Four sets of twins highlight Sacramento-area Optimist All-Star boys volleyball games
The Optimist All-Star Games for various sports have been a big deal for decades in Sacramento, a showcase for graduated seniors to show their stuff one last time in their high school colors.
Not all of the games are going to play out this year due to lingering concerns from the coronavirus pandemic, so there will be no games for basketball, football, baseball or softball.
Boys volleyball is a go. The 24th Optimist Volleyball All-Star Games are Friday at Jesuit High School, with the Small Schools match starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Large Schools match.
After the first match, the Optimist will recognize Jamie Mathias, the former Del Oro coach who died last month at 59. He will be inducted into the Optimist Hall of Fame for his years of dedication, including 40 years of coaching at various levels. He was also a beloved teacher at Del Oro.
Kevin Tameling of Ripon Christian will coach Small Schools South team and the North is coached by Placer’s Cinnamon Davis.
The Large School North team is coached by Brian Jew of Woodcreek and the South is headed by Dave Amituanai of Laguna Creek.
A sibling side note: Four sets of twins will be competing, all on Small Schools rosters. Colin and Owen Robles of Placer, Connell and John Kane of Ponderosa, and Max and Tyler McGlynn of Rio Americano are all playing for the North. Braden and Lukas Van Groningen of Ripon Christian are on the South team.
Here are the full rosters for the 24th Optimist Boys Volleyball All-Star Games:
Large School North
Eric Dayringer and Max Macke of Bella Vista; Tyler Fardanesh and Dorian Williams of Del Oro; Jeremy DeMure, Grayson Kling, Colton Nelson and Matt Ross of Granite Bay; Joseph Archuleta, Aidan Merideth and Chris Van of Woodcreek; Gabriel Knittel of Oak Ridge, Thomas Plaskett of Roseville and Sean Walser, Antelope.
Large School South
Kenneth Losier and Jake Seabury of Folsom; Charles Harper and Dylan Taitano of Inderkum; Nathan Hath, Boris Horiuk, Taylor Marks and Sam Oshita of Jesuit; Lucas Boisvert of Kennedy; Brandon Day of Laguna Creek; Albert Huynh and Kenny Tecson of Monterey Trail, and Khalid Pal of West.
Small Schools North
Aiden Black and Weston Prosser of Bear River; Cody Lynn and Rob Pifferini of El Dorado; Levi Mireless of Forest Lake Christian; Mikah Munoz of Lincoln; Amir Soto and Andrei Villaluz of Mira Loma; Joe Pardini and Aidan Wahl of Nevada Union; Josh Cooper and Memphis Dooley of Oakmont; Colin and Owen Robles of Placer; Connell and Josh Kane of Ponderosa, and Garrett Scheidegger of Union Mine.
Small Schools South
Chandler White of Buhach Colony; Andrew Wheeler of Capital Christian; San Ahern and Cody Bowker of Del Campo; Flavio Mercado of East Union; Greg Hermosillo and Toubee Herr of El Capitan; Rael Carmesis of Lathrop; Daniel Woodcruff of Mesa Verde; JT Kuderca of Patterson; Max and Tyler McGlynn of Rio Americano; Braden and Lukas Van Gronigen of Ripon Christian, and Justin Nepomuceno of Weston Ranch.