The Dimond Athletic Council is a committee at Dimond High that consists of one member in each varsity sport.

Coaches from each varsity sport elects their top student athlete to represent their sport in the Athletic Council.

If student athletes play multiple sports, they can only be an elected member in one of those.

“Athletes of the Month are judged solely on their athletic play not in academics, but each student athlete has to live up to certain academic standards to even be able to play high school sports,” said Kathleen Navarre, a Dimond math teacher, Flag Football coach and Athletic Council staff advisor.

There are a lot of top athletes at Dimond High School with outstanding talents in multiple sports.

An individual cannot be Athlete of the Month twice in one year.

The goal is to recognize all athletes that deserve the honor.

For the month of September 2015 Senior Rafa Zavala was voted Boys Athlete of the Month and Senior Anjoilyn Vreeland was voted Girls Athlete of the Month.

Vreeland is starting libero on the girls varsity volleyball team and started playing varsity her junior year.

When asked how Vreeland felt about being voted to be the Girls Athlete of the Month, she responded by saying, “I was really excited. It feels very good knowing that all of my hard work that I’ve put into this season has been recognized.”

Navarre said, “Anjoilyn’s dedication and desire to not let her team down is what separates herself from other athletes. She has a very tough job being a libero and has accepted her position and has run with it.”

Vreeland has been playing volleyball since sixth grade and plans on playing volleyball in college.

Vreeland hasn’t been looking at colleges yet, but is still looking into pursuing her dream to play college volleyball.

Zavala is the captain of the boys varsity football team and has been an elite player ever since his sophomore year.

Zavala is having another outstanding season in his last year of playing high school football.

When asked how he felt about being named the Boys Athlete of the Month for the month of September he responded with, “It’s pretty cool knowing that I am an elite player in the school and in the league. But I can’t take all the credit. I can’t do anything without my boys blocking in front of me.”

Navarre said, “Rafa’s passion, determination, and work ethic towards football is what is most noticeable about his spectacular season.”

When asked about his motivation for his senior season Zavala said, “I’m just trying to make my momma proud.”

The Boys Varsity Football team is going to play Chugiak High School on Friday, October 16, 2015 at West Anchorage High School in the state semi-final.

The Lynx are trying to win their first state championship since 2001.

“We’re trying to set the standard for the upcoming Dimond football teams,” said Zavala. “We want to set the bar high and have playoff football an annual tradition at Dimond.”