GALT, CA (MPG) - Liberty Ranch Athletic Director Samantha Vitoria announced Sophia Felix as this year’s athlete of the year at Senior Awards Night. 

“This year’s female athlete of the year is a young lady who has accomplished so much in the last four years,” said Vitoria. “She is the second-ever female athlete in Liberty Ranch history to receive Female Athlete of the Year and Valedictorian. Her sister Isabella was the first. She is a kind and selfless individual who is always willing to help without the glory.”

Felix played basketball and ran track at Liberty Ranch. She played JV basketball her freshman year, when they almost didn’t have a season due to COVID-19 and had to play the few games they were allowed with masks on. She played Varsity basketball her sophomore through senior years and also ran three years of track.

Her former basketball coach, Sean Duryee, shared that Sophia is the total package. 

“She is smart, competitive, athletic, committed, but at the same time compassionate, humble and kind,” said Duryee. “Despite her ability to often get the job done by herself, Sophia was always the consummate team player and insisted on putting her teammates first. She holds herself to the highest standards and has my upmost respect.”

Felix shared that basketball was her preferred sport and she has been playing it pretty much all of her life. She also did gymnastics as a child.

Felix set the Liberty Ranch record for scoring the most 3-pointers in a single game when she scored eight of them her senior year. She was named CIF All-League her junior and senior year of basketball and received the Excellence in Leadership award her senior year. Felix was also named Tourney/MVP a few times. 

For Track and Field, Felix received third place in Triple Jump and second place in Long Jump during the League Championship meet her senior year.

When asked what drives her, Felix gives credit to her family. After all, her family has had three Liberty Ranch Valedictorians and two athletes of the year. It is almost unheard of to be named Athlete of the Year while you maintain the study habits to have the top GPA in your class. 

“I do believe I am a naturally competitive person, which helps me be driven,” said Felix. “However, I’d have to give most of the credit to my family. My family has always encouraged me to play hard and do well in sports, as well as to live an active lifestyle. They would never let me quit when I was feeling discouraged and would always focus on the positives of my athletic performances rather than the negatives, which helped me keep my chin up.”

Felix said her favorite memory was a revenge win on El Dorado this last year.

“One of my favorite memories from playing sports was during my senior year of basketball when my team beat El Dorado as a sort of ‘come-back game’ after losing the first time,” said Felix. “We worked very hard to prepare ourselves for this next game and to give El Dorado what they deserved, and we delivered. We beat them by more than they beat us the first time, and we were so excited afterwards that when Coach Williams entered the locker room, we surprised him by throwing what water was left in our water bottles at him. We were cheering and water was flying everywhere; it was such a memorable and amazing experience I had with my team.”

A good coach can make a difference in an athlete’s life. “All of my coaches were amazing, and all of them have my utmost gratitude,” said Felix.

“I’d like to specifically thank Coach Sean Duryee, who was more than just a coach to me for the majority of my high school basketball career. He supported me through everything and was a huge part of my success in basketball, and I would not be in this position without him. I’d also like to thank Coach Corriea, my track coach, who helped me navigate the unfamiliar sport of track and field during my sophomore year. She made me enjoy track and field so much that I continued doing it my junior and senior year, and I am forever grateful from the experience I gained from it.”

Felix will be attending Cal Poly SLO, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in construction management, and hopes to work her way up to being either a construction manager or a sustainability consultant.