Page 9 - Mid Valley Times 6-18-20 E-edition

Fresno Pacific Athletics signs apparel contract with Adidas
Contributed
The Fresno Pacific De- partment of Athletics and Adidas announced a new partnership agreement on June 15, marking the first department-wide apparel deal in university history.
As part of the four- year agreement, Adidas will provide on-field and training gear for the Sun- birds’ 15 NCAA Division II intercollegiate teams. Additionally, Adidas will outfit members of the athletic department, in- cluding coaches and staff.
“This is an exciting day for Fresno Pacific athletics, as Adidas is one of the most respected and innovative brands in the world. Our athletes and coaches will be outfit- ted in the industry’s best training and competition products,” said Aaron Henderson, director of athletics. “Throughout our talks with Adidas, they put great value into this partnership and col- laborated to ensure that the Sunbirds brand ad- vances its reach.”
Fresno Pacific joins a growing Adidas roster that currently features five other PacWest Con- ference schools (Hawai’i Pacific, Holy Names, Bi- ola, Dominican, Concor- dia) and covers much of California’s Central Valley athletics programs (UC Merced, Fresno State, Fresno City College, Cal State Bakersfield).
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Magaña exits Dinuba with record numbers
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Year, Josh Magaña, put up impressive numbers during his prep career in basketball and foot-
Magaña, who was the team captain on the bas- ketball team, helped lead the Emperors with 70 wins over the past three season on the court. He was the Central Sequoia League’s Most Valuable Player and named the team MVP as he aver- aged 18.6 points per game this past season. The Emperors captured the Andrew Bedoya and Kingsburg tournament as Magaña was recog- nized as MVP for both tourneys.
He leaves the pro- gram as the all-time leading scorer. He was 29th in the nation and third in the state with 114 3-pointers.
Dinuba High basket- ball coach Jeff Schofield said Magaña may be one of the best football- basketball players the school has ever had.
“He’s special. The best part is he is super easy to coach,” Scho- field sad. “He’s a team first kind of guy and will do whatever it takes to win.”
On the football field, he was the team and of- fensive MVP this past season. Magaña is the
school career leader in passing with 7,252 yards, 90 touchdowns and 538 completions. He is 5th all-time among Tulare
County passing leaders. He was also the Cen- tral Sequoia League's Offensive Player of the
Year in 2018.
Dinuba High's Co-
Male Athlete of the ball.
Standout softball player named Female Athlete of the Year
longstanding approach. Her personal statement listed on a college athlete recruiting website reads, “Hard work pays off.”
“She has been a hard worker since day one,” said Estep’s former softball coach at Sanger High, Erica Pennington. “She always worked hard for her position and then worked herself into the starting catcher posi- tion and the No. 3 or No. 4 spot in the lineup.”
In 2016, when the Lady Apaches made it to the Valley Champion- ship game, Estep was the only freshman on the varsity team roster. That same year, she was giv- en the team’s Workhorse Award and was also an Honorable Mention for the All-CMAC softball team.
As a sophomore, she worked her way up to the All-CMAC Second Team and made the All- CMAC First Team her
junior year. According Sanger High Athletic Director Brian Penner, had her senior season not been cut short due to the COVID-19 pandem- ic, she would certainly have made the first team again this year.
“She is perennially among the league lead- ers in home runs,” said Penner.
During her junior year, Estep branched out into the sport of wrestling and earned the Newcomer Award after her first season. “I’m proud of her for going out for wrestling her junior year,” said Pennington. “She got a different kind of work- out, got into great shape before the season and learned to work with other coaches and ath- letes that she’s not used to. That is something I encourage.”
This year, Estep also earned the school’s Ju-
nior League of Fresno
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
This year’s Female Athlete of the Year for Sanger High has made a name for herself in the sport of softball, even
earning herself an athlet- ic scholarship to play at Missouri Valley College.
For Katelyn Estep, the accolade of be- ing considered the top female athlete at her school is the result of her
Contributed Photo
MVT File Photo
Josh Magaña finished his prep career at Dinuba High as the leading passer in school history, compiling 7,252 yards through the air on 538 completions - with 90 touchdowns.
MVT File Photo
CIF may decide as late as July 20 when to start fall sports
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
It could be as long as another month before Central Section and California schools learn if the fall sports season will continue as cur- rently scheduled because of the CO- VID-19 situation.
On June 12, the California Inter- scholastic Federation announced in a news release that the organization will determine by Monday, July 20, exactly how the fall season will turn out. The CIF announced that it is pre- pared to offer alternative calendars by the July 20 date in the event the
regular fall sports season is unable to proceed as originally scheduled.
Prep football, for example, has proposals that can range from seven- to-10 game seasons, a delayed start to the season ranging from the nor- mal late August to late in the year.
Darren Minami, Reedley High School athletic director, said the school is opening up to Phase 1 in preparation for fall sports. That’s in line with Stage 3 state guidelines that included the initial reopening of schools for activities including ath- letics.
Minami said he and Orange Cove High School AD Daniel Banuelos
have worked together along with the Kings Canyon Unified School District administration to prepare athletic teams for Phase 1 return to activity.
“We are aligning strictly with the CIF and [National Federation of High Schools] recommended guide- lines,” Minami said. “Along with all the Phase 1 guidelines, we have des- ignated check-in points for our avail- able facilities with social distancing marks, we will have designated break areas for our students with more than adequate social distanc- ing [and] personal water bottles are required at check in.”
Minami said all coaches will have had to be part of training with a site certification quiz. which must be passed with 100 percent accuracy before administering the screening check-in to athletes.
The state CIF said in its June 12 news release that the organization is prepared to offer alternative cal- endars “if it is determined by July 20 that fall sports may not start as scheduled due to ongoing public health and safety concerns.”
The federation said that its main priority remains “everyone’s ongo- ing health and safety during this challenging time.”
Magaña also set records on the court for the Emperors, be- coming the all-time leading scorer at Dinuba High. He also finished as the No. 3 shooter in the state from beyond the arc.
Hard work pays o for Sanger High's Katelyn Estep
“She’ll be prepared for her career next year in college. I’m so proud of her for this award. It is well deserved."
Photo courtesy of Sange High
Hard work has payed off for Sanger High's Katelyn Estep as she recently signed her letter of intent to continue her softball career at Missouri Valley College on an athletic scholarship.
On the softball diamond, Sanger High's Katelyn Estep worked her way into the clean-up spot of the line up and turned into one of the league's top home run hitters.
Senior Award.
Girl Athlete
Said
of her former player,
Pennington