The Sword & Shield recognized three winter varsity sports captains as our January Athletes of the Month: junior Owen Chiou of boys’ wrestling, junior Isaac Evans of boys’ basketball and senior Asha Highsmith of girls’ basketball. Through clear dedication and commitment, they were selected by their coaches as captains to lead their team to success.
Owen Chiou
Chiou reluctantly started wrestling when he was 12 after his dad forced him into it, but to his surprise, he immediately fell in love with the sport.
“Since that moment, I have dedicated my life to the sport, training every day to achieve greatness,” Chiou said.
Chiou has recently competed in the Andrew Peña Classic and placed second in his respective weight class. He also recently faced off against a state finalist and won second in folk style and takedown.
He is now preparing for the end of the regular season as he hopes to go far into CIF.
Asha Highsmith
Highsmith started playing basketball around first grade. Highsmith first got hooked on basketball when her dad brought her to watch various basketball games. These experiences spiked her interest and she started to play competitively.
“Some of the accomplishments I’ve had playing basketball at UNI include playing on varsity since freshman year, growing into a leadership position as a captain this year, and my favorite being, having a 6-game win streak while winning the San Diego tournament during our winter break,” Highsmith said.
Highsmith currently doesn’t have any plans on playing at the collegiate level but plans to continue playing basketball at a club or intramural level.
Issac Evans
Last but not least, Evans has had a heavy impact on the UHS basketball team, racking up 247 total points, 126 of those points being three-pointers. He made Second Team All-League as a sophomore last year, and he currently leads the team in steals per game. He hopes to win the league and venture deep into the playoffs.
Once again, we congratulate our athletes and wish them the best of luck as they enter league play.
