Notebook: Stanislaus District state playoff results, baseball All-Star game Saturday

The Central Catholic baseball team could not avenge its section championship loss to Oakmont on Saturday in the CIF Northern California Division III Regional Championship.

For the third time in three seasons, the Raiders and Vikings faced off with a championship on the line. They entered 1-1 in their prior two matchups, with Central Catholic winning last season’s NorCal title game and Oakmont taking the Division III section title game May 23, 3-0.

Saturday, the Raiders struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second when TP Wentworth and Kayden McHenry drove in runs. The Vikings answered with eight straight runs, scoring four in the second and four in the third to take an 8-2 lead. The Raiders scored one run but could not regain momentum, finishing NorCal runners up with a 10-3 loss.

“They came with a good gameplan,” Raiders coach Danny Ayala said. “We tried to match it and we found enough base hits, found some good barrels. They just scored more runs than us.”

The Raiders rebounded from an early-season Valley Oak League series loss to Oakdale by claiming co-VOL title and runner-up finishes in the Sac-Joaquin Section and NorCal Division III playoffs. They reached section and NorCal title games for the second straight year. In 2023, they won both.

“There’s 20 high school teams who are playing today with 10 state champs,” Ayala said. “We’re sitting in the top 1% or top 2% of teams. We dropped a series early in the season that we grew from. We were battle tested and we played really good teams throughout. Oakmont had our number this year.”

Wentworth, McHenry and Adrian Garcia drove in the Raiders’ three runs. The team collected six hits. The Raiders’ senior class — including Wentworth, Garcia, Seth Van Dyk, Fernando Alaniz, Joe Salacup, Xavier Diep, Jorge Guerrero and Wesley Payne — was part of last season’s historic run and served as leaders for this year’s team. Trace Hernandez rejoined the team this year and played a key role in the outfield and led the team in stolen bases. The Raiders’ coach, who just finished his ninth season, spoke on what they have meant to the program.

“Without crying? I love them to death, they did everything they could for me,” said Ayala. “They made this program special. They put us on the map and we’re gonna carry that standard and that expectation because of those guys.”

Local athletes medal at track and field state championships

A pair of Turlock High track and field stars, Max McFarlane and Shaylan Roy-Williams, finished their high school careers as some of the best in California.

McFarlane, a SJS champion pole vaulter who finished second in the state last season, earned a spot on the podium once again. He cleared 15 feet, 8 inches and finished fifth at Buchanan High School at the Saturday, May 25, state meet. According to the Turlock track and field Instagram account, McFarlane was chosen to represent the United States in an early-June exhibition pole vault competition in South Korea.

Roy-Williams, the Bulldogs’ star long jumper, finished third in California at state. She did not qualify for the final last year. Roy-Williams not only secured a personal record result, jumping 19’ 4”, she became the second female in school history to medal at state and advanced farther than any other female long jumper in Turlock High history.

Modesto High’s Julia Pedretti competed at the state championships and became the first Panther to medal since 2008. She took home sixth in the final. According to the Modesto High track Instagram in the prelims, Pedretti set a school record, throwing a personal best 139 feet, 10 inches.

Ripon sophomore Clara Schoolland also earned a podium spot at the state championships, finishing sixth in the state in the high jump. Schoolland recorded a 5’ 5” jump in the finals.

Slam-N-Jam basketball camp returns with expanded options

NBA player Gabe Vincent, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, will host his annual basketball camp July 1-3, this year expanding to two locations. Boys in second through fifth grades will meet from 3 to 6 p.m. and boys in sixth through ninth grades will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. on all three days. The boys camp is held at Modesto Junior College and is $200 per participant. The fee includes a basketball and T-shirt.

For the first time, Modesto Slam-N-Jam and Vincent will host all girls camp sessions for grades three through 12 on July 1-3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Big Valley Christian High School. The $200 fee for individual players includes a T-shirt and basketball. There also will be group options of $150 for three or more players from the same high school or $100 for six or more players from the same high school.

“With the recent success of ̧Caitlin Clark and the Mamba Movement inspired by Kobe Bryant, Gabe wants to acknowledge girls basketball in our area,” Modesto Slam-N-Jam said in a release sent to The Bee. “He brought up the idea and Modesto Slam-N-Jam agrees that it is time to acknowledge the young girls who aspire to play at their optimum level.”

For more details and registration information, visit modestoslamnjam.com or call 209-222-1586.

Baseball All-Star game is Saturday

The Modesto Sunrise Rotary Club is hosting its 32nd Stanislaus County All-Star Baseball Classic at Stanislaus State’s Warrior Field Saturday, June 8 at 2:05 p.m. The game features some of the top juniors and seniors across Stanislaus County.

Players include those from playoff teams like Central Catholic, Oakdale, Enochs, Hughson and more. Joey Machado of Oakdale and his coaching staff will serve as manager of the gold team and Hughson coach Charly Garzais the blue team manager along with assistants from Hughson, Modesto and Central Valley high schools.

Here are the rosters for the All-Star gold and blue teams:

All-Star Gold

Manager: Joey Machaco (Oakdale)

Assistants: Eddie Machado (Oakdale), Matt Miranda (Oakdale), Joe Peterson (Oakdale), Brian Bohannon (Oakdale)

Roster

P/OF - Logan Ariza, Davis, Junior

C - Trinity Beland, Gregori, Senior

IF - Carlo Antinetti, Oakdale, Senior

P/C - Alex Trujillo, Pitman, Senior

OF - Kyon Bowen, Ceres, Senior

IF - Noah Cozart, Patterson, Junior

P/1B - Kaden Prine, Denair, Junior

C/P - Andre Mendoza-Munoz, Downey, Senior

OF - Raymond Chacon, Johansen, Junior

OF - Elijah Castellanos, Riverbank, Senior

OF - Cameron Lee, Davis, Senior

P/3B - Dominic Joseph, Gregori, Senior

P - Trey Parsons, Oakdale, Senior

P/OF - Daniel Amazon, Pitman, Senior

P - Nate Lozano, Patterson, Senior

P - Aiden Larson, Downey, Senior

P/IF - Jaxen Rowland, Downey, Senior

P/IF - Tommy Chance, Oakdale, Senior

3B/1B - Jordan Vaka, Johansen, Senior

P/OF - Brayden Clark, Ceres, Senior

P/1B - Guy Allard, Patterson, Junior

1B - Glen Weber, Oakdale, Senior

All-Star Blue

Manager: Charly Garza (Hughson)

Assistants: Dennis Mattos (Modesto), Juan Lupercio (Hughson), Andy Sanchez (Hughson), Brad Brussard (Central Valley)

Roster

OF - Jackson Perry, Modesto, Senior

P - Alex Milan, Orestimba, Senior

OF - Carter Crivelli, Turlock, Senior

P/UT - Caleb Wilson, Hughson, Senior

P/IF - Paul Wagner, Hughson, Senior

C - Logan Stevens, Big Valley Christian, Senior

CF/P - Henry Robison, Beyer, Senior

P - Bubba Lujan, Turlock, Senior

P - Jon Ramirez, Enochs, Senior

C/1B - Nate Moore, Modesto Christian, Senior

C - JC Lupercio, Hughson, Senior

C/IF/P - Caden Reeve, Enochs, Junior

C - Matthew Bailey, Waterford, Senior

1B - Logan Crim, Waterford, Senior

1B - Tyler Castro, Turlock, Senior

1B - Chris Garcia, Central Valley, Senior

2B - Jesus Ontiveros, Modesto Christian, Senior

IF - Beau Blake, Hughson, Junior

OF - James Oberg, Waterford, Senior

P/SS - Giovanni Lunardi, Modesto, Junior

OF - Jasen Gonzales, Orestimba, Senior

3B - Edmond Stewart, Central Valley, Senior

C - Fernando Alaniz, Central Catholic, Senior

Lions All-Star football returns this summer

High school football returns this summer as the 48th Central California Lions All-Star Football Game will be played on Saturday, June 22, at 7 p.m. at Tracy High School’s Wayne Schneider Stadium. Gates open at 5 p.m.

The game returns for the second straight season after its three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It puts players from the Stockton-area (North) against those from the Modesto-area and Merced-area (South) and features recently graduated seniors.

For the second straight year, the South has two coaches. Last year, former head coaches Tim Garcia (Davis) and Trent Merzon (Oakdale) led the team to a 38-13 win. This year, the Sac-Joaquin Section’s all-time wins leader, Central Catholic’s Roger Canepa, and Hughson’s Shaun King hope to lead the South to back-to-back wins. Linden’s Alexander Metchikoff, who just wrapped up his first season as head coach, will coach the North.

For more information about the game, visit lionsallstarfootball.com.

Local football camps happening Saturday

Modesto native and current Fresno State linebacker Phoenix Jackson will host a football camp in partnership with the Modesto Raiders youth football program. The camp is open to all and will be Saturday, June 8, at Johansen High School. Check-in is at 10 a.m. and the camp will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration price is $30 per participant ages five trough high school. The price also covers lunch for all registered athletes. The camp will include drills for skill positions and linemen.

Beyer High will also host a camp Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the school’s campus. The camp is free and will include NFL Combine-style drills and position drills for JV and varsity athletes. All athletes who participate must be registered in AAU.