Notes From The Boras

Day one of the Scott Boras Baseball Classic is complete, at least for me. I am doing the public address announcing on one of the two fields at the McAuliffe Baseball Complex in Sacramento, a volunteer thing I like to do annually because I always get to see the top clubs in northern California every year.

Here are some notes I took on Monday:

 - Elk Grove pitching held together on the Herd's first day. Alex Zalasky and Kevin Kyle beat Yuba City for a 5-1 win. Ryan Robards had a key two-run double for the big hit of the game.

In game two, Ty Madrigal tossed a complete-game five-hitter as the Herd beat Bellarmine from San Jose, 2-1. The Bells had the game-tying run on third with two outs in the seventh inning.

The teams that played Monday won't play again until Wednesday in the Boras, so Coach Jeff Carlson will have a day to figure out who will pitch in the semi-finals. Both Chris Martin and Austin del Chairo have injuries that likely will spell the end of their seasons.

Martin has an issue with tendinitis while del Chairo has a shoulder problem that could require surgery. Senior Justin Bejarano is also out for the year with a shoulder problem of his own. This may mean guys like Dylan Carlson, Robards or Eric Bolton may need to take on some additional responsibilities like pitching.

- The top individual performance on day one at the Boras was turned in by St. Francis' pitcher Jeremy Ydens. He tossed a complete game no-hitter at defending Section champion Davis, 5-0. Ydens fanned six and walked two while going the distance.

-Davis is really handicapped right now without the services of stud junior Ryan Kriedler. He's got an issue with his wrist and, according to his father, Mark, the doctors thought it best to give it complete rest, thus a cast on that arm to keep it immobile.

The elder Kriedler thinks the cast will be gone next week when the Delta League schedule begins.

- Mark and his radio partner, Whitey Gleason, are back on the air in Sacramento every weekday afternoon on ESPN-1320 (AM) between 2 and 6 p.m. "The Rise Guys", as they have been known since their days on KHTK in Sacramento during the morning hours and later on the air in the Bay Area, have teamed up with Derek Moore for a radio show that doesn't dwell on just the Kings as most of local sports talk shows.

Nor are the Rise Guys loaded with stupid comments or are self-promoting like most. Gleason has a great sense of humor and Kriedler mixes in well-researched, knowledgable insight for a radio program that covers the gamut of all sports, plus mixes in items about local colleges, too.

I will be doing a feature for the Citizen on the Rise Guys very soon. This has become the radio program I tune into every afternoon on my way home.

- Kriedler and I both attended Patrick Henry Elementary School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mark followed me through those hallowed halls about eight years after I left for junior high in Oklahoma City and high school in Denver, Colo.

We both follow the Oklahoma Sooners. Boomer Sooner!

-Pleasant Grove opens play at the Boras Tuesday at 10 a.m. against J.Serra of San Mateo

- Sad to hear Jake Rodriguez has quit playing professional baseball, but excited to read the former EGHS grad has gone to work at his alma mater, Oregon State, as an undergraduate assistant.

Rodriguez lost his dad, Tony, a fixture at EGHS baseball and wrestling events for several years, in June of 2012 while Jake was at Corvallis.

The suddenness of Tony's death really hit Jake hard. Though he was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2013 after his junior year at Oregon State, Jake played a couple summers in their minor organization, He just couldn't get his game going.

He batted just .128 in 51 games professionally.

Jake Rodriguez

EGHS pitching coach Joey Belotti told me Monday that Jake went home during the off-season, talked to his mother. Nancy,  and after discussing it with her decided to accept the offer from Beavers' head coach Pat Casey.

Returning to Corvallis also allows Jake the opportunity to earn his bachelor's degree.

Jake was one of the first four-year varsity baseball starters at EGHS. He possessed an amazing arm which allowed him to play just about any infield position. Catching was where he excelled. He also could hit the ball as hard as anyone.

I was at a game at Franklin H.S. during Jake's senior year and he hit a ball that towered easily over the left field fence and almost hit a couple soccer players playing a game on a field well beyond that fence.

I could be corrected on this, but I believe Jake has Elk Grove's highest career batting average.

- You can tell it's spring break and time for the Boras, hosted locally by EGHS Baseball. Retired Herd coach Dave Pinckney donned his uniform and was in the dugout as was former pitching coach Jason Jimenez and business department head (and former athletic director) Zach Leach.

Jimenez is now a detective with EG Police and his new schedule doesn't allow him to do much coaching. He pitched professionally with the Rays and the Tigers.

- It was great catching up with long-time Herd football coach Dave Hoskins today. He's now the offensive line coach at Christian Brothers, but still teaches a weight lifting class at EGHS, plus has a couple evening classes at City College.

Hoskins thinks CBS will be very good again this year. He's also proud of the fact he has a couple ex-Herd players still playing in the NFL. Kenny Wiggins just signed a two-year contract with the Chargers as an offensive tackle. Lance Briggs, who has been a perennial All-Pro linebacker with the Bears, is looking for a place to play for a 13th season.

Formaker Resigns at Franklin/Larson Hospitalized

Franklin High School announced earlier today via their Twitter account that nine-year boys' basketball coach Jesse Formaker has resigned.

Earlier this year, Formaker took a leave of absence while his young son was undergoing treatment for cancer. His assistant coaches took over the reigns for much of the later half of the year, while Formaker was with his son, yet still attended a few games as his schedule allowed. 

During Formaker's tenure as the Wildcats' coach Franklin won five league championships, were Sac-Joaquin Section finalists twice and he was named the coach of the year in the conference five times.

This year Franklin went 18-10 overall and finished in a tie for second place in the Delta League with Pleasant Grove after a 10-4 season.

Larson Hospitalized in North Carolina

Elk Grove NASCAR driver Kyle Larson should be released sometime Monday evening from a Charlotte, N.C., hospital after undergoing tests following a fainting spell Saturday in Martinsville, VA.

Kyle Larson

Larson was at an autograph-signing event prior to Sunday's STP 500 when he suddenly fainted. The 2014 NASCAR Spring Cup Rookie of the Year was airlifted to a hospital closer to his Charlotte home and doctors have been evaluating his condition.

The car's owner, Chip Ganassi, had Reagan Smith replace Larson Sunday in the driver's seat of the #42 Target Chevrolet after Larson qualified fifth for the race at Martinsville Speedway. Smith finished 16th. 

Ganassi added that all tests done on Larson thus far have come back negative.

The Sprint Cup series takes this weekend off, so Larson has the opportunity to rest and recover to get ready for the Duck Commander 500 on April 7 at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Larson has had two top-ten finishes in the past three races and is currently 24th in the Cup standings.

PG Wins First Delta League Game

You almost never see it – a balk in softball. On Friday evening, however, Monterey Trail pitcher Celestina Ruela made a windup and delivered towards the plate, but held up on pitching the ball. The umpire behind the plate immediately called a balk.

What made it such an unusual play was that Pleasant Grove had a runner on third at the time. That girl, Kianah Corey, was allowed to score and because it was the fifth inning and the Eagles were leading, 9-0, the game was over.

It was a walk-off balk.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before,” Eagles’ co-head coach Bob Book said.

It was special, though, for Pleasant Grove because it was their first Delta League win of the year.

The Eagles’ other co-head coach, Russ Pettis, says the 10-0 win was good for his club for several other reasons.

“The name of the game is pitching and hitting and you have to do both to be successful,” he said. “With a big squad this year I did my best to get everyone playing time and see some live pitching.”

That’s to an eight-run first inning, Pettis was able to empty the bench, throw all three of his pitchers and cruise to their seventh win of the year overall. Sierra Gonzalez drove in the first two runs with a triple. Emily Martin and Cheyenne Barritt each had two-run doubles.

“We had some blips (in the league opener, a 12-10 loss to St. Francis) and we didn’t hit the ball very well, had some errors and it kind of compounded everything,” Pettis said. “Their lead-off hitter, Danica Bailey, is phenomenal. We did come back, but there were some questionable calls, but you can’t dwell on that. We have to hit the ball and that’s critical this early in the season.”

The Eagles (7-3, 1-1) have a big week coming up with six games. They have Elk Grove and Grant in Delta League contests then they participate in the Stephanie LeDoux Tournament in Roseville.

Quick Hits ...

Had a great talk this afternoon with Pleasant Grove first-year baseball coach Rusty McLain (yes, he spells his last name this way...he made certain I spelled it correctly). I will have a special feature with Rusty in this Friday's Citizen. He's quite a guy and has the Eagles playing very well. They looked pretty good in beating Bella Vista Friday, 5-1.

PG's Rusty McLain

The Scott Boras Baseball Classic starts a week from Monday at McAuliffe Fields. I will be doing the public address on one of the fields for two games a day. Always look forward to that. Great baseball expected March 30-Apr. 2.

Talked to former Laguna Creek baseball coach Josh Lex today. He didn't talk about the reasons why he was dismissed from the job with the Cardinals, his alma mater, two days before the first practices this spring, but he was in good spirits, watching PG and Bella Vista. Someone needs to hire this outstanding young man.

Also, we're waiting to hear where former PG football coach Joe Cattolico will land. He's still teaching at the school, but I hope he makes an announcement soon about his coaching future. In an era where everyone wants to spread the field offensively and throw, Joe will bring a tough ground game and stuff it down your throat. He's a winner and a great guy to have at any high school.

Track and Field ...

He was Monterey Trail High School’s All-State running back. Trey Nahhas, who gained almost 2,600 yards this past fall on the gridiron, showed on March 14 his athleticism once again at Mark Macres Stadium.

This time he had a pole vault in hand and he easily won that event in the annual Mark Macres Track and Field Invitational.

Nahhas outdistanced all others with a vault of 12 feet, six inches.

Urps Transfers To EG; Husky Invitational Track Saturday

As if Elk Grove's baseball team needed another outstanding player, a bit of a gift in the form of an outstanding infielder arrived on Coach Jeff Carlson's doorsteps on March 10 unexpectedly.

Pleasant Grove junior Josh Urps transferred schools right after something happened - an incident no one is willing to comment on - and now he's trying to lock onto a roster spot with the Herd. Urps batted .325 his sophomore season with the Eagles and is considered one of the most promising players in the entire Delta League.

But, now he's at EGHS. The issue now is whether he'll be eligible to play. That decision is in the hands of the Sac-Joaquin Section of the CIF.

On the surface the chances of Urps playing looks very small for this year. First of all, he's already played in at least one game for the Eagles. CIF allows athletes the right to transfer schools, but they have to sit out the first 30 days of the season. The exception is if the family moves into the attendance area of the new school.

However, this one is a new wrinkle in that Urps has already played for Pleasant Grove this year. He was two-for-two with a double in a Pleasant Grove loss at Buchanan High School on March 7.  Plus, Section or CIF officials could see this transfer as being athletically-motivated. If that's the case he could be sitting out of high school baseball for a year.

Again, no one connected with either school will comment on this situation. We'll have to see what the Section officials say.

Husky Invitational Runs Saturday

Most area high school track and field teams will compete Saturday at the Husky Invitational at Sheldon High School. First event is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Off to quick start at the track teams from host Sheldon along with Monterey Trail, Franklin and Elk Grove. On March 14, those schools placed several athletes in the annual Mark Macres Track and Field Meet. Here is a link to the results of that event.

Grubbs Helps CSUS To Strong Start; Wilburn Shines At Menlo

In his freshman season playing baseball for Sacramento State, Bronson Grubbs is already making a mark in the outfield for the Hornets. Grubbs, a graduate of Pleasant Grove High School, has played in or started 15 of Sac State’s first 18 games.

Though he’s hitting just .178, his quickness is being shown by the fact he leads the Hornets with five stolen bases in six attempts.

He isn’t worried at all about his batting, either. 

Hornet OF Bronson Grubbs

“It is a lot different than high school, it’s a lot more exciting baseball,” Grubbs said. “I’ve been hitting the ball hard. I need to stick to the same approach (Coach) Reggie (Christiansen) teaches us every single at-bat and I’ve been hitting the ball.”

Despite the fact he was a shortstop at Pleasant Grove, he’s been primarily in centerfield at Sac State.

“I’ve been playing outfield the last couple summers, so I feel pretty comfortable playing outfield,” he said.

Grubbs wasn’t initially a scholarship player out of high school, but Christiansen liked him well enough to assure him of a roster spot if he walked on.  Grubbs turned down opportunities offered elsewhere to stay at home in Sacramento and that decision has proven to be a good one.

“I like the program a lot and I will do well here,” he said.

The defending Western Athletic Conference champions are 10-8 thus far splitting four games at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo last weekend. He thinks there’s a good chance the Hornets will repeat as conference champions and return to the NCAA playoffs for a second year in a row.

“We’ve got a lot of good pitchers on this year’s team,” he said. “Our defense is really good. Our hitting, well, we’re not a power team. We’re more of a line-drive-hitting team.”

This weekend they’ll open the WAC schedule with four games at home against Texas-Pan American.

Wilburn Pitches Menlo To Second Win

Former Elk Grove softball pitcher Kimberly Wilburn pitched seven strong innings last Thursday to hand Menlo College a 3-2 win over Hope International. That was just the second win this season for the Oaks, who picked up another victory Saturday and are now 3-11 overall.

In eleven appearances and seven starts thus far, Wilburn is 2-6 with a 7.50 ERA. 

Larson Places In Top Ten, Again

For the second week in a row Kyle Larson has finished in the top ten of a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

After starting in 12^th place at the poll of the Camping World 500 in Phoenix on Sunday, Larson worked his way forward to fifth place with 20 laps to go, but ended up in tenth place. The week before in Las Vegas Larson drove the #42 Target Chevrolet to an eighth-place finish.

“I worked hard all day to get a top ten,” Larson tweeted after Sunday’s race. “Not by best track so a top ten is okay, but we need to get better. Congrats to Kevin Harvick, you’re unreal.”

Harvick who won Sunday in Phoenix took the checkered flag in Las Vegas the week before. He’s now finished either first or second in the last seven Sprint Cup races.

Larson’s teammate with Chip Ganassi Racing, Jamie McMurray, was second Sunday.

This weekend NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series will race in the Auto Club 400 at Fontana, Cal.

Softball: EG, PG, Sheldon All Good, But C.Oaks Could Be The Best

Could the best high school softball team this season be Division II Cosumnes Oaks? They may not end up being the top club overall in the entire Sac-Joaquin Section, because Vacaville, the defending Division I champion, has several key players back this year.

But, in the city of Elk Grove, the Wolfpack could have the most talented group in 2015.

In the opening week of play Lynda Bettencourt’s girls came from behind to defeat Sheldon, 9-5, and a couple days later held down Franklin for a 2-1 win. Both of those clubs are figuring to finish in the top half of the Division I Delta League this spring.

Bettencourt, as she generally is when talking about her girls, is positive when evaluating this season’s club, yet stops a bit short of saying Cosumnes Oaks may be better than the rest of the Elk Grove Unified School District teams.

“Anything is a possibility,” Bettencourt said. “Our team is a fun team to watch. We’ve got speed, we’ve got all the workings of a championship team, and so I do believe the potential is there for us to be highly successful.”

The former Cal Bear is starting her fifth season of coaching at Cosumnes Oaks with one of her own, catcher Sabrina Scott, already signed to a National Letter-of-Intent to play for Scott’s former mentor, Diane Ninemeier, in Berkeley.

“I know she is looking at (Scott) for her diversity at the plate and versatility as a player,” Bettencourt said. “She can catch and play outfield. I know (Ninemeier) is looking to her to come in and make an immediate impact behind the plate.”

In her junior season Scott battered opposing pitching with a very good .475 batting average that included three homers, a triple and eleven doubles. Scott also knocked in 26 runs.

She’s one of five seniors on the Wolfpack roster this year. All five are playing in college next year.

Now in the Capital Valley Conference, Cosumnes Oaks has to finish in the top three in the Conference in order to qualify for the post-season. Bettencourt says that could be a tall order.

State Wrestling - Day One Results

None of the eleven Elk Grove Unified wrestlers have qualified for today's semi-finals of the CIF State Wrestling Tournament in Bakersfield, however, there are a few grapplers from the Sac-Joaquin Section in the final four in their weight class.

There's two from Vacaville - Jordan Aquino (106 pounds) and Anthony Hernandez (126 pounds) - in the semis. Aquino faces Cade Olivas of St. John Bosco while Hernandez takes on Daxton Gordan of Brawley (San Diego).

Folson's Lorenzo De La Riva will meet Dominic Kincaid of Clovis in the semi-finals at 160 pounds. Clovis High School, the five-time defending state champion, has an amazing eight wrestlers in the semis. They qualified their entire team for the State Tournament.

Oakdale, which finished second at last week's Section Masters, also has a pair of grapplers in today's semis. They are Abel Garcia, who will face Anthony Valencia of St. John Bosco, at 160 pounds. Nico Colunga faces Durbin Lloren from Buchanan at 120 pounds.

Other Section grapplers vying for an individual state championship are Russel Rohlfing of Sonora (126), Angel Velazquez of Pitman (132), Wyatt Wyckoff of Paradise (138), McCoy Kent of Enochs (138), Zack Velasquez of Ponderosa (152), and Jake Minshew of Casa Roble (285).

Here are how the Elk Grove area grapplers faired on Friday at Rabobank Arena:

Israel Washington, Monterey Trail (113 pounds) - lost to David Gonzalez, San Dimas, 2-1; pinned Oscar Covarrubias of Paso Robles in 2:24; lost to Anthony Chavez of Fresno Central, 8-7.

Jacob Seto, Elk Grove (113 pounds) - dec. Tommy Ortiz of RF Kennedy, 7-4; lost to Reece Galvert of Palm Desert, 2-1;  dec. David Reingold of Palisades, 6-0; decisioned Bryar Edwards of Liberty, 4-2 in overtime; lost to Andrew Nelms of Porterville, 4-0.

Shaun Devisscher of Florin (120 pounds) - lost to Elijah Diaz of Montclair, 9-4; was pinned by Adrian Salgado of ML King in 2:49.

Kalani Tonge of Elk Grove (132 pounds) - dec. Eric Blood of Paradise, 9-0; lost to Jaden Enriquez of Mission Valley, 4-3; dec. Andres Estrada of Northview, 5-2; lost to Carlos Herrera of Bakersfield, 1-0.

Antonio Jimenez of Franklin (138 pounds) - lost to Ruben Garcia of Selma, 5-1; major decisioned Mark Rodriguez of Bakersfield, 15-6; decisioned Dean Esquibel of Buchanan, 3-2; lost to Justin Hansz of Liberty, 6-4.

Terrell Turner of Elk Grove (138 pounds) - lost to Ian Cramer of Gunn, 4-2; dec. Zak Evans of Irvine, 5-4; lost to Bailey Guttierz of Hoover, 2-0.

Carson Sperber of Elk Grove (145 pounds) - lost via technical fall to Nigel Ruiz of Bishop Amat, 15-0; lost to Adam Mito of Live Oak, 2-0.

Arsenio Ayala of Elk Grove (152 pounds) - lost to Kenneth Kirk of Elsinore, 8-7; lost to Joey Griego of Sultana, 6-5.

Isaiah Weathers of Florin (182 pounds) - lost to Julio Fuentes of Golden Valley, 8-4; defeated Max Bossart of Los Lomas, 14-5; lost to Erick Moreno of Sunnyside, 13-7.

Armando Glinton of Cosumnes Oaks (195 pounds) - pinned Elias Rosales of Bakersfield in 5:44, lost to Austin Flores of Clovis North, 16-1; lost to Kobe Rosas of Coalinga, 7-1.

Jake Bellecci of Elk Grove (195 pounds) - lost to Robert Castro of Bloomington, 3-0; pinned by Austin Fifer of Victor Valley, in 4:53.

Sai Ta'amu of Elk Grove (220 pounds) - lost to Noe Sandoval of Paramount 5-4 in overtime; pinned Corbin Grenowich of Rancho Bernardo in 3:24;  pinned Tony Rogers of Chester in 4:18; decisioned Robert Barrios of Sierra Pacific, 3-1; decisioned Jacob Lopez of Ridgeview, 3-2 in overtime.

Sai Ta'amu was defeated one match from the medal rounds Sat. 

Ta'amu was pinned by Danny Aiello of De La Salle Saturday in 1:20 finishing just out of the medal round.

 **Follow the matches live here ***

California is about the only state that has just one state high school wrestling tournament. The top 40 in each weight classification descend annually on Bakersfield for this event. Clovis is seeking its fifth straight team title, but Buchanan, St. John Bosco and Poway, the winner of the San Diego Section championship for the 28th straight season, may have something to say before it is over.

Larson Clocks Fastest Time Friday

Elk Grove's Kyle Larson had the fastest time Friday in NASCAR Sprint Cup practices in Las Vegas. Read about Kyle's preparation for Sunday's race.

Baseball Preview: Elk Grove's Experience, Tradition Hard To Beat

The Elk Grove baseball team of 2006 was pretty special. Not only did they defeat Colin Kaepernick and Pitman High School that year for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship, but also all nine starters went on to play college baseball.

Two of them, first baseman/pitcher David Freitas and catcher Dwight Childs, were drafted three years later and today they toil in the minor leagues. Freitas with the Baltimore Orioles’ Triple-A franchise in Norfolk and Childs recently inked a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As the 2015 season dawns locally Elk Grove High School coach Jeff Carlson seems some similarity between that squad of 2006 and the one he has currently.

“Time will tell over the season,” Carlson said. “Obviously, that team was special and we’ve had lots of special teams. The chemistry of (the 2006) team was outstanding. This team matches up with that one as far as chemistry and our individual talent.”

Two other members of the 2006 team are back at Elk Grove, but in different roles: Raymond Hernandez is the head coach of the Herd’s freshman squad and his pitching coach is Eric Otterson, who tossed a no-hitter during the 2006 playoffs.

EGHS' Jeff Carlson (middle) starting 15th Season as head baseball coach

His dad, Rick, helps Raymond in the frosh dugout too. Rick occasionally flies off to Arizona and watches his oldest son David, a 2003 grad of Elk Grove, pitch for the Diamondbacks.

“That 2006 team lost a few games, had to overcome adversity and that was what made that team very special,” Carlson said. “We’ll have to see if this year’s team can be like that. Every year our team is different.”

It’s this kind of baseball tradition Carlson loves to talk about 20 years after arriving at EGHS and starting his 15^th season as the head baseball coach. And, he’s no less excited and motivated today than he was in 2000 when he took over the reigns from Rusty McClain, who is now coaching baseball at Pleasant Grove.

“I’m always learning, figuring out different ways to motivate the players,” Carlson said.

Carlson admits he’s a bit different coach today than he was even back in 2006 in the middle of a run where his teams won four Section championships in a five-year span between 2003 and 2007.

“Obviously, I’m more experienced and I’ve seen a lot of things over those years, but I hope I am a better coach,” he said. “I do see things differently than I did in year one.” 

Carlson’s intensity hasn’t changed, though. In Saturday’s official season opener at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, he was thrown out of the game after questioning the umpires a bit too much.

“I have calmed down a lot since year one, but I must say the magic word or something. I don’t know what it is,” he explained. “One thing about me. I won’t lose my fire. I will stand up for my kids. I do it on the football field. I do it on the baseball field. I will battle for them.”

Carlson’s battling to build a prominent baseball program has resulted in Maxpreps ranking the 2015 version of the Herd in the top 25 in the state, something that Carlson downplays a bit.

However, as far as varsity playing experience there isn’t a team in the Delta League that can match up with the Herd. Only centerfielder Derek Hill, who was the first round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers, and leftfielder Max Hull are gone. The rest of the starters return for another year.

“This year’s team is the most experienced varsity team I’ve had, as far as the amount of four-year and three-year players I’ve had,” Carlson said.

Eleven EGUSD Grapplers Make State Tournament

Eleven Elk Grove-area wrestlers will compete this weekend in the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield.

Seven of those grapplers are from Elk Grove High School, a team that qualified all 14 members of their team for the two-day Sac-Joaquin Section Masters’ Tournament in Stockton.

The top six finishers in each weight classification at the Masters earned a trip to Bakersfield. That tournament gets underway Thursday.

Elk Grove’s 112-pounder Jacob Seto was the only local grappler to make the championship match. The sophomore ended up losing the Masters’ championship to Del Oro’s Landon McBride in a 7-4 decision.

EGHS' Jacob Seto, 2nd at 113 pounds

In what might be the upset of the entire Masters tournament, the Herd’s 220-pounder, Sai Ta’amu, who went into the event undefeated was pinned in a quarterfinal match with Pablo Miller of Del Oro. That match lasted only 19 seconds.

Ta’amu rebounded quickly with four wins, three by fall, to grab third place in his weight. He pinned Shane Torre of Calaveras in 3:34 in the bronze medal match.

Another Herd grappler that finished in third place was Kalani Tonge at 132 pounds. His only loss of the Masters was a 6-3 decision to Zack Ruybal of Del Oro in the semi-finals.

Cosumnes Oaks’ 195-pounder Armando Glinton also was a third-place finisher. He lost his opening match to Dylan Crane of Folsom, 11-4, then won seven bouts in a row.  Glinton faced Crane once again during a consolation round match beating him, 7-4.

In the third-place match Glinton defeated Hunter Halverson of Del Oro, 2-1.

Elk Grove’s Jake Bellecci finished sixth at 195 pounds to grab a spot in the State championships.

At 182, Florin’s Isaiah Weathers, a Division II champion from Florin, placed fifth and will his school’s lone representative in Bakersfield.

Placing sixth at 152 pounds was Arsenio Ayala of Elk Grove. Teammate Carson Sperbe was also a sixth-placer at 145 pounds.

Terrell Turner ended up fifth at 138. In his final match of Masters he defeated Franklin’s Antonio Jimenez, 4-1. Jimenez, though, will represent his school in Bakersfield.

Monterey Trail’s lone entrant at State will be Israel Washington. He ended up sixth at 113 pounds.

Just missing the qualification for State was Sheldon’s Ethan Brewer, who ended up seventh at 126 pounds, Robbie Nickerson, seventh at 182, and Elk Grove’s Jesse Arroyo. He was seventh at 120 pounds.

Del Oro won the Masters’ team championship while Elk Grove ended up fourth overall.  Oakdale placed second and Folsom third.

Quick Hits ….

--Elk Grove’s first state champion wrestler, John Ming, will be inducted into Sacramento City College’s Sports Hall of Fame. He wrestled two years for the Panthers, the last being 1969-70.

That year he finished third in the California Community College’s championships. He set a school record 28 falls that season, a record that stood 44 years.

--Spencer Levin missed the cut this weekend in the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic in Florida.

--Kyle Larson struggled through much of Sunday’s Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Near the end of the 325-lap ordeal, his car got involved in a crash and he finished in 26^th place.

“Such a frustrating race,” he tweeted afterwards. “(I have a ) top five car, but had no luck. We’ve got a great team just gotta get the luck changed. We’ll be okay.”

NASCAR comes to Las Vegas this weekend.

--Sacramento State closed Saturday’s game on a 20-9 run and defeated Portland State, 73-60. The win placed the Hornets just one game shy of clinching the Big Sky regular season championship. Pleasant Grove grad Cody Demps scored eight points, had four assists and five rebounds in the win.

The Hornets can snatch the Big Sky title  Thursday night at Southern Utah.

“We will stick with the same recipe we've followed all year, and we won't look any further ahead than the next game,” Sac State head coach Brian Katz said. “Southern Utah is a much improved team, they played us well in Sacramento and I anticipate a highly competitive game."

--San Diego State is now 12-4 and tied with Boise State atop the Mountain West Conference.  Freshman Malik Pope (Laguna Creek H.S.) is averaging 14 minutes and 5.2 points a game. Also coming off the bench is Sheldon’s Dakarai Allen and D’Erryl Williams.

--This is the first year for baseball at Folsom Lake College. The Falcons are already doing quite well – an 11-4 overall record and atop their conference with a 3-0 mark.

The roster are dotted with several local players: pitcher Skylar Quam (Elk Grove H.S.), catcher Anthony Poindexter (Laguna Creek H.S.), catcher Josh Criswell (Bradshaw Christian H.S.), infielder Steele Hadfield (Sheldon H.S.), pitcher Zack Reid (Sheldon H.S.), infielder Zach Rogers and infielder Grant Heisinger (Bradshaw Christian H.S.).