Woodcreek is No. 7 in state softball rankings
Woodcreek is No. 7 in the state in Cal-Hi Sports' preseason softball top 20.
The Timberwolves, the third-highest-ranked team in Northern California, were 26-4 last season and won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II title.
Top returners for veteran coach Art Banks include No. 1 pitcher Amanda Horbasch (13-4, 0.96 ERA) and four of the team's top five hitters – Lexi Wilkerson, Frankie Orlando, Jenna Curtan and Nicole Miller.
Elk Grove, 20-7 last season, is No. 15 in the state rankings.
Pacifica (28-3) of Garden Grove is No. 1 and Norco (31-2), last year's Cal-Hi State Team of the Year, is No. 2.
At No. 3, Amador Valley (26-1) of Pleasanton is the top Northern California team.
Elk Grove is 10th in state baseball rankings
Elk Grove, at No. 10, is the only area team to make the Cal-Hi Sports' state preseason baseball top 20.
The Thundering Herd, 20-9 last season, is the third-highest Northern California team, behind No. 4 Campolindo (23-4-1) of Moraga and No. 6 St. Francis (26-5-1) of Mountain View.
Three-time Sac-Joaquin Section defending Division I champion St. Mary's (27-6) of Stockton is No. 13.
Cathedral Catholic (30-5) of San Diego is No. 1. San Diego Section power Vista (31-4), Cal-Hi's State Team of the Year in 2012, is No. 2 and Mater Dei (24-6) is No. 3.
Four girls from area advance to state meet
Four Sac-Joaquin/ North Section area wrestling champions, including returning state champion Mallory Velte of Christian Brothers, will compete in the CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lemoore High School.
Last year, Velte defeated Turlock's Alexia Moreno 4-2 in overtime to win the 132-pound title.
The others joining Velte at the state finals are Woodcreek's Lauren Mason (103), Whitney's Madison Fitzgerald (122) and Rocklin's Olivia Seppini (126).
Granite Bay's Brown picks Lewis & Clark
Granite Bay kicker Colin Brown will play football and run track for Lewis & Clark University in Portland, Ore., according to Grizzlies coach Ernie Cooper.
Brown, Maxpreps.com's first team All-Northern California placekicker, had the winning PAT and also made a 37-yard field goal in Granite Bay's 21-20 win over Long Beach Poly in the CIF State Bowl Division I championship.
Water polo club hires Olympian Moody
Four-time U.S. Olympian Heather Moody will join the Sacramento-based American River Water Polo Club starting March 1.
Moody will be the club's performance director, overseeing the coaching staff and providing instruction to athletes, according to club founder and president Rafael Ruano.
American River WPC includes elite high school-level teams.
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