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A year of dominance and upsets in area high school sports
Yes, the De La Salle Spartans (13-1) continued to thrive in football with their seventh CIF state title in 10 years, but they backed it with a Northern California Open title in basketball, along with North Coast Section crowns in baseball (above), wrestling (dual and team), volleyball, golf (Division I and TOC) and track and field (Tri-Valley and MOC).
DLS’s basketball team (31-3), led by the Metro Player of the Year Jordan Ratinho, led for a half but couldn’t keep pace with Chino Hills (35-0), also No. 1 in the land, losing 70-50.
Carlmont-Belmont softball coach Jim Liggett, 75, ended a 41-year career by leading his team to a 24-5 record and the CCS championship game.
Freedom, which got a three-hitter from Vanessa Strong, played all season for longtime assistant coach and Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger, who was shot and killed in July while making a traffic stop.
Foothill dedicated its season to head coach Matt Sweeney, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in February but coached the team to the final.
Above, Miramonte-Orinda senior basketball player Sabrina Ionescu not only won her second straight Metro Player of the Year award but she earned national POY honors from MaxPreps and USA Today.
The 6-foot guard averaged 28.5 points, 9.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 5.5 steals per game for the Matadors (32-1) and won MVP at the McDonald’s All-American Game.
Below, Antioch running back and Alabama commit Najee Harris, the Metro Football Player of the year, lived up to his ranking as the country’s top junior by rushing for 2,744 yards, 36 touchdowns and 33 two-point conversions.
Former Marin Catholic-Kentfield quarterback Jared Goff was the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft, taken by the Los Angeles Rams.
Antioch’s 11-1 season ended improbably with Harris (39 carries, 390 yards, six TDs) stopped for the first time all season on a two-point-conversion try with 1:03 left to lift visiting Foothill to a 55-54 NCS DI semifinal win.
St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda junior distance runner Cooper Teare won two state titles in photo finishes six months apart.
Above, Lincoln junior Pamela Amaechi became the first San Francisco public-school female to win a state track and field championship by taking the discus (164 feet, 1 inch).
The Bears’ baseball team also won the Division II title at 16-0, its first league crown since 1979 and second since 1949.
The same week St. Ignatius (28-0) won its first CCS boys tennis title over seven-time defending champion Menlo School-Atherton, Gunn-Palo Alto ended a streak of 29 CCS boys swim titles for Bellarmine.
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Yes, the De La Salle Spartans (13-1) continued to thrive in football with their seventh CIF state title in 10 years, but they backed it with a Northern California Open title in basketball, along with North Coast Section crowns in baseball (above), wrestling (dual and team), volleyball, golf (Division I and TOC) and track and field (Tri-Valley and MOC).
DLS’s basketball team (31-3), led by the Metro Player of the Year Jordan Ratinho, led for a half but couldn’t keep pace with Chino Hills (35-0), also No. 1 in the land, losing 70-50.
Carlmont-Belmont softball coach Jim Liggett, 75, ended a 41-year career by leading his team to a 24-5 record and the CCS championship game.
Freedom, which got a three-hitter from Vanessa Strong, played all season for longtime assistant coach and Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger, who was shot and killed in July while making a traffic stop.
Foothill dedicated its season to head coach Matt Sweeney, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in February but coached the team to the final.
Above, Miramonte-Orinda senior basketball player Sabrina Ionescu not only won her second straight Metro Player of the Year award but she earned national POY honors from MaxPreps and USA Today.
The 6-foot guard averaged 28.5 points, 9.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 5.5 steals per game for the Matadors (32-1) and won MVP at the McDonald’s All-American Game.
Below, Antioch running back and Alabama commit Najee Harris, the Metro Football Player of the year, lived up to his ranking as the country’s top junior by rushing for 2,744 yards, 36 touchdowns and 33 two-point conversions.
Former Marin Catholic-Kentfield quarterback Jared Goff was the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft, taken by the Los Angeles Rams.
Antioch’s 11-1 season ended improbably with Harris (39 carries, 390 yards, six TDs) stopped for the first time all season on a two-point-conversion try with 1:03 left to lift visiting Foothill to a 55-54 NCS DI semifinal win.
St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda junior distance runner Cooper Teare won two state titles in photo finishes six months apart.
Above, Lincoln junior Pamela Amaechi became the first San Francisco public-school female to win a state track and field championship by taking the discus (164 feet, 1 inch).
The Bears’ baseball team also won the Division II title at 16-0, its first league crown since 1979 and second since 1949.
The same week St. Ignatius (28-0) won its first CCS boys tennis title over seven-time defending champion Menlo School-Atherton, Gunn-Palo Alto ended a streak of 29 CCS boys swim titles for Bellarmine.
More...