As far as college admissions go, it’s generally agreed that academic diligence can be fruitful. However, a handful of Diamond Bar senior athletes this year proved that beyond academics, athletic dedication can be rewarding as well. Thirteen athletes this year received scholarships to play their sports at colleges across the country.

Diamond Bar High School varsity player Marissa Favela will continue to play soccer at Cal State Northridge for the next four years.

Additionally, Joan Park will attend Cal State San Marcos, and Bethany Wu will be playing at UCLA, both for golf.

Jefferson Kao is going to attend UCI for golf, while four varsity golfers received scholarships. Sahith Theegala received a full scholarship to Pepperdine.

“Our team is incredibly excited for Sahith and Jefferson, and we know the Pepperdine community of Malibu and the Irvine community will benefit because these two wonderful men.The Varsity Boys Golf team has been riding on the coat tails of these two extraordinary young men,” Coach Ty Watkins said.

William Yang, who had aimed throughout high school to get a scholarship at a California college, received an 80 percent scholarship to Cal State Dominguez Hills after serving as a two year DB varsity player.

“My family, especially my two sisters that also played golf, encouraged me to get a scholarship and with the help of Coach McCabe and Coach Watkins, I made varsity and got this scholarship,” Yang said.

Farther from home will be Jessica Pierce, who received a 75 percent scholarship to Beloit College in Wisconsin for volleyball.

“I really like the feeling of just playing, and it’s an exciting sport. I’m glad I joined because I made a lot of new friends,” Pierce said.

Jordan Rosas also received a generous scholarship to Notre Dame College in Ohio, and will be playing rugby there.

“[At Notre Dame] I will be playing on the same team as my brother and I’m really excited about that,” Rosas said.

Tyler Peterson, the star quarterback of DBHS’ varsity football team, will continue to make history as an athlete at Dixie State University. Joining Peterson at Dixie State is Isaiah Thompson, who also received a scholarship.

“[Getting a scholarship] was my overall goal, but I mainly played football because it was fun. I met most of my friends though it,” Peterson said.

Also for football, Antonio Hull committed to the University of Wyoming earlier this year after starring for the Diamond Bar High School varsity team for two years. He will be playing defensive back and return kicks for the Division I football team. Additionally, Austin Cox will also continue to play football at Briar Cliff University after receiving a scholarship. Kevin Kueter also received a scholarship to University of Redlands for football.