Latest news with #BuchananHigh
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
CA track meet spotlight should have been on competition, not shaming
Finally, the charade of President Donald Trump and other politicians pretending to care about girls' sports is over with Saturday night's closing of the 2025 California Interscholastic Federation Track & Field Championships at Buchanan High's Veterans Stadium. Well, I hope it's over. I have covered the state track meet off and on since 1979 when I traveled to Berkeley to cover the event for The Bakersfield Californian. I don't recall any politician showing up and cheering for the female competitors. I was there last year, and I'm sure Fresno County Supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Nathan Magsig didn't attend a press conference to promote the girls taking part in 17 track and field finals. This year's edition of a sporting event that draws more than 1,500 boys and girls would likely have come and gone with little notice if not for Trump threatening on Tuesday to withhold federal funds for California if the state track meet included a transitioned girl from Riverside County. 'In the meantime I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals,' the president posted on Truth Social. 'This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' What is ridiculous is that the transitioned girl has followed the rules, which have allowed transitioned girls to compete at the high school level since 2013. The CIF did amend its rules for a pilot program to allow any biological girl that was displaced by a trans girl to compete at the state meet. The CIF also released a statement on Wednesday: 'A biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event.' The pilot program sounds a bit confusing, but blame it on the politicos who should get a gold medal for spotting a microphone and television camera. Saturday, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Steve Hilton spoke at a press conference outside Veterans Stadium where he blasted the state policy that allows trans girls to compete. All the noise – and the extra dose of media attention – is misguided. Last year, finding a place at the media table was no problem. Saturday, the area was inundated by media drawn not so much by the sport of track and field, but by a 16-year-old performer who drew the wrath of Trump. Authentic track and field supporters would show up to cheer for Giselle Fernández of Riverbank High in the 1,600-meter race. Or Khaliq Muhammad of Pittsburg High in the pole vault. Or the Herbst twins (Morgan and Makenna) from Carlsbad. Only those stuck in the Middle Ages would dare root against the trans athlete. The real attention should have been on the competitors named above and others, who transform the California state meet into the best in the nation. Fernández and Riverbank have been a perfect match for the state finals. The senior didn't match her brother Germán's 2008 state double in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters that people still talk about, but Giselle proved she deserves a shot at the title by improving her personal mark in the 1,600 by more than 10 seconds. She placed sixth Saturday in 4:43.8. Does having her brother, who still holds the state record in the 1,600 with a 4:00.9 time, help? Of course, said Giselle, who was a year old when her brother won his state titles. 'My brother has connected with many people that are now professionally running, and that's given me benefits,' said Giselle. 'I'm not finished here. I think next year I can improve even more.' Muhammad is another state competitor with a pedigree. His older sister, Jathiyah, won the girls state pole vault last year. Their father, Gary, is a pole vault coach at Pittsburg. Khaliq dominated the boys pole vault, clearing a personal-best 17-10½ and besting the meet record by half an inch. He missed a try at 18 feet, ½ inch before calling it a day. 'I was tired,' he said. 'I knew I was going to win. I had confidence in my ability to win,' said Muhammad, who credits his father for his success. 'He's been my coach for 12 years, ever since I started.' Morgan Herbst shattered the meet record in winning the girls 300-meter hurdles (39.64 seconds), while sister McKenna won the girls 800-meter race less than a quarter-second off the meet record (2:02.28). I could mention many other athletes who deserve the attention at claiming a medal on a 100-degree-plus day. That is where the focus of this state meet should have been all along.
Los Angeles Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: DeAuna Louis of GALA is athlete to watch in the hurdles
When it comes to going over hurdles, DeAuna Louis of GALA is the best in the City Section. She will try to defend her City titles in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles on Thursday at the City Section track and field championships at Birmingham. Equally important is her goal to do well at next weekend's state championships at Buchanan High in Clovis. She has become one of the most successful athletes in the history of the Girls Academic Leadership Academy, which is the first and only all-girls STEM school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Running events are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. weather permitting (there's a heat wave coming this week) ... The City Section will hold an Open Division baseball semifinal doubleheader on Tuesday at Cal State Northridge, with El Camino Real playing Birmingham at 3 p.m., followed by Venice taking on Sylmar at 6 p.m. The winners advance to Saturday's 1 p.m. final at Dodger Stadium. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two 16-year-old Clovis students charged in death of Caleb Quick, police say
Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming said in a news conference that two teens have been arrested in the April 23 shooting death of 18-year-old Caleb Quick, a student at Clovis Online School. Fleming said a 16-year-old boy was the shooter and a 16-year-old girl drove the getaway car. He said both turned themselves in Friday and that they are students in the Clovis Unified School District, but he wouldn't say which schools. The suspects have been charged with murder, he said. The motive is still being investigated. Quick, who previously attended Buchanan High, and the two suspects knew one another, Fleming said. He added that he feels confident the two suspects were at the location when the crime occurred. Quick was shot and killed outside a popular McDonald's in Clovis after the shooter first stalked him inside the fast-food restaurant. The shooter had help escaping the scene, according to police. Clovis Unified superintendent Corrine Folmer sent an email to parents on Saturday confirming the arrests. She said that 'extra Clovis Unified police officers will also remain deployed at schools most directly impacted by this tragedy.' Fleming released surveillance video on May 2 that showed Quick and two friends entering the McDonald's, located at Willow and Nees avenues, and talking inside the restaurant for 13 minutes the night of the killing. A suspect in black clothing and a hoodie entered the restaurant and watched the victim. Fleming said the suspect had his hands in his waistband and inside his front pocket and did not move 'from his position.' Quick and his two friends left the McDonald's. The suspect followed as he left the restaurant while Quick's friends held the door. Moments later, the suspect shot Quick in the side of the head at least one time shortly before 9 p.m., then fled westbound on Nees in a getaway vehicle, described as a newer white Tesla. Fleming had said police were at 'a standstill' and asked the public for help during the May 2 news conference. On Tuesday morning, Clovis Police seized a newer-model white Tesla in a Fresno neighborhood that might be connected to the shooting. Clovis police served a search warrant at a home and located a Tesla in the garage. The vehicle was towed for evidence. A gun was also recovered from the alleged shooter's home, Fleming said. The case was forwarded to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office.
