Sun Athletes of the Week: Ryan Worthen and Kayla Lambert

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

RYAN WORTHEN

School: Palo Verde

Class: Senior

Sport: Wrestling

Last week: Worthen, the Panthers' 215-pounder, helped his team capture its first 4A Sunset Region team championship last weekend. With Palo Verde trailing Centennial by half a point, Worthen pinned Bonanza's Mike White in the second-to-last match of the tournament, giving him an individual title and pushing the Panthers past the Bulldogs. Worthen pinned both of his opponents in the two-day event. "We knew we had a pretty good shot with Ryan coming up," Palo Verde coach Kris Davis said. "It's a good feeling when you send that kid out to win a tournament for you."

KAYLA LAMBERT

School: Palo Verde

Class: Freshman

Sport: Soccer

Last week: Lambert scored the lone goal in the Panthers' 1-0 win over Bishop Gorman in round one of the 4A Sunset Region Tournament on Saturday. Taking a pass from Marissa Lucero, the Palo Verde forward got behind the Gaels' defense and beat goalkeeper Danielle Ghaffari in the game's 37th minute. That was enough for the fourth-seeded Panthers to eliminate top-seeded Gorman. "She's a freshman, but she played the most patient ball I've seen," Palo Verde coach Marc Hechter said. "She waited and waited until Danielle had to make a decision. It was a very intelligent run at the net."