Pleasant Grove Lacrosse Opens In Redding

[This story courtesy - Janell Atwell]

Pleasant Grove Lacrosse just finished participating in the 2012 Redding Lacrosse Jamboree. The club had four teams participating. The boys varsity, junior varsity, U15 and U13 teams participated. Our teams played outstanding and had successful records against teams from Northern California. 

Our U13 boys came home with two wins, zero losses. Our U15 boys came away with one win and two losses. JV boys had three wins and zero losses.  The varsity boys came away with three wins and zero losses in what they hope will be the start of great season, the final season for quite a few players who have been playing together since the Pleasant Grove Lacrosse Club was founded in 2006.

PGLC has six teams opening this season with league games beginning February 25^th and ending in May. Come out and watch this exciting game played by our local Rancho Murieta boys and girls and surrounding River Valley and Elk Grove areas talented athletes. Local league games are played at Riverview Park and Albiani Middle School. 

Jesuit beats Pleasant Grove 64-62, setting up a Sheldon-Jesuit rematch in the D1 championship on Saturday.

It's a final at Power Balance Pavilion. Sheldon bests Bethel 81-55 in a D1 boys semifinal. Huskies to face winner of tonight's Jesuit/Pleasant Grove game.

Franklin's Johnson Named DVC's MVP, Monday Coach Of Year

Franklin High School center Theo Johnson was named the most valuable player by the coaches of the Delta Valley Conference Monday as they also released their All-Conference boys' basketball honors.

Elk Grove coach Dustin Monday was named the DVC coach of the year. He led the Herd to a second place finish. A year ago, Elk Grove was winless in the DVC and won only two games total.

EG Jr.Herd Cheer Wins National Championship

Thanks to Candace Kuhl for this news note:

On January 29, 2012 the Jamz National Cheerleading Competition was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The Elk Grove Junior Herd Gold Cheer team competed against 14 teams from a variety of locations across the country in the Youth III, show cheer level 2 large division.  The routine that the EGJH cheerleaders performed was a 2 1/2 minute cheer, dance, and stunt performance. 

 Elk Grove Jr. Herd Cheer Squad

PG, Florin Defeated In SJS Semis

Pleasant Grove, the top-seeded team in girls' Division 1, was upset by Kennedy, 52-48, tonight at UOP's Spanos Center. The Cougars will play Oak Ridge for Section title Saturday.

In Division II, Florin was no match for the three-time defending State champions from St. Mary's. The Rams won, 74-33.

Weekend Notebook

Oregon State’s Jake Rodriguez tallied three hits in the Beavers’ 13-2 loss to San Diego Saturday at Cunningham Field. Former Jesuit pitcher Dan Child started for the Beavers and took the loss after allowing seven hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Rodriguez, the former Elk Grove star, went two-for-four in a 13-5 win over Kansas State in a Sunday game played at San Diego State’s Tony Gwynn Field. Rodriguez also stroked his first homer of the young collegiate season. He’s now batting .323 in the first eight games and is playing at catcher in most games. …

Another former Elk Grove baseball player, Will Soto, smashed a three-run walk-off home run over the right field fence and the Sacramento State baseball team rallied from a five run deficit to win, 8-7, and sweep Seattle University on Sunday afternoon at the Hornets’ John Smith Field. The dinger was Soto’s first of the year. Former Franklin pitcher Hunter Greenwood, who got the final two outs of the ninth inning, picked up the win in relief.  …

Detrick Places Third At Austrailian WaterSki Championships

Brian Detrick, on the right

Elk Grove's Brian Detrick placed third this weekend at the 2012 MasterCraft-Headzone Australian Waterski Open in Telegraph Point, Australia. 

 

Results of the finals (thanks to his dad, Steve):

 

  1st place Karina Knowlan -  AUS -1.5 @ 39 off  with a handicap for men vs. women

  2nd place Nicholas Adams - AUS -1.5 @ 39 off 

  3rd place Brian Detrick -     USA - 5.5 @ 38 off

As a part of the USA WaterSki team, Detrick won a gold medal six weeks ago. He trains at Warriorz Crossfit (note his T-shirt). Detrick played football and basketball at Elk Grove High School, graduating in 2007.

Pleasant Grove/Franklin Post-Game Interviews

Pleasant Grove qualified its boys' team for the Sac-Joaquin Section's semi-finals in basketball Friday night by defeating Franklin, 63-54. Listen to the post-game interviews while watching highlights of the game below.

Elk Grove Send Eight To State Wrestling Meet

Elk Grove's wrestling squad continued to flex its muscles by qualifying eight wrestlers Friday for next week's California State Wrestling Meet in Bakersfield.

Joey Lopez, EGHS 106-pounds

The Herd finished second in team points at the Sac-Joaquin Section's Masters Wrestling Tournament which concluded Friday at the Stockton Arena.

Elk Grove's 132-pounder Martin Ramirez took first place for the third year in a row at the Masters by defeating Julian Purdy of Nevada Union, 6-4. Two years ago he won the 119-pound class and last year was the 126-pound champion.

Ramirez now joins Adam Coffing as Elk Grove's only three-time Masters' champion.

PG, Sheldon Boys' Make D-I Semis

A week ago there were 13 Elk Grove-area basketball teams in the playoffs. Tonight, there's five. The Pleasant Grove and Sheldon boys tonight joined the PG and the Florin girls in the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals. The boys games will be played next Wednesday at Power Balance Pavilion. Girls' semis will be at UOP's Spanos Center on Tuesday.


The #2 Wilton Christian girls play for the Division VI championship Thursday night at Galt High School against #1 Victory Christian. Tip off will be at 6 p.m.


Tonight at Franklin High School a packed house watch #6 Pleasant Grove force the #4 Wildcats into several key turnovers in the second quarter, draw key fouls in the second half and then walk away with a 63-54 win in the D-I quarterfinals. Cody Demps led the Eagles with 19 points as they now prepare for Delta River League foe Jesuit Wednesday night.


It was a great night for Wildcat center Theo Johnson who flew around under the basket for 17 points, six blocks and a bunch of rebounds before fouling out with 2:29 left.


At Sheldon, the #1 Huskies fought off a talented #9 seeded Burbank team, 65-55. With the win, Sheldon will face #5 Bethel in the other D-I semifinal contest.


Here are the rest of tonight's scores:


(Div. 1) Jesuit 76, Kennedy 50
(Div. 1) Bethel 74, Oak Ridge 59
(Div. 2) Lodi 90, Sacramento 81
(Div. 2) Bella Vista 83, Cosumnes Oaks 48


The Section has announced the times for next week's neutral site semi-final games.

Tonight's Franklin/PG game will be televised on Comcast.

Ramirez Wins Third Section Masters' Championship

Martin Ramirez-2nd EG man to win SJS Masters three times

Elk Grove 132-pound wrestler Martin Ramirez has won his third straight Sac-Joaquin Section Masters' Wrestling championship. Two years ago he won the title at 119 pounds and last season at 126 pounds. He finished third in the state at that weight class. 


Today he defeated Julian Purdy of Nevada Union, 6-4, to win the 132-pound title.

He'll likely be the number one seed when the State Wrestling Championships start next week in Bakersfield.

The only other three-time Masters' Champion in Elk Grove was Adam Coffing who won three titles between 1993 and 1996.


Eight Herd wrestlers have qualified for the State Meet.  Jacob Lopez was second at 108 pounds, dropping a 7-3 decision to Gionn Peralta of Vacaville in the championship match.

Josh Letuligasenoa lost in the championship of the 220-pound weight group to J.T. Goodwin of Bear Creek, 6-5. Ethan Larrabee was fifth at 113 pounds.

Section Masters: Mid-day Update

Thanks to Will DeBoard, here's the team score update with place matches set for this afternoon:

Vacaville 193
Elk Grove 148.5Oakdale 109.5
Folsom 104Bella Vista 78Oak Ridge 66.5Turlock 66.5Union Mine 66Ponderosa 61.5Oakmont 60

Elk Grove's Martin Ramirez (132) and Josh Letuligasenoa (220) are in the Masters' championship round. Braden Henderson (145) and Ethan Larrabee (113) lost in the semi-finals. They'll be wrestling for third place later today.

Will is giving updates on the Section blogsite through the rest of the day.

Day One: Section Masters' Wrestling

Elk Grove's full contingent of 14 wrestlers did quite well in day one of the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters' Wrestling Tournament at the Stockton Arena. Thanks to Will DeBoard of the Section, here's the team scoring after today:


Vacaville   113.5
Elk Grove 101.5
Folsom      86
Oakdale     77.5
Bella Vista 53
Pondo        47.5
Del Oro     46
Oak Ridge 45


In the quarterfinals 106 pounder Jacob Lopez and 113 pounder Ethan Larrabee both won. So did 132-pounder Martin Ramirez. He's going for his third Masters' championship.


Braden Henderson also is in the semis with a with at 145 pounds.  Josh Letuligasenoa made the semi-finals, which will be tomorrow, at 220 pounds. This means these five have assured themselves of a spot in the State Wrestling meet in a week.


A few other local wrestlers are still alive in the race for the top seven places to qualify for Bakersfield. We'll have an update for you Friday night. You can follow Will's updates on the Sac-Joaquin Section Blogsite for continuous updates from Stockton.

Girls B-ball: Round Two Scores

A couple more local teams ended their seasons tonight with losses in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section's basketball playoffs:

(D-I) Armiijo 58, Sheldon 55
(D-1) Kennedy 70, St. Francis 57 (so a new Div. 1 champion will be crowned)
(D-1) Pleasant Grove 86, Bethel 69 (Bethel led 33-31 at halftime, what an offensive show in the second half)
(D-1) Oak Ridge 48, Lincoln 41
(D-2) Florin 58, Del Oro 46
(D-6) Wilton Christian 52, Sacramento Adventist 35 (The Patriots will take on Victory Christian next Thursday at Galt for the Div VI championship)

Wrestling Masters Starts Today

The top wrestlers in our area will all be at the Stockton Arena today for the start of the Sac-Joaquin Section wrestling meet. The top seven in each weight class will qualify for the State Wrestling Tournament in Bakersfield the following weekend.

All 14 Elk Grove High School wrestlers are in Stockton along with eight from both Sheldon and Franklin. That's a big contingent. Six from Cosumnes Oaks will also compete, with four from Pleasant Grove.

Watch for Martin Ramirez of Elk Grove go for his third straight Masters' championship. He's wrestling at 132 pounds this year. Josh Letuligasenoa could take the 220-pound title, along with Scott Votino at 170 pounds.

Alhan Cuevas of Burbank could also make noise at 195 pounds. He's the Division II champion at that weight.

I'll have results tomorrow night.

Boys' Bball Playoffs - Sheldon, PG Win Big

Here are the results of our local boys' teams in tonight's opening round games:

(Div-I) Sheldon 78, Pitman 43
(Div-I) Pleasant Grove 72, Rodriguez 32 (will host Franklin Friday night)
(Div-I) Franklin 61, Turlock 37 (Derin had 18, Theo 14 points)
(Div-II) Cosumnes Oaks 55, Fairfield 54 (Wolfpack will play at Bella Vista Fri.)
(Div-I) Oak Ridge 60, West 54 (#13 Trojans upset #4 seed)
(Div-I) Jesuit 68, Nevada Union 44
(Div-I) Burbank 57, Golden Valley 33 (The Titans play at Sheldon Friday night)
(Div-III) Vanden 66, Valley 44

Girls' B-Ball Playoff Openers: Sheldon, PG Win

I covered the Monterey Trail loss to St. Francis tonight with the Troubadours coming from behind to win, 61-50. More on this game later right here, complete with video. Great season for Brien Hillery and Louis Corpuz, co-coaches at M.T!  Here are the other scores of local interest tonight in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section's Girls' basketball playoffs:

(Div-III) Christian Brothers 63, Valley 39
(Div-I) Sheldon  71, Beyer 51
(Div-I) Pleasant Grove 77, Chavez 55
(Div-I) Oak Ridge 76, Grant 36
(Div-IV) Argonaut 44, Bradshaw Christian 28
(Div - I) Armijo 70, Franklin 44

More later tonight ...

13 EG-Area Basketball Teams Make Post-Season

This will be a big week for high school basketball. Thirteen teams, including both the boys' and the girls' squads from Sheldon, Franklin, Pleasant Grove and Valley High Schools made the post-season. In the brackets released this afternoon, Sheldon boys and Pleasant Grove girls were both the top seeds in Division I.  Sheldon will host Pitman Wednesday night to open the Division I boys.

The Lady Eagles will host the winner of an out-bracket game on Tuesday night to start the girls' Division I playoffs. In a big opening round game Monterey Trail will host St. Francis, the defending D-I champions.

Elk Grove, though 6-4 in the Delta Valley Conference, just missed the Division II playoffs, earning the 18th seed. Numbers one through 16 in each division, except Divisions V and VI, make the post-season.

Cosumnes Oaks got the 12th seed in Division II boys and will open Wednesday on the road at Fairfield.

Weekend Notebook

Each Sunday I re-cap a few items of interest I've kept in my reporting notebook over the past week. 

A couple former Elk Grove High School athletes are now assistant coaches at Monterey Trail. Former Herd running back Tyrece Daniels will be helping football coach T.J. Ewing this fall, according the Mustangs’ athletic director Rick Arcuri.

He also said that Nick Vartanian, who was part of Elk Grove’s 1-2 pitching lineup along with David Hernandez on the Herd’s 2003 Section baseball championship team, will help new Mustang varsity head coach James Therriault. Vartanian has a younger brother on the baseball team. ...

Congrats to the Herd wrestlers for finishing second in the Division I-North meet this weekend. The full results are attached in the posting below. ....

Elk Grove's varsity baseball team played two seven-inning scrimmages Saturday at Clovis West. I would evaluate their performance as mixed. Rowdy Tellez looks terrific at the plate, so does promising freshman second baseman Nick Madrigal but Clovis beat up on the Herd pitchers in the first game. The rest of the EG lineup needs to "bring it," frankly, if this team will compete for the Section title.

I didn't stick around and see game two. Tellez was going to start on the mound in that game. He's supposed to be the ace of the staff this year. Pitching coach Jason Jimenez needs to bring along the other guys. ...

Spring training for Major League Baseball starts this week. Watch in the Citizen for our "Down On The Farm" to resume with the stats of our locals in the minors and majors. Expect Brad Kilby to decide whether he can resume his pro career after a pair of surgeries on his throwing shoulder. I hope he gets a chance, he's a free agent. 

It will be a decisive year for Dwight Childs with the Indian organization, too. Not only will we be watching his rise through the ranks, but also his former EG teammate Raymond Hernandez with the Diamondback organization. 

...

Citizen Sports Editor Jon Gudel and I have talked about doing regular updates each week on our local collegiate baseball and softball players. There's a long list of locals competing at that level. Please help me out by sending me an email if we forget someone. 

Elk Grove Grapplers Place Second At Divisional Meet

220-pounder Josh Letuligasenoa

Vacaville continued its domination of Division I wrestling in the Sac-Joaquin Section Saturday. The Bulldogs took the team championship in the Section's Division I-North meet at Ponderosa High School. Elk Grove squeaked by Folsom for second place.  Here's the link to the complete results. 

Monterey Trail Girls Grab First DVC Championship

For the very first time, Monterey Trail High School has a basketball league championship.

With grins from ear to ear, the Lady Mustangs came out of the locker room after its 71-52 win over Grant Friday night wearing white Delta Valley Conference Champions – 2012 T-shirts, white chanting a team cheer. A large crowd of families and friends were waiting for the girls’ and greeted them with loud applause. 

“I knew in my heart we’d be here,” forward Summayyah Wiggins said. “It’s a phenomenal feeling, it’s hard to describe. I am so thankful that we finally made it to this point.”

The 5-10 senior wrapped up a 21-5 regular season by scoring 18 points in the second half, 22 overall, in running away from the Pacers in a big third quarter outburst.

“It feels so good, for this to come on Senior Night,” co-head coach Brien Tillery said. “When we first took over the program, we asked the girls,’Who is your rival?’ They said, ‘Grant.’ This season couldn’t come down to anything else.”

The Mustangs finished the conference schedule with a 9-1 record, winning the DVC by two games over the Pacers who concluded the regular season at 7-3 in the conference, 17-10 overall.

Listen to the post-game interview with co-coaches Louis Corpuz and Brien Tillery and see some game highlights by clicking on the video below.

Riley To Hold Football Combine

Got this email from Marcus Riley, former EGHS and Fresno State football player. It's about an event he's doing the last weekend in April:

Marcus Riley Presents "Who's The Best" Football Combine powered by WarriorZ Fitness and OfficialPlayerWatch.com. A Combine like no other where kids starting at the age of 6 will be able to participate and compete. This will be a 2 day event where the first day is dedicated to youth football and the second day will feature high school athletes. The youth football participates will compete in a Punt, Pass, and Kick competition, Push-Up competition, as well as being timed in the 40 yard sprint, and pro-shuttle. The High School athletes will do a full college style combine including height/weight, 40-yard sprint, L-cone drill, pro-shuttle, broad jump and bench press (135/155/185 pounds). This unique camp will also provide (for high school athletes) a profile page on OfficialPlayerWatch.com that would include video footage of each individual athlete on their page. OfficialPlayerWatch.com provides you with the most authentic network where athletes can upload highlight film, post stats and promote their athletic abilities to colleges all over the nation. This combine will also feature hands-on instruction from current and former NFL players as well as some of the area's premier coaches to all athletes. Every athlete will receive a combine t-shirt as well as a certified combine results card and at the end of both days there will be a player awards presentation.

Patriots Prep For Regular Season Finale

I have to admire the work of basketball coach Kirt Duncan. This man has been faithful. Not just to his Lord, but also to his local Christian school.

Duncan has instilled the love of sports in the young people at Wilton Christian School for several years now. The result is that this school of only 29, the smallest high school in the Sac-Joaquin Section, has produced several excellent girls' basketball teams.

Five years ago, the Patriots made it to the Division V title game, but both times lost to Bradshaw Christian School. This season with a Division VI to play in and some really good players again, Wilton is 15-4, set to make some noise in the playoffs.

Maybe a championship banner will be earned. What is interesting is that the Patriots really don't have a gym in which to hang it. They practice in what is the church sanctuary on Sundays. They play "home" games at Galt High School.

In fact, Friday's regular season finale against Lutheran High School of Elk Grove will be played at Town and Country Church on Marconi Ave. in Carmichael.

The top player this season is Kendra Jeffcoat, a 6-1 senior averaging 22.4 points and 17.4 rebounds a game. Sophomore Kayla Brown is averaging 14 points a game and leads a good group of freshmen and sophomores contributing this season to the Patriots' effort.

I remember about five years ago when they made the championship game at ARCO Arena. The whole community of Wilton turned out to cheer them on. It was a loud, supportive group.

I think it was the one of the first times a pair of teams prayed before a game at ARCO. Bradshaw won the game but perhaps this year, it will be Wilton's turn. I'm certain the church wouldn't mind a basketball championship banner in the sanctuary.

P-G Girls Defeat Lincoln In Possible Championship Preview

Dejza James scored 22 points and Marissa Wimbley added 17 as Pleasant Grove defeated Lincoln 68-57 Tuesday in Stockton. These are the two top Division I teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section and could meet in the post-season finale.


Other girls' scores from Tuesday:


FRANKLIN 58, DAVIS 46 (The Lady Wildcats could sneak into the playoffs, but need some help)
ELK GROVE 66, GRANT 62 (OT) (Schuman had 25 pts and Gray 23)
WILTON CHRISTIAN 61, BUCKINGHAM CHARTER 17 (Jeffcot had 26 and Brown 20. Watch out for this team in the playoffs!)

EGHS Baseball To Play in N.C. in 2013

The high school baseball season hasn't even begun - several teams have scrimmages this weekend - but word out of Elk Grove High School is that the Thundering Herd has accepted an invitation to play at the USA Baseball National High School Invitational Tournament in 2013. The event is held annually in Cary, N.C., and pits some of the top programs in the country.

A look at this year's field includes Mater Dei from Orange County and Orange Lutheran High School.

The carrot for the Herd to play in North Carolina next March has to be that both Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez will be seniors and, though both have made their college commitments, they will likely rank high on prospect lists amongst all high schoolers next spring. Tellez may be a high pro draft choice in June of 2013, Nunez, too.

Elk Grove scrimmages Clovis West this Saturday in Clovis. Watch for a couple young guys to grab some looks - freshman infielder Nick Madrigal, who was a part of the 14U USA Team last summer, and Trey Hicks, a very versatile fielder who can play just about everywhere. How well pitching develops this spring will determine how good the Herd will be this season.

League Wrestling Results

Here are the results from Saturday's Delta River League and Sierra Valley Conference wrestling championships. The top four listed in each result page will advance to this weekend's Sac-Joaquin Section divisional championships.

Elk Grove, Cosumnes Oaks Grapplers Advance In League Meets

In high school wrestling, last weekend was full of league tournaments. The top four finishers in each weight group advances to this weekend’s Sac-Joaquin Section Divisional tournaments.

Elk Grove easily won the Delta Valley Conference meet held at Monterey Trail High School. Twelve of the 14 Herd wrestlers won their weight, the other two placed second. The Division I meet will be this Friday at Ponderosa High School.

Cosumnes Oaks, the Sierra Valley Conference’s dual champion, also won the individual championship last weekend scoring 216.5 points. Vista del Lago placed second and Galt was sixth.

Six Wolfpack grapplers – Jared Blecman (106), Ryan Nantuna (120), Phoenyx Iniguez (126), Oscar Flores (182), Tyler Martin (195) and Francisco Ruiz (285) – won their weight classification.

The conference meet was at Cosumnes Oaks High School. …

Buck Martinez Speaks At Elk Grove Baseball Fundraiser

He's probably the most successful baseball player ever to come out of the city of Elk Grove. Former major league catcher and current Toronto Blue Jays' play-by-play announcer Buck Martinez spoke Saturday night at a fundraiser for the baseball program at Elk Grove High School.

Buck Martinez

It was a packed house at the S.E.S. Hall that listened to Martinez reminisce  about his playing days in Elk Grove and in professional baseball. His high school teammate, Kenny Hottman who also played in the majors, was there Saturday. Martinez was the catcher for the Royals when Hottman took his first MLB at-bat for the White Sox.

Martinez also talked about playing with or for 12 men who are now in baseball's Hall of Fame. Martinez was one of the very first Kansas City Royals when that club was organized in 1968, just two years after he graduated from Elk Grove. He also recalled being the catcher, who with a broken leg, made both putouts in the Majors' only 9-2-7-2 double play.

If you're a baseball fan, you'll enjoy listening to this speech. He is introduced by Elk Grove's pitching coach, Jason Jimenez, who also spent time in the majors and is Hottman's son-in-law.

Franklin Squeaks By Elk Grove, 4th Straight DVC Championship

Jesse Formaker has really established one of the top basketball programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section. For the fourth year in a row he has combed some of the top Elk Grove-area players into a quality team that has grabbed the 2012 Delta Valley Conference championship.

Except for a momentary slip-up a couple weeks back at Laguna Creek, the Wildcats have shown they are the class of the conference once again. On Friday night, some tough defense on top of quality free throw shooting gave Franklin a 54-48 win over Elk Grove. The Wildcats made 19 of their 20 charity tosses to overcome a scrappy Thundering Herd team that is on the bubble of qualifying for the Section playoffs.

Here's the final three minutes of Friday's game at Franklin:

Other BOYS BASKETBALL results from Friday:

COSUMNES OAKS 77, GALT 32 (The Wolfpack are heading into the D-II post-season)

GRANT 77, LAGUNA CREEK 65 (puts a big dent in the Cardinals' playoff hopes)

PLEASANT GROVE 67, FOLSOM 36 (Cody Demps had 18 to lead the Eagles)

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

PLEASANT GROVE 69, FOLSOM 30

GRANT 46, LAGUNA CREEK 36

FRANKLIN 47, ELK GROVE 37

SHELDON 47, PONDEROSA 37

COSUMNES OAKS 38, GALT 36

WILTON CHRISTIAN 56, SACRAMENTO COUNTRY DAY 29 (Watch out for Wilton in the D-V playoffs, right now they have the #2 seed)

Spencer Levin Reflects On Last Weekend's Debacle

Last weekend Elk Grove's Spencer Levin blew a six-shot lead entering the final round of the PGA's Waste Management Phoenix Open. Today he talked to the media prior to teeing off in the first round of the A-T&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am on the Monterey Peninsula.

Basically, Levin admitted he rushed things in Sunday's disastrous round and didn't have fun. He said he now knows what to expect if he has the lead on the final day of any tournament.

Levin opened with a one-under-par 69 on the Monterey Peninsula Country Club's Shore Course. He's eight strokes behind the leaders.

Pope Brothers Lead Burbank To Big Season

Sportswriting is just my hobby, my "other job." I am a journalism/digital media teacher at Luther Burbank High School. This year the Titans' basketball team is 18-6, but three losses have come at the hands of league opponents -Sac High (twice) and Valley (once). Though Burbank won't likely win the Metro Conference, they are a force to reckon with when the Section Division I playoffs start in a couple weeks.

Malik, Remle and Emmanuel Pope (Hector Amezcua)

Bill Patterson of the Sacramento Bee just wrote a great feature about the Pope trio, three brothers who are key parts of the Titans' success this season. Malik, the youngest (and the tallest) may be the "man" the next couple seasons for Burbank.

But, the two guys that I think will decide how deep the Titans will go this season will be Mitchell Love and Jay Stone. Watch these two young men in the next few weeks.

Tonight they play Rosemont, but next week are tough road games against McClatchy and Kennedy. Burbank needs solid performances then to build up momentum to get into the playoffs.

Wednesday's Results

Boys' Basketball


JESUIT 57, PLEASANT GROVE 54 (U'u and Pressley each have 20 points for the Marauders)
SHELDON 64, OAK RIDGE 48 (Armani Hampton leads Sheldon with 15 points, avenging only DRL loss for the Huskies)
SAN JUAN 63, BRADSHAW CHRISTIAN 53 (Pride in danger of not making the playoffs)


Here's a link to the Boys' Basketball power ratings. 

Wiggins Signs With 49ers

Elk Grove grad Kenny Wiggins gets a second chance with the Niners

One of the nicest young men to ever play football here in Elk Grove, Kenny Wiggins, will get a second chance to make the roster of the San Francisco 49ers next season.

The 49ers announced last week they have signed Wiggins along with offensive guard Garrett Chisolm to Reserve/Future contracts.

Chisolm (6-6, 299) was originally signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on 7/28/11, and later added to their practice squad on 9/4. Chisolm was later released by the Dolphins on 9/20. He also spent time on the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens practice squads in 2011.

Wiggins (6-6, 314) was signed by the 49ers as an undrafted free agent on 7/27/11, and was later released following training camp. He was signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad on 11/28 and spent the remainder of the season with the unit.

Wiggins, a 23-year old native of Elk Grove, CA, appeared in 42 career games at Fresno State. As a Bulldog, he earned All-Western Athletic Conference first-team honors as a senior in 2010 and All-WAC second-team in 2009.

Levin, Leading By Six, Loses Phoenix Open By Two

Sunday could have been the best day in the golfing career of Elk Grove’s Spencer Levin. Instead, it was probably the worst.

#16 at TPC-Scottsdale, site of the Phoenix Open

He went into the fourth and final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open with a big six-shot lead. But, Sunday when most of the leaders were scoring in red figures at the TPC-Scottsdale, Levin was going the other way. 

He fired a four-over-par 76 and finished at 13-under-par, two strokes behind the winner, Kyle Stanley. Stanley,  who won for the first time ever on the PGA Tour,  was eight strokes back at the beginning of the round and fired a seven-under-par 65.

“I felt all right early, and I don't know, I just didn't have it, I guess,” Levin said in his post-round news conference. “I just maybe tried a little too hard. I don't think I felt real calm, I just I don't know, I just was looking ahead too much and maybe trying a little too hard, I guess.”

Herd Grapplers Defeated In Section Duals' Semis

For the first time in eight years, the Elk Grove wrestling squad did not finish either first or second in the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division I team dual championships. Saturday in Stockton the Herd were defeated by Delta River League-champions Folsom, 42-27, in the semi-final match.

Earlier in the day, Elk Grove defeated Merrill West, 59-12.

The Herd has been in the team dual championship match each season since 2004. They have won that title three times.

Vacaville won the team dual championship for the fifth year in a row by beating Folsom later Saturday afternoon, 47-19.

Cosumnes Oaks' wrestlers qualified for the Division IV dual meet, but were defeated in the opening round by Weston Ranch, 41-28. In Division VI Bradshaw Christian was defeated by Waterford, 77-6.

Del Oro won the Division II title, Rodriguez took Division III. Oakdale, perhaps the best wrestling squad in the Section, won D-IV.  Ripon took Division V and Waterford won D-VI.

This weekend will be the league wrestling championships in which the four top grapplers in each weight class will advance to the Section's divisional tournament the following weekend.

Levin Leads Phoenix Open By Six Shots

This is from PGA Tour. Com:

Spencer Levin certainly didn’t show any chinks in the armor on Saturday during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Well, there was that one bogey when he hit his tee shot in the water at the 15th hole. But Levin countered with four birdies to offset that lone gaffe and lengthened his lead to six shots entering Sunday’s finale.

"I felt like I played solid," Levin said in understatement. "I felt like I was in control of my ball most of the day, and I’m pleased. Coming out there, I’ve never had a big lead like that starting the day, and I thought I played well. Overall I’m pleased about it."

Levin, who has never held a 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR, will be looking for his first victory on Sunday. The 27-year-old Californian came close last year, losing on the first playoff hole to Johnson Wagner at the Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun.