Sportstars
Best Of 2023: March | Tales From Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling
Ike Dodson Delivers Six Stories From A Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Championships Weekend Full Of Surprises, Impressive Feats • PICTURED ABOVE: Oakdale Wrestler Carlos Garcia Points At The Camera In Celebration After Claiming The 170 Pound Title At The Sac-Joaquin Masters Wrestling Championships. (Ike Dodson photos) Fierce battles in... Read more
Ike’s Ironmen/Ironwomen | All-NorCal Wrestling ’22-’23
Gilroy’s Isaiah Cortez, Pitman’s Lilly Avalos Shine Brightest As 37 Different Programs Crack Our Fifth Annual All-NorCal Wrestling Honors • PICTURED ABOVE: All-NorCal Wrestling Selection At 220 Pounds, Nolan Frank Of Elk Grove High. (Ike Dodson photos) Our final wrestling story of the 2022-23 season awards special recognition to... Read more
Best Of The Best | NorCal Wrestling Puts 64 On State Podium
A Strong Weekend For Boys & Girls NorCal Wrestling Yielded Eight State Titles At The CIF State Wrestling Championships In Bakersfield • PICTURED ABOVE: Cesar Chavez-Stockton Senior Taydem Khamjoi, Who Won The 131-Pound Girls State Title On Feb. 25. (Ike Dodson photos) Sixty-four Northern California wrestlers escaped the three-day... Read more
NorCal Girls Wrestling | Who’s The Next Amit Elor?
As The Postseason Begins, Expect Big Things From These 137 Wrestlers — The Best Of NorCal Girls Wrestling This Season • PICTURED ABOVE: Bella Vista-Fair Oaks Junior Gianna Dibenedetto (137 Pounds) At The 2022 SJS Masters. (Ike Dodson photos) Before she was the No. 1 ranked female wrestler on... Read more
STARS OF OUR SHOW | NorCal Wrestling Postseason Preview
We Take A Glance At Every Weight Class As The NorCal Wrestling Postseason Grind Arrives — CIF Contenders, Upset Threats & More • PICTURED ABOVE: Franklin-Elk Grove Senior Ammar Khan Is A CIF Medal Contender At 145s. (Ike Dodson photo) Load up the RV with hot dogs and headgear,... Read more
SportStars NorCal Volleyball Rankings | Top 20, Oct. 12
Stockton Classic Results Don’t Change The Very Top Of The NorCal Volleyball Rankings, But Several Teams Move Up This Week • NorCal Volleyball Rankings All records are through Tuesday, Oct. 11. Previous ranking in parenthesis. Record obtained via MaxPreps.PICTURED ABOVE: Members Of No. 10 Marin Catholic-Kentfield Celebrate A Point... Read more
Lily Freitas | SportStars’ 2019-20 Sac-Joaquin Female Athlete of the Year
Pitman High Wrestling Phenom Lily Freitas Earns Athlete Of The Year Honors After Second Straight Undefeated Season • The best female athlete in the Sac-Joaquin Section is a state and national champion wrestler with Olympic ambitions. Lily Freitas is also just a sophomore. The Pitman High-Turlock mat star hasn’t... Read more
All-NorCal Wrestling Honors | Ike’s Ironmen & Ironwomen 2020
Chase Saldate, Lilly Freitas and 22 NorCal teams represented in SportStars’ Third Annual All-NorCal Wrestling Honors • Though it again spanned three grueling days, the combined Boys-Girls CIF Wrestling Championships at Mechanics Bank (formerly Rabobank) Arena in Bakersfield was a resounding triumph for NorCal’s best wrestlers. And for the... Read more
SportStars NorCal Wrestling Team Rankings | Dec. 24
Gilroy Leads The Pack, But It’s Not A Runaway As Vacaville, Pitman, Del Oro And Oakdale All Trail By Narrow Margins • All season, SportStars will align the best wrestlers of each weight class, and the top teams in Northern California into lists of the 10 or 15 best.... Read more
CIF Wrestling Championships: Gilroy Boys, NorCal Girls Shine
Revisiting NorCal’s Key Stories, Newsmakers And Highlights Of NorCal’s Three Days And Nights At The CIF Wrestling Championships • Denied a CIF team wrestling championship in his first opportunity to win one at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield Saturday, Gilroy wrestling coach and UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier crafted a... Read more