The firework stands are now erected in retail locations
around Elk Grove. That’s the sure sign we are now into summer and it’s time to
reflect back on the past twelve months of sports in our city. Most were
memorable events took place on the field or the court, however this year, we
had a handful of sports stories away from the competition, particularly our top
story of the 2013-2014 school year:
1. Sheldon Basketball Sanctions
The four-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I
champions were hit hard by graduation and thus the door seemed open for many
area basketball players to transfer to the Elk Grove Unified facility and try
to keep the hardcourt program atop the heap.
The problem was the way those students, or more correctly
their parents and some tournament team coaches funneled the boys to Sheldon.
Three of the prospective Huskies players were ruled
ineligible for the entire season in November. Two of them were making their
second high school transfer and according to CIF rules, when you do that, you
are ineligible for one entire year.
The third player, the CIF and Elk Grove Unified officials
discovered in its investigation, played in the summer basketball program in
2013 while still a student at another EGUSD school.
The investigation additionally found four cases of providing
fraudulent information to CIF and when Section commissioner Pete Saco came down
with his ruling on Jan. 25, those boys were ruled immediately ineligible. They
cannot play in a CIF-sanctioned game until Jan. 25, 2015.
The Huskies’ team was made ineligible for the post-season in
2014 and put on probation through 2016. Plus, the Section placed strict
guidelines on how non-school teams use the Sheldon facilities in the future.
Sheldon head varsity coach Joey Rollings was suspended four
weeks during the season.
2. Derek Hill Drafted First Round By Detroit Tigers
He was called the best centerfielder coming out of high
school since Torii Hunter by Major League Baseball Network commentator Harold
Reynolds. Derek Hill thrilled Elk Grove High School baseball fans for three
years with numerous running and diving catches along with showing great speed
on the base paths.
On June 3 he became our city’s first player ever drafted in
the initial round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft right
off one of our local diamonds.
In 2008, former Laguna Creek pitcher Casey Weathers was a
top selection of the Colorado Rockies after his senior season at Vanderbilt
University.
A few days later he signed a contract with the Tigers with a
reported signing bonus of $2 million, thus forgoing a collegiate career with
Oregon University.
Another ex-Herd player, J.D. Davis, drafted in the third
round by Houston out of Fullerton State, signed with the Astros June 10 for a
$780,000 bonus.
3. Pleasant Grove Girls Basketball Team Is State
Runner-ups
They were the 11th seed in the NorCal Girls’
Division I tournament, yet that didn’t bother the Pleasant Grove girls’
basketball team. They rolled through No. 7 seeded Monte Vista, 56-54 in
overtime and then overwhelmed the three-time defending NorCal champion Berkeley
squad, 51-42, on March 21.
In 2013 the Eagles’ boys squad won the Division I CIF State
Championships. The hope for another State title at Pleasant Grove was dashed a
week later when they lost to Canyon Valley.
What was amazing was how far the girls made it through the
playoffs after being knocked out of the Section playoffs by Oak Ridge in the
semi-finals.
4. Joe Cattolico Resigns As Pleasant Grove Football Coach
4. Joe Cattolico Resigns As Pleasant Grove Football Coach
The only football coach Pleasant Grove had, Joe Cattolico,
resigned his post April 4 after receiving word that Bruce Belden was hired
instead of him as the school’s athletic director.
Cattolico made it clear he wanted the A.D. job after Jeff
Caton announced earlier in the school year he would be stepping down June 1.
The school decided they wanted Belden, a long-time special education teacher
and former basketball coach at Florin.
Cattolico has made it clear he was open to coaching
elsewhere in the area and thus far no one has officially hired him. Pleasant
Grove has promoted former EGHS player and coach Jason Rossow from the junior
varsity coaching staff to replace Cattolico.
5. Elk Grove Baseball Wins DVC, Section Div I North
runner-ups
In his 15th season as the Herd baseball coach,
Jeff Carlson fielded a very talented squad in 2014. With Hill, Oregon
State-commit Nick Madrigal and his twin brother, Ty, leading the way, Elk Grove
went on a 17-game winning streak, won the Delta Valley Conference title and
took that momentum into the Division I North playoffs along with a 22-4 record.
But, the Herd lost to Rocklin in the second round of the
double-elimination tournament to knock them down to the losers’ bracket. They
battled back beating Franklin, Rocklin and Davis before bowing in the North
Region championship game, 5-2, to the Blue Devils. Elk Grove’s hope for
back-to-back Section championships was dashed.
Equally as surprising this spring was the fact Pleasant
Grove, which entered the playoffs as Delta River League champions with a 21-4
mark, was for the third year in a row, eliminated from the post-season by
Franklin. Like a year ago, the Eagles were sent home in the opening round game.
6. Pleasant Grove Softball Is SJS Runner-ups For
Second Year-In-A Row
Pleasant Grove had one of the most talented teams around in
2014 led by pitcher Celina Matthias, catcher Vanessa Washington and infielders
Alexa McCoin and Marissa Maligad. Sheldon won the DRL championship this year,
but Pleasant Grove was stronger in the post-season.
The Eagles eliminated Elk Grove in the opening round, beat
Roseville later that day, but then lost to undefeated Vacaville, 2-1, in the quarterfinal
game on May 19. That dropped P.G. to the losers’ bracket where they took on
Sheldon. In a three-hour game, delayed for about 40 minutes by lightning; they
beat the Huskies, 9-8, in an eight-inning thriller.
The next day Pleasant Grove once again beat Roseville and
then defeated Rocklin on May 20.
The latter game placed the Eagles in the championship round
against the Bulldogs.
In game one, Pleasant Grove handed Vacaville its only loss
of the year, 3-2, but in the second – and the championship- game, the Bulldogs’
sophomore pitcher Katie Kibby shut out the Eagles, 3-0.
Last year, in almost carbon-copy fashion, the Eagles met an
undefeated club, Vintage, beat them in the first finals’ game, but lost to them
in the championship contest.
7. Elk Grove Football Is Section Finalist, Again
Elk Grove once again touted one of the area’s top running
games in 2013 and after losing just once in the regular season – to Franklin –
entered the post-season as a favorite for the Division II title.
In 2012, in the middle of a driving rain and high winds, Elk
Grove couldn’t stop Folsom in the Section championship game at Hornet Stadium.
This time, though, Folsom was competing in Division I. That left D-2 wide open
for a new champion.
Elk Grove struggled with Burbank and then had to pull out a
furious comeback at Rio Linda to get to the D-II championship game.
The Herd’s quick defense bottled Del Oro for most of the
first three quarters, led 19-0 going into the fourth quarter, but then couldn’t
stop the Golden Eagles any longer.
Del Oro scored 20 points in the final quarter to win the
Section championship, 20-19.
The turning point came on an onside kickoff where video
showed the Del Oro players hit Elk Grove defenders before the ball reached the
required ten yards. The Golden Eagles recovered and scored a few plays later.
That video clip almost went viral on You Tube. Later, game
officials admitted to Elk Grove head coach Chris Nixon they made a mistake on
the call.
The football season began on an ominous note, too. Arsonists
burned down a shed containing most of the Herd’s field equipment. No arrests
have been made in the case.
8. Sheldon’s 4x400 Meter Relay Team 3rd
At State Meet
As the track and field season progressed it was evident
Sheldon had one of the area’s top sprinters in Taron Johnson. But, the Huskies’
Cameron Stone recorded the best 400-meter time in the entire state.
The pair along with Marcus Beloney and Steven Edwards won
the 4x400 meter relay race at the Section’s Div. I meet and was second in the
4x100 meter relay behind Woodcreek, the team that would eventually win the
State Championship in that race.
At the Masters’ meet a week later, Johnson would lose the
100 meter dash by .003 of a second and the 200 meters by .006 of a second.
Stone, though, won the 400 meters in 47.17 seconds.
The 4x400 team won the Masters and they were second, once
again, in the 4x100 meters.
On to Clovis for the State Track Meet where the Huskies were
third in the 4x400 meter relay, one of the best performances at that venue by
local tracksters in a long time. In the preliminary heat for the 4x100 meters,
they were flagged with a lane violation and were disqualified.
Stone ended up seventh in the 400 meters while Johnson
couldn’t get out of the preliminaries in the 100 and 200 meters.
9. Cosumnes Oaks Basketball Forfeits 16 Wins
With Sheldon reeling from sanctions placed upon its
basketball team, Cosumnes Oaks emerged with the top boys team this past winter.
The Wolfpack were cruising along at 18-1 when all of a
sudden came word that an ineligible player was a key part of almost all of
those games. Section officials ruled that Cosumnes Oaks needed to forfeit 16 of
those wins.
But, at the time the Wolfpack still had six league games
remaining. They ended up winning all those contests and finished third in the
Sierra Valley League, which under the Section’s new playoff format, was good
enough to qualify for the playoffs.
Cosumnes Oaks, behind Alex Van Dyke and L.J. Reed, rolled
right through the Division II bracket and were set to face high-flying Folsom
for the Section championship.
The Wolfpack were overwhelmed by the Bulldogs in a game
where the officials were frequently blowing their whistles. Folsom took a 79-62
win.
Two weeks later Cosumnes Oaks returned to the Sleep Train
Arena floor for the NorCal Division II championship, and once again, they were
turned back by Folsom. This time the score was 68-51.
Officially, the Wolfpack ended the season with a 16-19
record, but just three losses came on the court.
10. Joey Banks Finishes Fifth At State Wrestling
Joey Banks has been Franklin’s top defensive football player
the past couple seasons. His play on the gridiron earned him a National
Letter-of-Intent to Sacramento State.
But, on the wrestling mat, Banks was equally as tough.
Banks went all the way to the State Wrestling Championships
in Bakersfield undefeated as a 195-pound grappler. He won the Section Masters
and was hoping to become EGUSD’s seventh state champion.
But, in Bakersfield Banks stumbled a bit. He lost in the
quarterfinals to the eventual state champion, Ian Baker of LaCosta Canyon. He
rebounded to win two more matches, including the match for fifth place.
He’s the second Franklin wrestler to place at the State
meet. In 2010, heavyweight Peter Anguiano was third.
Honorable Mentions:
-Former Laguna Creek sprinter Deondre Batson, running for
Alabama, won the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship at 200 meters
-Elk Grove sophomore Annastassia Ramirez won third place at
the girls’ wrestling championships.
-Kyle Larson, a rookie on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, has
had breakout season including a pair of Nationwide Series race wins.
-Todd Reiswig, named interim EGUSD athletic director in
October, decided not to be the full-time replacement after Jim Smrekar
officially retires in late August.
-Bradshaw Christian’s football team won the Division VI
championship
- The EGUSD Board of Trustees decided to reinstate freshman-only
teams in six sports beginning this fall.
-Laguna Creek basketball coach Paul Casey announced his
retirement.
-Following three 20-plus win seasons, Monterey Trail fired
girls basketball coach Louie Corpuz.
And, we said goodbye
to former local athletes Josh Davis (Cosumnes Oaks), Mikey Lyttle (Elk Grove)
and Jeremy Callaway (Elk Grove).
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