Sportstars
PERPETUAL PANTHER | Antioch High’s Fifita Grewe Never Stops
With An Intense Work Ethic And Passion For Improving The Lives Of Others, Multi-Sport Athlete & Student Leader Fifita Grewe Isn’t Slowing Down Anytime Soon Fifita Grewe has a schedule that would be daunting to most adults, but the Antioch High School junior wouldn’t have it any other way.... Read more
EYEING HISTORY | Salesian Basketball Set New Bar For Excellence
On the court and in the classroom, a talented, unselfish, hard-working Salesian boys basketball ensemble achieved one of the greatest seasons in the history of its storied program Story by M. Scott | Photos by David Gershon Bill Mellis doesn’t always look at the score or the time or... Read more
Following The Plan | Valley Christian Baseball At It Again
One Year After A Heartbreaking NorCal Championship Loss, Valley Christian-San Jose Baseball Is Off To A 7-0 Start Behind Loads Of Returning Talent And A Familiar Guide PICTURED ABOVE: Quinten Marsh crosses the plate against Elk Grove on Feb. 24. (David Gershon photo) Watching another team skip, flail and... Read more
Hungry For More | Whitney Softball Opens 2024 With High Hopes
After Graduating Just Four Seniors From A Section Championship Team And CIF NorCal Semifinalist, Whitney Softball Is Cooking Up Some Lofty Goals PICTURED ABOVE: Whitney senior pitcher Hannah Duncan smiles during a Feb. 19 workout. (David Gershon photo) It’s a late President’s Day afternoon and Fresno State-bound senior pitcher... Read more
BEST OF 2023: May | Bailey’s Breakout
Bailey Hartman Is The Latest National-Level Swimmer At Carondelet — But The First Since 2013 To Help Carry The Cougars To An NCS Title • Bailey Hartman sat comfortably in her fold-out camping chair posted squarely in the front corner of the Carondelet swimming tent.  Throughout the morning of... Read more
SportStars Vault | The Night The Pirates Stole The Show
With The ’91 Pittsburg Football Team Going Into The Pittsburg FB Hall Of Fame This Weekend, We Dug Up Our 2011 Feature On That Famous Win • EDITOR’S NOTE: This Article First Appeared In SportStars #37 On Dec. 8, 2011, Marking The 20th Anniversary Of Pittsburg’s 1991 Win Over... Read more
Refuse To Lose | Determined Seniors Power Cardinal Newman Baseball
A Roster With 19 Seniors And An Identity Forged During The Covid Summer Of 2020, Has Cardinal Newman Baseball Among NorCal’s Elite • PICTURED ABOVE: Senior infielder Raul Valdivia (22) gets a high-five from Anane Wilson on his way back to the dugout. (David Gershon photos) During the summer... Read more
Journey To The Center Of The Mat | NorCal’s Kathy Kopara Makes History
Santa Rosa Native And Vacaville Sixth Grade Teacher Kathy Kopara Endured To Become Groundbreaking Wrestling Official At The 2023 CIF Wrestling Championships • TOP PHOTO CREDIT: John Sachs/Tech-Fall.com Kathy Kopara remembers the moment distinctly, though she was oblivious at the time. The 45-year-old Vacaville resident was officiating a first-round... Read more
SPORTSTARS’ VAULT | Pete Saco: Into The Sunset (AUG. 2014)
With News Of Beloved Former Sac-Joaquin Section Commissioner Pete Saco Passing Away, We Share Our Profile Of Him Upon His Retirement • [ EDITORS NOTE: This article was originally published in August 2014 in the final days of Pete Saco’s 21-year tenure as SJS Commissioner. It remains as it... Read more
He’s The Captain Now | A Look At The New Pittsburg Football Coach
Charlie Ramirez Is The First New Pittsburg Football Coach In 21 Years — His Own High School Coach And Former Players Share What To Expect • It was part high-step, part strut and pure emotional release. Charlie Ramirez stormed up the sideline away from a Pittsburg High defense celebrating another... Read more
Best Of Five | Berean Christian Volleyball Makes History
With Four Straight Five-Set Wins, Berean Christian Girls Volleyball Closed Out An Incredible State Championship Run — The School’s First Ever  • EDITOR’S NOTE: This Feature Has Been Updated With Quotes Following Berean Christian’s State Championship Win. More than a half hour had passed since freshman Marley Seelye delivered... Read more
Rock & Roll (To The Right) | QB Caden Pinnick Has Del Oro Shredding
Golden Eagles Off To Best Start Since 2018 Behind Caden Pinnick, A Superb Leader And The Cousin Of Del Oro’s Last State-Winning QB • Admit it. For the first five seconds of Queen’s “Under Pressure,” you secretly hope it’s actually “Ice, Ice Baby.” Sometimes it’s both. Emcee and quarterback... Read more