Serena Ybarra, Coalinga High School senior, has been chosen to be honored as Division Five State Player of the Year by CIF (California Interscholastic Fellowship).
Ybarra has been athletic throughout her entire life, playing sports from the time she was in elementary school. She dabbled in some other sports, but in high school, she focused on basketball. And it paid off in a huge way for Coalinga.
During her Sophomore year, she stood out in her endless scoring. Ybarra racked up 24 points and 10 rebounds per game that year. But during her junior year, she ran into what could have been a game-changing injury which took her out of the game for the rest of that season. Never a quitter, Ybarra then focused on doing everything she could through rehab and determination to prepare for her final season as a senior at CHS.
Ybarra’s hard work and persistence paid off not just for her own accomplishment, but to help the CHS girls’ basketball team make it to CIF Division Five playoffs. During her senior year, Ybarra made a whopping 19.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.6 steals per game.
During the 2019 face-off between Coalinga and Caruthers at Selland Arena in Fresno, Ybarra scored 25 points for the Toads and had nine rebounds along with five steals.
Although the Toads lost to Caruthers at Division 5 playoffs, it was a tight competition. Caruthers went on to become state champions, but they didn’t get there without a fierce fight with the Toads. Caruthers went on to win the state championship for Division 5. But the 2019 Toad girls’ basketball team had a local record-breaking season.
And now, Serena Ybarra has become not only the first CHS athlete to be honored as the All-State Division 5 Player of the Year; she is also the first player of the entire Central Section of CIF. Congratulations to Serena and the Coalinga Horned Toads.
