Atkins, Zeringue earn top athlete honors for high school

Andrew Atkins and Alex Zeringue were given awards as the top male and female athletes at Fallbrook High School for the class of 2006.

Atkins won the Coca Cola Golden Boy Award and Zeringue won the Female Athlete of the Year award.

Atkins, who is expected to play college football at Cal Lutheran, played football and basketball and ran track for the Warriors. “Andrew was a major contributor on three varsity teams this year,” said Fallbrook High School athletic director John Hayek.

Atkins was a wide receiver and defensive back on the football team during his senior year and earned first-team all-league honors as a wide receiver. He was a guard on the basketball team. On the track and field team he ran the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and the 4x100 relay and also competed in the triple jump.

The selection of the awards was by the school’s varsity coaches, and while other athletes stood out in individual sports Atkins’ multiple talents earned him the selection. “Andrew was the all-around athlete,” Hayek said.

“It was just a great honor,” Atkins said.

Atkins learned about the award at the school’s awards ceremony when his name was called. “I didn’t really think I’d be getting it, so I was actually surprised to receive it,” he said.

Atkins was born at Fallbrook Hospital and attended Zion Lutheran Elementary School before enrolling at Fallbrook High School. He was on the freshman football team in ninth grade, where he played quarterback and defensive back. He spent his final three high school seasons on the varsity football team; he was a defensive back all three years and was switched from quarterback to wide receiver midway through his junior year. As a junior he earned honorable mention all-league honors as a wide receiver.

Atkins was a guard during all four of his basketball seasons. He spent ninth grade on the freshman team, tenth grade on the junior varsity team, and his final two seasons on the varsity squad.

Atkins did not participate in a spring sport until trying out for the track and field team as a senior.

Atkins likely will not play defense for Cal Lutheran but is expected to be a wide receiver on the college team.

“I just want to thank my parents for supporting me all these years,” said the son of Bill and Lori Atkins.

Zeringue, who earned a field hockey scholarship to the University of Michigan, also played soccer as a senior. “Alex is an incredible athlete,” Hayek said. “Very deserving of the award.”

Zeringue ran track as a freshman and played lacrosse as a junior, but she did not participate in a spring sport during her senior year. “I actually was really, really, really surprised about it because there are so many good female athletes at our school,” she said. “I didn’t expect it, so when I got it I was really happy; I was pretty excited.”

Zeringue was born in Northridge and moved to Fallbrook when she was three years old. She attended St. Peter’s from kindergarten through fourth grade and again in eighth grade, Live Oak Elementary in fifth grade, and Sullivan Middle School in sixth and seventh grades.

She made the junior varsity field hockey team and the varsity soccer team as a freshman. She spent the next three years on the varsity field hockey and soccer teams.

Although she showed her versatility by playing various positions on the field hockey and soccer teams, she was honored as a first-team all-league selection during her senior year as a forward in field hockey and a midfielder in soccer. She also earned first-team Avocado League honors in field hockey as a junior. As a junior she earned second-team all-CIF recognition in field hockey, and as a senior she earned first-team all-CIF status for field hockey. The Avocado League’s field hockey coaches also selected her as the league’s Player of the Year in 2005.