Sun Athletes of the Week: J.C Sibley and Emily Simon

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.

Male Athlete of the Week: J.C. SIBLEY

School: Bishop Gorman

Class: Senior

Sport: Baseball

Last week: The Gaels' second baseman went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBIs to lift his club to a 7-4 win over rival Durango in Saturday's 4A Sunset Region championship game. Sibley's fourth-inning home run helped Gorman erase a 3-0 deficit and snapped the Gaels' 10-inning scoreless streak against the Trailblazers. He finished 5-for-15 in four tournament games. "He's been a big-game player for us, no doubt," Gorman coach Ken White said. "Down 3-0 we didn't panic, but going into the fourth we knew it was time to start scoring. It was a huge momentum shift on our side. You could see our confidence go way up at that point."

Female Athlete of the Week: EMILY SIMON

School: Durango

Class: Junior

Sport: Swimming

Last week: Simon captured two individual events and helped the Trailblazers to another win in a relay, lifting Durango to the 4A Sunset Region championship on Saturday. The junior finished first in the 200 freestyle (1:56.88) and the 500 freestyle (5:15.91) and led off the winning 400 freestyle relay, as the Blazers defeated second-place Palo Verde by a whopping 53 points. "She's the best girls distance swimmer Durango has ever had," coach Scott Stridde said. "She has a capacity to take pain, a capacity to come back day after day and train hard. In three years I don't think she's lost a dual meet. She's quite a competitor."