Over the summer, Diamond Bar High School junior Neil Tengbumroong and alumni Jefferson Kao were named Player of the Year by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for tennis and golf, respectively.

Kao, now a freshman at UC Irvine, played golf in his final year at DBHS, helping the Brahmas become co-league champions with Glendora. Along with his POY award, Kao took the MVP title and first place in the two-day league final.

“It was my last year before I moved on to college,” Kao said via Facebook. “So I definitely wanted to make my last year a memorable one.”
However, Kao has not stopped playing after graduating, and earned a full scholarship to play on the UC Irvine golf team.

“I’m hoping playing at a collegiate level with collegiate players will make me an overall better player because collegiate golf is a lot more different than junior golf, which is what I’ve been mostly playing up to this point,” Kao said.

While Kao has taken on the challenges of the collegiate level, Tengbumroong continues to make his mark at DBHS. Tengbumroong helped the boys tennis team earn a 16-3 record last season, win the Palomares League title, and reach the CIF Southern Sectionals Division 2 quarterfinals for a second year in a row.

Finishing off his sophomore season with a record of 26-5, Tengbumroong made it to the regional finals for the CIF tournament as the only east San Gabriel Valley player before losing to San Marino’s Danny Gealer, 6-1, 6-4.

By winning the award and gaining more experience, Tengbumroong is prepared to improve himself and help the team.

“I feel a lot more confident this year, and being a junior gives me more experience which makes me feel like I can help lead the team,” Tengbumroong said.