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Big Pine comes up big in High School Heisman

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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The Southland would have been shut out among the list of 20 California state finalists for the Wendy’s High School Heisman were it not for Rusty Tillemans of Big Pine.

Tillemans is the only local representative up for the award, which recognizes both athletic and academic achievements among male and female students.

One male and one female will be selected as state winners on Saturday and will go on to compete for the national title. National finalists will be featured during a televised ceremony on ESPN2 and will receive a gold medal and $2,000 for their high schools.

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One male and one female national winner will receive a Wendy’s High School Heisman trophy and $10,000 for their high schools. They will also be recognized during the collegiate Heisman Trophy broadcast on Dec. 12 on ESPN.

--Ben Bolch

Varsity Times Insider
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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