Page 11 - Reedley Exponent 6-13-19 E-edition

B3 | Thursday, June 13, 2019 www.reedleyexponent.com
Franco steps down as Immanuel baseball coach, AD
Won 164 games, 2016
section title in 9 years
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Josh Franco, director of athletics and varsity baseball coach who led Immanuel High School to three Cen- tral Sequoia League championships and the 2016 Central Section Division 4 crown, is leaving the school for a position in the Fowler Unified School District.
Franco, 32, will teach and over- see Fowler High School's Regional Occupation Program class as well as two medical classes — anatomy
of physiology and medical careers — at the new Valley Children's/Ad- ventist Health facility in Fowler. He also will keep a hand in athletics by serving as an assistant baseball coach for the Redcats under head coach Bill Feaver.
"I thought and prayed about it a lot," Franco said. "I love the group of guys we have and what we've got [at Immanuel]. The more I thought about it, I kept getting the feeling that it was time to do it. It's a new challenge."
Ryan Wood, Immanuel Schools superintendent, praised Franco for his contributions in teaching, coach- ing and administration.
"His presence on campus and leader- ship will be greatly missed," Wood said inaJune7newsre- lease.
Franco spent 10 years at Immanuel High, serving as an assistant coach to
Jerry Rosser in 2010 before becom- ing head coach the following season. He posted a 164-11-2 record — 71-55 in Central Sequoia League play — with league championships in 2016, 2018 and 2019. The Eagles shared the crown with Selma the past two seasons.
Twice, Immanuel advanced to
the section finals. The Eagles won it all in Division 4 in 2016, posting a 25-6 record and defeating Firebaugh High, 2-1, for the program's first section crown since 2005. Immanuel reached the Division 3 final in 2018, dropping a 5-3 decision to Garces High of Bakersfield.
The Eagles became a fixture of success under Franco, winning 20 or more games in five of his nine seasons.
"I will always speak highly of Immanuel, it was an exciting expe- rience for me," he said.
Franco taught science and math his first seven years on campus, then became the school's director of ath- letics in 2016. During his stint, the
school and donors officially com- pleted the Immanuel Sports Complex on Road 44 and fully opened in 2018 (Franco's 2016 section champions were the first to play in "The Yard" baseball park. The facility includes a football/track stadium, baseball and softball stadiums for varsity and ju- nior varsity, and tennis courts.
"Coach Franco did an excellent job in his three years as director of athlet- ics and was instrumental in bringing the Immanuel community together to support athletics," Wood said.
Immanuel will begin searching for a new director of athletics and head baseball coach immediately, Wood said.
Josh Franco
Getting Airtime
BMX riders race in double points state event June 8 at Reedley track
BMX riders from throughout Central California and other regions of the state participated
in a double points state race at the Airtime BMX track off Frankwood Avenue near Great Western Elementary School. An estimated 310 riders competed and a crowd of about 700 at- tended the day-long event.
ABOVE: Riders of varying ages waited at the registration area during signups prior to their heat races.
LEFT: Adult riders raced around a corner toward the next mogul during one of the races on June 8.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley hosts 11s District tourney
Exponent file photo
Senior shortstop-pitcher Aryanna Gonzalez was one of four Reed- ley High players to earn all-North Yosemite League first team soft- ball honors, including league MVP Emma Mulligan.
RHS places 4 on
all-NYL softball
Staff Report
Reedley is the host site for the Dis- trict 10 11-year-olds tournament, which begins on Saturday, June 15, with three games at Camacho Park.
The Reedley All-Stars take on Selma at 10 a.m. on the main diamond while Madera National plays Sunnyside, al- so at 10. Riverpark plays Chowchilla at 12:30 p.m. The Reedley-Selma and Riverpark-Chowchilla winners play on Monday, June 17, while the other win- ner bracket game is also that day.
Elimination bracket and consolation games take place June 18-19, with the championship semifinals on Thursday, June 20, at Camacho Park. The double elimination championship game will be Monday, June 24, with a second game if needed on Tuesday, June 25.
Reedley's 12-year-old all-stars play Madera American at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 22, at the District 10 tournament in Madera. That eight-team event concludes June 27-28.
Reedley takes on Chowchilla at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 16, in the 10-year-old District 10 tourney at Riverpark Little League in Fresno. The finals of that nine- team qualifier are June 25-26.
Last week, Tournament of Champi- ons play opened in both the Majors and Minors divisions. On June 5 at Cama-
Staff Report
Reedley High School's North Yosemite League champions placed four play- ers on the all-league premier team, highlighted by league Most Valuable Player Emma Mulligan.
Senior catcher Mulli- gan batted .412 in 27 games, leading the team with 33 runs scored, 19 doubles and 26 stolen bases while also belting three home runs and knocking in 22 runs.
Reedley High's other first-team selections were junior outfielder Jocelyn Diaz, senior shortstop-pitch- er Aryanna Gonzalez and senior infielder-pitcher Al- exa Gonzalez. Diaz batted a team-leading .456 with four homers and 26 runs batted in, Aryanna Gonzalez hit .443 with a team-best 30 RBI and 10 doubles while Alexa Gonzalez had a .453 aver- age with a team-best 39 hits along with 26 RBI.
Freshman first baseman Maryjane Lucero (.357 BA, four HR and 18 RBI) was selected to the all-NYL sec- ond team while honorable mention went to freshman pitcher-infielder Hannah Medina.
••• Immanuel High placed
one player on the all-Central Sequoia League first team,
Immanuel High School / Photo Contributed
Immanuel High senior Brianna Duncan earned first team all- Central Sequoia League recog- nition after batting .400, .343 in league games, for the Eagles.
senior Brianna Duncan. A position player and pitcher, she batted .400 for the sea- son and .343 in league games and was named team MVP and best teammate by her fellow players.
"Brianna always shows up to compete. She did a great job for us in the circle and at the plate," said Eagles coach Shannon Koontz.
Duncan plans to contin- ue her softball career colle-
See SOFTBALL on page B4
City-County All-Star football game set for June 14 in Fresno
Staff Report
Immanuel High's Justin Paboojian and two players from Orange Cove High will play for the County All-Stars at the annual City- County football game on Friday, June 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Koligian Stadium on the Central High School cam- pus in Fresno.
Offensive lineman Pa-
boojian is joined on the County team by Orange Cove offensive lineman Tony Cordova and wide re- ceiver Andrew Leon. Cor- dova and Leon were key contributors as the Titans went 10-2 and reached the Central Section Division 6 semifinals.
The County team fea- tures five players from Di- vision 1 section champion Central High.
Kirk Kawagoe / Photo Contributed
Reedley Red Sox players and coaches gathered for a postgame prayer after a 7-6 loss to the SelmaGiantsinthe11--year-oldTournamentofChampionsgameatCamachoParkonJune 6.
cho Park, the Selma Giants rallied past
the Reedley Red Sox by a 7-6 score.
Selma eventually lost in the finals by
a 10-0 score to Riverpark on June 8 in
Fresno. American.
In the Majors bracket, Reedley fell by a 9-2 score to Madera National on June 5. Madera National advanced to the finals before losing 5-2 in the finals to Madera