Latest news with #Stanford-bound
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Long Beach Poly boys' 4x400 relay team shines at state track and field championships
CLOVIS, Calif. — The stars close the show and Long Beach Poly's 4x400-meter relay brought the crowd to its feet with a stunning performance in the final race of the CIF State Track & Field Finals, winning in 3 minutes 8.68 seconds for the second-fastest time ever in the state meet. The top four teams ran sub-3:10, making it the fastest four-lapper ever in the finals on depth. The Jackrabbits just missed the state meet record of 3:08.42 set in 2010 by a Gardena Serra foursome anchored by Robert Woods, running the fourth-fastest time in California history. Central East of Fresno was second in 3:09.23, Servite took third in 3:09.46 to clinch the team title with 33 points, L.A. Cathedral took fourth in 3:09.59 and Long Beach Wilson was fifth in 3:10.55. Sprinters headlined Friday's prelims but it was the distance runners who played leading roles Saturday at Buchanan High School. Rylee Blade has made a habit of performing her best on the brightest stage and she ran her fastest girls' 3,200-meter race ever (9:50.51) but had to settle for second when she was passed on the last turn by Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery, who won in 9:48.98. 'I knew this would be a kicking race and give [Thomsen] credit, she had a bit more at the end,' said Blade, the Corona Santiago standout who won the state title as a sophomore and was third last year. In a shocking development, Stanford-bound senior Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, last year's boys' 3,200 champion, caught a stomach flu earlier in the afternoon and had to drop out of the race, distraught that he couldn't defend his title. Woodcrest Christian's Eyan Turk took advantage of the race favorite's absence, winning in 8:51.62. Thomsen was involved in another stretch duel in the girls' 1,600 versus another Corona Santiago runner Braelyn Combe, who did not realize she won until times were posted on the scoreboard. 'We were shoulder to shoulder with 100 [meters] to go and pushed each other to the end,' said Comb, who won by five-hundredths of a second in a personal-best of 4:35.64, the second-fastest in the country this year and fifth fastest in state history. 'I've never been that close to someone at the finish line. I closed my eyes and prayed and when I looked up at the board I burst into tears. I've never wanted anything more in my life. I'm so happy. My family drove five hours up here to watch.' Combe, a junior who took second in the 1,600 last year, credits her victory to training with Blade, who she called 'unbelievable.' 'It's a blessing to have her on my team, she's the best pacing partner,' said Combe, who capped off her day by anchoring the Sharks' 4x800-meter relay, which ran 8:49.01 to establish a new state meet record. 'It's a real advantage for me.' Looking like an Olympic gymnast, Loren Webster stuck her landing on her fifth attempt in the girls' long jump, a personal-best 21 feet, 0¼ inches that earned her first-place by three and a half inches over transgender athlete A.B. Hernandez, who beat Webster at the Southern Section Masters Meet and posted the top qualifying mark Friday. 'I'm glad I was able to win to honor my jump coach who has worked with me since my first year jumping as a sophomore,' the teary-eyed senior said of Carl Hampton, who died of cancer May 24, the day of the Masters Meet. 'I PR'd by a couple of inches. I was injured most of the season but I knew what I was capable of and I knew today was the only day that mattered.' Hernandez went on to win the triple jump and tied for first with Lelani Laruelle of Monte Vista and Jillene Wetteland of Long Beach Poly in the high jump at 5-07. JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame cleared 6-09 to win the boys high jump after finishing second at the state meet last year. 'I knew I would win but honestly, I'm not happy,' said the Knights' junior, whose personal-best was 7-0¼ last year. 'I was on fire in the lower heights, getting over easily but once it got to seven feet I forgot my form.' Giving Harel a high-five after his win was Notre Dame senior Aja Johnson, who won the girls' shot put for the second time in three years with a throw of 45-05¾. 'It's not a PR or anything but at least I won it for my school. ... I'm happy about that,' said Johnson, who is going to college at Louisville. Oaks Christian's girls repeated as 4x100 champions in 46.08, edging Long Beach Poly (46.18) for the second year in a row. Servite won the boys 4x100 relay in 40.27, one hundredth of a second faster than its prelim time. Concord De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson won the boys' 100 meters in 10.27, followed by Servite's Benjamin Harris (10.31), Alemany's Demare Dezeurn (10.39) and Rancho Cucamonga's RJ Sermons (10.48). Temecula Valley's Jack Stadlman won the 400 meters in 46.02 and took second in the 200 meters in 20.82. Sermons, who had to win a run-off Friday to gain the last qualifying spot, finished sixth in the 200 in 21.05. Long Beach Wilson successfully defended its 4x400 girls relay title.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
De La Salle to meet familiar foe College Park in D1 NCS baseball final
They trained together all offseason and now the baseball teams at College Park-Pleasant Hill and De La Salle-Concord will face off for the North Coast Section Division 1 championship. De La Salle coach David Jeans frankly didn't want to think about it after his team's 10-1 home win over Foothill-Pleasanton on Tuesday. Antonio Castro blasted two home runs, including a grand slam, and Stanford-bound juniors Tyler Spangler (10th home run) and Graham Schlicht (six-hitter, six strikeouts), did much of the rest as the Spartans (25-4) advanced to their 13th straight NCS title game. They'll go after NCS title No. 15 overall and ninth in 12 seasons at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Falcons (17-10) at St. Mary's College. College Park won its ninth game in 10 tries with an equally dominating 10-0 win over Casa Grande-Petaluma on Tuesday. College Park beat De La Salle 5-2 in the 2015 NCS Division 1 final, also at St. Mary's. 'We're great friends with them,' said Jeans after Tuesday's win. The 14-year head coach recently won his 300th game. 'We work out together in the summer and fall. We played them earlier in the year. They're grinders and tough guys. Their record doesn't indicate how well they're coached. Coach (Andy) Tarpley does a great job.' With that, Jeans excused himself to enjoy Tuesday's victory, which came after Foothill's Jack Fowler led off the game with a long home run. From there, Schlicht didn't allow a single batter even to second base while improving to 10-0. His ERA is 0.75 with 90 strikeouts in 65⅔ innings and just 31 hits allowed. Fowler's homer was the first Schlicht allowed all season. 'Graham was awesome today,' Jeans said. 'He's been that way all year long. He got behind a really good hitter and threw it down the middle. But it didn't faze Graham. He just got back up on the bump and threw pitches for strikes and was consistent. That's the Graham we love.' Schlicht loved the Spartans' first hit — a grand slam by Castro in the second inning off Take Sato-Kreis (five walks in four innings) to go up 5-1. From there, the familiar De La Salle slug was on with Spangler and Castro going back-to-back with homers in the fifth, followed by a two-run double by Niko Baumgartner. De La Salle, whose 33-game playoff winning streak was ended last year by Granada-Livermore, has outscored three NCS playoff opponents 37-6. The left-handed hitting trio of Spangler, Castro and Oklahoma-bound center fielder Alec Blair is a combined 100 for 238 (.420 average) with 96 runs, 96 RBIs and 20 home runs. 'We've never had three (in a row) like that before,' Jeans said. 'These guys are really special.' Spangler said the season-ending loss to Granada last year 'was the worst feeling ever. We were trying to play for our seniors, and seeing them leave the field like that was a terrible feeling. We're trying to get back to that dogpile (to celebrate) at the end. What happened last year can't happen again.' College Park is a red-hot team that got contributions Tuesday up and down the lineup, including TJ Reinhart and Vincent Vasell, who each had two hits and two RBIs. Winning pitcher James Voorhies fired six scoreless innings. The Falcons managed just four hits off sophomore Cooper Barnes in a 5-1 loss to De La Salle on March 26. More baseball results: In Division 3 NCS semifinals, top-seeded California-San Ramon (15-11) got an RBI triple from Johnny Edwards and two hits each by Ethan Rye and Jacob Casiano to defeat 12th-seeded Freedom-Oakley 7-4 and now faces sixth-seeded Marin Catholic (16-12), a 4-3 winner over Northgate-Walnut Creek (18-8). A two-run double from Johnny Greco helped pitcher Carson Davis improve to 5-2 with a 1.83 ERA. NCS softball: Callie Howard fired a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts, leading top-seeded Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (21-6) to a 7-0 win over Benicia on Tuesday in a Division 2 semifinal game. The Cardinals will now play Carondelet-Concord (15-12), which got three hits by Angela Gates and 11 strikeouts from Maia Scholtens in an 11-4 semifinal win over James Logan-Union City. The championship is scheduled for Friday but the venue had yet to be determined Wednesday afternoon.
San Francisco Chronicle
16-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Granada baseball tops No. 1 De La Salle for EBAL championship
If every season is its own animal, as Granada-Livermore baseball coach Corrigan Willis says, 2024 was a whale — a blue whale, mammoth and spectacular. The Matadors won East Bay Athletic League, North Coast Section and Northern Region Division 1 titles, a first for each, while finishing 32-1 and ranking in the top five in every national poll. The odds of a repeat season appeared mammoth, yet host Granada pulled off the first stage Thursday in the EBAL championship game with a 5-1 win over Chronicle No. 1 De La Salle-Concord as winning pitcher Tyler Kennedy allowed just four hits and a run and struck out seven before giving way to Mason Ravera in the seventh. Fresno State-bound third baseman Mikey Boyd drove in four runs, including two on a double, and Joey Marasco and Tommy Brown each had two hits to lift the fourth-ranked Matadors (21-5) to their second straight win this season over the Spartans (22-4) and sixth straight overall. Granada shut out De La Salle twice in the playoffs last year and held the Spartans scoreless until the sixth inning when Alec Blair hit an RBI double. Clearly, the Matadors are far from intimidated by the Spartans, who have built a remarkable resume under David Jeans, winner of his 300th game last week. De La Salle, led currently by the Oklahoma-bound Blair and top junior shortstop prospect Tyler Spangler, a Stanford commit, won six straight NCS titles before Granada's championship last season. De La Salle had won 12 straight this season before Thursday by a 110-13 run differential thanks in part to the big bats of outfielder Blair (.439 average), junior catcher Zach Tchejeyan (.387), Spangler (.385, 34 RBIs, nine home runs) and senior infielder Antonio Castro (.351, five homers, 29 RBIs) and pitching of Stanford-bound junior Graham Schlicht (8-0, 0.52 ERA). Granada has countered with big seasons from seniors Boyd (nine doubles, 22 RBIs), Pacific outfield signee Peyton Richards (.390, 30 doubles, 32 hits), Marasco (.338) and Arizona State-bound catcher Brown (.328, 22 runs, eight doubles), along with the pitching of Kennedy (6-1, 0.95) and Alex Piscotty (8-0, 0.42). 'We have a dedicated group of seniors who work hard and are hungry,' Willis said Friday morning. 'It's a lesson learned from the 2024 campaign and one that we hope will continue on with next year's group.' More impressive on Granada's run is it has done it without USC-bound ace pitcher Jake Sekany, who went 10-1 last season with a 1.85 ERA. He pitched 12 innings early this season, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA, but then was shut down. 'Something wasn't quite right,' Willis said. 'We are being extra careful because of his bright future. Literally, we're taking him day by day.' The NCS playoff seedings will be announced this weekend and Granada and De La Salle will no doubt be the top two seeds, and could face off again. 'We're looking forward to NCS and we're playing well,' Willis said. 'But as a coach, I've learned to take a moment and appreciate winning in this very tough league.' Bellarmine shocker: The only tougher Northern California league than the EBAL is the West Catholic Athletic League, and when Bellarmine started 0-5, the Bells became an afterthought. After losing four more in a row starting on April 25, the season looked cooked. But now the Bells are doing the cooking, claiming a WCAL playoff championship by defeating ninth-ranked St. Francis (4-1), No. 2 Serra (1-0) and No. 3 Valley Christian (3-1) in succession this week. The Bells (17-13), who were fifth in the WCAL in the regular season, became the first bottom-four seed to win the conference tournament. Christian Duarte, a 6-foot-6 commit to Santa Clara, threw a four-hitter Thursday at Valley Christian to clinch the title. He struck out just two, walked two and didn't allow an extra-base hit. Vincent Kim had an RBI double and Dash Knight singled in a run for the Bells. Rohan Kasanagottu pitched 3⅓ scoreless and hitless innings of relief for Valley Christian (23-6-1), which had won 10 straight coming into the game and will likely get a top-two seed in next week's Central Coast Section playoffs. Briefly: From a busy Thursday — No. 12 Livermore (23-11) won the EBAL softball playoff title with a 7-4 win over No. 11 California as Payten Williams drilled a three-run homer and winning pitcher Kaci Norton struck out five. … Northgate-Walnut Creek (Division 1), International (Division 2), Washington-Fremont (Division 3) and Berean Christian-Walnut Creek (Division 4) all won NCS boys volleyball titles and advanced to next week's Northern California regionals with those champions advancing to the first CIF State championships May 31 at Fresno City College. … NCS lacrosse champions crowned: Marin Catholic-Kentfield (Division 1 boys), University (Division 2 boys), Redwood-Larkspur (Division 1 girls), College Park-Pleasant Hill (Division 2 girls).
