Prep Blog

Four area girls, led by Kennedy's Lynette Johnson, made Cal-Hi Sports All-State girls basketball teams.

Johnson, The Bee Girls Player of the Year headed to Utah State, made State Third Team Elite and Division I first team.

Sacramento's Allie Green made All-State D-II first team.

Oak Ridge's Ali Bettencourt made third team All-State Junior Class and second team D-I.

Christian Brothers' Kira McKechnie made the All-State Sophomore second team.

Sacramento High's Michele Massari was the D-II Girls Coach of the Year.

For the complete team go HERE

Zac Tavenner intercepted a lateral and went nearly the length of the field to score a five-point try and highlight Jesuit's 56-24 win over Dixon Saturday in the Northern California Single School boys rugby championship at the Cherry Island Soccer Complex in Elverta.

The win qualifies Jesuit for the state finals May 25 at Treasure Island.

Jesuit and Dixon, the 2011 and 2012 national high school champions, respectively, also will compete in the Boys High School National Invitational Championship May 16-18 in Elkhart, Ind.

In another indication that the upcoming Sac-Joaquin Section softball playoffs are going to be a wide-open affair, No. 11 Christian Brothers walloped top-ranked Casa Roble 9-0 in the Capital Valley Conference game today in Orangevale.

Falcons' junior pitcher Haley Snyder scattered four hits and had two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer well over the center field fence. CBS had 10 hits.

The win also kept alive the Falcons' hopes of tying Casa Roble for the CVC title.
Christian Brothers (16-9, 7-2) plays Wednesday at Bella Vista; Casa Roble (19-5, 8-1) travels to Oakmont.

Casa Roble moved atop the rankings this week after previous No. 1 Woodcreek lost last Friday to Roseville.

The Sac-Joaquin Section boys golf playoffs will be held Monday at various sites.

They are: Division I-North, Wildhorse, Davis; D-I South, Creekside, Modesto; D-II, Rancho Solano, Fairfield; D-III, Darkhorse, Auburn; D-IV, Castle Oaks, Ione; D-V, Stevinson Ranch, Stevinson.

The D-VI playoffs will be held Tuesday at Stevinson Ranch.

Top qualifiers advance to the Masters tournament May 13 at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.

In El Dorado Hills today, No. 7 Pleasant Grove scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to defeat No. 6 Oak Ridge 3-1 and secure at least a tie for the Delta River League softball title.

Meanwhile in East Sacramento, two-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion and No. 9 Sheldon (13-11, 6-3) secured a DRL playoff berth by rallying for five runs in the seventh inning to top No. 8 St. Francis 7-5.

Sheldon's Anessa Kaylor had a two-run home run, Sara Fukashima a two-run double and Erika Lane and RBI single.

Ready to explore life with his immediate team and satisfied with the body of work as a coaching legend, Dave Humphers is hanging up the trademark lid.

He has stepped down as the Nevada Union High School football coach, expressing great satisfaction with what the Miners have done in Grass Valley under his tenure and moved by the overwhelming desire to spend time with family.

Under Humphers, the Miners since 1991 won 195 games, reached the postseason 17 playoff teams, claimed 10 league championships, six City Championships and four Sac-Joaquin Section Division I crowns. Humphers earlier served several seasons as defensive coordinator with NU. He learned the tricks of the coaching trade from his Mira Loma mentors Don Brown and Gerry Kundert from the 1970s.

The Miners - Miner Magic - have been one of the storied programs in section history, with Humphers a staple on the sideline with his trademark battered and faded blue fishing hat, a tribute to Kundert, who wore a similar hat during his wing-T express Mira Loma era. Kundert still watches his old pupils play, including Terry Stark at Inderkum.

Humphers and the Miners befuddled teams for years with their wing-T attack with myriad fakes and deception plays. The Miners were experts in maximizing under-sized players who were heavy on desire. Scores of players went on to play in college. And Humphers took great glee in coaching his sons in Gabe and Hank on his last two teams. This is a football family if there ever was one.

Bu the year-round toll of leading a program - fundraising, weight training, off-season, player development - takes a toll on all coaches. They certainly don't do this for the meager stipends they earn.

Last month, Vista del Lago coach Chris Jones stepped down to spend more time with his family after six seasons at the Folsom school. His Eagles were 12-2 last season. He led Oak Ridge to three section D-II titles last decade.

In his letter of resignation to NU, Humphers wrote in part, "The long drive every year, the intense emotion, the highs and lows, have added up. It's time for a change for me, for my family and for NU football....I am the most fortunate man on Earth for the family I love. It is time to focus more on family, to watch my sons play college football, to watch dance performances and girls basketball and to support my wife (Dorene)..."

We will add more after talking to Humphers.

- Joe Davidson
- On Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD
- On Podcast: ESPN1320.net

Sheldon High School senior Dakarai Allen was named to Cal-Hi Sports' 35th annual boys all-state elite basketball first team today.

The 6-foot-5 senior, The Bee's Player of the Year and a key contributor since his freshman season, helped the Huskies win an unprecedented four consecutive D-I Sac-Joaquin Section titles.

The San Diego State signee joins McDonald's All-Americans Aaron Gordon of Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, Salesian of Richmond's Jabari Bird, Deer Valley of Antioch's Marcus Lee and St. John Bosco of Bellflower's Issac Hamilton on the elite first team.

Add three more Bella Vista boys soccer players who are expected to move on to play in college this fall.

Signing letters of intent were Justin Childs with BYU-Hawaii, Mark Caliguire with Dominican University in San Rafael and Billy Baker with Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.

That makes eight NCAA signees for coaches Zack and Matt Contreras from last fall's Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship team.

Seniors Trevor Jackson (Sacramento State), Preston Davis (Sacramento State), Tyler Miguel (UC Riverside), Stefan Sarkovich (Holy Cross) and Galen Herron (Dominican) signed earlier this year.

The Northern California High School Rugby playoffs will be held Friday through Sunday at the Cherry Island Soccer Complex in Elverta.

Among the 45 boys and girls teams competing in 10 divisions are six-time national champion Jesuit and defending 2012 national champion Dixon. Both have already qualified for the USA Rugby National Invitational Tournament May 16-18 in Elkhart, Ind.

On Friday, Jesuit plays McClatchy at 5 p.m. and Dixon faces Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland at 6:30 p.m. in the Boys Varsity Single School semifinals. The championship is 3 p.m. Saturday.

In Saturday's Boys Varsity Club Division (can draw from up to three schools) semifinals, Granite Bay will play Hayward and the Burbank-based Islanders face Danville in 2 p.m. matchups. The championship is 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The NorCal divisional winners will advance to the California State Cup May 25-26 at the San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club on Treasure Island.

The event is sponsored by the Northern California Youth Rugby Association.

Three-time Sac-Joaquin Section Masters wrestling champion Shayne Tucker of Bella Vista has signed a national letter of intent with the University of Oklahoma.

"I am just very blessed and excited about signing with Oklahoma," Tucker said. "It has always been my dream to go wrestle for OU and be a Sooner. I couldn't be happier with the coaches and the teammates I will be with these next five years."

This past season, Tucker (43-4) won the section's 152-pound Masters title and finished as runner-up in the CIF state final.

He also won a Masters title and placed second in the state at 138 pounds as a junior. He was a 130-pound Masters champion and fourth place state finisher as a sophomore.

Oklahoma, which has won seven NCAA men's wrestling titles, went 7-11 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12 Conference last season.

Jesuit's Austin Mitsch and Kennedy of Richmond's Takkarist McKinley, two of the fastest sprinters in California, have a beneficial rivalry going.

They continue to push each other in meets such as Saturday's 33rd Annual Sacramento Meet of Champions at American River College.

On this day, McKinley edged Mitsch in a photo finish 100 meters, then nipped him again in the 200.

McKinley won the 100 in 10.768 seconds. Mitsch was second in 10.765. Later McKinley won the 200 in a personal best 21.58; Mitsch took second in 21.59.

No. 7 Pleasant Grove, No. 9 Oak Ridge and No. 10 St. Francis are atop the Delta River League softball standings with 5-2 records entering the final three league games of the regular season.

No. 12 Sheldon is one game behind at 4-3. Defending league champion and No. 11 Ponderosa is a playoff longshot at 2-5. Folsom has no playoff chances at 0-7.

Only three teams advance to the postseason.

Here's the schedule the rest of the way.

Tuesday - St. Francis at Pleasant Grove, Oak Ridge at Ponderosa; Folsom at Sheldon.

Thursday - Pleasant Grove at Oak Ridge; Sheldon at St. Francis; Ponderosa at Folsom.

Tuesday, May 5 - Folsom at Pleasant Grove; St. Francis at Oak Ridge; Sheldon at Ponderosa.

Mackenzie Priley had a home run and two RBIs, Naomi Monahan two RBIs and Stephanie Johnson, Kayla Fields, Justine Garner and Alyson Manzo each drove in runs as No. 3 Roseville defeated top-ranked Woodcreek 9-8 in a Sierra Foothill League girls softball game today at Roseville High School.

The win moved Roseville (17-6-1, 9-3) to within a game of Woodcreek (16-7, 10-2) in the Sierra Foothill League.

For Woodcreek, Nicole Miller had a home run, two singles and three RBIs; Frankie Orlando two doubles and two RBIs; and Christal Vierra three hits and an RBI.
The two teams combined for 23 hits and eight errors
.
Woodcreek will play host to No. 4 Rocklin on Tuesday before Roseville visits Rocklin on Wednesday.

No. 2 Casa Roble knows how to win the close ones in girls softball.

The Rams (18-4, 7-0) won their fourth consecutive extra-inning one-run game in Capital Valley Conference play today, beating unranked Bella Vista 1-0 in nine innings in Fair Oaks.

Senior Pitcher Kaitlyn Garcia homered and scattered five hits for the shutout win over the Broncos (14-10, 4-3).

By Victor Contreras
vcontreras@sacbee.com

The 59th annual La Salle Club Baseball Hall of Fame induction banquet will take place Saturday evening at the Christian Brothers High School field house.

The Class of 2013 includes nine members: Former high school pitchers Butch Metzger (Kennedy) and Fernando Arroyo (Burbank), who competed against each other in the old Metro League before embarking on major-league careers, former Grant High and Japan League star Leon Lee, former Bishop Armstrong star and Christian Brothers coach Joe Gill, Tom Dicktakes (Sacramento High), Mike Green (Bishop Armstrong), Gene Sackett (McClatchy), Gary Szakacs (Mira Loma) and former Sacramento Bee staff writer Nick Peters, who covered the San Francisco Giants for 47 years.

Tickets are $25. The event begins with a no-host social at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30. For tickets and more information, go to the Christian Brothers website or call chairman Joe McNamara at (916) 812-5699.

The Folsom and Vista del Lago girls soccer teams will play in Saturday's Crosstown Cup at Folsom High School.

The JV game starts at 5 p.m. with the varsity match to follow at 7 p.m.

Folsom won last year's inaugural varsity event 3-2.

Fourteen Elk Grove Unified School District athletes, including boys basketball standouts Cole Nordquist of Pleasant Grove and Ryan Manning of Sheldon, will be recognized during a spring letter of intent signing ceremony 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the board room of the Robert L. Trigg Education Center, 9510 Elk Grove-Florin Road, Elk Grove.

They are:
• Arriana Rieland, Cosumnes Oaks, soccer, Jackson State

• Dylan Wakefield, Cosumnes Oaks, soccer, Chico State

• Scott Votino, Elk Grove, wrestling, Army

• Brianna Avila, Elk Grove, soccer, UC Riverside

• Mike Wright, Elk Grove, baseball, San Jose State

• Alex Gulseth, Franklin, soccer, Sacramento State

• Kaylah Valdry, Franklin, soccer, Texas Southern

• Tatyana Garrett, Franklin, soccer, UC Irvine

• Mark Langston, Franklin, swimming, Seattle

• Cole Nordquist, Pleasant Grove, basketball, Hawaii Pacific

• Avonna Lee, Pleasant Grove, basketball, Northern Arizona

• Madison McCann, Sheldon, soccer, Louisiana Tech

• Ryan Manning, Sheldon, basketball, Air Force.

• Donielle Hair, Sheldon, basketball, Dominican

Granite Bay High School will hold a 9 a.m. honorary signing ceremony for its five college-bound baseball players at the school's diamond.

They are pitchers Gabe Meza (Sacramento State) and Travis Magness (Linfield); outfielders Brett Bautista (San Jose State) and Aaron Knapp (Cal) and shortstop Ryan Rosa (Cal Poly SLO).

No. 4 Granite Bay will play a Sierra Foothill League game against No. 11 Woodcreek at 11 a.m.

Former St. Francis water polo standout Shelby Schaefer, now playing for Colorado State, has been named first team All-Western Water Polo Association.

In three seasons with the Rams, the senior from Roseville leaves as one of the program's leading performers.

The 5-foot-6 attacker currently ranks among Colorado State's top seven in career goals, ejections drawn and total points. She recently became the school's all-time assists leader with 98.

Former Jesuit track standout Tom Blocker, who won two individual races and ran a leg on a victorious relay to help Cal claim the 119th Big Meet against Stanford, has been named California Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week.

In his first event of the afternoon on Saturday, Blocker ran on the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay that defeated the Cardinal and posted a season-best time of 40.24 seconds. He then lowered his lifetime best to 10.51 seconds to win the 100 meters and followed up with a wind-aided PR of 21.23 to capture the 200 meters.

The Golden Bears out-pointed Stanford, 85-78, to prevail in the Big Meet for the first time since 2006.

Blocker is the second area athlete to receive the honor given each week throughout the school year to a Cal athlete.

Softball player Lindsey Ziegenhirt, a Sheldon graduate, received the honor on Feb. 19.

Jesuit senior Austin Mitsch ran season bests in winning the boys 100- and 200-meter sprints at the Woody Wilson Invitational last weekend at UC Davis.

Mitsch, a Colorado scholarship signee, ran a 10.67 seconds 100 meters and a 21.53 200 meters. Kennedy of Richmond's Takkarist McKinley, a state meet finalist last year, finished second in both races in 10.74 and 21.69.

Cal-bound Trent Brendel of Granite Bay won the boys 800 (1:54.70), Davis' Jack Scranton the 1600 (4:18.53) and Whitney's Ryan Hodgens (9:31.39) the 3200. Pleasant Grove's Richard Cooper won the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 1.75 inches.

In girls events, Monterey Trail junior Ciara Levy was a double winner in the 100 (14.54) and 300 hurdles (44.35) while Franklin sophomore Jorden O'Neal's winning 18-7.75 long jump was the 10th best in the state this season.

Bella Vista freshman Kendall Derry won the 1600 (5:05.68) and Vista del Lago senior Madeleine Ankhelyi the 3200 (10:54.46).

In the sprints, Franklin sophomore Chinyere Dike won the 100 (12.21) and Winters sophomore Sofia Evanoff captured the 200 (25.18).

St. Francis' Hayley Carbullido finished first in the pole vault (10-6).

Franklin won the 4x100 relay (48.94), Davis the 4x400 (3:56.14) and Bella Vista the distance medley (12:08.47).

El Dorado's Dwayne "Peanut" Harms and Oakmont's Rick Ramirez will be honored as Coach of the Year recipients by the California Coaches Association at its 56th annual awards banquet June 15 in Fresno.

Harms, who has coached El Dorado track and cross country programs since 2001, will be honored as the State Boys Track Coach of the Year. He's a former UC Davis All American and member of the UC Davis Hall of Fame along with his wife Tena, also an El Dorado track and cross country coach.

Ramirez, a 1969 graduate of Oakmont, will be honored as the State Assistant Coach of the Year. He has been an assistant baseball coach 24 seasons, assistant football coach 23 years and head softball coach the last two years at Oakmont.

Fifteen members of the Sierra Marlins swim team are expected to participate in a college signing ceremony 4 p.m. Monday at the Folsom Aquatic Center, 1210 Riley St. in Folsom.
They are:
• Adam Banks, Vista Del Lago, Hawaii
• Bret Bonzell, Folsom, Boston College
• Hannah Calton, Granite Bay, Loyola Marymount
• Everett Conrad, Oak Ridge, Biola
• Lauren Fitzgerald, Granite Bay, Rice
• Kelsey Gasch, Folsom, Denver
• Whitney Jorgensen, Roseville, Boise State
• Dylan Kubick, Oak Ridge, Santa Barbara
• Cypress Lampe, Oak Ridge, UC San Diego
• Brandon Mills, Oak Ridge, Arizona State
• Chandler Pourvahidi, Vista Del Lago, UC San Diego
• Haylee Rademann, St. Francis, Washington and Lee
• Maddie Velez, Oak Ridge, Utah

Two other swimmers, Ryan Dewante of Oak Ridge and Kyle Peterson of Folsom, are scheduled to make their college announcements on Monday.

The swimmers are coached by Adam Schmitt and Brad Robbins.

Here are the All-Sierra Valley Conference boys and girls teams as released to The Bee by league commissioner Dave Johnson. For corrections, e-mail bpaterson@sacbee.com

BOYS
Player of the Year - Mike Meserole, Liberty Ranch
Co-Coaches of the Year - Greg Clark, River City and Josh Williams, Liberty Ranch.
First Team: LJ Reed, Alex Van Dyke, Raymund Gonzalvo, Cosumnes Oaks; Justin Morrison, Aaron Line, El Dorado; DeAndre Stallings, Matt Thomas, Liberty Ranch; Jose Chacon, Xavier Francois, Malik Dumetz, River City.

GIRLS
Player of the Year - Selena Moore, Liberty Ranch
Coach of the Year - David Moore, Liberty Ranch
First Team: Katelin King, Tori Torres, Rayelle Ross, Aliyah Brantley, River City; Stephanie Clawson, Rebecca Stephens, Caprina Pipion, Vista del Lago; Kimee Mueller, Madison Aliff, Sonya Watson, Union Mine; Damielle Hazlett, Galt; Sabrina Tate, El Dorado.

Jacy Boles scattered three hits, Jenna Curtan had a double and two RBI and Frankie Orlando, Amber Budmark and Christal Vierra each had two hits and a run batted in as No. 2 Woodcreek defeated top-ranked Rocklin 8-3 in a Sierra Foothill League softball game today in Rocklin.

Boles, a freshman, struggled with her control in walking five and hitting a batter, but gutted her way through the 109-pitch effort that included three Woodcreek errors to move to 3-0 against SFL competition since being elevated to the varsity.

Boles also has wins over No. 5 Roseville, No. 8 Del Oro and a save against Granite Bay.

Woodcreek is 14-6 overall and 8-1 in league. Rocklin falls to 15-3 and 7-2 in league.

Whitney softball coach April Steele has a large crop of scholarship players this season but they will have big cleats to fill by those who have come before them, even though the Rocklin school is only in its seventh varsity season.

Whitney seniors Taylor Cotton (Cal), Megan Mello (Humboldt State) and Kayli Shaw (Cal State Bakersfield) will play at the next level come the fall while junior Madi Galuszka already has committed to Loyola Marymount.

They will follow former Whitney standouts Tegan and Alyssa Schmidt and Stephanie Nippert.

Oak Ridge, Oakmont and Sheldon high schools are holding NCAA letter of intent signing ceremonies at their schools today while two other area athletes have announced their college plans.

Four athletes will be recognized 12:30 p.m. in Oak Ridge's multipurpose room.
They are basketball player Josh Simms (Concordia), diver Sydney Newman (Pepperdine) and cheer athletes Siena Potts (Concordia) and Nicolette Wichert (Texas Christian).

Oakmont volleyball player Brennah Galdwill (Saint Anselm College, Manchester, N.H.) and wrestler Peter Santos (North Carolina State) will sign letters at 1:15 p.m. in the Roseville school's career center.

Sheldon basketball standout Ryan Manning (Air Force) will sign his letter at 7 p.m. during a ceremony in front of friends, family and teammates in the South Sacramento school's library.

Two other area athletes have announced their college choices: Sacramento High basketball player Breanna Garrett has given a verbal commitment to play for Sacramento State and Folsom swimmer Bret Bonzell has signed with Boston College.

Rocklin's Shannon Garvella and Bella Vista's Brynn Sargent received Clark Coover Memorial Scholarships and 46 additional athletes received Sac-Joaquin Section A. Dale Lacky Scholarships at an awards ceremony this morning in Lodi.

The awards, which range from $600 to $1,500, are given to those athletes who show outstanding athletic, community service and academic success.

Garvella and Sargent received $1,500 Clarke Coover Scholarships as the top girls and boys award recipients.

Pioneer had that "here-we-go-again" feeling for awhile on Friday night in its Tri-County Conference baseball matchup with host Yuba City.

The Patriots had seen the Honkers rally late last Monday and on Wednesday to extend their league winning streak to 28 games.

On Friday, Pioneer jumped to a 9-0 lead in the top of the second inning only to see Yuba City score six runs in the bottom of second and six more in the third to take a 12-9 lead.

But this time it was Pioneer who made the comeback.

Kayla Fields did a little bit of everything today as No. 6 Roseville defeated top-ranked Rocklin 4-2 in a Sierra Foothill League softball game in Roseville that dropped the Thunder into second place in league.

The loss also snapped Rocklin's 13-game winning streak.

On the mound, Fields scattered six hits, struck out nine and walked one. At the plate, the South Dakota State signee homered and drove in two runs.

Naomi Monahan added a double and RBI and Taylor Brewster-McDowell a single and RBI for Roseville (13-6-1, 5-3). Mallory Asaro went three-for-three with a double for Rocklin.

The Tigers' win, combined with No. 2 Woodcreek's 9-6 triumph over Granite Bay, enabled Woodcreek (13-6, 7-1) to take a half-game lead over the Thunder (14-2, 6-1) in league.

Woodcreek plays at Rocklin on Wednesday.

Sacramento High's Michele Massari has been named Cal-Hi Sports' State Division II Girls Coach of the Year.

Massari's Dragons had a 27-5 record this season, including 14-0 in the ultra-competitive Metro Conference, and won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II title.

The Dragons beat D-I NorCal champion Berkeley in overtime at the West Coast Jamboree earlier in the season. They also became the first area girls team to compete in the CIF Northern California Regional Open Division.

Massari has a 132-35 career record with three consecutive section titles (the other two at D-III) and five Metro Conference banners. The Dragons are 62-0 in league play under Massari.

Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland's Malik McCord was the State and D-III Girls Coach of the Year after leading the Dragons to the State Open Division title.

Yuba City has been the gold standard in Tri-County Conference baseball for all seven seasons of its existence.

The Honkers, who began this season 3-8 in nonleague play, continue to shine when it comes to league.

Twice this week they rallied to beat Pioneer in dramatic fashion to stay atop the league that they have dominated and won the last six years.

On Monday in Yuba City, Wesley Estes hit a three-run walk-off home run as the Honkers defeated Pioneer 6-5. On Wednesday in Woodland, Yuba City scored twice in the seventh inning to tie then won it in the eighth, 3-2.

Bella Vista senior Victor Trujillo finished fifth at the National High School Coaches Association Wrestling Championships on Sunday in Virginia Beach, Va.

Trujillo beat two-time New York state champion Chris Araoz 6-5 in his final match of the tournament.

Trujillo (41-6) finished fifth at the CIF State Championships March 2 in Bakersfield after winning the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters title Feb. 23 in Stockton.

Jesuit graduate Jimmy Bosco has been named the NAIA West Player of the Week in helping lead the Menlo College baseball team to a four-game sweep of Corban University of Salem, Ore., last weekend.

A junior outfielder from Granite Bay, Bosco finished the weekend with seven hits, including four home runs and 12 runs batted in.

Bosco is hitting .455 on the season for the Oaks, eighth in the country in batting average for NAIA players.

He ranks first in the nation in slugging percentage (.862), home runs (13) and total bases (125).

Bosco played last season at Arkansas and as a freshman at Cal.

The McClatchy High School Restore the Roar alumni group has announced 81 nominees for the 2013 CKM Athletic Hall of Fame.

According to Bob Sertich, Restore the Roar president, the primary focus of this year's class of inductees will be those McClatchy athletes who excelled in the 1960s and 1970s.

Among the nominees are former major leaguers Rowland Office and Ken Dowell and 1972 first-round draft pick Joel Bishop; football standout Morrison England, now a U.S. District Court judge; and track and field coach Scotty Bingham.

There also is a "legends" group of nominees which includes track and cross country standout Al Baeta and golfer Judy Ghilarducci. These were outstanding athletes at the school prior to 1963 but were not inducted in last year's inaugural hall of fame class.

The hall of fame selection committee is expected to announce inductees in June. They will be honored at a dinner Oct. 11.

"We face the same challenge as last year," Sertich said in a press release. "We plan to induct only the best 35 or 40 athletes, which means many of the nominees will have to wait until future years for induction."

For more, go HERE

Grant senior linebacker Abnor Toma has signed a late letter of intent with Southern Oregon, a rising small-college power in Ashland that plays at Sacramento State next season.

Cosumnes Oaks lineman Kameron Schroeder, a junior, has given a verbal commitment to Duke and Pleasant Grove cornerback Brandon Lewis has given a verbal pledge to Boise State.

Lewis missed his junior season last fall with a knee injury.

In other signings/commitments:

• Valley Christian's Erin Patterson has committed to play volleyball and softball for Wentworth Institute of Technology, a D-III school in Boston Mass. She is the fourth Valley Christian athlete from the 111-student high school who will play at the next level, joining volleyball player Emily Flood (Simpson University in Redding) and baseball players Caleb Van Patten (Simpson) and Jimmy Shaw (San Diego Christian).

• Oakmont will hold a signing ceremony 1:15 p.m. next Wednesday in the career center for volleyball player Brennah Gladwill (Saint Anselm, Manchester, N.H.) and CIF state champion wrestler Peter Santos (North Carolina State).

• Christian Brothers infielder Taryn Sigl will play softball for the University of the Cumberlands, an NAIA school in Williamsburg, Ky.

• Pleasant Grove senior shooting guard Avonna Lee will play basketball for Northern Arizona.

Former Woodland High and Oregon football standout David Collinsworth is the new Pioneer football coach.

A member of the Woodland High School Hall of Fame, Collinsworth replaces Matt Bryson, who stepped down after three seasons to spend more time with his family.

Bryson went 19-13 during his tenure, including 4-6 last season.

Collinsworth, 42, teaches at Lee Middle School in Woodland.

He most recently was the head coach at Le Grande High School in Oregon, where his team finished 3-6 in 2011.

He's also had head coaching stints at Esparto and St. Helena and was an assistant coach at Sheldon.

"Really excited to have a hometown coach," said Pioneer athletic director Scott Stephens in an e-mail.

Eight Sacramento area players have been named to NorCalPreps.com's 2015 Northern California Boys Basketball Top 20, including three players from two-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champion Capital Christian High School.

Capital Christian's 6-foot-6 forward Trey Belton is listed at No. 3, 5-10 guard Justice Shelton-Mosley is No. 19 and 6-5 forward Nick Aibuedefe is No. 20.

Others listed are No. 4, Noah Blackwell, 6-1 point guard, Woodcreek; No. 5 Marquese Chriss, 6-6 power forward, Pleasant Grove; No. 8 Kendrick Jackson, 6-3 shooting guard, Granite Bay; No. 14 LJ Reed, 6-3 shooting guard, and No. 17 Eric Toles, 6-2 shooting guard, Cosumnes Oaks.

Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland's 6-9 power forward Ivan Rabb is ranked No. 1.

For the complete list, go HERE

Seven area players have been named to NorCalPreps.com's 2014 Northern California Football Top 20, including Capital Christian defensive lineman Nifae Lealao at No. 2.

The others are: No. 7 Alex Van Dyke, wide receiver, and No. 14 Kameron Schroeder, tackle, Cosumnes Oaks; No. 15 Calvin Green, athlete, and No. 20 Ngalu Tapa, defensive tackle, Burbank; No. 16 Brandon Lewis, cornerback, Pleasant Grove; and No. 19 Joey Banks, safety, Franklin.

Freedom of Oakley running back Joe Mixon is listed at No. 1.

For the complete team, go HERE

Twenty six teams from across four sections will compete Saturday in the Brian Noble Invitational boys volleyball tournament at Granite Bay, Del Oro and Antelope high schools.

Among the teams entered are defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion Granite Bay and two-time defending D-II champion Vista del Lago.

They join Jesuit, Del Oro, Oak Ridge, Ponderosa, Bear River, Whitney, Deer Valley of Antioch, Clovis, St. Francis of Mountain View, Clovis North, St. Ignatius of San Francisco, Clovis East, Los Gatos and College Park of Pleasant Hill for the 16-team top flight at Granite Bay and Del Oro.

Rio Americano, Christian Brothers, Woodcreek, El Dorado, Antelope, Florin, Oakmont, Capital Christian, Laguna Creek and the Granite Bay JVs will play in Flight 2 at Antelope.

Pool play starts at 8 a.m. at all three sites. Playoff rounds are scheduled to start between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Championship matches are set for 5 p.m. at the three sites.