Ryly Jane Hambleton: Prep pair balanced school, athletics

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Kevin Ducey is well aware that it’s a bonus to have a college roommate who can cook.

Ducey and Augusto Alonso will live in a dormitory at the University of Southern California this fall, but he knows they could end up in an apartment, and that’s when Alonso’s cooking knowledge will really pay off.

The two are headed to USC after earning full-ride academic scholarships, largely the result of perfect 36 scores on the ACT.

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Alonso, who answers to the nickname “Goose,” is ranked No. 1 in his senior class of 260 students at Creighton Prep. Ducey, who also has a 4.0 grade-point average, is 11th.

And both managed those impressive academic accomplishments while competing in football and track. They are named to the Lincoln Journal Star Academic All-State teams, along with nearly 3,800 other Nebraska high school student-athletes.

Alonso said his favorite food to cook is paella, a Spanish rice dish.

“It’s a hobby of mine. Paella takes awhile, but it’s fun. I make a lot of rice dishes,” he said. “I don’t cook as often anymore, with all the sports and getting home late.”

He got his start in the kitchen 10 years ago after his father, Anselmo, was killed in an automobile accident. When his mother, Annabel, entered her residency in radiology, Alonso helped by cooking some of the meals for the family.

Both Alonso and Ducey say they are headed to medical school.

“I’m going to be a bio-medical engineer major. That’s biology, physics and mathematics, with a mechanical emphasis,” Alonso said. “You work with prosthetics and things in the body you can engineer. I want to go to medical school and that seems like a good background.

“The medical thing was pretty heavily emphasized because it was always around. Mom said the best part is the rotations is when you figure out what you like.”

His father was the chief of cardiothoracic surgery and an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“Goose speaks Spanish at home. His mother was from Costa Rica and his father was from Puerto Rico,” said Lyn Groff, Creighton Prep track coach and assistant football coach. “I have Goose in class and he sits and smiles and gives all the right answers.”

Groff said coaching Alonso and Ducey has been a pleasure.

“They treat me nicely and act like I’m intelligent. It’s very easy to coach when kids understand technique,” he said. “Goose started for three years in football  and made the calls on the field for our defense last year.

“I remember in practice I was telling him what he needed to do and after I told him quite a bit, he rattled off what I’d said. Only he simplified it and instead of 10 different things, he’d made it three things to remember and he was right.”

Both Alonso and Ducey said a perfect score on the ACT involved some luck.

“You have to learn to manage yourself. It’s all hard work, but the perfect score is also a bit of luck,” Ducey said. “When I got my perfect score, I had just finished the school year and my hardest classes. It corresponded because I’d just taken the AP (advanced placement) tests on those subjects.”

Alonso also provided some practical advice for others taking college entrance exams.

“Getting a good night’s sleep is probably the most important. You can study for weeks before and review things,” he said. “But the night before, you’re not going to cram anything. Just relax and get a good night’s sleep.”

Ducey said the combination of academics and athletics worked well for him.

“It does mesh pretty well. You learn to manage your time and find a daily schedule,” he said. “It’s not like you get in a rut, but you learn when it’s time to study, when it’s time to go to practice and when you can relax.

“It’s about finding that balance that will help you the most.”

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.