Mid-Valley’s best honored by Northern Section
The Northern Section released its allleague teams for boys and girls basketball on Thursday, and the Mid-Valley area saw several of its athletes honored for their strong performances this winter.
In all, there were six league MVPs and four coaches of the year, along with 43 players who took home all-league honors.
Here’s a breakdown of the locals who received postseason accolades:
BUTTE VIEW LEAGUE Gridley High’s boys team won the BVL title for the second straight season and was led by junior forward Tyler Little, who was voted by coaches as the league’s MVP. Joining Little on the All-BVL team for the Bulldogs were teammates Brian Wilkerson and Brandon Lara.
Jack Enos and Ben Heuvelhorst were named to the all-league team for Sutter, while Lucas Carpenter was selected for Wheatland.
On the girls side, Gridley senior Stephanie Cardenas was named the league MVP after leading the Bulldogs to a share of the BVL title with Sutter. Cardenas averaged a team-high 16.3 points to go with 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 steals and 3.0 assists per game.
Gina Lockhart and Maddyson Tull were also named to the All-BVL team for Gridley, while Chantelle Sheppard, Rebakkah McLaughlin and Deon Prince were honored for Sutter.
Katherine Cabras was also selected for Wheatland.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY LEAGUE Pierce’s boys team shared the SVL title with Live Oak and made in a deep run in the playoffs to reach the Northern Section Division IV title game and a berth in the CIF State Tournament.
Leading the charge for the Bears was senior Ben High, who was named the league’s MVP after averaging a doubledouble with 14.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, both of which led the team.
Also earning All-SVL honors for the Bears were Angel Hernandez, Alex Ambriz and Cole Travis. Pierce’s Scott Burnum was also voted as the league’s Coach of the Year.
Ashvir Singh, Steven Williams and Christian Eller were named to the allleague team for Live Oak, and Graeson Bell and Danny Bedolla were selected for Colusa.
Live Oak’s girls team won its first SVL title since 1983 and reached the Northern Section Division IV semifinals to earn berth in the state tournament as well. The top performer for the Lions was junior guard Isabel Hernandez, who was voted the league MVP after averaging 17.3 points per game.
Live Oak’s David Anderson was also named the SVL’s Coach of the Year.
Also earning spots on the all-league team were Live Oak’s Leslie Fregoso, Shelby Foster and Ellie Miskin, Colusa’s Lexi Ramos and Pierce’s Cora Cherry.
MID-VALLEY LEAGUE Williams’ boys team took home the MVL title and fell just short of winning its second straight Northern Section Division V title with a loss in the championship game to earn a berth in the CIF State Tournament.
It was a team effort that led to the Yellowjackets’ success, but the main man all year was senior guard Alex Velazquez, who was voted the league’s MVP after excelling on both ends of the court and averaging a teamhigh 19 points per game.
Williams’ Tony Hermann was named the MVL’s Coach of the Year, while Anthony Davalos, Bryson Bowen and Allan Guevara were each allleague selections for the Yellowjackets.
Cole McCray also earned a spot on the All-MVL team for East Nicolaus.
On the girls side, Kayley Almond and Tiara Ceasar were named to the allleague team for East Nicolaus, while Barbara Bledsoe was selected for Williams. MOUNTAIN VALLEY LEAGUE
Biggs’ boys team claimed the MTVL title and leading the way for the Wolverines was senior Eloy Ibarra, who averaged 11.2 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game en route to taking home league MVP honors.
Greg Kitchen was also named the Coach of the Year for Biggs, while Drew Melendez, Tucker Bennett, Daniel Velazquez and Lukini Lualemana were selected to the all-league squad for the Wolverines.
Maxwell was represented on the All-MTVL team by Chubby Rangel, Conner Lovelace and Daniel Lara.
Biggs’ Megan Collins, Bailee Roles and Ciera Van Quick were all-league selections on the girls side, as were Maxwell’s Mallory Mathis and Mireya Ocampo.