Sportstars
Granite Bay Golf: Diverse, Talented Roster Fuels Girls Powerhouse
NEW WORLD ORDER: A Young Phenom, Tested Veterans And An International Talent Has Granite Bay Golf Aiming For More Than Just A Fifth Straight SJS Girls Crown • On Oct. 14, Anika Varna shot a two-under-par 70 across 18 holes to lead Granite Bay Golf to its fifth straight... Read more
Placer Football: Size & Smarts Guide Hillmen’s Leading Duo
Placer Football Plows Toward League Title Run Behind Punishing Fullback Hans Grassmann And Scholarly Lineman Kyle Christensen • Before the monster under your bed goes to sleep at night, he first checks to see if Placer Football fullback Hans Grassmann is hiding in the closet. The Auburn school’s hulking... Read more
Riley Chamberlain: Del Oro Cross Country’s Rabbit Whisperer
A Dominant State Champion Cross Country Runner As A Freshman A Year Ago, Del Oro’s Riley Chamberlain Isn’t Shy About Her Olympic Aspirations • She prefers to train in a chatty group. But in competition, Riley Chamberlain has only the trail and her thoughts for company. “I will think... Read more
Jewel Roemer: Acalanes Water Polo’s National Team-Caliber Engine
Acalanes Water Polo Charges Toward A North Coast Section Repeat, Powered By Jewel Roemer — Arguably The Bay Area’s Biggest Water Polo Talent Since Maggie Steffens • Jewel Roemer amazes in many ways. Foremost might be her positive energy, which shines like the sun. And there’s her mastery of... Read more
Center Football: Michael Wortham Jr. Is Stepping Out
Michael Wortham Jr. Can Bust A Move And Spin A Football — And Center High’s, Dance-Loving Quarterback Is Ready For The Spotlight • Hidden in the bowels of the internet, still undetected by YouTube copyright infringement, is a 2009 home video that opens with a black curtain in the... Read more
Rocklin Volleyball: Erlandsen, Crane Fuel High-Flying SJS Favorite
THUNDER STRIKE: Ivana Erlandsen’s Acrobatic Style And Kennedy Crane’s Steady Lead Are Two Of Many Reasons Rocklin Is Ready To Take Flight In 2019 • Long before she climbed over 30,000 feet en route to Kamehameha’s Labor Day Volleyball Classic on Hawaii’s Big Island, 6-foot Rocklin senior Ivana Erlandsen learned... Read more
Pleasant Valley Football: Defending CIF Champs Ready For Battle
Chico’s Pleasant Valley High Opens Its Season At Del Oro With 12 Returning Starters, A Dynamite Junior Class — And Special Forces Training • “Everyone has a job to do.” It’s the mantra of the Pleasant Valley football program.  It wasn’t crafted by its stellar bookend offensive tackles or other... Read more
Cameron Skattebo: “I Will Score”, Rio Linda’s Relentless RB
NorCal’s Most Prolific Running Back From 2018, Cameron Skattebo Returns With A Goal Of 300 Yards A Game For The Defending CIF Bowl Champs • Before he was a Northern California football legend and a Division 5-A State Bowl Champion for Rio Linda, Cameron Skattebo was a running back... Read more
Lexi Webb: NorCal Softball Player Of The Year
Oakdale Slugger Proved Just As Dominant In The Circle On Her Way To Leading Mustangs To 29 Wins, Sac-Joaquin Section Title • If Oakdale’s Cal-Hi Sports State Championship softball team is the Avengers, then Lexi Webb is surely its Iron Ma’am. The Mustang’s home-run clubbing, strikeout pitching, Thanos-killing senior... Read more
Vacaville Baseball: Simply Spectacular SJS Repeat
Third Generation Vacaville High Athlete Devereaux Harrison Sends 31-Win Baseball Team To The Sac-Joaquin Championship “Bulldog”-Pile • One does not simply win a section baseball pennant without a massive infield dogpile. Something Vacaville baseball star Devereaux Harrison knows all too well. The obligatory title celebration of Sac-Joaquin Section baseball... Read more
Ben Dillard: Oak Ridge Swim’s Speed Racer
Just A Junior, Ben Dillard Leads The Oak Ridge Boys Swim Team At A Torrid Pace • Amphibious Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills junior Ben Dillard has an insatiable thirst for high-speed races inside 25-meter pools. The lanky, shaggy-haired USC-commit set a CIF State Championship meet record in the 100-meter... Read more
Woodland Christian Softball: Cardinals Of Crush
Led By Power Hitting Tandem, Jordyn Hutchins And Anna Pires, Woodland Christian Chases Toward Another Section Title One Longball At A Time • Coach Jerry Miller doesn’t play favorites with his Woodland Christian softball team. It’s not that he appreciates contributions evenly — he does make a batting order... Read more