Edmiston, Chilson Are Heritage's Athletes of the Month

Heritage High School's May honorees for the Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Month award represent the type of solid individual accomplishment and solid leadership that made the Patriots' spring athletic season a successful one.

Nichole Chilson, junior softball player, and senior tennis player Matt Edmiston were the athletes selected by the Patriot coaching staffs. Each received a certificate of achievement and an iTunes gift card.

"We had a new coach this year, so I didn't know how we'd be," said Chilson, who plays second base for the Patriots. "But pretty much everybody returned and we had a good season."

Heritage beat out rival Paloma Valley by one game to win the Sunbelt League title -- a year after Paloma Valley did the same thing to the Patriots. Heritage advanced to the second round of the CIF-SS playoffs, finishing with a 20-9 overall record.

As the No. 3 batter in the lineup, the left-handed hitting Chilson batted .500 on the season, winning the team's Silver Slugger Award.

"It's my passion," said Chilson, who has played softball since her father encouraged her to join the Menifee youth program. "It clears my mind. If things are going on at school or somewhere else, softball helps me relieve the stress."

Although she has one year left with the Patriots -- her fourth year with the varsity -- Chilson has already accepted a scholarship offer from Ball State University, where she will continue her softball career.

Edmiston finished his fourth season with the tennis team with a successful season as the Patriots' No. 2 singles player. He helped the Patriots record an 8-2 record in Sunbelt League play.

Before he heads to UC Santa Barbara to play tennis and compete on the rowing team, Edmiston will spend the summer working on his tennis game with the Patriots' No. 1 singles player, Rob Drabik.

"We'll go over to Wheatfield Park to hit and practice," he said.

Edmiston says his strengths as a player are his speed and his serve, among other things.

"One of my strengths is my motivation to get every ball back over the net," he said. "My backhand helps me a lot with that."

Edmiston plans to study math and economics in college.