Two Woodbridge athletes are recipients of inaugural scholarship in honor of K.J. Bentley

Woodbridge High School’s athletic boosters have announced two recipients of a scholarship honoring the late Kent “K.J.” Bentley. 

Seniors Brooke ten Bosch and Adam Anaim – pictured to the right, along with K.J.'s wife, Mary Bentley – were selected to receive the awards after it was determined that they best exemplifed the spirit and integrity of the beloved wrestling coach, both in the classroom and in their respective sports. Each will each receive $2,550 for college. Brooke, who excelled in soccer, cross country and track for the Warriors, will attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall. “Every coach dreams of a player like Brooke on his or her team,” said Woodbridge soccer coach Tim Woodcock, “and lucky for us, that dream came true." Adam, who was captain of the wresting team, took on a leadership role in Bentley’s absence. He plans to attend UC Riverside next year. "Adam was personally involved with every member of the team, encouraging everyone to improve and to work hard,” says teammate Khoa Nguyen. “He continued to push the team's motto to ‘Leave it all out on the mat.’” Both student-athletes were praised for reflecting the character of the scholarship’s namesake, K.J. Bentley, who joined the Woodbridge staff as an English teacher and wrestling coach in 1998. Bentley, who also spent two years at Irvine High School, tragically passed away in September at the age of 46. The inaugural awards were funded with proceeds from the Southern California Half Marathon & 5K, which was presented by Kaiser Permanente in January. The race annually supports athletics programs at Woodbridge, as well as other local charities.