KELSEYVILLE >> The best thing about individual success is when it leads to teams reaching their goals. That was the case not once but twice for Kelseyville High School junior Riley Goff, a candidate for the Lake County Record-Bee’s female Athlete of the Year award for the 2015-16 sports season.
While injuries cost Goff a handful of basketball games this past season and prevented her from playing a spring sport (she’s an excellent softball player), the multi-sport star helped the Knights put two more North Central League I championship pennants on the gym wall. In fact, between Goff’s play as a dynamic setter in volleyball and a shooting guard on the hardwood, the Knights were a combined 27-1 in league competition between the two sports. They ran the table — 14-0 — in volleyball and tied Middletown at 13-1 in the final NCL I basketball standings.
Goff’s significant efforts were recognized in each sport. She was voted the league MVP in volleyball and received first-team honors in basketball where she scored her 1,000th career point late in the 2015-16 campaign. Goff averaged 13.0 points a game as the Knights finished 23-6 overall, including a win over Del Norte in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. She is one of three active county players who will open the 2016-17 season with more than 1,000 points scored — the others are Upper Lake’s Natalie Karlsson and Kelseyville’s Kyle Ellis.
The Kelseyville volleyball team posted a 23-8 overall mark and, like the basketball team, also made it to the quarterfinal round of the Division IV playoffs.
The Record-Bee will profile female and male candidates for the Athlete of the Year award leading up to the naming of the 2015-16 winners. Coach of the Year winners in boys’ and girls’ sports also will be honored.
Athlete of the Year candidates must be juniors or seniors who play at least two varsity sports and are in good academic standing at their respective schools.
