Southern Arizona Student-Athlete of the Year: Luc Rosenblatt
The Tucson Citizen profiled the city’s finest high school student-athletes from 1957 through 2008 and the tradition of recognizing only the very best was continued on the pages of the TucsonCitizen.com website. We have continued this tradition at AllSportsTucson.com since 2014.
11 graduating seniors submitted a nomination and those were judged on academics, athletics, leadership, service to their school and on a one-page essay on who influenced them most in their life. This year, the award came with a scholarship worth $500.
Salpointe standout basketball player Luc Rosenblatt was chosen in a final round of three applicants this past weekend. Rosenblatt always rose to the top when his team needed him the most with 17 points in the state semifinal round last year and 24 points in the state championship game two years ago. He shot an incredible 11 of 14 (79%) 3 pointers in both games combined. His abilities on the court, and knowledge of the game, opened up doors for him and he will serve as a student manager for the University of Arizona men’s basketball team next year. His work in the classroom is equally impressive with numerous honor roll recognitions, National Honor Society work and AIA Scholar Athlete recognitions.
Rosenblatt’s essay is as follows:
Most Influential Person in My Life
I have been blessed to have many important people in my life who have left a remarkable imprint on my life. However, the one person who has stood out, is my mother. Some may find it odd for a young man to idolize a woman, as opposed to a man, but I find my mom to be the strongest person in the world.
My mother has two of the hardest jobs in the world, yet she manages to excel at both of them. She is both a fantastic teacher and mother. Her work ethic and drive continues to inspire me every day, as I strive to emulate that in everything I do. My mother makes amazing dinners for my family while also having her lesson plans ready for the next day of school. She went to all my games and school events, while also grading all her papers in the same night. She sacrifices sleep, so that her students and family are functioning, which inspires me to always put others before myself.
I can confidently say that I was able to find success in school and basketball because of my mother. She was the one who would take me to every basketball practice before I could drive, while also being the one who studied with me the night before a test. Nobody pushed me harder than my mother. She wasn’t happy when I didn’t put forth a full effort into basketball or school, which taught me to never be satisfied with mediocrity. She pushes me hard, but she is also my biggest supporter. During every game I could always find her in the stands because she is cheering the loudest for my team. Anytime I hit a 3, I could hear her in the stands. She’s also the one who is rebounding for me outside, despite it being 100 degrees outside, and I am forever grateful for that.
One page can simply not do justice in recognizing the impact my mom has and will continue to have on my life. She has instilled all the necessary values in me to not only be the best version of myself, but to also bring the best out of other people.
TUCSON CITIZEN STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
1957 D.L. Secrist Jr. Tucson High
1958 Donald Parsons Catalina
1959 Edward Brown Flowing Wells
1960 Terry DeJonghe Salpointe
1961 Robert Svob Catalina
1962 Ray Kosanke Tucson High
1963 Michael Aboud Tucson High
1964 Pat McAndrew Flowing Wells
1965 Charles Begley Sunnyside
1966 Eric Evett Catalina
1967 Ron Curry Tucson High
1968 Jeff Lovin Palo Verde
1969 Bruce Pawlowski Salpointe
1970 Dave Henry Sahuaro
1971 Tom Hagen Salpointe
1972 Bill Baechler Palo Verde
1973 Francisco Gomez Pueblo
1974 Richard Rucker Canyon del Oro
1975 Guillermo Robles Sunnyside
1976 Karen Christensen Rincon
1977 Michael Wing Rincon
1978 Craig Barker Amphitheater
1979 Ralph Gay Sunnyside
1980 Kristine Bush Sabino
1981 Lisa Kay Baker Sahuaro
1982 Vickie Patton Marana
1983 Martin Tetreault Sahuaro
1984 Molly Reiling Salpointe
1985 Timothy Roggeman Salpointe
1986 Jon Volpe Amphitheater
1987 Luis A. Padilla Pueblo
1988 Nicole Stern Catalina
1989 Robert Moen Flowing Wells
1990 Grace O’Neill Salpointe
1991 Angel Phillips Rincon
1992 Zenen Salazar Sunnyside
1993 Michelle Vielledent Sahuaro
1994 Julie Reitan Sahuaro and Brady Bennon Sabino
1995 Kelly Yablonski University High
1996 Joe Aguirre Palo Verde
1997 Andy Viner University High
1998 Scott Beck Canyon del Oro
1999 Glenn Schatz University High
2000 Nicole Voelkel University High
2001 Ai-ris Yonekura Catalina Foothills
2002 Philo Sanchez Sunnyside
2003 Tim Ashcraft Sahuaro
2004 Joe Kay Tucson High
2005 Tiffany Hosten Tucson High and Echo Fallon Catalina Foothills
2006 Michael Smith Sunnyside
2007 Tara Erdmann Flowing Wells
2008 James Eichberger Catalina
TUCSONCITIZEN.COM STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
2009 Sun Park Cienega
2010 Christine Clark Tucson High
2011 LeeAndra Smith Palo Verde
2012 Rachel Ward (Pusch Ridge) and Robin Landrith (Ironwood Ridge)
2013 Mally McGarity (Marana) and Asha Esprit (University High)
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2014 Amanda Nicholas Sahuaro
2015 Laura McGeary Flowing Wells and Courtney Brown Flowing Wells
2016 Cheyenne Pitts Mountain View
2017 Jacqueline Igulu Palo Verde
2018 Tyson Corner Marana
2019 Luc Rosenblatt Salpointe
FOLLOW @ANDYMORALES8 ON TWITTER!
Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
Recommended for you
