Battle of North and South — in the pool

Ninety-seven high school water polo players got one last chance to find victory in the pool on Saturday, at a Central California Conference versus Modesto Metro Conference showdown, held at Turlock High's Steve Feaver Aquatic Center. Approximately 350 spectators were in attendance to watch senior CCC and MMC players showcase their talent in the four game event. "We hope to make this an ongoing tradition to honor our seniors and bring the ...

Pride ready to compete for top spot

Pitman High's wrestling team officially began practice on the first week of November. After winning the Central California Conference three years ago, the Pride are striving for that same success and head coach Adam Vasconcellos feels that this may be their year. The Pride return five key wrestlers this year -all of whom participated in the masters last season-in a varsity squad led by Hayden Mattox, Lorenzo Lewis, Nick Valadez, Logan Wolfley and ...

Turlock Express pick up first loss of season

Turlock's professional indoor soccer team, the Express, picked up their first loss of the season on Friday after hosting four-time defending champion San Diego Sockers. The Express were up in the first half 2-1 but a critical red card in the second quarter against one of the team's top players, Adrian Gutierrez, proved costly and the Express were kept on defense for the majority of the second half and fell in a 3-6 ...

Smooth start for women’s squad

In his second year as head coach for the CSU Stanislaus women's basketball team, Wayman Strickland has already led his team to as many wins as they posted all of last season in only the first two games. "The main difference is last year, for better or worse, I got the job right when we started, and the program was in a bit of disarray," Strickland said. This year, Coach Strickland saw ...

A new outlook for a rebuilt team

The California State University, Stanislaus men's basketball team struggled last year at times, falling in close games, but this year head coach Larry Reynolds and company look to turn things around with a new team and a new year. The Warriors barely missed out on the CCAA conference tournament when they finished tied for ninth place with a 7-15 conference record (10-16 overall). They missed the playoffs for the first time after making ...

Hilmar can’t come away with win

Hilmar High's volleyball team was one point away - twice - from claiming its first ever section title on Thursday in the Division-IV CIF Sac Joaquin Section title game at UC Davis. After winning the first two games against the number one seed Sonora High, then losing the next two, the Yellowjackets found themselves neck and neck in the final game but were unable to come out victorious as they faltered in five, ...

Polo squads fight for pool supremacy

It has been over six years since the last water polo all-star game took place between the Central California Conference and Modesto Metro Conference, but on Saturday it is the return of the senior All-Star Water Polo clash at Turlock High. After a group of parents involved in the Turlock booster club decided to resuscitate and also host the event, they really decided to look into it - and it paid off. <p ...

Hilmar volleyball history: 'Jackets move onto Div IV finals

For the first time in school history, Hilmar High's volleyball team will move on to the sectional finals after hosting an extremely talented Bear River High team that gave the Yellowjackets all they could handle, taking the match into five sets. It wasn't easy for the 'Jackets as they lacked that spark by the third game down, 2-1, but coach Harris knew exactly what to say as she mentioned to her girls that ...

Warrior women's successful season ends in second round of NCAA tourney

One minor mistake became the determining factor in the California State University, Stanislaus women's soccer team's great season, as they fell to Cal State San Bernardino in the second round of the NCAA Championship tournament. The number one seeded Warriors hosted the number four Coyotes on Saturday in what resulted in an overtime 0-1 upset to bring an end to Stanislaus' most lucrative season. "This is a tough loss because I'm ...

Local XC runners battle it out at Sections

Three local runners competed at the cross country Sections meet at Willow Hill Reservoir in Folsom on Saturday, with Pitman's Isaac Gonzalez bringing home the best time out of the three at 17:47, earning 45th place in Division-II. "Isaac has a work ethic that took him as far as it did. He competed against very strong runners at Sections and definitely held his own," said Pitman head coach Sara Smith. In Division ...

Ajax United U-10 girls end year in second place

The Ajax United U-10 girls soccer team finished off an amazing season with a 2nd place finish in the Nor-Cal State Cup after falling to the second ranked squad in the state-Mountain View Los Altos - in a 1-0 thriller. "I would say overall we played good soccer. We have a smart team and depth; it's not like we had a few good players, no, they are all good," Ajax head coach Tim ...

Hilmar football pulls off win after second half surge

Hilmar High's undefeated football season has been a product of complimentary play from its offense and defense, but on Friday, in the first round of the Division IV CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, it was the Yellowjacket defense that carried the team past Liberty Ranch High and onto the second round. Hilmar's offense was uncharacteristic in the first half, as they were held to only 70 yards while quarterback Jonathan O'Brien was under constant ...

Hilmar volleyball one win away from championships

Hilmar High's volleyball squad left no doubt on anybody's mind as to their abilities on Thursday, as the Yellowjackets were able to capture a win in the second round of the CIF SJS Division-IV playoffs over last year's section champs, Ripon Christian. The host Yellowjackets came out firing on all cylinders as they won the first set with ease. But the visiting Knights were not going down without a fight, winning the second ...

T.C. volleyball cruise into semi-finals

In just his second year as Turlock Christian's volleyball head coach, Ken Wynne has led his team to two consecutive semi-final matches in a row, and this year hopes to make it back-to-back section titles. With home field advantage throughout the playoffs, T.C. is now one game away from reaching the Division-IV CIF Sac-Joaquin Sections championship game for the second year in a row. This happened after dominating New Life Christian at home ...

Delhi, Hilmar soccer squads go down in playoff games

The Delhi soccer team, down two players, found themselves in the playoffs for the sixth straight year, this time in the semi-final game of the CIF SJS Division-V championships at Riverbank, which resulted in a thrilling overtime oust, 3-2. "I am proud of my kids," Delhi head coach Armando Salazar said. "At the beginning I did not feel we would end up very far due to losing many key players, but the kids ...

Hilmar boys’ look to rebound after tough year

It was a bit of downward spiral year last season for the Hilmar High boys' basketball team as they struggled with inexperience along with competing in one of the tougher leagues in the Trans Valley League. As a young team with little basketball experience, the Yellowjackets were only able to post an 8-19 overall record along with a tie for last place in the TVL (1-11). "Our best player halfway through the ...

Young squad ready to bounce back

To start things off this year, the Hilmar High girls' basketball team are 2-0 after posting an 18-9 overall stint along with a 5-7 Trans Valley League outing last season. The lady 'Jackets managed to capture a playoff berth and defeated Mariposa, 61-59 in the first round, however, stumbled across a top tier team number one seeded Bear River, who handled them 63-31. "I thought last year we played well overall losing ...

The Hawks and Coyotes take their young talent to the mat

Delhi and Denair High have young up and coming wrestling teams but it does not mean that they lack talent, because they don't. In fact, both teams come into the new season looking at the future in the Southern Athletic League and hope to make a run for a section title, but Denair who has no seniors on the roster knows it will not be an easy task. Denair went up drastically ...

Exciting season ahead for SAL girls’ basketball

With the season underway for the varsity girls' basketball Southern Athletic League, we look at Denair, Delhi and Turlock Christian High's squads for the 2013-14 campaign with a new season, different team, and a disparate perspective. TC's squad has been a force in the SAL the last three years posting up a whopping 40-2 record, but this year after losing four key seniors, including star Halie Bergman, things appear to be in the ...

Hilmar volleyball falls in state semi finals

It was the most successful season a Hilmar High volleyball team has ever had. Unfortunately, the Yellowjackets' historic run came to an end on Saturday in the second round of the CIF Division-IV state championship tournament. The 'Jackets were off their rhythm from the start and it wasn't until the third game that they began to get in any groove, but by then it was too little too late as they faltered to ...

Winter playland: Prime slopes just hours away

Hilmar volleyball upsets Justin Siena

Hilmar High's volleyball team is not done, yet. After faltering to Sonora High in the section finale, the Yellowjackets traveled in the first round of the CIF State Division IV volleyball championships only to upset Section champs Justin Siena, in straight sets. Down by eight points in the first game, Hilmar's head coach Patti Harris called a crucial timeout that proved to be the difference maker, because the 'Jackets did not let down ...