Sportstars
SportStars’ Season-Opening NorCal Softball Top 20
Led By A Pair Of Undefeated Teams From 2021, The Season-Opening NorCal Softball Top 20 Suggests A Riveting Three Months Ahead Of Us • PICTURED ABOVE: No. 1 St. Francis-Mountain View from March 2020. (SFHS Athletics photo) 1. ST. FRANCIS-MOUNTAIN VIEW (26-0 in 2021) It’s Jessica Oakland’s world and... Read more
Laguna Creek Wrestling | Reversal Of Fortune
How Elk Grove’s Laguna Creek High Suddenly Became A Sac-Joaquin Section Wrestling Stalwart With Three CIF State Wrestling Qualifiers •  This story will also appear in the March 2022 PDF edition out Feb. 24. Until 2022, Laguna Creek High of Elk Grove was to wrestling what socks are to... Read more
Chase-ing Perfection | NorCal Section Wrestling Championships Review
Undefeated Champion, Record-Setting Tournaments Highlight Section Wrestling Championships Weekend As NorCal’s Finest Set Sights On Bakersfield And The CIF State Championships • PICTURED ABOVE: Oakdale’s Michael Torres celebrates his 126-pound Masters title. (Ike Dodson photos) Chase Nutting’s championship mullet had to be styled with performance-enhancing substances Friday and Saturday at... Read more
Grinders In Green | Moreau Catholic Basketball Outlasts Liberty
Hostile Crowd, Lots Of Fouls, And A Very Good Liberty Team Couldn’t Keep Moreau Catholic From Advancing To The NCS Div. I Semis • Moreau Catholic basketball coach Frank Knight stood outside of the visitors locker room on a brisk February evening at Liberty High in Brentwood.  Fifteen minutes... Read more
All Gas, No Brakes | Ponderosa Basketball Revs Up For Act II
As The Playoffs Arrive, The State’s Last Remaining Unbeaten Div. II Team Is Ready To Prove The Last Three Months Were No Fluke • There was always an end game. And the Ponderosa basketball team’s seniors have reached it.  The high school’s 2022 class of hoopers have had high... Read more
Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Championships Preview
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: Ike Dodson Delivers A Weight-By-Weight Breakdown Of The SJS Masters Wrestling Championships That Begin Friday Below is the most comprehensive Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Championships Preview you will ever read — mostly because we are the only ones crazy enough about wrestling to write one. With... Read more
SportStars NorCal Wrestler Rankings (106-145) | Feb. 17
Postseason Weight Class Movements Compelled Us To Dial Up New NorCal Wrestler Rankings Prior To Section Championship Weekend • PICTURED ABOVE: Julian Sanchez of Ponderosa-Shingle Springs (No. 9 @ 113s). (Ike Dodson photo) Bonus content! We saw enough changes in divisional action from the Sac-Joaquin Section and weight class... Read more
SportStars NorCal Wrestler Rankings (152-285) | Feb. 17
Postseason Weight Class Movements Compelled Us To Dial Up New NorCal Wrestler Rankings Prior To Section Championship Weekend • PICTURED ABOVE: Jason Brauning, top, of Vacaville (No. 5 @ 152s). (Ike Dodson photo) Bonus content! We saw enough changes in divisional action from the Sac-Joaquin Section and weight class... Read more
Over The Hump | Granada Basketball Opens Playoffs With Big Win
Tough Losses Are In The Rearview As Livermore’s Granada Boys Basketball Team Storms Into EBAL Semifinals • PICTURED ABOVE: Granada senior wing, Kevin Gad (Chace Bryson photos) For the better part of a month, the Granada boys basketball team has been right on the cusp of a breakthrough win. ... Read more
California Highschooler Breaks 4min Indoors
Colin Sahlman and Lex Young, both of Newbury Park High School in California, and BYU pole vaulter Zach McWhorter turned in outstanding performances at The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center during the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge. Photos of Young and Sahlman by John Nepolitan. California high... Read more
SportStars NorCal Girls Wrestling Rankings | Jan. 28
Our Final Regular Season NorCal Girls Wrestling Rankings Features Several New Names — Including A Very Notable One • PICTURED ABOVE: Del Oro-Loomis junior Elena Ivaldi (No. 1 in 121s). (Ike Dodson photo) She’s baaaaack. Both on the mat and atop the 235-pound Division of our newest NorCal Girls... Read more
2021 NorCal Football Player Of The Year | Tyler Tremain
The Superlative Impact Player, Folsom Senior Quarterback Tyler Tremain Brought Unmatched Value To The Gridiron This Fall • WANT MORE ALL-NORCAL FOOTBALL COVERAGE?NorCal Offensive Player Of The Year: Viliami Teu, RB, St. Francis-Mtn. ViewAll-NorCal Defensive TeamNorCal Defensive Player Of The Year: Zeke Berry, DB, De La Salle-ConcordAll-NorCal Offensive Team7... Read more