarily something she always thinks about, of course. But she did pause and ponder the possibility before saying she probably would not have tried out.
"I played every sport I could in middle school," said Russell, who was eventually forced to pick just three sports - water polo, basketball and track - when she reached high school.
Although she never did go out for the wrestling team, Russell excelled at every sport she played, and is the Free Lance/Pinnacle's Female Athlete of the Year.
Her absence from the mat, meanwhile, may leave some wondering, "What if?"
"I can usually pick up stuff quick," Russell said, "and I always give 100 percent."
As somewhat of a dying breed, Russell's three-sport status kept her constantly busy throughout the school year, with very little down time in between sports or on the weekend.
"I'm kind of burnt out," she said. "The most time I've had off is like two weeks [over four years.] That's a long time.
"But I'm glad I got the opportunity to do each [sport] once."
Read the full stories in Friday's edition of The Weekend Pinnacle.
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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San Benito Score: Playoffs for football, volleyball and cross country
