School of champions: Colfax girls basketball team wins 12th Sac-Joaquin Section title
Everyone on the roster plays two or more sports, sometimes in the same season or on the same day. The team grade-point average of the Colfax High School girls’ basketball squad is a 4.0.
Those elements helped the storied Falcons win another Sac-Joaquin Section championship over Riverbank at Golden 1 Center on Friday afternoon. It’s the 12th section title for the storied program, this one in Division IV.
One of the scholarly stars is Kaia Diedrichs. She is a shy sophomore who dominated in soccer and basketball this winter season. She scored 28 points in her team’s 56-38 win as the top-seeded Falcons won their 18th consecutive game and ran their record to 31-2.
Diedrichs is one of the top players in the section, scoring 287 points. She also brought it on the soccer pitch, netting a school-record and section-best 46 goals this winter. That broke the record of 37 goals she scored as a freshman.
Diedrichs not only balances two sports in the winter season, she runs track in the spring and plays volleyball in the fall. That’s not necessarily an anomaly at 600-student Colfax. Athletic director Justin Heimann said it’s a source of community and campus pride that students play multiple sports while maintaining great grades. Colfax is a small town that embraces its student-athletes. Heimann knows. He is a 1991 graduate of the school, setting some school records, and has been a longtime coach on campus.
His daughter, Maycee Heimann, has been a Falcons basketball leader. Her mother, Michelle, was on the 1992 Colfax section championship team that was recently inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Maycee is a senior in her last hurrah as a Falcon this year. Diedrichs is just getting started. When asked which sport she identifies with more, Diedrichs laughed and looked at her coach.
“It depends on the day.” she said, “I love playing both sports and want to continue playing them both as long as I can.”
Colfax coach Rexanne Simpton said that when Diedrichs found out that soccer and basketball competed at the same time, often on the same days, she recalled how the sophomore begged her mother, Colfax soccer coach Kara Diedrichs, to play both. She did, winning the section title in basketball and soccer. Kara is also a Colfax product, a member of the 1998 Falcons that won a Northern California championship.
“She’s just a gamer. She shows up in big games. Sometimes I wish she would show up in practice like that,” Simpton joked of her two-sport star. “She’s either at soccer practice or at basketball practice, and then comes to team dinners, but her teammates just accept her for her love of sports.”
Simpton added, “Before the season started, she said she was going to win two section championships in one week, and she did.”
Simpton is in her second season as Falcons head coach. She took over from her husband, Rich, who stepped down to focus on coaching their three young sons. She assisted Rich when the Falcons won their previous two section championships.
“I wanted to come in here and put the pieces of the puzzle together to win a championship.” Simpton said. “I think we put those pieces together, and it was just awesome to see that puzzle become a masterpiece and watch it play out.”
Simpton said going into Friday the Falcons had no plans of changing strategy despite the intimidating venue, where teams have often seen their season’s end because they could not shoot straight.
Heimann, the team’s leading scorer this season, had 10 points and had seven rebounds. Sisters Gabriella and Jade Biitner and sophomore Juliette James also contributed beyond the box score with passes and defense.
Friday was a snow day at Colfax, meaning no school. Several inches of snow blanketed the campus. Colfax players closed out their effort with their school fight song, joining the student section that made the trip to Sacramento. Sportsmanship was also on full display for both sides, including Riverbank fans who cheered on their players in defeat.
Colfax will compete in the CIF Northern California regional tournament, which starts next week. The CIF will release those brackets on Sunday.
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 8:17 PM.