Sun Prep Athletes of the Week: Travonte Darby and Estefania Serrano

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2002 | 9:38 a.m.

School: Cheyenne

Class: Senior

Sport: Football

Last week: Darby, a starting running back, rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries to lead the Desert Shields to a 42-6 win over Rancho. Darby scored on runs of 28 and 80 yards in the second half, helping Cheyenne to an overwhelming advantage on the ground. Teammates David Peoples and Ramone Cooper also eclipsed the 100-yard mark. "We have three kids that run the ball well, and we try to get each of them the ball," Shields coach Dave Snyder said. "Travonte mentioned that he wanted the ball more before the game, and he stepped up Friday night. And our line's really been playing well; I've been very impressed with the way they've been performing in the trenches."

School: Bonanza

Class: Junior

Sport: Tennis

Last week: Serrano, the Bengals' No. 1 singles player, went 4-0 to help her squad to victories over 2001 state qualifiers Green Valley and Silverado. Serrano, who sat out last season after transferring from The Meadows, has yet to lose a single game in 2002, going 54-0 in her nine match victories for 4-0 Bonanza. "She's got very good groundstrokes from both the forehand and backhand side, and she knows what it takes to win. She hasn't been tested yet,"' Bengals coach Bill Pollock said. "We lost a lot of seniors last year, and we have two freshmen and two sophomores in our starting lineup, so really didn't expect to be 4-0. But they're starting to settle in, and I think it's going to be a good team for years to come."