Sportstars
Final NorCal Boys Basketball Rankings | 2021-22
Modesto Christian’s 30-Win Season, Regional Open Title Secure Crusaders The Top Spot In Our Final NorCal Boys Basketball Rankings • PICTURED ABOVE: Div. II State Champions, No. 12 Elk Grove . (David Gershon photo) Final NorCal Boys Basketball Rankings. Previous rank in parenthesis 1. (1) Modesto Christian (30-6) Crusaders... Read more
Ike’s Ironmen/Ironwomen | All-NorCal Wrestlers 2022
Oakdale’s Ceasar Garza, Whitney’s Leah Brown Lead The Way As 20 Different Programs Are Represented In SportStars’ Fourth Annual All-NorCal Wrestling Honors • PICTURED ABOVE: Leah Brown of Whitney-Rocklin (Ike Dodson photo) The return of wrestling was a resounding success for many of the grapplers represented by SportStars’ NorCal... Read more
Promise Fulfilled | Seniors Lead Whitney Soccer To NorCal Title
A Talented 2022 Class Delivered On Long-Awaited Expectations In Leading Whitney Soccer To A CIF Div. I Crown, Cementing The Program Among Region’s Elite • When Joel Williams took over as the Whitney soccer coach, his vision was to help elevate the varsity boys to become one of the... Read more
Ice Surprise | Ellie Kleinheinz Slides Into Success
A Little More Than Two Years Ago, Ellie Kleinheinz Didn’t Even Know What Luge Was —  This Week, The Archbishop Mitty Freshman Will Be Competing To Win Her Second Youth National Title Ellie Kleinheinz picks up the red sled — the one with famous Disney Pixar character Lightning McQueen’s... Read more
NorCal Baseball 2022 | Players To Watch
We’ve Listed More Than 100 Names Of Guys We Expect To Be Impact Players Throughout The 2022 Season Of NorCal Baseball • PICTURED ABOVE: Valley Christian-San Jose pitcher, Jacob Hudson (Chace Bryson photo) As we prepared for our NorCal Baseball and Softball preview coverage to be included in our... Read more
SportStars’ Season-Opening NorCal Baseball Top 20
De La Salle And Its Arsenal Of Pitching Talent Opens Atop Our First NorCal Baseball Top 20 Rankings Of The 2022 Season • PICTURED ABOVE: No. 1 De La Salle (Jean-Paul Toshiro photo) 1. DE LA SALLE-CONCORD (20-4 in 2021) Good pitching beats good hitting and the Spartans have... Read more
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
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
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
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
7 Friday Night Podcast | Ep. 23: All-NorCal Season Finale
SportStars Puts A Bow On The 2021 Season With An Episode Full Of Postseason Award And All-NorCal Football Team Discussion • In the final episode of our first season, hosts Chace and Ben wrap up the 2021 Northern California high school football season with an in-depth discussion on SportStars’... Read more