Colin Gruber earns Male Athlete of the year

The Santa Cruz Sentinel has named harbor High's Colin Gruber its Male Athlete of the Year:

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Colin Gruber, Harbor

Basketball, baseball.

Gruber, a 6-foot-3, 173-pound senior, excelled at two sports.

A point guard for the Pirates' basketball team, Gruber led the county in scoring, averaging 26.6 points per game. He was named Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League MVP by league coaches and the Sentinel's basketball player of the year.

He recorded 317 rebounds, 102 blocks and 80 steals for the Pirates [20-8], who finished tied for second with Aptos in the SCCAL behind champion Santa Cruz. The Pirates advanced to the Central Coast Section Division IV quarterfinals, where they suffered a 53-52 season-ending loss to Carmel at Menlo School.

Gruber, who will play next season for NCAA Division I Northern Arizona, produced a double-double in 25 of 28 games.

He scored 30 or more points in eight games, including a pair or 42-point efforts against Aptos on Jan. 21 and St. Francis Feb. 8.

On the baseball field --" he last played three years ago as a freshman --" Gruber earned first-team all-SCCAL honors and was named to the Sentinel's All-County team as a outfielder.

He batted .364 [24-for-66] with four doubles and a home run. He had 17 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He also pitched and didn't allow a run in six appearances. He struck out 10 batters and walked six in 8 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits.