Wednesday, May 25, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Yuval Cohen loves scoring, and he showed it like never before this season. The sophomore at Palo Verde High School scored 40 goals and had 14 assists to lead the Panthers to the 5A State Championship.
2022 Sun Standout Awards
- Female Athlete of the Year: Aaliyah Gayles, Spring Valley basketball
- Male Athlete of the Year: Justin Crawford, Bishop Gorman baseball
- Female Rising Star: Rebecca Diaconescu, Palo Verde swimming
- Male Rising Star: Yuval Cohen, Palo Verde soccer
- Sun Standout Award: Jenavi Alejandro, Centennial wrestling
- Team of the Year: Coronado girls golf
- Moment of the Year: Moapa Valley football returns home to a state-championship parade
- Game of the Year: Bishop Gorman beats Liberty in thrilling double-overtime basketball affair
- Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Zoey Robinson, Boulder City volleyball
- Male Scholar Athlete of the Year: Jeffrey Morosini, Durango football and wrestling
- Citizen of the Year: Nykita Rustad, Spring Valley cross country and track
- Hank Greenspun Lifetime Achievement Award: John Kennedy, official
- Coach of the Year: Kevin Soares, Liberty basketball
- Unsung Hero Awards: Marshall Cohen, referee, Kathleen Eakins, transportation, Laquedra Parks, police officer and basketball coach
“Any chance I get, if there’s a penalty, I’m on it,” the striker said. “If there’s a free kick, I want to take it. But then again, I always like getting my team involved. You always want what’s best for your team. I’m really competitive, so I do anything I can to end up winning the game.”
Cohen had a goal and an assist in the state title game, a 3-0 Palo Verde win over Hug High in Sparks on November 13. Leading up to that, he scored a goal in a 5-1 state-semifinal victory over Reed High and tallied two goals and an assist the week prior in the 5A South championship game, a 4-2 victory against Coronado.
The 16-year-old Cohen also plays for Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club, a completely different experience than high school—and perhaps more demanding. DLVSC won the national championship last July.
“For club, you’re together the whole year,” Cohen said. “You have nine months, you train together. For high school, it’s a short period of time you get to know your teammates, get to know how they play, and you have to go straight into the season not really knowing much. At Palo, we jell together really well, and that’s one of the main reasons we ended up winning State.”
Finalists
Micah Alejado, Bishop Gorman football
Continued in the long line of standout Gael quarterbacks with 2,669 passing yards and 31 touchdowns to only two interceptions as part of a large-classification state championship team.
Sanjeev Chundu, Clark tennis
Rated as the sixth-best tennis prospect in the nation for the Class of 2024, according to tennis recruiting.com, after easily winning state singles championship.
Dedan Thomas Jr., Liberty basketball
Drew scholarship offers from the likes of LSU, UNLV and Washington State after helping lead the Patriots to the first state championship in school history.
Melvin Whitehead, Liberty wrestling
Went unbeaten in his freshman season to win the 195-pound state championship and claim a slew of tournament titles.
