Mt. SAC Pair Win '23 Don MacKenzie Scholarships
Mt. San Antonio men's swimmer Isaiah Huerta and Mounties women's cross country/track and field champion runner Hannah Brown are the 2023 recipients of the annual South Coast Conference Don MacKenzie Scholarships. The SCC awarded the two student-athletes $1,000 each.
The MacKenzie Scholarships annually go to student-athletes who exhibit strong academics and high performance on the field of play. In several cases, the student-athletes chosen are ones who also have overcome obstacles and involve themselves in community service. The awards honor the memory of MacKenzie, the long-time SCC commissioner from 1979 until his passing in 2004.
Huerta battled through a medical condition called Blebs and was in and out of the hospital throughout his sophomore year with multiple collapsed lungs. Blebs are small blisters that develop in the lungs. When they pop, the lung collapses, constricting the air to breathe normally.
Despite these obstacles, he graduated this past spring semester with a 3.94 GPA and majored in business administration. In the pool, Huerta helped Mt. SAC win the SCC '23 team championship and was part of four relay title swims as well as placing second in the 100-yard butterfly and third in the 100 freestyle. Huerta then assisted the Mounties in earning third place at the 3C2A State Championships.
As a freshman, Huerta won the grueling 1,650 freestyle gold medal at the conference championships. He earned an impressive 12 All-American awards in his two seasons under head coach Marc Ruh.
"It has been a very scary and frustrating year dealing with my condition, but to have overcome so much, I feel blessed to have been able to maintain the focus and tenacity needed to have the success I did this year in the classroom and the pool," said Huerta.
Brown, a model 4.0 student, finished a remarkable 2-year run at Mt. SAC that resulted in her helping the Mounties win four state team championships, two each in cross country and track and field.
Her individual accomplishments include winning the SCC 2022 cross country finals, a third place finish at the 3C2A State Meet. She broke 17 minutes in 5K at the Mt. SAC Relays. As a freshman, she was the top Mt. SAC runner (conference runner-up) as the team set a SCC record for lowest score of 20 team points. In track and field, she placed third at the '23 state meet in the 10,000 meters and fourth in the 5,000 event. She also recorded the second fastest Mt. SAC time ever in the 1,500 meters.
Brown worked at Panera, PetSmart, and also did pet sitting on the side to help cover her tuition and supplies while balancing her studies and sports participation. She volunteered at numerous Mt. SAC-hosted events in assisting elementary school children at camps.
Brown is pursuing a degree in sports management as she continues her racing career at Milligan University (Tennessee). She was coached at Mt. SAC by Giovanni Lanaro, Jenna Bird and distance coach Daniel Ozan as well as the late Ron Kamaka.