Kapana Sunset League Athlete of the Year

Recent Newport Harbor High graduate Carlee Kapana, a water polo goalie, has earned Sunset League Female Athlete of the Year honors as awarded by the Orange County Athletic Directors Assn.

Kapana was presented the award at a dinner May 26 at Anaheim Convention Center, Sailors Athletic Director Mike Zimmerman said.

“The fact that the athletic directors of the Sunset League chose Carlee just says so much about her accomplishments, what kind of kid she is and her future,” Zimmerman said. “She’s very deserving. We’re very proud that she’s a Newport Harbor girl.”

Kapana, bound for UCLA, was the Daily Pilot’s 2014-15 Newport-Mesa Girls’ Water Polo Player of the Year. She was the Sunset League MVP and a first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection for the Sailors after making an Orange County-best 317 saves, helping Newport Harbor win league and advance to the Division 1 semifinals.

More recently, she contributed for the U.S. women’s senior national water polo team as it won gold at the FINA Intercontinental Tournament in New Zealand in early May. Yet, she was also known for being soft-spoken and humble.

“She’s a great kid with a great family,” Zimmerman said.

— From staff reports