El Dorado High inducts 3 new members into Athletic Hall of Fame, recognizes 24 current athletes with Terry Conley Athlete of Character Award

Created in 2011, the Terry Conley ‘Athlete of Character’ Award is presented annually to one athlete, male and female, from each of El Dorado High School’s 24 sports. These individuals are thought to best display the character traits of longtime El Dorado coach, Terry Conley.

Previously, those athletes were only recognized at their individual sport banquets. Now, with the ‘Black and Gold’ Banquet, all Athletes of Character are honored together, along with the individuals who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Here’s a full list of this year’s awardees:

Fall Season
Football: Connor Cobos
Boys Waterpolo: Dylan Schreiber
Girls Volleyball: Delaney Wheeler
Girls Cross Country: Lucia Ruscitto
Boys Cross Country: Jacob Sanchez
Girls Golf : Emily Cable
Girls Tennis: Tina Hasrouni

Winter Season
Boys Basketball: Shaun Turner
Girls Basketball: Amya Iannone
Boys Soccer: Tyler Johnson
Girls Soccer: Taylor Becker
Girls Waterpolo: Alexis Ward
Wrestling: Joshua Sparks

Spring Season
Baseball: Jordan Cravens
Boys Golf: Nicholas Leigh
Boys Lacrosse: Alexander Zambrano
Girls Lacrosse: Katherine Rivera
Boys Swimming: Matthew Nguyen
Girls Swimming: Shea O’Donovan
Boys Track: Joseph Jaime
Boys Track: Wyatt Carlson
Girls Track: Ellie Pruitt
Softball: Jordan Westerfield
Boys Tennis: Julian Shin
Boys Volleyball: Austin Barber

Here is an overview of who was inducted into El Dorado High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dan Kennedy
Class of 2001, Boys Soccer
During his three years as the starting goalkeeper, Dan led the Golden Hawks to three Empire league championships, twice being named “all-league” and also “all-CIF.” Continuing his soccer career at UC Santa Barbara, the four-year starter was named the Big West Freshman of the Year and twice was named the conference goalkeeper of the year. In addition to leading the Gauchos to the NCAA Division I finals in 2004, Dan became Santa Barbara’s all-time leader in career minutes, shutouts, and wins. Following his college career, he began a 12 year professional career that included stints with the New York Metro Stars, FC Dallas and Chivas USA before joining the LA Galaxy in 2015. He was a MLS all-star in 2012 and finished his career in 2017 with 485 saves and 33 shutouts.

Stephanie Patten (Milne)
Class of 1998, Volleyball, Basketball, and Track and Field
Stephanie distinguished herself as a two-sport star during her four years at El Dorado. In 1997 and 1998, she earned 1st team All-Empire league in both volleyball and basketball, and was the league Most Valuable Player in basketball in 1998. Her senior year she was also named to the OC Register and Los Angeles Times all-county team as well as being named to the all-CIF team in basketball. Her college career began at Santa Ana College where she quickly established herself as a leader on the basketball team. In 2000, she set three school records, two of which still stand today. She was named to the 1st team all-state team and in 2017 became a member of the Santa Ana College Hall of Fame. Stephanie’s success continued at Azusa Pacific University where she was twice named an NAIA Division I All-American in route to leading her team to the 2002 Golden State Athletic Conference title.

John Cyrus
Boys/Girls Tennis Coach
John began his coaching and teaching career in 1976 at Valencia High School as an assistant football and track coach. He later became their tennis coach, leading the Tigers to 11 league championship and a CIF championship in girls tennis in 1987. In 2002, he began his coaching career at El Dorado where he led the Golden Hawks to seven boys league championships and seven girls league championship during his 16 year tenure. In 1995, the lady Golden Hawks won the CIF Division I championship. After a two-year battle with leukemia, Coach Cyrus passed away in September, but not before leaving a 43-year legacy of achievement, commitment, and excellence in all he did.