As Bakersfield
Mayor Harvey Hall listed the accomplishment's of
this year's Mayor's Trophy recipient Wednesday
night in the Harvey Auditorium at Bakersfield
High, Silas Nacita sat up in his chair.
Nacita had no idea
he was about to become the 36th winner of the
award, given annually to Bakersfield's top
senior student-athlete as measured by athletic,
academic, leadership and community service
qualities.
"I had filled out a
form, but I had no idea what it was," Nacita
said. "Then the mayor comes out and starts
reading this list of accomplishments. It starts
to click in my head: 'Hey, that sounds
familiar.'"
Nacita played
running back and defensive back on Bakersfield
High's varsity team for three years, helping the
Drillers to a 2010 Central Section runner-up
finish and the 2011 Division I championship.
He also was a
two-time state medalist in wrestling, including
the 170-pound silver medal this year.
He was first-team
All-Area twice in each sport and also picked up
diving on a whim last month with three weeks
left in the season: He narrowly missed
qualifying for the section finals.
"I did it to get a
tan," Nacita said. "Just kidding. I'm just not
the type of person to not be doing anything. I
had to pick up something else."
Nacita also was the
BHS senior class vice president, the school's
Fellowship of Christian Athletes president and a
two-year captain in both football and wrestling;
he'll play football at Cornell University.
Nacita volunteered
for a number of community organizations,
including the Special Olympics, Relay for Life,
Great American Clean-Up, Bakersfield Homeless
Shelter and Jesus Shack.
"It's just a great
honor to come here and be recognized in front of
my community and the mayor," Nacita said. "I'm
so thankful they put this together and to the
community for their support."
Other finalists for
the award were: Patrick Farley, Garces; Matthew
Huckaby, Bakersfield Christian; Lucy LaFranchise,
Liberty; Harmandeep Manku, South; Cameron
Miller, Stockdale; Kaylee Moyer, North; and
Adrianna Salazar, West.
The Mayor's Trophy
was presented at the beginning of the second
PEAAK (Promoting Excellence in Athletics and
Activities in Kern) Awards ceremony at BHS.
Other notable
winners included Best Male Athlete Chris
Hannible, BHS; Best Female Athlete, Meghan Shain,
Frontier; Best Sportsmanship, Isaac Lopez,
Ridgeview; Play of the Year, Javier Kirksey,
Ridgeview; Best Male Student-Athlete, Ryan
O'Leary, Highland; Best Female Student-Athlete,
Brooke Dickens, Stockdale.
