Sportstars
Jeramy Sweany Vacaville -Wrestling
Sweany captured the CIF State Championship at 195 pounds with a pin of Elk Grove’s Scott Votino under the spotlight at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield on March 3. Sweany’s state title was an impressive follow-up to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters championship he won the previous week at Stockton Arena.... Read more
Nikko Villareal  Gilroy – Wrestling
After dramatically winning the state title last year in the 138-pound division, Villareal defended his crown in Bakersfield on March 3 when he beat Elijah Davis of Riordan-San Francisco 3-1 at Rabobank Arena. Even though he doesn’t have a college picked yet, he knows he wants to compete in... Read more
Gabby Green St. Mary’s-Berkeley – Basketball
It comes as no shock that once again St. Mary’s and Salesian are locked in a battle for NCS Div. IV supremacy. Salesian won Round 1 in January but the Panthers took the last two meetings, including a 48-40 victory in the TCAL championship on Feb. 16. Green was... Read more
Kerry McCullough Placer-Auburn – Basketball
McCullough scored a team-high nine points, including a three-pointer that put the Lady Hillmen ahead for good in a 48-46 Pioneer Valley League road win over rival Bear River-Grass Valley. The following game, she tallied a team-high 16 points in a come-from-behind 52-44 win over Foothill to capture a... Read more
Darin Johnson Sheldon Basketball SportStar of the Week
Darin Johnson earns prestigious SportStar of the Week honors after stellar performance netting his team the win! With key Huskies out due to injury and illness, Darin Johnson scored a career-high 42 points in a 97-92 shootout win over Bay Area power Deer Valley-Antioch. He scored 19  in the... Read more
ERIC ROGSTAD Acalanes – Soccer
Before the season began, the senior goalkeeper had high hopes for a final ride and going out on top. Breaking his hand in the first practice and missing the first month of the season wasn’t part of the plan. Still, Rogstad made lemonade out of lemons and helped contribute... Read more
Taft Partridge Granite Bay – Football
The fullback accounted for the majority of the yards during the Grizzlies’ game-winning touchdown drive in the CIF Division I Bowl championship on Dec. 14. Trailing 20-14 with just 3:40 remaining in the game, Partridge grinded out 56 of the 77 yards Granite Bay needed, including a key 33-yard... Read more
TIAPEPE VITALE De La Salle – Football
Despite suffering a shoulder injury on the team’s second possession of the CIF Open Division Bowl championship game, the senior tailback delivered a vintage Spartans performance. He rushed 26 times for 145 yards and four touchdowns to help lift De La Salle to a 48-28 win over Centennial-Corona, cementing... Read more
Maggie Bell Granite Bay – Cross Country
Bell finished her amazing first high school cross country season by capturing the CIF State Cross Country Championships Division II title at Woodward Park in Fresno. She set the pace and led nearly wire-to-wire to finish the 5,000-meter course in 17:29, four seconds ahead of the next finisher. Her... Read more
Kendall Smith Deer Valley –  Basketball
If people didn’t know who Smith was a couple weeks ago, they definitely do now. He set a NorCal Tipoff Classic record with 48 points as he led the Wolverines to a thrilling 97-96 Double OT victory over Sacramento on Nov. 25. He followed that up with 35 points... Read more
JENA PIANIN Amador Valley – Cross Country
Defending your title is difficult enough. But doing it in the pouring rain and running in the mud definitely throws a wrench in strategy. Jena Pianin did just that when she captured her second straight NCS Div. I cross country title with a 3-mile time of 17 minutes, 56... Read more
Joe Protheroe Clayton Valley Charter-Concord – Football
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that one of the most potent tandems in the Bay Area football landscape are the Brothers Protheroe. The elder one, Joe, a senior running back, is a catalyst for an Eagles squad that just captured its first league crown since 2008.... Read more