THE TOP SPORTS STORIES OF 2018
Before 2019 gets rolling in earnest, the News-Sentinel sports department is taking a look at the top sports stories of 2018. Here is the list of those successful teams and individuals.
State qualifications in track and field, swimming
In May, two members of the Lodi High girls and boys track and field teams, plus many from the Lodi girls swim teams and a Liberty Ranch long distance runner earned berths to the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships.
Leading the way was Lodi junior Paige Sefried, who earned a state berth to the meet by running to a topthree finish in the SacJoaquin Section Masters’ track and field finals at Elk Grove High. Sefried, now a senior who is going to Oregon State on a scholarship next summer, took third place in the girls 400-meter race at 56.21 seconds.
Damien Biegler earned a trip to state for the Lodi boys in the high jump at the section’s Masters, as well Liberty Ranch’s Collin Ullrich in the 3,200-meter race at first place.
In swimming, Lodi’s Gianni Pitto, who broke the section’s record in the girls 100yard breaststroke at 1 minute, 1.66 seconds, led eight other Flames to compete at the CIF Swimming and Diving Championships at Clovis High.
Tokay girls wrestling advances to state meet
Last winter, the Tokay High girls wrestling team sent four competitors to the CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships, thanks to their strong finishes at the section’s Masters meet at McNair High.
Jazmin Ruiz led the way for the Tigers, capturing the 111pound class title at the Masters. Placing in the top six for Tokay was Jazmin’s sister Yesenia (126), plus Jessica Gutierrez (143) and Cassidy Curtiss (235).
Tokay was just eight points away from winning another section title. Del Oro of Loomis took home the blue banner.
Mathew Cooper was the lone Lodi-area boy who advanced to the CIF Wrestling State Championships. The Tokay High 195-pound wrestler, who graduated last spring, took sixth place in his weight class.
Success continues for Liberty Ranch boys basketball
Last winter, Liberty Ranch (26-6) won its third consecutive Sierra Valley Conference record and hosted two section Division IV playoff games against Livingston and Calaveras, which beat the Hawks in the second round.
Despite the early playoff exit, Liberty Ranch, Galt’s second high school, still earned a CIF NorCal D-IV playoff berth bid. The Hawks took full advantage of their rebirth in post-season, beating Albany and Placer of Auburn in the first two rounds before losing to Stuart Hall of San Francisco.
Sophomore guard Jalen Patterson, now a junior, was named the SVC’s MVP. Other Hawks who earned conference honors were Chandler Garcia, Jaime Gonzalez and Jayden Baroni.
Title, playoff runs for Galt, Liberty Ranch and Tokay soccer teams
Last March, the Galt High boys soccer team capped a perfect run in the SVC and section D-IV playoffs at 26-0-1, defeating Livingston 3-2 for the section crown. The Warriors suffered their only loss in the first-ever CIF NorCal playoffs to Alisal of Salinas.
Leading scorers for the Warriors were Arath Chavez
(28 goals), Davian Marquez (25 goals), Gilberto Lopez (20) and Ramiro Ramirez (11), who also led the team in assists at 20. Maico Ortiz and Hector Ochoa had a combined 76 saves for the season.
The Liberty Ranch girls soccer team (18-2-3) also won the SVC title, played Center of Antelope for the D-IV title game. But Center’s strong play toward the end of the game and overtime led to a 42 win.
Sydney Klink and McKenna Brown were the Hawks’ leading scorers with 45 and 44 goals respectively. Brown also had 27 assists. Carson Jackson had 14 saves as the Hawks’ goalie.
The Tokay boys soccer team won its second consecutive Tri-City Athletic League title with a perfect 10-0 record and 15-2-2 overall. The Tigers defeated Turlock in the first round of the playoffs 2-1, then Jesuit of Carmichael ended the Tigers’ post-season run in the second round with a 2-2 tie; the Marauders won the game 6-5 on penalty kicks.
Ivan Rosales led the Tigers in scoring with 21 goals. Lionardo Ruiz had 13. Goalies Luis Alvarado, Christian Valencia and Miguel Cervantes combined for 86 saves. round of the D-II playoffs, then Bella Vista of Fair Oaks eliminated Lodi with a 9-6 win.
For a third consecutive year, Liberty Ranch (19-5) won an SVC title. But the Hawks, who have never won a first-round playoff game, saw that streak continue as Kimball of Tracy posted a wild 9-8 win.
Elliot Christian (5-11) took third place in the Central California Athletic Alliance. But the Eagles’ flight in the D-VII playoffs ended quickly, as Ripon Christian posted a 12-0 win in the first round. many TCAL titles and section playoff runs. His most recent successful team was the 201516 team that won a share of the TCAL title with St. Mary’s. Dave Woznick, a 2002 Lodi High graduate, took over for Nutting in late spring. Nutting was also the Galt High boys basketball coach for two seasons before taking over at Lodi.
Jason Hitt, who served as the Elliot Christian High boys basketball coach and athletic director, resigned in May. He is now teaching at Bear Creek High. Hitt coached the school’s boys basketball teams this decade that included winning Central California Athletic Alliance titles and deep runs in the SacJoaquin Section Division V and CIF NorCal playoffs. with the press box in the middle of the stands. The visitor’s bleachers are on the west side. On both sides of the bleachers are tunnels that allow fans to enter or leave each side.
Four stadium lights — two each on the west and east sides of the stadium — are also fixed into the ground at the yet-to-be named stadium.
Over the summer, Liberty Ranch, which played all of its football home games at Warrior Stadium at Galt High since Liberty Ranch opened its doors in 2009, opened Hawk Stadium. The stadium also features similar set-up like Hubbard Field, but a smaller visitor stands and no tunnels on either side of the stands.
Liberty Ranch opened its stadium on Aug. 17 with a non-league game against Johnson of Sacramento. The Hawks made their fans very happy, posting a 47-0 win over the Warriors.