Every time he's inside his school's wrestling room, Turlock High senior Fabian Garcia will look at the blue banner placed high on one of the walls. All the names of the program's past state medalists share a spot on the sign in yellow letters, with the champions distinguished in white.
At the start of the wrestling season, Denair High coach Don Helnore hoped to have champions at the Southern League Tournament, especially because the Coyotes were scheduled to host the postseason event. He had a couple wrestlers in mind who could possibly achieve the honor.
Coach Dave Exline and his Hilmar High wrestling team had a simple plan: Get as many wrestlers qualified as possible.
ATWATER - This year's Central California Conference wrestling championships had a festive vibe. Some wrestlers dyed their hair blonde to perhaps highlight team camaraderie, as well as the start of the postseason. Another wrestler was spotted wearing pink socks.
In the conference room at Turlock High's main office, athletic director Anthony Belew had to speak his mind to Josue Barajas, who signed his national letter of intent to play for Cal State Stanislaus men's soccer on Friday morning.
Before her team even began league play, Turlock High girls basketball coach Salinda Mabie said the Bulldogs' undefeated streak in the Central California Conference was in jeopardy. It was a bold statement, but also a logical one.
At last weekend's Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament for girls wrestling, several of the coaches and wrestlers at the event stopped and watched Turlock High junior Alexia Moreno in action. It's unusual for anyone to get this kind of superstar treatment, but people in the high school wrestling community seem to think she's different.
Held at Fitzpatrick Arena on the Cal State Stanislaus campus, the annual Denair-Turlock Christian basketball rivalry and homecoming games attracted hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of fans on Friday night. Those in attendance got to see the Turlock Christian girls team, thanks to a game-high 18 points from Kaisa Spycher and 38-6 halftime lead, beat the Denair girls 57-15. On the boys side, Clayton McDonald posted a rare triple-double ...
Despite going on respective winning streaks, a number of high school basketball teams in the Turlock area slipped down a spot or two in this week's Sac-Joaquin Section power ratings that determine playoff positions for the top 16 teams in each division, with the top eight to host the first round.
While the nation's best high school football players made a spectacle of their signings with their respective colleges in front of TV cameras, news reporters and an ESPN audience, one Denair High athlete did it quietly.
In front of thousands of fans in one of the city's most anticipated boys basketball games, Anthony Hubbard became a legend, as well as a baseball prospect. In a can't-believe-he-did-that moment, the Turlock High senior guard nailed a full-court shot to end the third quarter.
When the Turlock High girls gym is packed with screaming fans, the place can feel like a coliseum with the bleachers rising well above the floor. So just imagine being one of the wrestlers in Wednesday night's crosstown rivalry dual matchup between Pitman High and Turlock High, with both teams fighting for a share of the Central California Conference title.
Simply, the shots weren't falling. Some of them were high-percentage shots, the kind that the Turlock High girls basketball players see during warm-up drills. So coach Salinda Mabie supplied a simple message for her Bulldogs.
It wasn't pretty, Pitman High wrestler Emilio Saavedra would later say about his path to another tournament title.
At best, Turlock High coach Doug Cornfoot thought his boys basketball team could be a No. 12 or 13 seed in the playoffs. That's because, he said, "there are so many good teams in Division I this year."
After every home game, the Pitman High football team walk toward the west end of Debley Stadium, stand on the track and wave their helmets and their hands to the home crowd. On Friday night, they barely had enough strength for the post-game activity. Their helmets were barely above their heads, while the crowd roared back, but the Pride were crushed. In one of the most exciting games in the program's short history, ...
Frank Marques said he is honored to be part of the tradition of Hilmar Yellowjackets football (7-1, 4-0 TVL) as the team's head coach during Hilmar High School's centennial celebration and homecoming. The 1981 graduate and nine-year head coach of the Yellowjackets had plenty to be proud of Friday night, both on and off the field. On the field, the Yellowjackets stung the Riverbank Bruins 47-10. The ancient Hilmar High touchdown bell, ...
It wasn't difficult to predict this outcome. The Turlock High girls tennis team added another Central California Conference title to the program's championship banner with another undefeated season. In netting seven of their nine matches over crosstown rival Pitman High on a warm Thursday afternoon, the Bulldogs finished the regular season at 10-0. Turlock has won the past five league titles while compiling a 44-0 record in the last four seasons, according ...
STEVINSON - By having all five scorers shoot 50 or under, including a freshman who was playing at Stevinson Ranch Golf Club for the first time, the Turlock High girls golf team surpassed crosstown rival Pitman High in the Central California Conference finale by 55 strokes (238-293) to complete a 10-0 record on Thursday afternoon. "It was a good finish for our regular season of play," Turlock coach Mary Krupka said. One ...
They needed this win. After enduring an uncharacteristic stretch of two ties and a loss in the four previous games, the Turlock High boys soccer players redeemed themselves in Tuesday night's matchup with crosstown rival Pitman High en route to a 4-0 win in Central California Conference action. Four different players scored at Debely Stadium in front of hundreds of fans, as three of goals came in the second half. The victory ...
Both teams are undefeated. Both teams want the league title. So why is one of the teams, Pitman High, approaching Friday night's mega showdown with state-ranked and defending league champion Buhach Colony High at Debely Stadium as just another game? Are coach Brandon Harris and his Pride downplaying one of the most anticipated meetings in the Sac-Joaquin Section this year or are they really looking at this matchup like any other? <p ...
Turlock High football coach James Peterson has said it before: There are no weak teams in the Central California Conference. The good news is, the Bulldogs faced the league's top team last Friday night, but that doesn't mean their schedule gets any easier. After battling defending league champion and state-ranked Buhach Colony High in a closer-than-it-looks 33-14 loss, Turlock now prepares for the always tough Merced High Bears, who are coming off a ...
SALIDA - Right before the game, a Hilmar High football player was overheard yelling four very powerful words to his teammates.
RIPON - Despite an overwhelming 14-7 shot advantage, the Hilmar High Yellowjackets just couldn't pull off another win over the Ripon High Indians on Thursday. Ripon scored early and then held on for a 2-1 win at the Ripon Elementary field. Ripon High's third-year varsity junior Arik Anaya scored the game's first goal after missing the team's first 17 contests with an MCL tear and had bandages on his right knee Thursday as ...
The Pitman volleyball team avenged its only league loss of the season on Thursday night, when the Pride, led by Ashley Solis' 26 kills, fought through a long match and an exciting fifth and final set to beat Buhach Colony High, 25-8, 13-25, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14, in Atwater. The win gave the Pride an 8-3 overall record and 6-1 in CCC with eight matches remaining, including one more against Buhach Colony (5-6, 3-4 ...
At this point in the season, Turlock High's Mary Krupka knows the little things can make the biggest impact. "A tad off with your swing," the veteran girls golf coach said, "can equate to a few more strokes added to your score each time it happens." However, her Bulldogs seem to be doing everything right. On Tuesday afternoon at the Merced Golf & Country Club, they once again outplayed Golden Valley ...
Turlock High boys water polo coach Steve Feaver sensed that his players were nervous about Tuesday night's matchup with Pitman High, hours before it began. When the highly anticipated meeting between the Central California Conference's last two undefeated teams commenced, Pitman stormed out to a two-goal lead. That didn't concern the veteran coach. "We've been behind before," Feaver noted. "We weren't playing at our best yet." In fact, the Bulldogs - ...
The Turlock High girls water polo team aimed to make a statement against Pitman High, and that was to treat its crosstown rival just like any other team - an approach that helped erase all the special circumstances surrounding Tuesday night's match at the Pitman High pool. And how did the Bulldogs do that? They scored the game's first eight goals en route to a convincing 12-5 rout in front of hundreds ...
Buhach Colony High football has been annihilating teams all season. In the Thunder's five wins, three of the teams couldn't score more than one touchdown, two were blown out by at least 53 points and only one opponent scored in double-digits. Of course, the Thunder would like to keep this sort of dominance rolling. But on Friday at 7:30 p.m., they're facing one of their tougher challenges: Turlock High. The Bulldogs, 4-1 ...
In the game of football, it's difficult to give every player time on the field. On Friday night, Turlock High destroyed that theory. By the second half, coach James Peterson inserted his second-string players and the first-team unit got an early mental advantage on next week's opponent. Of course, Turlock had to work to get to that point. It just didn't take that long for the Bulldogs to gain command of ...