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."
By now, the volleyball teams have logged enough matches to have a good understanding of where they stand. Now, they just want to move forward. The girls of the Pitman High, Turlock High, Turlock Christian High, Denair High and Hilmar High volleyball teams all have their motivations to keep going. They have played in tournaments and competed against numerous nonconference foes, while making adjustments here and there before facing their respective league ...
MODESTO - On opening night a few weeks ago, the Hilmar High football team committed a hard-to-forget blunder. Three weeks later, the Yellowjackets redeemed themselves at the Johansen High football stadium, at least in the field of giant killers. In facing their second Division I team in three weeks and their third consecutive upper-division team, they made a statement after a convincing 32-18 win over Enochs High, which has the sixth largest ...
Perhaps the only major problems the Pitman High football team experienced in Thursday night's game against Gregori High were the warm weather and the fact that the Pride weren't playing on a Friday night, a time of the week high school players are groomed for. Besides those problems, the Pride were unstoppable, so unstoppable that officials green-lighted a running clock in the second quarter to keep the scoreboard at Downey High's Chuck Hughes ...
The truth is, Turlock High is a considerable favorite to finish atop the Central California Conference girls tennis standings, thanks to the Bulldogs having won the past four titles and owning a 34-0 league record in the three previous seasons. Pitman, the crosstown rival, knows this. "Everyone's going to be chasing Turlock," Pitman coach Jeff Hayes predicted. His predication is a safe one, even if Turlock didn't return this season with its ...
Especially during the hot afternoons, being a water polo player seems like it's the life. While everyone else is sweating underneath their clothes during the final days of summer, water polo players are in the pool, swimming in nice cool water - sometimes for a long period of time. But don't think it's all fun and games. They're working and, yes, sweating in the water. Water polo players from Pitman High and Turlock High ...
In their late-game rally, the Turlock Christian Eagles scored two touchdowns in the final two quarters against Big Valley Christian High in last Friday's nonconference meeting in Modesto. But it was too late, since the Lions had already built a commanding lead en route to a 33-14 victory. The Eagles hope to continue last week's rally this Friday night, when they take on Elliot Christian High at Hilmar High at 7:30 p.m. Elliot ...
From the very start, the Pitman Pride were in firm control of a blowout, 40-7 win over Chavez High of Stockton Friday night. It all started on the opening kickoff, sailing deep off the foot of Pride senior quarterback – and kicker – A.J. Derr into the waiting arms of a Titan receiver. The Pride swarmed the Titan, knocked the ball loose, and Pitman junior linebacker Nick Renteria came up with the ball. ...
A heroic 28-yard heave from sophomore quarterback Sean Downs to senior tight end Tyler Cook gave Turlock High's varsity football team a glimmer of hope in the third quarter, but Oakdale extinguished it with suffocating defense during a 33-7 Mustang victory at The Corral on Friday. Oakdale led just 12-0 at the half after two field goals and a short touchdown pass, but capitalized on turnovers to take a 26-0 lead with over ...
Golf is one of those sports that looks effortless. Actually, it might be the most effortless-looking sport in the world, seeing that golfers don't sweat as much as, say, basketball and football players. Like, the other afternoon: Turlock High girls golfer Kelsie Valenzuela was casually working on her putting at the Turlock Golf and Country Club. But don't be misled. It takes a tremendous amount of quiet determination and practice to be successful ...
It's hard to dismiss Hilmar High's 30-27 loss to Beyer High last Friday night as just another game, mostly because of the finish. Beyer, which was down 27-14 entering the fourth quarter, made a furious 16-0 rally that was capped off by Patriots kicker Zachary Bradley, who nailed a 25-yard field goal as time expired. The Yellowjackets are moving on and forgetting about that heartbreaker. Hilmar, a small school with an enrollment ...
On Friday night, Kevin Kramer made a special appearance at Joe Debely Stadium. Like last year, he wore No.7. Like last year, he ran the ball with aggressiveness - and even finished with two rushing touchdowns. Like last year, he threw the ball quite well. Like last year, he led his Bulldogs to a season-opening win over Downey High - this time, it was a 12-7 triumph in front of ...
The Pitman Pride football team kicked off the 2011 season with a comeback win Friday night, defeating the Modesto High Panthers 33-20. The Pride trailed the Panthers 20-6 in the second quarter, but tied the game 20-20 by halftime. Pitman took the lead on a 76 yard touchdown run by halfback Andres Mendez. Also putting in a good performance for the Pride was fullback Kody Brackett, who rushed nine times for 134 yards ...
Despite all the miles and workouts they demanded from their runners during the first week of fall practice, the cross country coaches at Pitman High and Turlock High had a problem. It was, essentially, a good kind of problem to have. They had too many runners. So the coaches were forced to make cuts, just to be able to keep track of everyone. First, they made the workouts hard enough so the runners ...
Before AJ Derr was born, his soon-to-be parents took a trip to the Atwater High football field with his future grandma. At the time, Jon Derr was working at the school as a teacher and football coach, so he had access to the press box. While grandma Sue, and his mother, Mindee, were on the field, his father announced through the loud speakers various arrangements of initials, like DJ, RJ ...
2010 record: 3-2 CCC, 7-4 overall