Sportstars
‘Sky High’ | Granada Softball Storms Stampede
With High Confidence And Loud Bats, Granada Softball Won A Stacked Livermore Stampede Tournament To Take Over NorCal’s No. 1 Ranking • PICTURED ABOVE: Livermore Stampede tournament MVP, Makayla Winchell. (Chace Bryson photos) As Granada High softball pitcher Alex Mello continued to retire hitter after hitter in the Livermore... Read more
Pride & Perseverance | Salesian Girls Basketball Takes Winding Road To Glory
Behind A Strength-In-Numbers Approach, Salesian Girls Basketball Navigated A Frustrating And Demanding Season To Win The Program’s First State Title • PICTURED ABOVE: Salesian senior Kaylie Edge. (David Gershon photos) The morning after winning his first state championship in four tries, Salesian High girls basketball coach Steve Pezzola was... Read more
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
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
California Love | Bronzini, Cal High Baseball Step Into Spotlight
With LSU-Bound Ace Nic Bronzini Leading The Way, NorCal-Ranked Cal High Baseball Is Ready To Finally Get A Postseason Shot • PICTURED ABOVE: California Ace Hurler, Nic Bonzini. (Chace Bryson photos) California High senior pitcher Nic Bronzini is a massive presence. The hard-throwing southpaw stands 6-foot-3. He struck out... 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
Proving Perfection | Heritage Softball Opens ’22 Ready To Roll
A Team Shouldn’t Need To Prove Itself After Any Undefeated Season, But Heritage Softball Is Ready To Take NorCal’s Best Shot PICTURED ABOVE: Seniors Tianna Bell, Right, And Kasey Aguinaga Heritage Softball made it look easy in 2021.  In a 25-0 season, the Patriots played just two one-run games.... 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
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
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