The American Athletic Conference hasn’t had to debate much about its weekly football award.
For the third time in four games this season, UCF’s McKenzie Milton was named the conference’s offensive player of the week on Monday.
The 5-foot-11 junior quarterback accounted for six touchdowns for the second straight week in a 45-14 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday.
The 2016 Mililani alumnus, who was also named the Walter Camp Award national player of the week and was a Davey O’Brien Great Eight honoree, threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 51 yards and two more scores.
Milton passed current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles for fourth all-time at UCF in passing touchdowns and has thrown at least one TD pass in 18 straight games.
Milton has won seven AAC player of the week awards in the past two seasons.
UCF climbed another spot to No. 12 in the latest Associated Press Top 25.
Milton, who finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, has accounted for 18 touchdowns and thrown for 1,223 yards in four games this season.
“Our best is still yet to come,” Milton said in a press conference Monday. “You always want to be better than yesterday. You might not always put up crazy numbers in each game, but if you can improve in an area I think in practice and try and translate that to the game, I think that’s the main thing.”
The Knights host SMU on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Alo invited to USA Softball tryout
Oklahoma sophomore and 2017 Campbell alumna Jocelyn Alo is one of 42 players selected to try out for the 2019 Women’s National Team.
The trials will be held Jan. 1-6 in Clearwater, Fla. Participating athletes will vie for 18 spots on the 2019 USA Softball Women’s National Team Training Team roster that will compete at the USA Softball International Cup and other international events.
The roster will be trimmed to 15 for the Pan American Games, July 31-Aug. 11 in Lima, Peru.
Other players invited include Oklahoma alumna Lauren Chamberlain, Texas alumna Cat Osterman and Oklahoma alumna Keilani Ricketts.
Pittsburgh’s Akeo candidate for award
Pittsburgh senior Kamalani Akeo was named one of 30 candidates for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award on Monday.
The 2015 Kamehameha alumna is a team captain for the undefeated eighth-ranked Panthers volleyball team. She has started all 15 matches this season and is averaging 7.0 assists per set while splitting time with a second setter.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
“Kama has been a huge part of building this program over the last four seasons,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said in a press release. “She is a great setter and represents Pitt with class and humility. She is one of the hardest workers of anyone I have coached and excels at everything she does.”
Adachi leads Seattle into rankings
Five straight wins with senior goalkeeper Josh Adachi, a 2014 ‘Iolani alumnus, in goal has put the Seattle University men’s soccer team into the national rankings.
The Redhawks are No. 25 in both the United Soccer Coaches NCAA D-I men’s rankings and the Top Drawer Soccer NCAA D-I men’s rankings released this week.
Seattle is 8-3 overall and 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play, with Adachi starting and playing every minute in goal this season.
The 6-foot-3 redshirt senior has tallied four shutouts, including three in the past four games, and is allowing just 1.18 goals per season while stopping 65 percent of all shots on goal.
One of those shutouts was a 2-0 win over Washington last Sunday, which was ranked No. 16 at the time.
SU has advanced to the NCAA tournament in three of the past five years and made a run to the sweet 16 in 2015.
Adachi helped the Redhawks win the WAC tournament last season and advance to the second round.
AROUND THE NATION
FOOTBALL
>> Bradlee Anae, Kahuku ’16: The Utah junior defensive end made four tackles and had 1 1/2 sacks in a 28-24 loss to Washington State on Saturday.
>> Vavae Malepeai, Mililani ’16: The Southern California sophomore running back had just 8 rushing yards on three carries but scored his team-leading sixth touchdown of the season on a 1-yard run in the first quarter of a 24-20 win over Arizona on Saturday.
>> Kaulana Apelu, Kamehameha ’15: The Oregon senior linebacker made six tackles in a 42-24 win over California on Saturday.
>> Kanawai Noa, Punahou ’15: The Cal junior receiver had four receptions for 46 yards against the Ducks.
>> Jordan Ta’amu, Pearl City ’15: The Ole Miss senior quarterback finished 19-for-38 for 178 yards and ran for 25 yards on eight attempts in a 45-16 loss to LSU on Saturday.
>> Calen Holt, Kamehameha ’14: The Army senior running back scored on a 5-yard TD run and caught a 22-yard pass in a 42-13 win over Buffalo on Saturday.
>> Kama Kamaka, Kamehameha ’17: The San Diego sophomore defensive back made a game-high 11 tackles with one tackle for loss in a 49-10 victory over Stetson on Saturday.
>> Sipa Leafa, Radford ’17: The Adams State sophomore defensive back made seven tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone, returning it 58 yards into Fort Collins territory in a 48-42 overtime win on Saturday over the Skyhawks.
>> Braeden Meyer, Saint Louis ’17: The Adams State sophomore linebacker made four tackles against Fort Collins.
>> Jaylen Gonzales, Waianae ’17: The Whitworth (Wash.) redshirt freshman linebacker made a team-high seven tackles and assisted on a tackle for loss in a 19-14 win over Linfield (Ore.) on Saturday. The Pirates beat the Wildcats for the first time since 2007 and ended Linfield’s 23-game winning streak in Northwest Conference play.
>> Shai Pulawa, Leilehua ’14: The Whitworth junior defensive back made three solo tackles against Linfield.
WOMEN’S GOLF
>> Malia Nam, Kaiser ’18: The Southern California freshman, who finished second in her first collegiate tournament, ended up in a tie for 11th place at the Windy City Collegiate on Tuesday in Wilmette, Ill. Nam closed with a 1-over 73 to finish the tournament at even par after opening with a 68 in the first round.
>> Allisen Corpuz, Punahou ’16: The USC junior bounced back from a slow start with a 1-over 73 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 39th place at 10 over in the Windy City Collegiate.
>> Aiko Leong, Punahou ’16: The USC junior tied for 70th place at 26 over in the Windy City Collegiate.
>> Jasmine Cabajar, Maui ’16: The Portland State junior gained 12 spots on the final day of the Rose City Collegiate in Aurora, Ore., with a 2-over 74 in the final round to finish in a tie for 21st place at 13 over. She helped the Vikings win their own tournament for the first time in nine years.
>> Kirsten Ishikawa, Baldwin ’15: The Eastern Washington senior closed with a 3-over 75 to finish in a tie for 28th place at 16 over in the Rose City Collegiate.
>> Jaelin Ishikawa, Baldwin ’18: The Eastern Washington freshman bounced back from an opening 83 to shoot a 1-over 73 in the final round of the Rose City Collegiate to move up 18 spots and finish in a tie for 31st place at 17 over.
MEN’S SOCCER
>> Spencer Hokama, Mililani ’15: The Pacific Lutheran scored his first two goals of the season in a 7-1 victory over George Fox on Saturday.
>> Laukoa Santos, Kealakehe ’17: The San Diego State redshirt freshman midfielder scored his first collegiate goal in the fifth minute of a 2-1 victory over UNLV last Monday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
>> Skylar Littlefield, Baldwin ’17: The Sacramento State sophomore midfielder scored her third goal of the season in the 67th minute of a 3-0 shutout of Idaho State on Friday.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
>> Bailey Choy,‘Iolani ’16: The Utah junior setter had a team-high 30 assists, 12 digs and an ace in a five-set loss to Washington State and 26 assists and 11 digs in a four-set win over then-No. 13 Washington on Sunday.
>> Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres, ‘Iolani ’18: The Utah freshman setter had 24 assists and four digs against the Cougars and 19 assists, six digs and four aces against the Huskies.
>> Phoebe Grace, Kahuku ’17: The Utah redshirt freshman middle blocker finished with five kills and seven block assists against WSU and hit .429 with nine kills and three block assists against UW.
>> Emi Pua‘a, Punahou ’16: The Arizona junior transfer had 12 digs and an assist in a five-set win over then-No. 12 Oregon on Friday. The Wildcats moved up to No. 21 in this week’s AVCA Top 25, one spot behind the Ducks.
>> Nikki Lum, Punahou ’16: The Army junior setter finished with a match-high 34 assists, 14 digs, a kill and an ace in a five-set loss to Lehigh on Friday and added 25 assists and nine digs in a sweep of Lafayette on Sunday.
>> Ana Oglivie, ‘Iolani ’17: The Army sophomore tallied a match-high 21 digs, four assists and three aces against Lehigh and added another 12 digs and an assist against Lafayette.
>> Kayla Afoa, Kamehameha ’17: The Nevada sophomore outside hitter posted a double-double of 16 digs, 10 kills, four assists and two aces in a five-set win over Utah State on Saturday.
>> Shiloh Peleras, Kamehameha ’16: The Nevada middle blocker tallied eight kills, five block assists and a solo block against the Aggies.
>> Mia Heirakuji, Kamehameha ’15: The Temple senior libero had a match-high 21 digs in a four-set loss to Connecticut on Friday.
>> Averi Salvador, Punahou ’17: The Temple sophomore libero finished with nine digs and two aces against the Huskies.
>> Nikki Matsuoka, Punahou ’17: The Hamilton (N.Y.) College sophomore defensive specialist had a match-high 26 digs in a four-set loss to Bowdoin and 12 digs and four assists in a sweep of SUNY Polytechnic in a doubleheader on Saturday. Matsuoka leads the New England Small College Athletic Conference averaging 5.22 digs per set.
MEN’S WATER POLO
>> Oliver Lewis, Punahou ’14: The Stanford fifth-year senior made nine saves in goal in a 16-3 win over San Jose State on Saturday. Lewis has played all but one half in the Cardinal’s eight games so far this season and is averaging 12.53 saves per game and 4.67 goals allowed for the undefeated, third-ranked Cardinal.
>> Hayden Comerford,Punahou ’18: The Occidental (Calif.) freshman had two goals, two assists and a steal in a 21-11 loss to Chapman (Calif.) on Wednesday and added two goals and an assist in a 12-10 loss to Redlands (Calif.) on Saturday.
>> Ethan Walter, Punahou ’18: The Chapman freshman, who is fifth on the team in goals scored, netted his 12th goal of the year in a win over Occidental.
>> Ward Weldon, Punahou ’16: The MIT junior had two goals in a 14-7 loss to Princeton and finished with two goals, two assists and three steals in an 8-7 victory over Iona in a doubleheader on Saturday.
>> Ethan Lewis,Punahou ’16: The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps junior defender had a goal and two assists in a 13-8 win over Cal Lutheran on Wednesday and scored the Stags’ first goal in an 11-10 victory over Whittier (Calif.) on Saturday.
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Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for publication, email bhull@staradvertiser.com.
