Holman, Mellano earn all-CIF field hockey honors

Fallbrook High School seniors Devon Holman and Kathleen Mellano earned all-CIF recognition for the 2007 field hockey season.

Holman was on both the all-section first team and the Division I first team Mellano earned second-team all-section honors and first-team Division I honors. The two had previously earned first-team Avocado League honors for 2007.

“It was definitely an honor,” Holman said.

The all-CIF award was the second for Holman, who earned second-team all-division honors in 2006, and the first for Mellano.

“I’m just excited about it. I think it’s cool,” Mellano said. “I’m really happy that another Fallbrook player was recognized, too.”

Holman played center-midfielder and forward for the field hockey team. “Quality player. Worked very hard to achieve what she has,” said Fallbrook coach Kathy Waite.

Holman, who signed a letter of intent on February 8 to play field hockey for Stanford, began her career in the sport while in seventh grade. “I didn’t even want to try field hockey,” she said.

Holman is the youngest of five children. Her sister Anne played field hockey for Fallbrook High School. “She really encouraged me to do it, so I tried out and I loved it,” Devon Holman said.

She spent her freshman year on the junior varsity field hockey team before making the varsity as a sophomore in 2005. Although she did not earn all-league honors as a sophomore, she received first-team Avocado League recognition as well as second team all-division accolades the following year. “I really improved the summer between my sophomore and junior year,” she said.

In spring 2006 she was selected as an alternate for the under-16 team of field hockey’s National Futures Tournament, and in 2007 Holman was selected to the under-19 team for that tournament. In 2007 Holman was also chosen to play in the National Field Hockey Indoor Tournament.

In addition to her all-section, all-division, and all-league honors, Holman was also selected to the section’s academic first team for 2007. “I couldn’t have gotten where I’ve gotten without the support of friends and family,” she said. “God has really blessed my life, and I also couldn’t have done it without his help.”

Holman was born in Escondido but is a lifelong Fallbrook resident. She attended Fallbrook Street Elementary School, Live Oak Elementary School, and Potter Junior High School prior to her Fallbrook High School years.

In addition to field hockey, Holman is also on Fallbrook High School’s soccer team and played on the lacrosse team as a freshman and sophomore. She was on the Warrior track team as a junior and ran the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the

4x100 relay. Holman has also been active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in Warriors for Christ.

Mellano was a defender on the field hockey team. “Great defensive player. Phenomenal athlete,” Waite said of Mellano.

Although the all-CIF selection was the first for Mellano in field hockey, she was a second-team selection to the all-CIF soccer team for 2006-07. “I was actually shocked to be on either,” she said, explaining that she expected players from more dominating schools to comprise the selections.

Mellano played junior varsity field hockey as a freshman before earning a spot on the 2005 varsity roster. She earned honorable-mention all-league recognition in 2005 before earning second-team Avocado League honors as a junior and first-team distinction in 2007.

Mellano took up field hockey as a high school freshman. Although she had no previous experience in the sport, she knew players on the team. “They just kind of convinced me to play,” she said.

Mellano also earned an invitation to the National Field Hockey Indoor Tournament in 2007.

Mellano has been on Fallbrook High School’s varsity soccer team since her freshman year. Although she is a defender on the field hockey team, she is a soccer forward. “It’s definitely a different mindset,” she said. “It’s a bit hard to transition

between the two teams.”

Although Mellano has not played any spring sports for Fallbrook High School, she is the statistician for the Warrior baseball team. She played Fallbrook Youth Baseball with boys through eighth grade.

Mellano, the third of four children, is a lifelong Bonsall resident who was born in Tri-City Hospital. In addition to her high school sports activities, she is also involved in the California Scholastic Federation, Invisible Children, and Fellowship for Christian Athletes. She plans to play college soccer, although she has not yet selected a school to continue her playing and academic careers.