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.

Friday Night's Result

It was a great night for high school sports. Lots of great games....Today (Saturday) I'll be Tweeting the results of the Section Wrestling Duals from Lincoln High School in Stockton. Follow me @EGCitizenJHull.

BOYS BASKETBALL

ELK GROVE 57, MONTEREY TRAIL 42
COSUMNES OAKS 69, VISTA DEL LAGO 41
FRANKLIN 64, GRANT 58
OAK RIDGE 55, FOLSOM 43
PLEASANT GROVE 67, PONDEROSA 60

DAVIS 104, LAGUNA CREEK 66

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/04/4238513/fridays-high-school-scoreboard.html#storylink=cpy

Thomas' Tip-In Gives Sheldon 71-70 Win

Kyi Thomas' tip-in of a Armani Hampton shot at the buzzer gave Sheldon an exciting 71-70 home win over Delta River League rival Jesuit Friday night. In the video below, watch the final 2:35 of the game.

More LOI Interviews

Kyi Thomas of Sheldon and Deon Ransom of Elk Grove are headed to Sacramento State this fall to play football for the Hornets. Going to Idaho are Sheldon defensive end Antonio Perez and Cosumnes Oaks quarterback Andrew Williams. And, hoping to be the placekicker/punter this fall at UC-Davis is Pleasant Grove's Marcus White.

Here are my interviews with these athletes after they signed their National Letters-of-Intent.

Morton Returns To LC

The man who was Laguna Creek's first football coach, Dave Morton, has returned to the school to re-assume the post of the Cardinal's head man. Morton, who last coached in 1997, will replace Mark Nill,  who resigned last fall but is still an English teacher at Laguna Creek.

Wednesday's Results

Delta River League


SHELDON 71, FOLSOM 56 (Dakarai Allen scored 42 points)
PLEASANT GROVE 60, OAK RIDGE 52 (Eagles snap a two-game losing streak, four score in double figures)
JESUIT 64, PONDEROSA 26


Delta Valley Conference


ELK GROVE 72, LAGUNA CREEK 51 (Herd outscores the Cardinals 18-1 in the 2nd period)
FRANKLIN 70, MONTEREY TRAIL 31


Others


COSUMNES OAKS 64, EL DORADO 57 (Big win for the Wolfpack to stay in first place)


Girls -
BRADSHAW CHRISTIAN 42, RIO VISTA 16

Elk Grove Linemen Continue Herd Tradition

Matt Kopa is playing in the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Kenny Wiggins' season is now over after spending part of the last NFL year on the practice squad with the Baltimore Ravens. Elk Grove High School has always had big, tough offensive linemen. 

Wednesday three of those big guys - Steve Moore, Watson Tautuiaki and Josh Letuligasenoa - signed National Letters of Intent to play college football. Moore with Cal, Tautuiaki with Western Oregon and Letuligasenoa with Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo. 

Listen to my interview with the trio above.

EG's Largest Letter-of-Intent Signing Ceremony, Ever

There were 16 football players from four of the Elk Grove Unified High Schools who inked their National Letters of Intent to play collegiately Wednesday afternoon. Players from Elk Grove, Sheldon, Pleasant Grove and Cosumnes Oaks High Schools all signed their letters in one big ceremony at the Performing Arts Center at Cosumnes Oaks.

Here is the video of the signing complete with the introduction of each student/athlete:



We were told that Mark Jenkins, running back at PG, might ink with So. Oregon. Also, expected to sign soon are Franklin H.S. linebackers Jordan Owensby and Nathan DiDonato.

Henderson(s), Ziegenhirt Ready For 2012 Season

(Editor's Note: In browsing the web this morning, I ran across the Cal Bears' softball site and the following feature was posted. It's about NCAA All-American pitcher Jolene Henderson and long-time friend Lindsey Ziegenhirt. Both were great players at Sheldon. The women's softball season is about to begin and this season they'll be joined by Jolene's sister Danielle. Watch out for the Bears this season. Another trip to the College World Series is waiting)

Junior pitcher Jolene Henderson and catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt have many things in common with fellow pitchers and catchers across the country. Nonverbal communication cues, pitch signals and a familiarity that comes with throwing to the same person game after game. Henderson and Ziegenhirt have a leg - or an arm or two - up on the competition for they have been battery mates since they were seven-years-old.

Eighteen To Ink Letters Wednesday

This may be the largest number of football players from the City of Elk Grove to ink national letters-of-intent. On Wednesday, 18 will be on the large stage of the Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cosumnes Oaks High School to make official which college they'll attend, and hopefully, continue their football careers.

On Tuesday, EGUSD athletic director Jim Smrekar said Mark Jenkins, the three-year-starting tailback at Pleasant Grove will sign his letter to attend Southern Oregon University.
This past season he weathered through a bad ankle to gain 1,785 yards and score 34 touchdowns. In his junior season, Jenkins had 2,739 yards and scored 41 TD's.

He'll join teammates Desmond Lewis and D.J. Dunn at the ceremony. Both of those young men will attend the Air Force Academy. It's unknown whether five-star recruit Arik Armstead will also be there. He attracted the big media show Sunday in announcing he'll ink with Oregon.

Eagle placekicker/punter Marcus White decided last week he'll commit to UC-Davis.

Franklin players Nathan DiDonato and Jordan Owensby have decided to both sign with Western Oregon University on Wednesday.  Both were outstanding linebackers for the Wildcats last season. It's unknown where Jordan's twin brother Blake will attend college. We may find out Wednesday.

Elk Grove has three players signing - Steven Moore with Cal, Deon Ransom with Sacramento State and Josh Letuligasenoa with Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. There's four Wolfpack teammates inking, too. They are Marcus Rios with UCLA, Andrew Williams with Idaho, Michael Thomas with UNLV and Ledontre Gooden with Southern Oregon.

Sheldon will be well represented by Nate Iese, an UCLA commit, Kyi Thomas, heading to Sacramento State and Antonio Perez to Idaho.

The flashbulbs will be going off in big numbers Wednesday afternoon.

EG Rugby Team Wins Championship

The Elk Grove United Youth Rugby Club won the Varsity Silver Division Championship on Sunday in The Kick Off Tournament (http://svrf.org/kot.html) at Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova. The tournament is the largest youth rugby tournament in the country. This year over 125 teams competed. Teams were represented from across Northern California and even Oregon and Calgary, Alberta. 


Elk Grove United defeated Diablo Youth Rugby Club from Walnut Creek, 18-7, in the first game. They tied Lancer Youth Rugby Club from Rancho Cordova, 5-5, but moved on because of tie-breaker criteria. In the finals EG defeated the Sacramento Eagles Youth Rugby club 14-0.

Elk Grove (in yellow) playing last weekend in Rancho Cordova

Elk Grove United Youth Rugby Club is made up of players from Elk Grove area high schools. We are looking for more players. Practices are Monday and Friday evenings. League games are on Friday evenings. The first league game is this Friday, Feb. 3rd. More information can be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elk-Grove-United-Rugby-Club/136716993047006

Big Signing Party Weds. In Elk Grove

Arik Armstead doesn’t attend Pleasant Grove High School any longer. The big defensive lineman had enough credits to graduate in December. That offered him more time to take a few more college visits, talk to prospective coaches and think about where he’d like to play football the next four or five years.

Sunday, after much anticipation, he officially announced he is going to sign a National Letter of Intent to play football and basketball at Oregon. Though he spent a few weeks in December to play hoops for Pleasant Grove, the 6-8, 285-pounder expressed his desire to play both sports in college.

The Ducks, apparently, is open to the idea.

Armstead officially announced his intentions Sunday at the House Christian Church in Sacramento before a crowd of family, friends and teammates.

Friday's Results/DVC, DRL Standings

Lots of great action Friday night around EG:

Boys' Basketball -

COSUMNES OAKS 52, RIVER CITY 49
LAGUNA CREEK 75, FRANKLIN 66 (Ogalue comes up big with 34 points for the Cardinals in what may be considered an upset win for LC. Theo Johnson scored a career-high 37 for the Wildcats)
MONTEREY TRAIL 67, GRANT 51 (Watch out for the Mustangs ... they are making a run to a playoff spot)


Girls' Basketball -
FRANKLIN 50, LAGUNA CREEK 28 
BRADSHAW CHRISTIAN 41, HIGHLANDS 37 (Ashlee Jones had 22 points)
DAVIS 49, ELK GROVE 45 (Carlee Gray had 17 points)
GRANT 52, MONTEREY TRAIL 44 (this is a bit of an upset)
PLEASANT GROVE 64, SHELDON 44 (James scored 22)
STANDINGS:

Levin Shoots One-Over-Par, Now 13 Back

Kyle Stanley is threatening to run away with the PGA Tour's Farmers' Insurance Open at LaJolla. He's got a big lead at 18-under-par after three rounds. Elk Grove golfer Spencer Levin was tied with him after both pro golfers fired a 10-under-par 62 on Torrey Pines' North Course Thursday. But, now playing the past two rounds on the South Course, Stanley has kept up the fiery pace - Levin hasn't.

He shot a four-over-par 76 Friday and a one-over-par 73 Saturday to drop into a tie for 44th. Sunday's final round will be televised on CBS.

http://www.pgatour.com/video/r/highlights/round_recap/2012/01/28/highs12farmersrnd3pgatourmpg-1981128/index.html

Sheldon's 4th Quarter Splurge Buries Eagles

Sheldon went on a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter of its Delta River League game against Pleasant Grove and defeated the Eagles, 74-57. D'Erryl Williams scored 20 points while Dakarai Allen added 18 as the Huskies' athleticism and speed was the difference. The win put the Huskies back atop the DRL with a 4-1 record. They dropped a disappointing 37-35 decision at Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

The referees called a tight game throughout and the Eagles (3-2 DRL, 16-3 overall) got in foul trouble early. Starter Colfax Nordquist fouled out in the third quarter and Cody Demps picked up his fifth foul in the fourth. Pleasant Grove coach John DePonte said that was the difference for them, plus let the referees have it not only in the final period, but also after the game. He talked about that with me in the locker room on the podcast below.

DePonte also comments how Arik Armstead's indecision on his future as a college football/basketball player has affected the team.

Here is the podcast with my interviews of Kyi Thomas, who had a strong second half and ended up 11 points, Ryan Manning, who scored 12 points, all in the first half and Sheldon coach Joey Rollings.

Levin Stumbles In PGA Tour's Farmers' Open Second Round

Spencer Levin

After a blazing opening-day 10-under, 62, Elk Grove's Spencer Levin plundered around the Torrey Pines Golf Club Friday, shooting a four-over-par 76 and is now in 20th place after two rounds of the Farmers' Insurance Open in LaJolla.  He's now eight strokes behind co-first round leader Kyle Stanley.

Here's the PGA Tour's Doug Milne and his interview with Levin right after Thursday's 62, including a 29 on the front nine:

Levin Fires 62 At Farmers' Insurance Open

Watch out for Elk Grove's Spencer Levin!


He fired a 10-under-par 62 in the first round of the Farmers' Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Club in LaJolla Thursday.


Spence has never won a PGA Tour event, but has finished second once. He's now in his fourth season on the Tour.

"I had some putts for birdies instead of pars, and kind of added up to a good score," Levin said in his post-round news conference.

Rounds three and four will be televised this weekend on CBS.

Thursday's Results

Girls' Basketball


WILTON CHRISTIAN 57, SACRAMENTO ADVENTIST 26


**Tonight (Friday) I am covering the big DRL game between the Sheldon boys and Pleasant Grove. I'll have the results later tonight right here ....


Wrestling

Franklin sophomore Joey Banks won the 170 pound championship at a tournament at Morro Bay last weekend. 

His overall record is 18-2. 

Sheldon, Pleasant Grove BOTH Upset

In the tough Delta River League, it was a night of upsets for the two Elk Grove clubs were defeated.

Oak Ridge played a slow-down, defensive game to beat Sheldon, 39-35. Jesuit was unbeatable in defeating Pleasant Grove, 75-57.

The Eagles and Huskies play each other Friday in a game that means one club will have two league losses by the weekend. Wednesday's losses were the first in the DRL for both PG and Sheldon.

Other scores:

FRANKLIN 98, DAVIS 79 (Davis likes to run-and-gun. Franklin showed they, too, can score at will)
LAGUNA CREEK 69, MONTEREY TRAIL 55
ELK GROVE 54, GRANT 42 (another nice win for the Herd. Jason Williams scored 20)


Girls' Basketball
BRADSHAW CHRISTIAN 50, GOLDEN SIERRA 45
COSUMNES OAKS 46, UNION MINE 35

Elk Grove Grapplers Shut Out Grant

Hard to believe a school with such a great football tradition can't field an entire wrestling team. But, that's Grant Union High School.

Wednesday night the always-solid Elk Grove mat men easily won its Delta Valley Conference dual match against the Pacers, 84-0.  Here are the match-by-match results, compliments of my friend Lon Pray:

106 Forfeit

113 Forfeit

120 Larrabee win by pin over Bailey

126 Hallberg win by pin over Weatherford

132 Ramirez win by pin over Herbert

138 Bettencourt win by pin over Deamond

145 Forfeit

152 Walters win by pin over Sanchez

160 Porter win by pin over Walker

170 Votino win by pin over Vue

182 Forfeit

197 Forfeit

220 Forfeit

285 Forfeit

Elk Grove hasn't lost a Delta League/Delta Valley Conference dual meet in ten years. 

Lewis Wins USA Taekwondo Title

Cheyenne Lewis

Cheyenne Lewis, a sophomore at Franklin High School, took first place in the female featherweight division at the USA Taekwondo Junior World Championships Open Team Trials held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Jan. 14-15. 


She will now be a part of the 20-member U.S. Junior World Team that will compete at the 9^th World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, April 4-8.

Lewis, who won a gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships, trains at Givans Taekwondo Academy in Antioch, Calif.

FC Elk Grove Wolves Win Boys' Association Cup

Mason Breipohl #5- (Kerr Middle School),  Brent Burkhart #21- (Albiani Middle School),  Bro Corosu #15- (Pleasant Grove High School),  Andrew DeAnda #14- (Country Day Middle School)

Kyle Ducay #24- (Pleasant Grove High School), Clay Duval #7- (Albiani Middle School),  Adam Herrera #8 - (Toby Johnson Middle School), Kyle Hikido #12 - (Toby Johnson Middle School)

Stevie James #9 - (Kerr Middle School), Jamil Koroma #3 - (Albiani Middle School), Justin Lopez #2 - (Heritage Peak Charter)    Joseph Restani #17 - (Albiani Middle School)

Christian Scott #22- (Kerr Middle School), Patrick Stahl #11 - (Pinkerton Middle School), Josh Urps #10 - (Albiani Middle School),   Bradley Wangsgard #4 - (Kerr Middle School)

Coaches are Jon Restani, Mike Deanda and Brian Wangsgard.

FC Elk Grove Edge Wins Association Cup

The FC Elk Grove Edge
Front Row- Katrina Vina, Taylor Marti, Jessey Santos, Mackenzie Lusich,
Skylar Houze, Nae'Lani O'Neil, Taylor Chaplin, Anne Engilis Back Row-
Kacey McCarley, Sophia Ugarkovich, Sarah Brown, Maddie Gruver, Simone
Walker, Ashlee Kaiser, Sami Skinner, Ashtyn Butler

Tuesday's Results

Boys' Basketball
UNION MINE 60, COSUMNES OAKS 55 (Wolfpack is outscored 22-12 in the 4th quarter)
CAPTIAL CHRISTIAN 76, MESA VERDE 30 (Former EG player Tre Belton had 13, former Franklin player Ike Iroegbu had five points)


Girls' Basketball
FRANKLIN 51, DAVIS 38 (Wildcats now 2-2 in the DVC)
PLEASANT GROVE 68, ST. FRANCIS 56 (Lady Eagles are on a roll now)
ELK GROVE 43, GRANT 42 (Lady Herd escape with much needed win)
Oak Ridge 63, Sheldon 56 
Monterey Trail/Laguna Creek (no report)

White Commits to UC-Davis; Armstead, Who Knows?

One of the nicest young men you'd ever want to meet has one of the strongest kicking legs to ever come from an Elk Grove-area high school. Pleasant Grove High School placekicker/punter Marcus White emailed the Citizen to announce he will sign a National Letter-of-Intent to play for Coach Bob Biggs at UC-Davis, the same school where his father played.

PG's Marcus White signing with the Aggies

"I am excited to work with Coach Biggs for one year before he retires as he was my dad's position coach when he played for UC Davis back in the early 80's," White wrote. 


White averaged more than 41 yards a punt last season for the Sac-Joaquin Section runner-ups and scored 107 points on 95 PAT's and four field goals.


All Elk Grove-area football players will officially sign their letters next Weds., Feb. 1 at 4:30 p.m. at the Trigg Building. The big question right now is where White's big teammate, lineman Arik Armstead will play his college football.


He has told Joe Davidson at the Bee that he is going to host in-home meetings with schools such as Cal, Auburn, Alabama, USC and Notre Dame. Plus, according to Davidson, Armstead will make his decision official on Feb. 1.


That could mean that the 6-8, 285-pounder could be the star of the show at the Trigg Building that afternoon. With White's commitment, I count 12 EGUSD student/athletes that will sign their LOI that afternoon.

Spaulding To Drive In Big Race In Arizona

Kiel Spaulding

TUCSON, Ariz. —Fifteen-year-old Kiel Spaulding of Elk Grove will drive for Phil Giebler Racing in the opening round of the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas Friday through Sunday (Jan. 27-29) at the Musselman Honda Circuit of Kart Racing.

It will be the initial event for Spaulding with Giebler’s team. Spaulding finished fourth in the Rotax Grand Nationals to qualify for the world championship Grand Finals last November at the Al Anin Circuit in the United Arab Emirates. Spaulding was the youngest driver in the Senior division and finished 29^th in the feature.

“My expectations for this event are like every event I show up, to finish first,” Spaulding said. “The Rotax Worlds last year made me a 100 percent better driver and I feel I can apply all that I learned here in America. I’ve raced against Phil or Phil’s team for a long team and they seem to run a very nice program.”

Spaulding was runner-up in the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas in the Junior division in 2010 with two wins. 

The Gatorz Challenge of the Americas is a three-round, six-event competition that is part of the path to qualifying for the Grand Finals in Kart Racing.

Owned by the 2007 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Phil Giebler Racing is based in Orange, Calif., and competes nationally at the highest level of karting in the United States. 

Results From Tim Brown Wrestling Tournament

Folsom’s wrestling team grabbed the team title last weekend at the Tim Brown Memorial Wrestling Tournament held at Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento. Elk Grove was the only local team to finish in the top ten. They were fifth.

Full Brackets Of Tim Brown Tournament

Folsom’s Connor Pollock won the 126-pound title and six other Bulldog wrestlers placed in the big event. Elk Grove was led by 170-pounder Scott Votino, who won his weight classification.  Josh Letuligasenoa was fourth at 220 pounds. Heavyweight Watson Tautuiaki placed seventh.

Oak Ridge wrestler Keaton Subjeck won the title at 160 pounds. Sheldon’s top finisher was heavyweight Sam Alnassiri who was sixth.

Cosumnes Oaks, Laguna Creek, Monterey Trail and Pleasant Grove also entered wrestlers in the Brown Tournament.

Elk Grove's Scott Votino, who placed first at 170 pounds (Dave Clarke, photo)

Elk Grove also sent wrestlers to an event in Albany last weekend and placed eighth in the team standings. Jaharee Taylor won the heavyweight division while Sunny Jackson was second in his weight group and Kaleb Vetterli finished fourth.

The California Wrestler website ranks Elk Grove 18^th in the state. Folsom is ranked 15^th and Vacaville fifth. Individually, the Herd's Martin Ramirez is now the third-ranked 132-pounder. Letuligasenoa is now ranked #6 at 220.

Friday's Results

Boys' Basketball

Delta Valley Conference 

MONTEREY TRAIL 64, DAVIS 61 (big win for the Mustangs. Davis had been averaging more than 80 points a game)

FRANKLIN 65, ELK GROVE 59 (Theo Johnson had 21 for the Wildcats. Good showing by the Herd against a very good Franklin team)

GRANT 61, LAGUNA CREEK 53 (21 points for the Cardinals' Ogalue)

Delta River League

PLEASANT GROVE 58, FOLSOM 56 (Hayes 19 points and Thames 15 in a surprisingly close game in Folsom)

SHELDON 88, PONDEROSA 67 (Dakarai Allen had 24 points)

JESUIT 61, OAK RIDGE 43

Girls' Basketball

Delta Valley Conference

FRANKLIN 53, ELK GROVE 29 (see my earlier post)

MONTEREY TRAIL 55, DAVIS 47

Delta River League

PLEASANT GROVE 71, FOLSOM 44

SHELDON 67, PONDEROSA 43 (Burgos scored 24. See Jon Gudel's feature on her in Friday's Citizen)

OAK RIDGE 47, ST. FRANCIS 41 (OT)

Other scores: BRADSHAW CHRISTIAN 51, VACAVILLE CHRISTIAN 44