GONZALES — Gonzales City Council honored three Gonzales High School coaches and three student-athletes for their outstanding efforts in cross county and football on Feb. 5.
Giovanni Ochoa was presented with a Certificate of Recognition for the 2023-24 cross country season.
Ochoa is a junior this year at Gonzales High and qualified to the California Interscholastic Federation State Meet for the second straight year and was the individual champion of the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Santa Lucia Division while maintaining a 4.1 GPA. He was an outstanding leader, as the Spartans finished in second place in the league standings.
Certificates of Recognition were also presented to cross country head coach Margie Daniels and assistant coach Michael Ramirez.
“I think it’s a privilege and honor to have our athletes recognized by our city,” said Daniels, who is also the Gonzales athletic director. “I am grateful that the City Council acknowledges Gio’s hard work and accomplishments. Gio has represented Gonzales to the fullest and has made the community, school, teammates, family and coaches exceptionally proud. He works hard in school and on the running course.”
Adrian Perez and Juan Pablo (JP) Acosta-Ayala from the Spartans football team received Certificates of Recognition from the City Council for attaining All-League honors in the PCAL’s Santa Lucia Division.
Perez was chosen as the division’s Player of the Year as a receiver, and Acosta-Ayala was a first-team player as a quarterback.
Perez was an All-League defensive back and second team special teams player, as he was an outstanding return man.
Acosta-Ayala broke school records for most yards thrown in a season (2,037), most attempts in a game (50) and most completions in a game (37). He has a 4.0 GPA.
Gonzales head football coach Eddie Ramirez also received a Certificate of Recognition from the City Council for guiding the Spartans team to a third-place finish in the Santa Lucia Division.
