NorCal Issue 184 August 2020 by Sport Stars Magazine

AUGUST 2020 NORCAL EDITION VOL. 11 ISSUE 184

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August 2020

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Pardon us if we’re longing to see images like this one again. Capital Christian-Sacramento defensive back Maurice Gaines locks in on a receiver during a mid-August workout prior to the 2017 season. Will the next time we get shots like this be mid-December as we ramp up for a deferred fall season? We’ve got our fingers crossed. Photo by JAMES K. LEASH

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August 2020

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o it’s time to wait a little longer, it seems. It’s typically exactly this time of year when SportStars HQ hunkers down to plan the annual Football Preview. It tends to lead into one of the busiest two-week stretches of the year for us here. Now that two-week stretch will happen in December? That’ll be weird. If we can actually get to that point. As I wrote in the magazine’s initial story on the mass delay of fall sports (which we included in this edition beginning on Page 26), it’s great that CIF and its sections made a sweeping decision to give its schools time and its student-athletes a beacon of hope. That said, I wonder if the CIF starts reading the tea leaves in October and decides it may need to propose some changes. And if that’s the case, I’m still a bit mystified about how the state decided on when certains sports would be played under the modified schedule. For one, I feel pretty confident golf could be played now. If the general public can play golf (I created some of my own fairway divots in mid-July), then socially distanced dual meets and tournaments seem doable. Swimming and diving could likely happen now as well. And right there that’s two sports you’ve removed from what has become an incredibly crowded spring under the two-season model. Before going any further, I understand the difficulty and conflict that comes with providing athletic opportunities when schools can’t provide actual classroom opportunities. But at the same time — provided it’s safe — how great would it be to provide those athletes an outlet following the numbing monotony of distance learning? But for argument’s sake, let’s say that out of an abundance of caution, we agree to sticking with the full two-season format. Why not push the highest risk sports the furthest out? If risk aversion is the top priority, close-contact sports such as football and water polo should have probably been placed in the spring season to give it the best possible chance of occurring in the safest possible environment. Meanwhile, outdoor sports like soccer, track, tennis, swimming and golf (since we can’t play them in the ACTUAL fall) could all get played in the December-March timeframe. Yes, putting volleyball and basketball in the same March-June timeframe would definitely create facilities challenges for some schools. However, this sports year was always going to be screwy and difficult to manage no matter how it happened. Why not embrace the chaos and try to give each sport the best chance at actually getting played? This column isn’t meant to be a condemnation of the CIF’s ultimate plan. I applaud them for trying, and for at least knowing a traditional fall season wouldn’t be feasible. This was just a thinking-out-loud exercise for what the CIF may have to consider in a Plan B scenario. Because we really want to be covering high school sports again in December. We honestly don’t care which ones. ✪

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The Longest Preseason As a Beatles fan, one of my favorite tunes is “The Long and Winding Road.” It’s certain that song has nothing to do with high school football in the United States, but it’s what seems to be facing all of us in California in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. After the virus began to spread in early July, heading toward record totals of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in most parts of the state, it wasn’t a surprise on July 20 that the CIF and its sections pushed back fall sports for the 2020-21 school year — until December for first practices and early January for first contests. For football, the initial reaction around the state was for athletic directors to fill openings in schedules. Also, which of the state’s leading recruits from the Class of 2021 would leave for their colleges in January or stick around for their senior season of high school. By the end of the month, most of the schedules were ironed out. One of the biggest surprises was the signing of a home-and-home deal by Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove with national superpower Mater Dei-Santa Ana. The Wolfpack will play at Santa Ana this year with the Monarchs scheduled to play in Northern California the following fall. As for the recruits, there were a few that quickly declared intentions, including KennedyRichmond tight end Jermaine Terry and Liberty-Brentwood defensive tackle Akili Calhoun. Both said they were going to go ahead and check in at Cal in January. A flood did not follow, however, and one of those who first said he was leaving — all-state defensive tackle Victory Vaka from Westlake-Westlake Village in Southern California — changed his mind a few days later. Since the pandemic itself hasn’t exactly abated, the thought of a senior leaving his home in just a few months to go off to more of an unknown college situation (perhaps in a state that is even worse off than California) will be hard to come into focus. It doesn’t seem like that decision has to be made quickly, though, and the colleges themselves might actually be playing their own games in January. So much is so unknown. In some ways, the high school sports community has reverted to the same spot we were in last April 3 when the CIF at that point cancelled the rest of the spring sports season. Well, we all thought at the time, at least we’ll have football and fall sports to look forward to in August. From a big picture standpoint, as it was true a few months earlier, following what some of the biggest school districts in the state are doing is going to be a predictor of what can happen with sports. Those schools will reopen with full online distance learning models. If and when they transition to a more hybrid teaching model (half distance and half on-campus), and then full on-campus learning, that will also be when high school teams can realistically think they’re going to play. It was no accident that the day before the CIF announced its plans for the 2020-21 school year that the state’s two biggest school districts — Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified — both said they had to start the school year with no students on campus. Even before they announced, it seemed like a large majority of teachers were voicing their preference for not returning to their classrooms. Once most teachers feel they’re safe to go back, the districts should start to reopen (and that’s also of course based on where the various counties stand on the state’s pandemic watch lists). The only section that may still have a smattering of teams playing sports this fall is in the far northern part of the Northern Section. The initial reaction of most schools in the section was to go against the CIF and try to get fall sports done in the actual fall. Several days later, the Eastern Athletic League, the league spanning from Redding to Chico and containing the section’s biggest schools, announced it too would be pushing back to match the state schedule. The schools most likely to continue to look at the fall would be some of the section’s far north Division V programs along with leagues that play eight-man football. The impetus for those schools has nothing to do with politics. Most are simply in places way up north that are cold, snowy and just not conducive to football in winter months. Other than some of us thinking about taking a trip in October to a place like Etna, Weaverville or Alturas for a feature on unique, small school football, planning what to do in the high school space until this long, winding preseason road starts to end in late November is going to be a huge challenge. For us at Cal-Hi Sports, it’s always been about state rankings, all-state teams and state records. Thank goodness that third pillar isn’t dependent on actual games being played. There are a lot of state records that can be researched and major historical features based on those records that can always be produced. Records and producing. Somehow, this column meandered back to music. A nice thought in hard times. ✪ Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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Welcome to our eighth annual Bay Area 75 — SportStars’ countdown of the top 75 Bay Area athletes from the 2019-20 school year Obviously, the 2019-20 season was not a normal one. With COVID-19 wiping spring sports off the map by the second week of March, we had to look at things a little differently. Even though some of the region’s best spring athletes didn’t get to compete, there were some whose talent still demanded their inclusion. We feel pretty confident you won’t fight us on those selections. The only criteria used in generating the list were that the athletes must compete at a school from within one of the nine Bay Area counties, and they must have played in a sport which culminated in a sanctioned section title or reached a national-level of success (i.e., won a national championship or been appointed to youth national team). All sports fans know rankings are an opinion, and certainly subjective. They also spark debate and conversation, which is why we love them. So don’t hesitate to give us your thoughts. We’re looking forward to it. —Chace Bryson, Editor

LIZETTE RODRIGUEZ (James Logan-Union City, Jr.), Wrestling Rodriguez led the Colts to the girls team state title by winning her first individual state crown in the 101-pound bracket. It helped when No. 1 seed Paige Morales of Central-Fresno was upset and pinned in the first round of the tournament, but Rodriguez was dominant throughout her run. She won two by pin and the other two by a combined score of 20-1. In the final, she beat Southern Section champ Brianna Gonzalez of Arroyo-San Lorenzo 7-2 to claim the title. Rodriguez was also the NCS champ, scoring a first-round pin in every match before winning the final by injury forfeit.

COURTNEY BEAUDIN (FoothillPleasanton, Sr.), Softball The UCLA-bound Beaudin got just four games in with the nationally-ranked Falcons before spring sports were cancelled. But her prowess as one of the state’s top catching prospects still lands her on this list. The right-handed slugger combined to bat over .470 with 17 HR and 76 RBI during her sophomore and junior seasons. When the season was halted, Foothill had a 32-game winning streak dating back to 2018.

QUINN DENKER (Bellarmine-San Jose, Sr.), Basketball

JERRY JOHNSON (Pittsburg, Sr.), Football

Denker picked up a number of postseason honors following a senior year in which he helped lead the Bells to a 23-5 record. He averaged 16.6 points, 6.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds and was named the Central Coast Section Player of the Year by 49ers Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area. He was also a third team SportStars All-NorCal selection and a third-team CalHiSports.com All-State Elite selection. Bellarmine finished as CCS Open runners-up.

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A second team SportStars All-NorCal selection, Sadler stuffed the stat sheet almost every game. She averaged 18.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 5.7 steals for the 22-win Bruins. In a December 10 win over Rodriguez-Fairfield, the University of Washington-bound star missed a quadruple double by just one assist and two rebounds. She had 20 points, 12 steals, nine assists and eight boards. She scored a season-high 38 points against Redwood on Dec. 28.

Johnson didn’t waste any time hinting at the type of 2019 season he was going to have. In a season-opener at St. Mary’s-Stockton, Johnson set a school record with six touchdowns passes. He’d go on to throw for 2,917 yards, 34 TDs and just seven INTs for an 11-2 Pirates team that reached the North Coast Section Open Division final. He was one of four QBs named to the SportStars All-NorCal team and picked up the Bay Area News Group’s Offensive Player of the Year honor.

TAMEIYA SADLER (St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo, Sr.), Basketball

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DORIAN HALE (De La Salle-Concord, Jr.), Football, Baseball Coming into his third season on varsity and his second as a starter, De La Salle opened up the playbook for Hale in 2019. The southpaw responded with a dominant campaign. Leading one of the most-balanced Spartans offenses in some time, Hale passed for 2,038 passing yards and 19 TDs. The SportStars All-NorCal selection also used his legs to rush for 577 yards and 14 more scores. Hale was also part of the De La Salle pitching staff in the spring, but the season ended before he could take the mound.

JULIA CABRI (Archbishop MittySan Jose, Sr.), Volleyball

ADUAGO NWACHUKWU (Silver CreekSan Jose, Jr.), Wrestling

Cabri is headed for Princeton following a three-year varsity career with the Monarchs. CalHiSports.com named her second-team All-State after she helped lead Mitty to a 28-12 finish. Cabri played over 90 sets in all three of her varsity seasons and was named first team All-West Catholic Athletic League as both a junior and senior.

The CCS 126-pound champion earned the top seed at the CIF State Championships and proved deserving of it. She rolled through the 126 state bracket with one of the best single performances of the tournament, including a round No. 1 technical fall, two pins and a 16-6 shellacking of the tournament’s No. 2 seed, Southern Section champion Samantha Barragan of Hemet, in the final.

KELLY KERN (Carondelet-Concord, Sr.), Track

ALEX BEAN (Sacred Heart PrepAtherton, Sr.), Lacrosse

MIA MASTROV (Miramonte-Orinda, Jr.), Basketball

MEGAN EDELMAN (Monte Vista-Danville, Sr.), Soccer

Had the 2020 track season not been almost entirely wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kern is likely much higher on this list. The twotime defending NCS pole vaulting champion — and meet record holder (13 feet, 4 inches) — was poised for another big season. The former USATF Junior National Champion in the 13-14 age group will look to win her next competition as a Stanford Cardinal. She was considered the nation’s No. 2 girls pole vault recruit at the end of her junior season.

The Loyola University (Maryland) commit was considered among the top recruits in the Western Region after helping the Gators to an 18-4 record in 2019. Prior to the 2020 season being wiped out, the defender was listed by US Lacrosse Magazine as one of the nation’s 25 players to watch.

Edelman is making her third consecutive appearance in the Bay Area 75. She does so following a senior season in which she led the North Coast Section-champion Mustangs in goals (20) and points (47). Monte Vista finished 19-3-2 and reached the CIF Div. I regional semifinals. The UCLA-bound Edelman picked up first team All-NCS honors from Prep2Prep. com and first team All-East Bay Athletic League

honors for the third straight year.

As one of the Bay Area’s most impactful twoway players, Buchanan seemed to single-handedly spur a Wildcats revival in 2019. The UC Davis signee passed for 1,785 yards with 18 TDs and rushed for another 557 yards and nine more scores. He lined up at linebacker on the other side of the ball and recorded 83 tackles with six sacks. St. Ignatius went 9-3 on the year and were the only NorCal team to defeat NorCal 1A-champ Serra.

A second team SportStars All-NorCal selection, Mastrov’s all-around game propelled Miramonte to a 23-6 record. She could score inside and out and brought a defensive presence that powered both the Miramonte press and its halfcourt defense. She averaged 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals.

NUSI MALANI (Serra-San Mateo, Sr.), Football The WCAL Defensive Lineman of the Year set the tone for the NorCal-champion Padres. Malani racked up 61 tackles and four sacks on his way to being named first-team All-State by CalHiSports.com. He also earned SportStars All-NorCal honors, and was among four players closely considered for our NorCal Defensive Player of the Year. He was eventually bestowed that honor by the Bay Area News Group. The Virginia-bound talent had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a CCS Open semifinal win over Wilcox-Santa Clara.

TEDDYe BUCHANAN (St. Ignatius-S.F., Sr.), Football

COLTON SWINTH (Maria CarrilloSanta Rosa, Jr.), cross country, track

ALEXIS BISHOP (San Marin-Novato, Sr.), Softball, Basketball

NATALIE GROVER (Menlo-AthertonAtherton, Sr.), Volleyball

MEGAN GRANT (Aragon-San Mateo, So.), Softball, Basketball, Volleyball

One week after finishing runner-up in the Div. III race at the North Coast meet, Swinth raced his way to a state title. The CIF Div. III champion finished Fresno’s Woodward Park course in 15 minutes, 10.2 seconds. It was good enough to beat the second-place finisher (his teammate Rory Smail) by more than 12 seconds, and the third-place finisher by more than 22 seconds.

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The Mustangs two-sport standout makes her second straight Bay Area 75 appearance. The Cal-bound catcher and corner infielder got only four games into her senior season before it was cancelled, robbing her a chance to improve on her junior numbers of eight home runs, 35 RBI and a .530 average. She once again manned the point for a San Marin hoops team that finished 21-11. She averaged 5.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and just over one assist and one steal per game.

The 6-foot-1 outside hitter provided just about whatever the Bears needed in 2019. CalHiSports.com named Grover second team AllState after she amassed 365 kills, 296 digs, 61 aces and 30 blocks for a Menlo-Atherton team that went 26-7. The Dartmouth College-bound hitter was also a first-team All-Santa Clara Valley Athletic League selection.

Grant is now halfway to becoming the first athlete, male or female, to rank in the Bay Area 75 for all four year of her prep career. The UCLA softball commit got only seven at bats before her season was cancelled. She still managed to smack a home run, score twice and drive in three. She helped lead the varsity basketball team to a 17-10 mark by averaging 6.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 steal per game. Grant was also part of a JV volleyball team which won 19 games. August 2020

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MIKE MITCHELL (Archbishop Mitty-San Mateo, Jr.), Basketball Mitchell proved himself one of the West Catholic Athletic League’s best all-around players for the second straight season. The Pepperdine commit shared the league’s Co-MVP honors with Riordan’s Je’Lani Clark (who appears later on this list). Mitchell averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals as he led Mitty to a 23-5 record and a CCS Open Div. championship.

JOSH EWERT (Campolindo-Moraga, So.), Volleyball

JE’LANI CLARK (Archbishop Riordan-S.F., Sr.), Basketball

Sekona has been one of the Bay Area’s mostrecruited defensive linemen since his sophomore season. He closed his Wildcats career out in style in 2019 with 82 tackles and 10 sacks for a defense that posted five shutouts and allowed just 5.3 points per game. Marin Catholic would wind up NCS Div. IV runners-up after losing to Cardinal Newman 13-10. The USC-bound Sekona was a SportStars All-NorCal selection and CalHiSports.com first-team All-State honoree.

BROCK BOWERS (Napa, Jr.), Football, Basketball

JOEY SCHOTT (St. Francis-Mountain View, Sr.), Baseball, Football

Ewert, whose older brother Jordan just closed out a career at Stanford, has been on the national recruiting radar since his eighth grade year when he starred for Pacific Rim Volleyball Academy’s top 16U team. He was entering his sophomore season at Campolindo as one the top 2022 recruits in the country according to VolleyballMag.com.

Bowers enters his senior year as 247sports. com’s No. 3-ranked tight end in the country for the 2020 class. The SportStars All-NorCal selection was also named the Napa County Player of the Year by the Napa Valley Register after catching 39 passes for 1,098 yards and 14 TDs for the 7-4 Grizzlies. Georgia, Oregon, Penn State and Cal are among his top suitors. The 6-foot-4 Bowers was also a presence in the paint during the winter.

Schott was honored with the Nate Dillingham Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to St. Francis High’s top male athlete. He earned the honor after only appearing in his dominant sport for one game. The Baylor-bound pitcher didn’t get a chance to defend his 2019 WCAL Pitcher of the Year award thanks to COVID-19 cancellation. However, he was able to help the football team as QB/WR hybrid. He caught 26 passes for 328 yards and five TDs, and completed 28 of 55 passes for 421 yards and a TD.

EDWARD WOODS (McClymonds-Oakland, Sr.), Football Woods is bound for Arizona State after earning multiple all-region honors as the linchpin of a McClymonds team that reached its fourth consecutive CIF state bowl game. The Oakland Athletic League MVP and SportStars All-NorCal defensive back led a defense that recorded six shutouts. He grabbed four interceptions and returned three punts and one kickoff for touchdowns.

JULIA LEONTINI (Monte Vista-Danville, Sr.), Soccer

NYA VALENCIA (Sobrato-Morgan Hill, So.), Wrestling

53. JEMAR SEKONA (Marin CatholicKentfield, Sr.), Football

The Stanford-bound midfielder was a team captain for a 19-3-2 Mustangs team that won the NCS Div. I title and reached the CIF regional semifinals. The East Bay Athletic League MVP also earned first team All-NCS honors from Prep2Prep.com after scoring 10 goals and adding nine assists.

It’s one thing to win a CIF state wrestling championship. It’s another thing do it after entering the tournament unseeded. That’s what Valencia did in the 106-pound bracket this past February in Bakersfield. The CCS champ stormed through the state bracket, shellacking the No. 2 seed 9-1 in her second match. The No. 1 seed didn’t fare much better, as Valencia beat Alyssa Valdivia of Frontier-Camarillo 11-4 in the finale.

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Clark closed out a stellar three-year varsity career as the Co-MVP of the West Catholic Athletic League after leading the Crusaders to a share of the regular season title. The Nevada-bound combo guard was a stat monster, averaging 15.8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals. He put up 36 points and eight rebounds when Riordan clinched a share of the league title in a win over Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F..His multiple postseason honors included a SportStars second team All-NorCal selection and CalHiSports.com third-team AllState Elite honor.

AUDREY PAK (Campolindo-Moraga, Sr.), Volleyball The UCLA-bound Pak was the unquestioned senior leader for a Cougars team that went 27-7 and won the CIF Div. I NorCal championship. The accomplished setter set the tone for Campolindo and was a stabilizing voice following the team’s loss in the NCS Div. I championship match. She was a CalHiSports. com second team All-State selection.

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EMMA VANE (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, Sr.), Soccer Vane was named both the WCAL Player of the Year and the Prep2Prep.com CCS Player of the Year after leading the Monarchs to a 21-2-3 record and the CCS Open Div. title. The junior scored 11 goals and assisted on 12 more. Two of her 11 goals were postseason game-winners, including the only goal in a 1-0 regional quarterfinal win over Berkeley. Vane was part of the 2018 Vision Academy ‘02 team that won the U.S. Club Soccer National Cup.

OLIVIA WILLIAMS (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, Jr.), Basketball

PAUL M. ROSA (Wilcox-Santa Clara, Sr.), Football

ROBBY BEASLEY (Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, Sr.), Basketball

A 6-foot-1 wing who can shoot 40 percent behind the arc, Williams was a matchup nightmare for Monarch opponents. The UC Irvine commit averaged 12 points and 4.6 rebounds for a Mitty team that was clearly NorCal’s best squad. Williams picked up several postseason honors, including second team All-State (CalHiSports.com), second team All-NorCal (SportStars), CCS Junior of the Year (Prep2Prep.com) and first team AllWCAL. In late spring, she was named to New Zealand’s U-19 national team.

An injury cost him 25 percent of his season, but Rosa was nothing short of prolific in the nine games he did play. Rosa rushed for 1,787 yards and 16 TDs, caught a pair of TD passes, and even threw a 74-yard TD pass in a CCS playoff win over Menlo-Atherton. Rosa was a SportStars All-NorCal selection, a CalHiSports.com third team All-State honoree and the SCVAL De Anza Division MVP. He will continue his career at Chapman University.

The versatile Montana-bound guard averaged 23.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 steals over 20 games. The Wildcats were 22-2 and ranked No. 4 in NorCal before Beasley suffered a season-ending torn meniscus one week before the playoffs. SportStars named Beasley second team All-NorCal and CalHiSports.com named him third team All-State Elite.

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43. TATUM GEIST (San Ramon Valley-Danville, Sr.), Lacrosse Geist entered her senior year on a number of state and national watch

lists. The Georgetown-bound midfielder was coming off a junior season in which she was named the Brine/US Lacrosse West Player of the Year by US Lacrosse Magazine. That honor came on the heels of leading the Wolves to a perfect 22-0 season while compiling 37 goals and 50 assists.

42. LIAM JOHNSON (Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton, Sr.), Soccer

KATHERINE DUONG (Cuperinto, Sr.), Tennis After two straight seasons of finishing as the CCS singles runner-up to threetime champion (and two-time Bay Area 75 honoree) Ashley Yeah, Duong finally got her much-deserved spotlight. She won the CCS singles title without dropping a set. TennisRecruiting.net ranked Duong as the no. 3 recruit in the state and within the Top 15 nationally for her class. She signed with Illinois.

JAMIR SHEPARD (Palo Alto, Sr.), Football, Basketball

TELANA LEPOLO (St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda, So.), Basketball

LEAH FREEMAN (Berkeley, Sr.), Soccer

KENDALL ALLEN (Vacaville Chrisitan, So.), Football, Basketball, Track

ETHAN HU (Harker School-San Jose, Sr.), Swimming

After starting his four-year Gators varsity career as a defender, Johnson eventually transitioned to forward and became one of the region’s top strikers. Prep2Prep.com naemd him CCS Player of the Year after scoring 24 goals and

Shepard ranks inside this list’s top 40 for the second straight season after another strong year both on the field and in the gym. Shepard was the SCVAL De Anza Offensive MVP after averaging 19.25 yards per catch with seven TDs in the regular season. He added four more postseason scores. He was also the team’s top player on the hardwood, scoring a team-high 17 points in a CCS Div. I semifinal.

adding 20 assists while leading Sacred Heart Prep to an undefeated regular season. The Santa Clara-bound Johnson also earned West Bay Athletic League Forward of the Year honors for his efforts.

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While her numbers may not jump off the page thanks to a talented and balanced Pilots lineup, Lepolo’s skill is obvious to any who watch her. She averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists for a St. Joseph team that won the NCS Open Div. championship. Lepolo was also considered one of NorCal’s top defenders. She earned second team All-State honors from CalHiSports.com and was also a second team SportStars All-NorCal selection. Freeman will enter Oregon this fall having already played goalkeeper for both the U-18 and U-16 US Youth National Teams. This past January, she earned a shutout in goal as part of a 5-0 win over Norway at the 2020 U-18 Tricontinental Cup. Top Drawer Soccer listed her among the nation’s top 40 recruits for the Class of 2020. Freeman led Berkeley to an NCS Div. I runnerup finish, logging 17 saves in a semifinal win over Carondelet.

Shaping up as NorCal’s next great small school athlete, Allen is a name you need to know. The Falcons’ young three-sport star caught 51 passes for 12 TDs for a football team that finished 7-5. He also had three interceptions on defense. He was the basketball team’s MVP after averaging 21.8 points per game. He’s also an accomplished track athlete specializing in the 400 and 800 meters. Hu graduated Harker ranked among the top 10 senior swimming recruits in the country by SwimSwam.com. He’s a six-time CCS champion and holds meet records in three of the events: 100 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 200 medley relay. The butterfly is Hu’s most dominant stroke. He had 2020’s fastest high school time in the 100 fly nationwide. He’s a two-time state champion in the event and holds the CIF record. He also picked up a state title in the 200 IM. SportStars recently named the Stanford-bound Hu to its list of the 10 best NorCal swimmers of the past decade.

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BRYCE MONROE (Archbishop Riordan-S.F., Sr.), Basketball Monroe was a first team SportStars All-NorCal selection after leading the Crusaders in both points (20.2 per game) and assists (3.2). He also added 3.2 rebounds per game. The Sam Houston State-bound point guard and his cousin Je’Lani Clark (No. 51 on this list) comprised the Bay Area’s best backcourt. Monroe saved his best games for the best opponents. He scored 44 in a win over eventual NorCal Div. I-champ Campolindo. Riordan wrapped the year 23-5 after school officials pulled the team from the regional tournament as virus concerns began to peak.

GIANCARLO WOODS (Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa, Sr.), Football, Basketball Woods was selected to the third team of CalHiSports.com’s annual All-State Grid-Hoop teams this past June. The 6-foot-1 wide receiver hauled in 52 catches for 864 yards and 13 TDs as Cardinal Newman went 14-1 and won the CIF 3-AA State Bowl championship. He also shined on special teams with 461 kick return yards and three scores. In the winter, he was a first team AllNorth Bay League selection for a Cardinals team that went 21-8.

SAMANTHA STERNFELS (Tamalpais-Mill Valley, Sr.), Water Polo

TROY FRANKLIN (Menlo-Atherton-Atherton, Jr.), Football Though his 2019 season numbers of 43 catches for 674 yards and nine TDs appear pedestrian, Franklin’s talent is anything but ordinary. The 5-star receiving talent spurned Alabama, Auburn, LSU and just about every other major college program not named Oregon when he committed to the Ducks. Franklin enters his final season as the nation’s No. 3 ranked receiver for his class.

KENNEDY JOHNSON (Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, Jr.), basketball

AIDAN MAHANEY (Campolindo-Moraga, So.), Basketball

Not only did McClain run her way to the CIF Div. V state championship, but her time of 17:13.4 was both the fastest Bay Area time of the meet and the fourth-fastest overall. She clocked in three seconds faster than back-to-back Div. III champ Riley Chamberlain of Del Oro-Loomis. One week earlier, McClain also had the fastest time at the NCS meet (17.5 seconds faster than Div. I champ Shae Hill of Granada) and won her race by 58.1 seconds. In the summer prior to her junior season, she claimed USATF Junior National Championships (15-16 age group) in both the 1,500 and 3,000 meters.

NICHOLAS VILLARREAL (Gilroy, Sr.), Wrestling

The Stanford-bound Sternfels led both the state and nation in reported goals for the 2019 fall season. She was credited with 155, and the Red Tailed Hawks would ride that firepower all the way to NCS (Div. II) and NorCal (Div. III) titles. Sternfels was also credited with 43 assists and 122 steals for 2019. She closed out her Tamalpais career with a mind-blowing 382 career goals. Mahaney became the first sophomore since Archbishop Mitty’s Aaron Gordon to be named the S.F. Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year after averaging 19.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals for the Div. II NorCal champions. Mahaney was also a first team All-State Sophomore (CalHiSports. com) and a first-team SportStars All-NorCal selection. Since he arrived on campus, Campolindo is 9-0 in regional and state playoff games.

HARPER MCCLAIN (St. Helena, Jr.), Cross Country, Track

Villarreal closed out his decorated Mustangs career as a four-time CCS champion and a three-time CIF medalist. He finished as the state 285-pound runner-up for the second straight season after being pinned by Josiah Hill of Bakersfield in the finals. The Fresno State-bound talent solidified himself as NorCal’s top heavyweight by beating SJS champion Chris Island (Vacaville) in a 4-2 state semifinal. With Lucas Cook (Lincoln) ending fourth and Island fifth, there were three NorCal heavyweights in the top five. Villarreal was the best of the bunch. Though she still controls the paint as a scorer and rebounder, Johnson added some perimeter flavor to her game. The six-foot wing could hit 3-pointers if defenders sagged off too much, or drive by them if they came too close. Johnson averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds for a Dragons team that went 23-7 and won a NorCal Div. I title. She was named second team All-State by CalHiSports.com in addition to being a first team SportStars All-NorCal selection.

LEXI ZANDONELLA (Carondelet-Concord, Sr.), Soccer In naming Zandonella its North Coast Section Player of the Year, Prep2Prep. com included the remarkable detail that she was the only player on the Carondelet roster who was never subbed out during the team’s 29-game season. The Sonoma State-bound midfielder scored 14 goals, five of which game in the postseason as the Cougars finished 23-5-1 and claimed the CIF NorCal Div. I title. Zandonella also had three assists on the season.

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BEN ROE (De La Salle-Concord, Sr.), Football, Wrestling

KAYLEE POND (Acalanes-Lafayette, Sr.), Softball, Basketball

Roe was a Spartans team captain and a force on both sides of the ball. He was a first team regional honoree on both offense (Bay Area News Group) and defense (S.F. Chronicle). He earned his SportStars All-NorCal honors on offense, though it’s possible he’ll be a defensive tackle for Eastern Washington. In the winter, Roe was among the section’s top heavyweights. He was an NCS runner-up and was 4-2 at state. One more win in Bakersfield would’ve put him among the eight medalists.

Pond is headed to Iowa State on a softball scholarship after two years of arguably being the Diablo Athletic League’s top female two-sport athlete. Following a junior year in which she was named the league MVP in both softball and basketball, Pond was first team All-DAL in hoops after helping the Cougars go 21-7. She was denied a chance at improving upon her junior season softball numbers (.680 average, 47 runs, 32 RBI) as the season shut down the week upon her return from hoops.

ASHLEY HIRAKI (Archbishop MittySan Jose, Sr.), Basketball

MADELYN GAMBLE (Carondelet-Concord, Jr.), Golf

The Monarchs were widely considered NorCal’s best girls basketball team by season’s end. And Hiraki was widely honored as the most integral part of that team. She earned regional player of the year honors from both of the Bay Area’s metro newspapers as well as Prep2Prep.com’s CCS Player of the Year. She was named to CalHiSports.com’s second team All-State Elite and was a first team SportStars All-NorCal selection. The CSU Northridgebound talent averaged 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game while having a knack for winning every loose ball.

In her first three years of high school golf, Gamble has never finished worse than a fifthplace tie at the CIF/NCGA NorCal Championships. She got that T5 as a freshman with an even-par 73, then followed it with a T4 (1-over 73) as a sophomore. This past season was her best to date as she finished second at NCS (2-under 70) then tied for second (3-under 69) at NorCals. One week later, Gamble added a top 5 state finish by shooting a 2-over 73 for fourth. She was named to SportStars Big 10 list of NorCal’s top 10 golfers of the past 10 seasons.

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22. TOMMY THRASHER (AcalanesLafayette, Sr.), Baseball, Football The Long Beach State-bound first baseman didn’t get a chance to lead the Dons baseball team in RBI for a second straight season. However, he did manage to repeat as the football team’s leading tackler. Thrasher was a defensive force at linebacker in 2019 as he posted 89 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Acalanes went 9-3 as the Thrasher-led defense allowed just 14.3 points per game.

MARSALIS ROBERSON (Bishop O’DowdOakland, Jr.), Basketball Roberson delivered a breakout season for an O’Dowd team that went 23-7, 20-0 against NorCal opponents. The shifty, sharp-shooting guard was the Bay Area News Group’s Player of the Year after leading the Dragons to an NCS Open title and the NorCal Open final (the game was cancelled). He was also a first team SportStars All-NorCal selection and second team AllState Elite (CalHiSports.com). He led O’Dowd with 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

SKYLAR CANADY (Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F., Sr.), Volleyball The UCLA-bound Canady ripped 445 kills behind a 42.5 hitting percentage that made her an easy selection as the WCAL Player of the Year. She added 237 digs and 34 aces as she helped lead the Fightin’ Irish to the CCS Open Div. title. Canady notched a season-high 25 kills two separate times in 2019 — and both times needed just four sets to do it. The first came against North Bay-power Branson, and the second came versus perennial state power Archbishop Mitty-San Jose. She was one of three NorCal players to be named first team All-State by CalHiSports.com.

JACKSON PAVITT (Cardinal NewmanSanta Rosa, Sr.), Football Pavitt etched his name in Cardinal Newman lore as he closed out his career by leading the Cardinals to a 14-1 season and a 3-AA State Championship Bowl victory. SportStars named him its NorCal Offensive Player of the Year after he threw for 2,750 yards, 20 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He was also second on the team with 744 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. In five playoff games, the Cal Polybound QB was 64 of 95 passing (67 percent) with 921 yards, nine TDs and two interceptions. He also ran for 382 yards and five scores.

KYLE HARRISON (De La Salle-Concord, Sr.), Baseball Drawing comparisons to former Major League All-Star lefty Chris Sale, Harrison was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of MLB’s First Year Player Draft in June. The Giants, who got Harrison to eschew UCLA for a $2.5M big league contract, weren’t the only team hoping to draft him. The SportStars 2019 NorCal Pitcher of the Year went 21-1 with a 1.19 ERA in his Spartans career. He struck out 192 and allowed just 21 earned runs over his 124 innings. Batters hit just .137 off of him.

ALIA ABUSHI (Albany, Sr.), Wrestling Abushi closed out her Cougars wrestling career with a second consecutive state title, delivering one of the more dominant performances at the CIF meet. She defended her No. 1 seed with a 3:16 pin of the No. 2 seed (San Fernando’s Adelina Parra) in the 189-pound finals. She had three other pins and prevailed 6-2 in a semifinal showdown with Silver Creek-San Jose’s Julianna Bolli. Her 2018 state title came at 170 pounds. Prior to her performance at Bakersfield, Abushi won her third straight NCS title (and she was runner-up at 160s as a freshman). She’ll next wrestle for Menlo College.

16. MICHELLE OHWOBETE (Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, Sr.), Volleyball The UC Santa Barbara-bound Ohwobete was one of NorCal’s most electric outside hitters in 2019. A CalHiSports.com first team All-State selection, she posted 584 kills along with 124 digs and 46 blocks. With Ohwobete leading the way, the Dragons won the NCS Div. II championship and reached the CIF Open Div. NorCal final. She sent 31 balls to the deck in a NorCal semifinal win over CCS Open-champion Sacred Heart Cathedral.

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ZACK BATCHELDER (Montgomery-Santa Rosa, Sr.), Soccer Batchelder was among the most dominant strikers in the state during the winter season. He 55 goals ranked him second among stats reported to MaxPreps.com, and he added another 18 assists. Sixteen of his goals came in the postseason as he helped lead the Vikings (26-0-1) to both NCS and NorCal championships. Prep2Prep.com appropriately named him its NCS Player of the Year. He will continue his career at UC Davis.

14. NICOLE MAY (Foothill-Pleasanton, Sr.), Softball May will go down as one of the best two-way softball talents in East Bay history — which is why it was such a shame that the region was denied seeing her perform a full senior season. Nonetheless, there will be plenty of East Bay softball fans who will track May’s collegiate career at Oklahoma (which remains the NCAA defending champion). Her last full season for the Falcons included a 24-0 record, 0.32 ERA and 246 strikeouts with just 13 walks. She also batted .463 with five home runs and 27 RBI for the undefeated NCS Div. I champs.

MATT MEREDITH (Miramonte-Orinda, Sr.), Football, Basketball

KARI GEISSBERGER (Marin CatholicKentfield, Sr.), Volleyball

Meredith’s multi-sport exploits remind us of former Miramonte three-sport star Drew Anderson, who finished No. 1 in our 2013-14 Bay Area 75. Meredith’s senior year included a CalHiSports.com All-State Grid Hoop third team selection after big years as the Matadors’ quarterback in the fall and post presence in the winter. Meredith passed for 3,105 yards and 34 TDs with just five interceptions. He threw for over 400 yards in three different games. During hoops season, he averaged 13.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Both teams made the playoffs.

If SportStars had All-NorCal postseason volleyball awards, Geissberger would’ve been our NorCal Player of the Year. The 6-foot-6 Loyola Marymount-bound hitter powered Marin Catholic to a fourth-straight NCS championship (their first in Div. II) and its first NorCal Open Division title. Geissberger totaled 404 kills, 179 digs and 54 blocks for NorCal’s best team. She was selected first team All-State by CalHiSports.com and was the Marin Independent Journal’s Player of the Year as well.

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ANYA CHOICE (Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa, Sr.), Basketball Few girls basketball players carried a bigger load for an elite team than Choice did during her senior season for the Cardinals. She averaged 24.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 33 games for a Cardinal Newman team which went 29-4 and reached the NCS Open final and the NorCal Open semifinals. The Santa Barbara-bound guard was the SportStars NorCal Player of the Year as well as the S.F. Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year.

NICK YORKE (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, Sr.), Baseball Yorke’s third and final time being named to the Bay Area 75 comes approximately seven weeks after he became the first-round pick (No. 17 overall) of the Boston Red Sox. The coronavirus-caused cancellation of his senior season wiped out a torrid start at the plate. He was 8-for-15 with two homers, nine runs and six RBI through his first five games. He now has approximately three million reasons to shrug it off, though. The infielder’s last full season for Mitty included a .505 average, 50 hits, 38 runs, seven home runs and 40 RBI.

9. ANTHONY ROY (Dublin, Sr.), Basketball Roy was the complete leader for a Dublin team which came one point shy of reaching the NorCal Open Div. final. SportStars named him its NorCal Player of the Year after he averaged 17.8 points per game (close to doubling his scoring average from his junior season) while adding 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. Additionally, he was named the East Bay Athletic League Player of the Year and was a second team All-State Elite selection by CalHiSports.com. Roy will stay local and play on the hilltop for USF.

8. JUSTIN ANDERSON (Menlo-AthertonAtherton, Sr.), Football, Basketball Anderson was one of two Bay Area players to earn first-team CalHiSports.com All-State GridHoop honors. The Bears’ three-way star caught 29 passes for 462 yards and four TDs, returned a pair of kicks for scores, and also logged 20 tackles and an interception on defense. He was recruited as a defensive back, which is where he’ll play at Washington State. During the winter, he was the Peninsula Athletic League MVP for a Menlo-Atherton team that went 23-5. Known as a defensive stopper, he averaged 4.8 steals per game.

LUKE CASPER (Bellarmine-San Jose, Sr.), Tennis

CHART TOPPERS

Casper is the first tennis athlete to ever crack the Top 10 of the Bay Area 75 rankings. And there’s good reason for it. The two-time CCS singles champion entered his senior year as the No. 6 recruit in the country, according to TennisRecruiting.net. His stock took a big rise during the 2019 USTA junior circuit when he won the Boys 16’s USTA National Winter Championships in Orlando, and the Boys 16’s USTA National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Florida. Casper’s feverish recruitment ended with the Bellarmine star choosing Texas A&M.

History of Bay Area 75 Athletes To Earn The #1 Ranking.

TEHYA BIRD (Cloverdale, Sr.), Softball, Basketball, Volleyball The Oregon-bound softball star finishes as our highest-ranked three-sport athlete — even if she only got to play two of them in the 2019-20 school year. In volleyball, Bird was a first team All-North Coast League defensive specialist for the second straight year. She then transitioned to basketball where she completed a phenomenal career, reaching the 2,000 career point plateau and winning her second consecutive NCL-I MVP award for a 25-win Eagles team. Her Oregon softball scholarship may have had something to do with her 2019 totals of a .754 average, 60 runs, 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBI. She also went 23-1 as a pitcher with a 0.88 ERA, 215 strikeouts and two nohitters (one perfect game).

5. SHAMAR GARRETT (De La SalleConcord, Sr.), Football Garrett opened the 2019 football season on the cover of SportStars’ annual Football Preview. He ended it as the magazine’s NorCal Player of the Year. CalHiSports.com also named him as NorCal’s top player, as well as a first team All-State all-purpose selection. Garrett rushed for 1,141 yards and 16 TDs in addition to catching 16 passes for another 257 yards and two scores. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns, and he also had a punt return for a touchdown. Against national No. 1 St. John BoscoBellflower in the CIF Open Division State Bowl Championship, the San Jose State commit showcased his prowess on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns while logging 12 tackles and a forced fumble on defense.

Year Athlete

School

Sport

2019-20

Chase Saldate

Gilroy

Wrestling

2018-19

Haley Jones

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

Basketball

2017-18

Haley Jones

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

Basketball

2016-17

Marquel Johnson

St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo

Football, Basketball, Baseball

2015-16

Najee Harris

Antioch

Football

2014-15

Ivan Rabb

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

Basketball

2013-14

Drew Anderson

Miramonte-Orinda

Football, Basketball, Baseball

2012-13

Aaron Gordon

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

Basketball

JEWEL ROEMER (Acalanes-Lafayette, Sr.), Water Polo

JOHN LESTER (Amador Valley-Pleasanton, Jr.), Track, Cross Country

NATE RUTCHENA (Monte Vista-Danville, Sr.), Football, Basketball

In Roemer’s final two seasons of high school water polo, she led Acalanes to a combined 49-0 record with a pair of NCS and CIF NorCal titles. She’s now headed to Stanford where she’ll follow the footsteps of the East Bay’s last great water polo talent, Maggie Steffens — a player whose name tends to pop up when some describe Roemer’s skill set in the water. Like Steffens, Roemer has already suited up for the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team before even having enrolled at Stanford. Prior to her senior season for Acalanes, Roemer won a beach gold medal at the FINA World Championships as well as a Junior Olympics gold medal and tournament MVP honors. At the FINA Junior World Championships in August 2019, she also won gold and was the team’s second leading scorer with 15 goals. It’s no hyperbole when we say that Lester has established himself as one of the nation’s fastest high school competitors in the 800 meters. He proved it in June at the Desert Dream Last Hurrah Invitational in San Tan Valley, Arizona. There he blazed to victory in a personal-record time of 1 minutes, 48.26 seconds. The time is the third-fastest national time ever for a high school junior, as well as the third-fastest North Coast Section time ever. Prior to spring sports shutting down, Lester owned the country’s best 2020 high school mark in the event (1:52.06). During the cross country season, Lester finished sixth overall in the NCS Div. I race. Rutchena is the embodiment of the type of athletes we thought of when we first devised the concept of the Bay Area 75 back in 2013. A multi-sport star who can be a gamechanger in whichever sport they play. Rutchena is on the list for the second straight year, moving up from the No. 29 spot after finishing as an All-North Coast Section selection in both football and basketball. Headed to Cal for football, the two-way playmaker finished with 105 tackles (10 for loss), three sacks, two interceptions and fumble recovery on defense, and caught 53 passes for 709 yards and 12 TDs on offense. During hoops season, he propelled the Mustangs with a similar all-around game. He averaged 12 points, 7.5 rebounds and four assists.

CHASE SALDATE (Gilroy, Sr.), Wrestling In previous years, just winning a state title hasn’t been enough to vault a wrestler to No. 1 on the Bay Area 75. But Saldate didn’t just win a state title during the 2019-20 season. He dominated his sport. NorCal’s only state champion from the past season, Saldate also ended the year as the national No. 1 for the 152-pound division as he capped his prep career by going undefeated. He will redshirt his first year at Michigan State before aiming for All-American prestige as a redshirt freshman in 2022. National No. 1 Saldate did not disappoint on California’s biggest stage. He won his first four matches by pin and dominated Reymundo Raiz of Buchanan (ended fourth) in a 14-0 semifinal. In the CIF finals, Saldate muscled Tyler Badgett of Rancho Bernardo-San Diego (a returning state runner-up) into pin position and captured the fall with two seconds left in the opening round. In addition to becoming the first wrestler to top the list, Saldate continues the Central Coast Section’s run of No. 1s after Archbishop Mitty’s Haley Jones claimed the spot two years in a row.

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With it normally being the time of year for NCVA’s Beach Championships, the NCVA wanted to share a few images from past Beach Championships. Soak in the beach vibes and let’s all hope for better, healthier days ahead when we can gather — by court or by sand — and play competitive volleyball again. 20

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he best female athlete in the Sac-Joaquin Section is a state and national champion wrestler with Olympic ambitions. She’s also just a sophomore. Lilly Freitas from Pitman-Turlock hasn’t lost a high school wrestling match in her two-year career. She’s a two-time state champion, and last summer became the 2019 United World Wrestling Cadet Women’s Freestyle National Champion. That last honor came with a few bonus items, like a spot on the US Junior freestyle team, an Olympic development camp and three funded team trips around the globe. She won a match at the World Cadet Championships in Ukraine before being eliminated. Freitas is the SportStars 2019-20 SJS Female Athlete of the Year. To become the top honoree among SJS girls, Freitas easily delivered the most dominant campaign of any SJS athlete. Her undefeated season included four first-round pins at the SJS-Northern Section Masters Championships and four more first-round pins at state. Wrestling is a sport of travel and mat efficiency. For Freitas, that meant traveling 475 combined miles to compete in her last two tournaments, spanning five total days of action. Her actual mat time — 10 minutes, 10 seconds. Only one wrestler, state runner-up Hannah Ricioli of El MolinoForestville, escaped the first round. Ricioli was pinned in the second. This was business as usual for Freitas. Her celebratory tweet: “day 3 complete.. state champ x2.” Freitas was special in her unbeaten freshman season, but she entered the state tournament with a disrespectful No. 3 seed, and won a couple matches on points (17-2, 13-0). She was clearly improved in 2020. “I just feel like all the Olympic developmental camps really just put me at a higher level,” Freitas said. “I feel like I am wrestling at a 120-pound weight class with my speed right now. My feet have gotten much faster.” Freitas said she is preparing for the 2020 Freestyle Nationals. The event was slated for action in May, but the event was postponed, as the nation responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new date has not been set. Freitas was also a 2020 SportStar of the Week in March, the first state champ in Pitman history (and first double-champ) and SportStars’ Most Valuable Female Wrestler at the end of the season. She was also the Modesto Bee Wrestler of the Year. “She is a once-in-a lifetime kid,” Pitman coach Adam Vasconcellos told Ron Agostini of FrontRow Preps after her second state title. “She’s wrestled all over the world and all over the country. Every situation, she’s already been in.” ✪ — Story & Photos by Ike Dodson 22

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ast October, when things were normal and the high school football season was full swing, Monterey Trail’s Prophet Brown, like his name suggests, tweeted out his prediction for the coming months. “Turning this season up with my brothers,” he said. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Brown helped lead the Mustangs to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I football championship game, where he scored four times against the Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills defense. His wild playoff run included a pick-six and 200 all-purpose yards against St. Mary’s, 122 yards and a score in a shocking upset over Folsom and 272 yards in a close loss to the Trojans in the title game at Sacramento City College. “Prophet did everything he could to win that game (against Oak Ridge) for us,” Monterey Trail coach TJ Ewing said. The Mustangs’ three-sport star averaged 12 yards a carry and scored doubledigit touchdowns for the section finalist football program before playing in 25 games and helping the basketball program to an 18-11 record. Brown helped the basketball team reach the section playoffs as well and had a season-high 11 points in his team’s playoff win against Bear Creek-Stockton. The Mustangs lost to the eventual section champions from Sheldon-Sacramento. His impressive junior year was ultimately cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, but his contributions on the gridiron and hardwood have earned him 2019-20 SportStars Magazine Athlete of the Year honors. “That just shows you that hard work pays off — to just be recognized for an award like this,” Brown said. “It’s great but it’s also humbling. Your work is being noticed, which is nice, but you have to keep grinding.” As a sophomore, Brown became a state champion track athlete, as Monterey Trail’s 400-meter relay took first at the CIF state championship meet. His speed helped on the gridiron the following fall as he took over at running back in week six and tallied 1,531 all-purpose yards for the 12-2 team. “One of our running backs went down (with an injury), so I had to step up and really focus on helping out there,” Brown explained. Brown had a big game to knock off defending section champion Folsom on the road as he made one-handed catches and locked down the Bulldogs’ receivers for most of the night including a pick on defense. The 35-23 victory for Monterey Trail ended Folsom’s nine-year streak of reaching a title game and was the first playoff loss of any sort since 2016. “He actually said it best himself in that playoff run,” Ewing stated. “After the Pleasant Grove game or St. Mary’s game his idea was he needed to play well so the underclassmen, who were sophomores at the time, would do the same for him when he became a senior. He said, ‘I am going to play as hard as I can because I want you to play that hard for me.’ When do you hear anyone having that perspective? For him to say that, I was blown away.” Entering his senior season, Brown is a four-star rated cornerback in football and recently announced his commitment to USC. He had offers from many programs and his top six included Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Oklahoma and Notre Dame. “I told him, he could close his eyes and point his finger and he wouldn’t pick a bad one,” Ewing said. “Every single school has support, great alumni, phenomenal academics, tradition, blue bloods, I mean, he couldn’t make a bad choice.” Brown said it was a ‘dream-come-true’ to commit to USC, but noted that his recruitment changed when COVID-19 hit. “The coronavirus and not having (school visits) really changed everything,” Ewing said. “He wanted to go out of state. He wanted to be challenged and wanted to try something different. I said he should take trips out to those programs and physically walk on the campus to really get a feel for the atmosphere and see what they do for student-athletes — that can totally change your experience.” Brown was comfortable on the West Coast and says his new school, “is close to home, but not too close.” COVID-19 also changed the coming year. In the new two-season sports calendar, football is postponed until January and traditional winter sports have been combined with the spring. That leaves Brown with a tough decision when football concludes in late March — play basketball or compete in track and field. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to fit in both,” Brown said. “I’m going to talk to my parents and see what we feel is best moving forward.” So one final question remains — does Prophet know what the future will be like? “Honestly, I get messages from God, so yeah,” he said with a laugh. ✪ — Story by Steven Wilson; Photos by David Gershon

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With State’s Recent COVID Resurgence, CIF And The Majority Of Its 10 Sections Shift To Two-Season Format Running From Mid-December To Late June story by chace bryson 26

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OUT OF SEASON Proposed start and end dates for most 2020-21 seasons of sport in the Central Coast, North Coast and Sac-Joaquin Sections. SPORT

REGULAR SEASON

SECTION PLAYOFFS

Football

Dec. 14-March 20

March 26-April 10

Cross Country

Dec. 14-March 13

March 20

B/G Volleyball

Dec. 14-Feb. 27

March 2-13

B/G Water Polo

Dec. 14-Feb. 27

March 2-13

B/G Soccer

Feb. 22-May 15

May 18-29

B/G Basketball

March 15-May 29

June 1-12

B/G Wrestling

March 8-May 19

May 22-June 5

Baseball

March 15-June 5

June 8-19

Softball

March 15-June 5

June 8-19

B/G Lacrosse

March 15-May 29

June 1-10

B/G Golf

March 15-May 15

May 31-June 7

B/G Tennis

March 8-May 15

May 18-May 29

Swimming/Diving

March 8-May 15

May 28-29

Track & Field

March 15-June 5

June 12-19

state championship dates With just one week allotted for CIF playoffs in each sport, it’s expected that all CIF titles in 2020-21 will be regional (NorCal or SoCal only) with these sports being the exceptions. SPORT DATE Cross Country March 27 Swimming/Diving June 4-5 Wrestling June 10-12 Track & Field June 25-26

n the end, it’s a road map. A set goal. Really, that’s the best way to look at the July 20 CIF announcement to delay sports until mid-December. Until the current coronavirus outbreak in California is under control — and students are back on campus at a majority of schools — that’s really all it can be. As a set goal, it’s encouraging for athletes and coaches to see and strive for. As a road map, it’ll have its share of twists, turns and detours. In a decision that was hardly a surprise to most, the CIF announced it won’t begin its 2020-21 calendar until at least December. The remodel basically takes its traditional three seasons and mashes them into two. Nine of the state’s 10 sections plan to follow the model with calendars that begin Dec. 14 and run through June 26. The Northern Section, composed of several counties with smaller infection numbers, is the lone holdout. Its commissioner, Elizabeth Kyle, told reporters Monday that the section’s regular fall sporting season would commence as soon as local health officials deemed it safe. Those section schools would do so knowing it may mean not being eligible for any CIF postseason play. Later that week, the section backtracked slightly saying it would follow the December-start calendar for football and volleyball, but other fall sports (golf, tennis, cross country) would remain in the fall months if deemed safe. In early June, there was some brief hope throughout the state that fall sports could proceed as normal. Many football programs were conditioning in their “camp pods” of 12. But a resurgence in covid cases across the state, along with a rollback in state-wide reopening phases, led to an obvious realization that “normal” would not be achievable by mid-to-late August. “About two weeks ago we began to get the feeling that things were changing as far as numbers,” North Coast Section commissioner Pat Cruickshank said Monday. “In returns from our surveys, we really got the sense that schools weren’t going to be in traditional sessions. “It would be really difficult to put students in an athletic situation if they aren’t in a school situation.” During his daily briefing on July 17, California Governor Gavin Newsom mandated that all schools from counties on the state’s “watch list” (those counties experiencing consistent case surges) begin at 100 percent distance learning until the county can stay off the list for 14 consecutive days. At that point, the writing was on the wall. Even before Newsom’s announcement, Cruickshank said that approximately 70 percent of NCS schools returned surveys stating they’d be in full distance learning or some sort of hybrid. “Schools have enough going on right now, and academics are number one for them,” Cruickshank added. “In conversations with superintendents and principals,

" It would be really difficult to put students in an athletic situation if they aren't in a school situation." — North Coast Section commissioner Pat Cruickshank there was an overriding theme that sports isn’t the top priority. There was a lot of ‘We have to figure out how to make schooling work. Getting spots pushed back a little bit, that would help.’ When you hear that from your schools, it means a lot.” The CIF announcement to delay sports will alleviate some of that pressure. Pushing the first season — which is being referred to as “Fall” — clear to December also buys time. Time for schools to plan on how to implement the ambitious plan, and time for a safe environment to emerge. Primary fall sports will include football, cross country, water polo and boys and girls volleyball. December 14 will be the official practice start date for most of those sports throughout NorCal. The first competitions will happen as soon as the calendar turns to 2021. Spring sports have practice start dates ranging from Feb. 26-March 22 and include basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, wrestling, track, swimming, lacrosse, boys and girls golf, and boys and girls tennis. The CIF believed a two-season model over six months provided a better chance at giving each sport a full season. Also, because seasons would overlap with traditional club seasons, the CIF temporarily removed its bylaws prohibiting athletes from simultaneously competing for their club and high school teams. “We wanted to try to make the season length of each sport as ‘normal’ as possible,” Sac-Joaquin Section Assistant Commissioner Will DeBoard said during a Monday video conference with reporters. “We know that it makes it more difficult on AD’s and multi-sport athletes, especially at small schools, but we thought it was 28

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the best alternative.” Provided coaches and athletic directors can construct a full schedule, each sport is allowed to play the same number of games it would in a standard year. Playoffs, however, will be truncated, especially at the state level. Team sports that traditionally culminate in state titles will only have a one-week regional tournament. “I feel CIF and the section offices did the best they could with all the scenarios they were facing,” Leo Lopoz said. Lopoz is the Vice President of Athletics at De La Salle and commissioner of the East Bay Athletic League. “It’s not a perfect equation for any one sport. Everyone had to give up something.” There will definitely be challenges to making it work. Space and facilities will definitely be one of them. “As an AD, managing 17 sports in the spring is going to be challenging,” Concord High athletic director Megan Coddington said Monday. “There will be more spring sports in 2021 than we have in any of our traditional seasons. When you’re looking at facility use between practices and games, there’s a lot of questions that will have to get answered.” Dougherty Valley-San Ramon principal Evan Powell also listed facilities as one of the most daunting challenges to making it all work. He hoped some schools would be able to get assistance from their community to potentially use city facilities as well. “There’s a lot up in the air, but our first goal is to get all of our kids on campus as soon as possible,” Powell said. “At the same time, we’re going to respect our community and work toward protecting each other. “The beauty of this (sports) plan is that we’re able to provide hope for our student-athletes. It shows them that they can still perform and there’s a safe plan in place for them to accomplish what they want to do this year.” Optimism will be a good thing, but as long as coronavirus remains a serious threat, it will be guarded optimism at best. “I would be shocked if anybody involved in this didn’t think there was still a shot it may not happen,” Lopoz said. But there’s now a road map to follow. And that had to come before anything else. ✪ Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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August 2020

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