DECEMBER 2012 MALE

Male - Manti Te'o - Football - finalist in the Heisman Trophy (2nd place) and winner of several football performances in his Senior Year at Notre Dame. Te'o entered his final season as one of 10 players in Notre Dame history to record over 300 career tackles and started the season eighth on the career tackles list for the Fighting Irish. During the season, Te'o was the leading tackler and leader in interceptions for a 12-0 Notre Dame team which had the second-ranked scoring defense (10.33 points per game) in the country. He had 103 tackles in the regular season (52 solo, 51 assisted, 8.58 per game), including 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks (one for 13 yards of Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones. Te'o also led the team, as well as all FBS linebackers in the nation, in interceptions. Te'o's 7 interceptions during the 2012 season are the most by any FBS linebacker since 2001. He ranked third in the nation at 0.58 interceptions per game, and overall only Fresno State safety Phillip Thomas has more, with 8 interceptions this season. Te'o's season-high per game was 2 interceptions for 28 yards against Michigan.

DECEMBER 2012 FEMALE

Female - Emily Hartong - UH Manoa - Volleyball - earned her 2nd honor as All-region, first last year middle hitter and this year as outside hitter - named All-American Volleyball Coaches Association. Emily Hartong, a junior outside hitter for No. 9 University of Hawai'i, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week. Hartong had a monster two matches keeping the Rainbow Wahine at a perfect 12-0 in the Big West and an overall record of 19-2.

NOVEMBER 2012 MALE

Male - Dave Shoji - Head Coach Womens Volleyball Coach -UH Manoa - Dave Shoji enters his 39th season as the head coach of the Rainbow Wahine. Last season, he guided UH to its 18th straight conference title and 31st trip to the NCAA Tournament. He also won his 1,100th career match and was named Big West Co-Coach of the Year and AVCA All-Region Coach of the Year. On October 17, 2009, Shoji reached the 1,000 win milestone with a victory over New Mexico State, becoming just the second coach in NCAA Division I history to reach the prestigious mark. Shoji has a total of 1,076 wins in his career, ranking second all-time and tops amongst active coaches. And to top it all off, Shoji was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame this past December. The honors have piled up for Shoji over the years. He is an 11-time conference and nine-time region Coach of the Year, and was named the national Coach of the Year in 1982 and in 2009. Shoji was named to the list of all-time great coaches by USA Volleyball in 2002. He has also been inducted into Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame and was named coach of the NCAA 25th Anniversary team. Read about the history of the wahine volleyball program: Wahine Volleyball

NOVEMBER 2012 FEMALE

Female - Kelia Moniz - Longboard Surfer - WANNING, Hainan Island/China (Sunday, November 25, 2012) Kelia Moniz (HAW) has won the SWATCH Girls Pro China 2012 hosted by Winning over Chelsea Williams (AUS), claiming her maiden ASP Women's World Longboard Title. The pair repeated history by meeting in the Final as they did at last year's SWATCH Girls Pro China, where Williams won, but today it was Moniz who took top honors. The young Hawaiian joins a prestigious list of ASP World Champions and will be officially crowned on the Gold Coast, Australia in February at the annual ASP World Surfing Awards. "It means a lot to bring an ASP World Title back to Hawaii," Moniz said. "Plus this is the only event that decides the world champion, and I've been working and training and preparing for this and it feels unbelievable. I just really want to thank my family, friends, Swatch and the Chinese locals for everything!" Kelia also won the event in 2013. See the YouTube video: 2013 YouTube Video

OCTOBER 2012 MALE

Male - Ryan Tuiasoa - Punahou - Football -Played for Coach Kale Ane as a running back and linebacker... had 108 carries for 712 yards and 12 touchdowns. Averaged 6.6 yards per carry ...Also had five receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns, an average of 20.6 yards per catch. Earned First Team All-ILH honors and Second Team All-State honors. Also runs track in the hurdles. Ryan in action (YouTube).

OCTOBER 2012 FEMALE

Female - Shih Ting Chen - BYU-Hawaii - Volleyball - Sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Shih Ting Chen (Yunlin, Taiwan/Chung Shan) has been selected the second Pacific West Conference Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for 2012. The conference announced the honor on Saturday, Sept. 15, for the second week of matches contested Sept. 3-9. Chen is the second straight Seasider to garner the award after ranking in the Top 5 in four different statistical categories during the second week of the season. She ranked third in hitting percentage with a .350 mark that she compiled after recording 43 kills in 100 attempts while committing just eight errors. She also ranked fourth in kills per set (4.30) and third in points per set (4.85) after totaling 48.5 points in a 3-0 week for BYU-Hawaii. Her serving produced a 0.50 aces-per-set mark that tied her for fifth during the week, while defensively she averaged 3.20 digs per outing after totaling 32 in three matches and 10 sets.

SEPTEMBER 2012 MALE

Male - Larry "Tui" Tuileta - Punahou - Football - The two-sport standout shined again on the Aloha Stadium turf, passing for 358 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-14 win over Kamehameha. Tuileta, an all-state volleyball player, completed 17 of his 26 pass attempts in Punahou's regular'season opener. Larry Tuileta is a 6'2", 210-pound Pro-Style Quarterback from Honolulu, HI. He has committed to Hawaii Warriors...Named 2013 Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year. The 6-foot, 215-pound running back rushed for 271 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-14 win over ‘Iolani. His rushing total is the highest at Punahou during the state-championship era. 2012 Football: Punahou vs. 'Iolani (all 2 hours plus).

SEPTEMBER 2012 FEMALE

Female - Lia Gaogao - Moanalua High School - Volleyball - The 5-foot-10 sophomore drilled 14 kills as No. 3 Moanalua fought off then-No. 8 Castle 25-20, 23-25, 15-6. Named top Athlete of the Week.

AUGUST 2012 MALE

Male - Ricky Grigg - Surfer - was one of the pioneers of big-wave riding in the 1950s and '60s. Grigg was considered a superstar in the sport, winning the International Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Contest at Sunset Beach in 18-foot surf. At the time, the "Duke" was considered the world championship for big surf. "We weren't really professionals," laughs Grigg. "Didn't win any money. Now some surfers are making seven digits. I'm stoked for them!" Grigg published several popular books on surfing, including Big Surf, Deep Dives and the Islands, Surf Science and Surfer in Hawaii. Today, Dr. Grigg, emeritus professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii, is internationally known for his research on the ecology and paleoceanography of reef-building corals in Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean. "If I had to pick one accomplishment that I'm most proud of, it has to be the discovery of Darwin Point," says Grigg of his research on the history of the Hawaiian Archipelago and why islands drown at the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Islands. Grigg was recently awarded the National Academy of Underwater Arts and Science's Lifetime Achievement Award for underwater research. The Waterman Hall of Fame selection is just as fulfilling. "I am honored and touched by this honor," says Grigg. "To be invited into a family that is uniquely Hawaiian, there are no words for that, there are just no words."

AUGUST 2012 FEMALE

Female - Crystal Dzigas - surfer - Honolulu's Crystal Dzigas, 28, has taken first place in the ROXY Waikiki Classic, at Kuhio Beach, defeating reigning world #2 ranked longboard surfer Kelia Moniz (Hawaii), Natalie Smith (California), and ROXY pro surfer Vanina Walsh (Hawaii) respectively in the final. The ROXY Waikiki Classic is the third of seven Association of Surfing Professionals Women's World Longboard Tour qualifier events that will determine the short list of women who will compete for the 2012 ASP World Longboard title in China, in November. Roxy is an action sports and fashion apparel brand out of Huntington Beach, California. Dzigas settled into a steady rhythm with the ocean through the rounds, capitalizing on inconsistent conditions by dominating the larger waves to get an early lead on her challengers. At 28 years of age, Dzigas claims to be at the tail end of her professional longboarding career and is ultimately looking to clinch the ASP world title this year. She was at least 10 years senior to the other finalists today. "It's so awesome to have won here at my home break," said Dzigas. "I've been surfing Waikiki for about 15 years now and I'm getting pretty old (laughs) so I don't know how much further I'm going to be competitively surfing. To have won today is awesome!"

No Candidates

JUNE 2012 MALE

Male - Evan Enriques - KS Hawaii - Evan was invited to U.S. Boys' Youth National Team Tryouts and qualification for NORCECA. Participated in USA Volleyball's High Performance A2 Camp. Participated in USA Volleyball's High Performance Holiday Camp. His high school team finished first in the league and second in the state. Named the league's player of the year. Evan was named the Hawaii state player of the year. Earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the state tournament; named to the HBVI All-Tournament Team. Named to the All-Tournament Team at the Wave Rider Classic. Club team won the U16 U.S. Boys' Open Junior National Championship, finished first in the U16 SCVA qualifiers.

JUNE 2012 FEMALE

Female - Charinda Ioane - Kapolei High School - Track & Field - lettered all four years in track and field and twice in volleyball - in track, competed in the shot put and discus - named the Gatorade State Athlete of the Year - state champion in the shot put and in the discus in 2011 - runner-up in the discus in 2012 - three-time OIA champion in the shot put (2009, '10, '12) and discus (2009, '11, '12) - set shot put records at the state meet, OIA West meet, Punahou Relays, and Honolulu Marathon meets - holds personal records of 147-0 in the discus and 46-5.5 in the shot put - three-time OIA first-team selection (2010-12) - named the school's Athlete of the Year and Punahou Relays Outstanding Athlete in 2012 - also competed for the Renegades Track Club for two years - Aloha State Games shot put champion - she won the state title in the shot put breaking a 27-year-old record.

MAY 2012 MALE

Male - Milton Tanaka - Waipahu HS - Baseball Head Coach - CONGRATULATIONS to coach Tanaka who guided the Waipahu Baseball team to their 1st State Championship in his 28 year career.

MAY 2012 FEMALE

Female - Lia Galdeira - WSU - Basketball - Freshman guard Lia Galdeira has been selected to attend the National Team Trials and tryout for the FIBA U19 World Championship Team at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Basketball announced. Galdeira is one of 34 players from across the country who received and accepted invitations. Trials to select the 12-member USA squad will be held May 16-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Invitations to the trials were issued by the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee. Galdeira, a native of Waimea and graduate of Konawaena, earned All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention, All-Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Freshman Team honors after leading the Cougars in scoring (14.8 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg), steals (86) and made 3-pointers (41). Galdeira led all Pac-12 freshmen in scoring and was the second-leading freshman scorer in the country. She led the Cougars in scoring 21 times including four 20-point games and two double-doubles. Galdeira is the first Cougar to receive a national team invite since Camille Thompson played for the Canadian National Team in the 1993 World Championships.

APRIL 2012 MALE

Male - Matt Sisto - UH Manoa - Baseball - was named recipient of the 2012 Jack Bonham Award for his contributions as a pitcher, academic achievement, public service, leadership and character. This award is considered the most prestigious in Rainbows and Warriors athletics.

APRIL 2012 FEMALE

Female - Annie Hwang - BYU Hawaii - Tennis - I-Hsuan (Annie) Hwang BYU-Hawaii claimed another PacWest title with a decisive victory over HPU. Annie Hwang, the top singles player in the nation, was named Tournament MVP. During her career, Hwang notched two back-to-back Pacific West Conference Player of the Year honors, three All-PacWest First Team selections. Annie went on in 2013 to be selected as one of 30 finalists for the 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Annie Hwang NCAA Woman of the year nominee.

MARCH 2012 MALE

Male - Marcus Finau - Wrestling - Marcus Finau (Ewa Beach,Hawaii/USOEC) won a bronze medal at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. on the final day of competition at the Petko Sirakov-Ivan Ilieve Junior Open in Bulgaria. Finau finished 3-1 on the day, defeating Bulgaria's Viktor Tzanov 3-0, 1-0 in the bronze medal match. He started the day with a win over Kazakhstan's Izotov Mikhail, then defeated Ashimbayev Aidyn also of Kazakhstan. Finau's only defeat came against Bulgaria's Ilian Gazepov. This is Finau's second medal in two weeks, after taking silver at the Austrian Junior Greco-Roman Open.

MARCH 2012 FEMALE

Female - Summer Harrison - Mid-Pacific Institute - Swimming - With a time of 1 minute and 1.25 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly at the Senior Sectionals in Seattle earlier in the month, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials which start in late June in Omaha About Summer Harrison of MPI

FEBRUARY 2012 MALE

Male - Jet Chang - BYU Hawaii - Basketball - With the win, Dixie State clinched the PacWest title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA II Tournament. The two teams battled back-and-forth all night in a game that saw 14 ties and 15 lead changes. The Seasiders took a 30-25 lead at the half on a Jet Chang layup for the largest lead of the game at that point. Dixie State battled back to lead by five points on two occasions in the second half but the Seasiders charged back to take the largest lead of the game, six points, at 62-56, with just 2:27 to play. However, the Red Storm scored eight consecutive points to lead 64-62 with just six seconds to play. Chang beat the buzzer with another layup to send the game to overtime tied 64-64. The Seasiders scored the first two points of the overtime on a pair of Brady Hurst free throws by Dixie came right back again and took a three-point lead midway through the extra period. The Seasiders tied the game for the last time on a Bracken Funk jumper with 1:26 to play in the overtime that knotted the score at 73-73. The Red Storm went ahead 75-73 on a Solomon Jensen bucket with 20 seconds to play, and, after a Seasider miss, Landon Clegg closed out the game with a pair of free throws. Chang scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead BYU-Hawaii. Junior Ale hit five three-pointers and tallied 20 points and Funk finished with eight points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals for the Seasiders.

FEBRUARY 2012 FEMALE

Female - Stephanie Rickets - UH Manoa - Softball - appeared in 37 games with 32 starts as a senior...posted a 28-6 record with a career-best .824 win percentage with 30 complete games and a career-high 10 shut outs...she recorded 226.0 innings in the circle with 92 walks and 229 strike outs while holding opponents to a career-low .191 batting average....she leaves UH as the program's career record holder with 102 wins, 33 shut outs, 116 complete games, 164 appearances, 938.1 innings pitched, and 818 strike outs...became just the 10th Rainbow Wahine to earn National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America honors (second team) and the fourth UH player to be voted an Easton All-America twice in her career...became the first Rainbow Wahine softball player to be tabbed a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist and was later named a Senior CLASS First-Team All-American in which the athlete must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence--community, classroom, character and competition...became the first Rainbow Wahine to ever be selected WAC Pitcher of the Year for a third time after going 12-1 with a 1.07 ERA in conference action with four shutouts and 12 complete games...earned all-WAC honors (first team) for the fourth season and was selected WAC Pitcher of the Week five times in 2012 with a career total of 12...closed out her career ranked in the top 10 in three different WAC career pitching categories--No. 2 in innings pitched (938.1); No. 3 in wins (102); and No. 5 in strikeouts (818)...fired a pair of no-hitters against San Jose State (March 24) and Fresno State (April 28) on senior day at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium bringing her career no-hitter total to six...tossed 10 innings to get the complete game victory over No. 1 California (March 15), 3-1 in thilling come-from-behind fashion with Ricketts holding the Golden Bears scoreless until the top of the 10th when she gave up an unearned run but she was able to strand 17 Cal baserunners while tying her season high with 12 strike outs...named a WAC Scholar-Athlete all four year and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

JANUARY 2012 MALE

Male - 808Boyz - Flag Football - despite entering the final round of tournament competition with an undefeated record, the Boyz were given the 6th seed. Battling back against continental bias, the Boyz defeated the defending national champions from Florida in the semi-finals before dismantling a team from Cincinnati to win the championship. The team members are Jayden De Laura, Andrei Iosivas, Ka'ua Nishigaya, Noali Nishigaya, Rocky Ramones, Zachary Sagayaga, and Noa Schachtel. Coaches Jacob De Laura, Myles Nishigaya, and Edgar Sagayaga helped the Boyz make history. The championship game aired April 1 on ESPN. Speaker Say joined Governor Abercrombie in congratulating the 2012 NFL Flag Football National Champions, Palolo's "808 Boyz." This marks the first Flag Football National Championship for Hawai'i. In honor of the team's accomplishments, the governor issues a proclamation declaring January 31, 2012 "808 Boyz Day."

JANUARY 2012 FEMALE

Female - James Campbell High Cheerleaders - Tennis - The Sabers won the Gator Bowl Cheer and Dance National Competition in Jacksonville, Florida. The competition took place over the New Year's Eve holiday. The JCHS Varsity Cheerleaders took first place out of 100 schools while the JCHS Junior Varsity Cheerleaders took second place. The cheerleaders performed in the Gator Bowl Halftime show. The team also took home two other awards: "Best Choreography" and "Most Spirited". James Campbell High School Cheerleaders in action