LA Daily News Athletes of the Week for Aug. 31 to Sept. 5

LOS ANGELES — The LA Daily News recognizes the top performers between Aug. 31 and Sept. 5 with the Athlete of the Week award for fall athletes in tackle football, flag football, volleyball, cross country, water polo and boys tennis. Here are the Athlete of the Week winners from the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita area, Lancaster/Palmdale area, and Ventura County. Jack Richter, Viewpoint, Cross Country – Richter started the 2026 cross country campaign by finishing second out of 136 runners who competed in the Scary Dairy Invite at CSU Channel Islands Regional Park last Saturday. Richter clocked in at 15:52.0. Sophia Joh, Campbell Hall, Cross Country – Joh proved she could compete at one of the bigger opening-season races at CSU Channel Islands Regional Park last Saturday. Joh placed second with a time of 19:03.0 at the Scary Dairy Invite. Domenik Fuentes, Cleveland, CIF City Section Offensive MVP – Throwing touchdowns? Check. Rushing for touchdowns? Check. Laying out running backs, though? That's different. And Fuentes is a different kind of player. The two-way athlete was otherworldly against Castaic last Friday. Fuentes completed 4 of 6 passes for 105 yards, one touchdown, and rushed for another touchdown and made 10 tackles on top of his offensive prowess last Friday. Kris Carranza – Agoura – CIF-SS Offensive MVP – Carranza completed a season-high 18 of 24 passes for 333 yards and threw five touchdowns to lead Agoura over Thousand Oaks 33-0. D'Angelo Duran – Verdugo – CIF City Section Defensive MVP – Duran made 15 tackles, including two TFLs, two sacks, and a forced fumble in a 41-0 shutout against Canoga Park last Friday. Denver Smith – Simi Valley – CIF-SS Defensive MVP – Smith led Simi Valley with eight tackles, including three TFLs, to lead Simi Valley's 56-6 win over Bishop Montgomery last Friday. Jada Tyson – Taft – CIF City Section Flag Football – Tyson scored a rushing touchdown, threw another, and scored a conversion for Taft, which started its season by beating Calabasas 25-0 last Wednesday. Lauren Jesic – Chaminade – CIF-SS Flag Football – Jesic threw three touchdowns and ran for another touchdown to stun Notre Dame (SO) on the road last Monday for Chaminade. Chaminade is 6-2 in 2026. Ruby Sampson – Harvard-Westlake – CIF-SS Volleyball – The 6-foot-2 senior middle blocker was unstoppable last Tuesday against Thousand Oaks. Sampson finished with 12 kills, including a .632 hitting percentage and two blocks. Emma Meza – Poly – CIF City Section Volleyball – Meza's senior season is off to a consistent start and has posted a .263 hitting percentage for Poly, which is 8-1. Meza finished with eight kills, eight digs, and six serve receives against Narbonne last Wednesday and posted 13 kills, 14 digs, and 11 serve receives against Arroyo last Friday. More local coverage Related Articles