Only four years into her career as a track and field athlete, Ella Spaulding has cemented her place as one of the best heptathletes in the nation.
The 2023 Turlock High graduate, now competing at Fresno State, dominated at the Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships, never surrendering her opening day lead and winning a conference title with 5,551 points.
Spaulding, 20, became the youngest Bulldog to win gold in the heptathlon and the first to do so since Jestena Mattson in 2019.
The sophomore jumped into first place after the first day 3,335 points by taking first in the high jump with a 1.66m/5'5.25" mark, second in the 200-meter dash, third in the 100-meter hurdles and fourth in shot put. She opened the second and final day with a personal best leap of 5.79m to win the long jump. After the javelin, she momentarily dropped to second place, but turned on the motor in the 800-meter with a first place and personal best time of 2:15.35 to earn her 888 points and claim the conference crown.
Spaulding was one of three Bulldogs to become MW champions that weekend, the most in a season since 2018. The efforts helped the program’s women’s team finish third for the second straight year with 99 points, matching their best finish in program history. New Mexico claimed the women's MW title with 153 points and Colorado State was named the men's champion with 192.5 points.
Now ranked 24th in the nation, Spaulding has earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on June 11-14. Nevertheless, she will still be in College Station, Texas this weekend for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field West First Round, as an alternate for Fresno State’s 4x400 relay team.
Van Gaalen becomes All-American
Clark Van Gaalen has wrapped up his first collegiate golf season with the University of Oklahoma, and he has made it clear that he has potential to be a national force for years to come.
A true freshman out of Turlock High, Van Gaalen earned half a point for the sixth-ranked Sooners in match play on Tuesday in the national quarterfinal 3.5-1.5 to rival Oklahoma State at the NCAA Championships on the North Course at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad. He tied with Eric Lee when the match was called on the 16th hole. He took a lead on the first hole but couldn't build a cushion as Lee flipped the match and took a 2-up lead to the 13th. Van Gaalen won the 13th to even the battle.
Van Gaalen, ranked No. 88 in the nation, was OU's low finisher (T13) at La Costa and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team with a top 15 finish in stroke play. Van Gaalen (T13, -2) was in the hunt for the individual national title heading into Monday's final round but carded a 75 (+3) to fall slightly down the board to 13th. He was still one of just two freshmen to finish inside the top 15.
The week began strong for Van Gaalen, carding a 4-under after the first round. He collected five birdies and just one bogey through his first 10 holes, and parred his final eight to trail the individual lead by two strokes. He was the only Sooner under par on Sunday, improving to 5-under with an eagle on the par-4 15th before his 75-stroke finish.
Van Gaalen became just the seventh Sooner of the Ryan Hybl era (2009–present) to post a top-15 national finish. He added another accolade to his name Saturday by being named to the PING All-Central Region team.
Sotomayor shines as Diamond ‘Dogs win second straight MW Tournament
After transferring from Washington State in the offseason, Griffen Sotomayor has experienced near-immediate success with the Fresno State program.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs claimed their second straight Mountain West title with a 9-1 victory over San Jose State at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. And it was the junior out of Turlock High School that got the scoring started.
Sotomayor led off the first with a double to the left field corner and was sent home by a double by Bobby Blandford. It was his first of three hits on the afternoon.
The first baseman did damage with his second base knock, as well, tagging an RBI single in what would be the first of four runs scored in the fourth inning. Another RBI single in the fifth frame made it a 9-0 game.
Serving as the leadoff man throughout the tournament, Sotomayor collected hits and scored in each of the Bulldogs’ three games. He went 1-for-4 and walked in Thursday’s opener against the Spartans, scoring each time he reached. In Friday’s 14-inning marathon with Nevada, the 2022 THS graduate went 3-for-8 while again coming across to score twice.
This season, Sotomayor is hitting .333 with 66 hits, seven home runs, 40 RBIs and 40 runs scored over 50 games.
By clinching the conference title, the Bulldogs were one of 30 automatic bids to the NCAA Baseball Championship, which consists of 64 total programs. They’ll now head to the Los Angeles NCAA Regional, hosted by No. 15 UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium, the NCAA announced on Monday morning, entering as the four seed and will challenge the top-seeded Bruins on Friday at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs (31-27, 18-12 MW) are making their second-straight regional appearance under Head Coach Ryan Overland and 37th in program history.
Roy-Williams sisters make their mark
The Modesto Junior College women's track and field team made school history on May 17, claiming their first-ever California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) State Championship with a dominant performance in San Mateo, led by the efforts of freshman Shaylan Roy-Williams, an alumna of Turlock High School.
Roy-Williams earned All-American honors in four events. She captured state titles in the 100-meter (11.47) and 200-meter (24.01) dashes, and long jump (19' 7"), and anchored the 4x100 relay team with a time of 48.19. She was named the State Track Athlete of the Meet for her efforts.
The Pirates tallied an impressive 91.50 points—16 ahead of runner-up Riverside City College. The 4x400 relay team — which featured Roy-Williams teaming up with fellow 2024 Bulldog graduate Ava Torres — grabbed fifth place in 3:58.02 to close out the scoring.
Down south in Long Beach, older sister Cadence, a 2021 alumna of THS now competing for Cal Poly, also found herself on a podium following the Big West Championships.
Roy-Williams secured second in the women’s long jump with a career best leap of 19 feet, 11 inches to earn All-Big West honors for the first time. The mark moved her up to No. 4 in program history. She also ran the 10th fastest 100-meter time in school history at the meet, placing ninth in the final at 11.87 seconds.
As a team, the Lady Mustangs placed second with 149 team points, just 1.5 shy of defending their Big West crown.
Garcia shatters Chico State record
The Chico State men's track and field team wrapped up its season Saturday at Colorado State Pueblo's ThunderBowl with two strong performances at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships from 2022 Pitman High graduate Damian Garcia, who finished ninth in both the 1,500-meter race and as a member of the 4x400 relay team.
Garcia opened his 1,500 race in ninth position and surged into fourth by the 700-meter mark. However, the junior slipped back in the latter stages before battling to the line, crossing in 3:42.19.
Two weeks ago on May 11, Garcia broke the school record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:39.47. It was also the third fastest time in the nation at the D-2 level this year and the eighth-quickest mark in the division’s history, which further solidified his chances to qualify for nationals.
At the same meet, the Franson Last Chance Meet hosted by Azusa Pacific, Garcia also clocked a personal-best 1:50.09 in the 800 meters—ranking him eighth all-time on the program list to cement him as the California Collegiate Athletic Association Runner of the Meet.
Zayehmoureh helps MJC softball advance to state tourney
The Modesto Junior College softball program just achieved one of their best seasons in history, and in the middle of all the action was a face familiar to those on the Pitman High School campus.
Kayleen “KK” Zayehmoureh, a 2022 graduate of the Pride, was a force for the Pirates, who went 28-15-1 this season — program’s most wins in at least a decade — and appeared in the 3C2A State Championship tournament.
Zayehmoureh played in all 44 games this season for the Pirates, ranking in the top five on the team in batting average at .351 (46-for-131), on-base percentage (.382), slugging (.473), extra-base hits (11), home runs (2) and RBIs (28).
The Pirates won the Big 8 conference for the very first time with a 15-6 record. To open the postseason, they won two of three games against San Joaquin Delta, outscoring the Mustangs 22-11. They proceeded to sweep Monterey Peninsula in the Super Regional with 6-2 and 8-1 wins. Their dream season came to a close in the state tournament with 8-6 and 3-1 losses to Orange Coast and Palomar, respectively.
Chavez caps off dominant season
UC Merced men’s outdoor track distance runner Jonathan Chavez finished his season with a ninth-place finish in the 1500m run at the NAIA Track & Field National Championships in Marion, Ind. on May 23. His time of 3:50.88 was his fastest time in his four career national championship races (prelims/finals) and his second fastest time in any meet this year.
Chavez, a 2020 graduate of Hilmar High, was one place short of earning All-American honors, but was the top finisher among West Coast runners.
In the prelims the day before, Chavez punched his ticket to the 1500m final by placing sixth in the field, crossing the finish line in 3:58.35.
Chavez currently holds the eighth fastest 1500m time in the country with a 3:48.90 that he set at Bryan Clay Invitational on April 19. A week later, he won the 1500m Cal Pac title for the third consecutive season. The 4x800m relay team he is a part of won the Cal Pac title and shattered the program-record in 7:36.82 on his way to being named the Cal Pac Track Male Athlete of the Year.
