SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Jaycob Velasco (Pleasant Valley HS/Chico, Calif.), sophomore forward for the men’s basketball team, has been named CRC’s Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 3-9.  This is the first time Velasco has earned the honor.

Velasco (pictured right), a 6’7” redshirt sophomore forward from Chico, led the Hawks to the consolation championship at the San Jose City College Tip-off Classic this past weekend.  In three games Velasco averaged 24 points on 55% shooting (including 50% from three-point range), and 13 rebounds per contest, as the Hawks went 2-1 on the weekend.  In the Hawks 87-86 overtime consolation championship victory over Monterey Peninsula Velasco played 40 minutes, scoring 24 points while grabbing 20 rebounds for his second double-double of the year, and going 7-8 from the charity stripe to help secure the victory.  This performance followed a double-double the night before, when Velasco scored 26 points while collecting 13 rebounds in the Hawks 104-50 blowout of Merced JC.  He also grabbed a steal and recorded a pair of blocks in the win.  He opened the tournament with a 22 point performance, which included going 4-8 from three-point range, in CRC’s 97-94 opening round loss to Lassen.  Velasco’s 13 rebounds per contest currently lead the CCCAA, while his 24 points per game average is good for 6^th in the State.  His 50% shooting from three-point range is also among the leaders in the CCCAA, making Velasco a legitimate inside-outside threat for head coach James Giacomazzi’s Hawks.

This is Jaycob Velasco’s first CRC Student-Athlete of the Week honor, as well as the first for the men’s basketball team this season.  Velasco and the rest of the Hawks are idle until November 21^st, when they host the James Clark Classic at Cosumnes River College.  The Hawks will open the tournament with Columbia College at 6 PM.  The tournament runs through Saturday the 23^rd, when the championship game will be held.  The tournament bracket can be found here.

Honorable Mention: Jade Sowell-Hundon (women’s basketball), Eliezer Ramos (men’s soccer), Megan Gomez (women’s soccer) and Nancy Pacheco (volleyball).