Sportstars
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
Made Of Honor | How The Honor Bowl Became A Showcase For More Than Football
After 10-Plus Years, Honor Bowl Creators Reflect On The Origins And Evolution Of Event That Brings High School Football And Military Appreciation Together • Sometimes, out of great suffering and loss can come great hope and reward. The War in Afghanistan that began in 2001 as Operation Enduring Freedom... Read more
City Connect | Adhir Ravipati Recharged With Riordan Football
Four Years After Winning A CIF State Bowl At Menlo-Atherton, Adhir Ravipati ends a three-year hiatus and looks to boost a rising Riordan Football program • PICTURED ABOVE: New Riordan football coach Adhir Ravipati at a recent practice. (Jean-Paul Toshiro photos) There’s a jolt of energy at Archbishop Riordan... Read more
Iron & Fire | Albany Distance Star Sophia Nordenholz Chases Second CIF Title
After Finding And Correcting An Iron Deficiency, Albany High’s Sophia Nordenholz Could Properly Fuel Her Passion For Running — And Become One Of State’s Best Distance Runners • It’s been a long journey to the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships for Albany High senior Sophia Nordenholz.... Read more
Green Machine | De La Salle Golf Aces NCS Title Defense
With Four Of Its Six Golfers Under Par, De La Salle Delivered Perhaps One Of The Most Dominant North Coast Section Championship Performances Ever • UPDATED ON MAY 24 Joey Hayden was the one. As the only member of the De La Salle High golf team to have teed... Read more