Honors: CdM honors McCoy

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - Corona del Mar High senior Kristin McCoy, a

three-sport athlete who overcame painful injuries to make a lasting mark

on the basketball court, has been named the school’s Girls Athlete of the

Year.

McCoy, who played three varsity seasons in golf, basketball and

swimming, was best known for her work on the hardwood.

A 5-foot-7 forward, who succeeded inside against taller opponents

because her teams consistently needed her inside presence, she twice

earned Player of the Year honors in the Pacific Coast League, as well as

the Newport-Mesa District.

As a senior, she shared the top individual honor in the Pacific Coast

League with 6-2 University senior center Kirsten von Tungeln. McCoy was

also Co-Player of the Year in the Newport-Mesa District with Costa Mesa

senior point guard Nancy Hatsushi.

Despite missing seven games -- five early in the year with a bruised

kidney and two more later in the league campaign with a badly sprained

ankle -- she averaged 14 points per game to help Coach Elbert Davis’

squad finish tied for second in league and advance to the second round of

the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs.

In addition to her scoring, which included inside work as well as an

effective mid-range jumper, she chipped in 8.7 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 3.6

assists and 1.2 blocked shots per contest for the Sea Kings. The team,

which finished 14-14, was 2-5 without her.

As a junior, McCoy avoided the injury bug that plagued her first and

last varsity basketball seasons. She averaged 15.1 points and 10.1

rebounds in 28 games, helping CdM earn the Pacific Coast League

championship and advance to the CIF Division III-AA quarterfinals. CdM

was 22-6 that season, including winning 16 of 17 during one stretch.

For her contributions, McCoy was named Newport-Mesa District Player of

the Year and shared the same honor in the PCL with Estancia senior Lauren

Cassity.

She was also named second-team All-CIF Southern Section by Division

III coaches.

McCoy’s sophomore basketball season was virtually ruined as quickly as

it began. She injured an ankle in the season opener and missed the next

14 games, before returning to play the final 11. She scored 81 points,

including a team-high 20 in a nonleague victory over Back Bay rival

Newport Harbor. She led CdM in scoring three of the team’s final four

games, foreshadowing the load she would carry the rest of her prep

career.

“Kristin does it all for us,” Davis said frequently of his determined

standout.

McCoy spent three seasons on the varsity golf team, occasionally

capturing medalist honors and helping Coach Mike Starkweather’s squad

reach the postseason each of the last two springs.

She competed in the Pacific Coast League individual golf finals three

times.

In swimming, she was a consolation finalist (qualifiers 9-16) at the

Pacific Coast League Finals at least one season and was a member of a

freestyle relay team that posted a CIF Southern Section qualifying time

in her junior campaign.

McCoy will attend Loyola Marymount University in the fall and major in

business administration. She will not compete in athletics.