Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 7-11-19 E-edition

North beats South in All-Star soccer game
Players from Reedley, Sanger help lead South team to 5-2 victory
By Mike Nemeth
Mid Valley Times
Freddie Bautista nursed a skinned right thigh and other assorted bruises collected dur- ing a fast-paced and sometimes brutally quick North South Central Section All-Star Soccer Game.
But he didn’t care. Not at all.
“Add it to the scar collection,” he said. The North team, featuring Bautista,
Sanger teammate Saul Sanchez and some of the best high school players in Fresno County, squared off against a South team coached by Lyle Matin of Stockdale High School that had the top players from Kern County. The two powerhouses met June 22 at Lindsay High School, just at the foot of the Sierra and under the big “L” on the mountainside.
North dominated most of the game, scor- ing two goals early, the first by Bullard’s Mi- chael Gonzalez and the next by San Joaquin Memorial’s Max Arfsten. While North went on to win by a decisive 5-2 (the same score that the east team beat west with earlier that night at Frank Skadan Stadium), South got into the match late in the first half.
Moises Cisneros of Garces Memorial in Bakersfield scored with about a dozen min- utes left. A subsequent goal scored by Ebube Ekpemogu of Garces was called back by referees but was followed by another goal a couple minutes later, tying the game at 2-2.
Before the game, North coach Enrique Garcia of Madera South warmed up his play- ers in the satellite field. He called the talent level “amazing” and said they’d worked hard over the past week, training for the contest.
“At the end of the day, it’s just another
game,” Garcia said after assembling his all stars. But he posed them a question. “Are we coming in to win or are we coming out for fun?”
He said it was important that his coaching staff know what to expect and how to guide players accordingly from the sideline.
To a man, the players said, “We’ve come to win.”
And that was it. They focused.
“It’s going to be a good game,” said Alex Gutierrez, Sanger’s head soccer coach. Garcia brought him in as an assistant for the all-star game. Gutierrez brought Manuel Herrera for additional coaching firepower.
Their goal was to spread playing time equitably among the players — and get the win. The North team also had Rene Prieto of Reedley High.
“It’s the last hurrah,” Gutierrez said. “So no matter how many minutes you play, put ev- erything out there. Make your schools proud. Make your communities proud. If there’s a negative play, let it go.”
Gutierrez said the teams were made up of the “best of the best.” And indeed, recruiters attended, watching for an athlete who could fit with their collegiate programs. Fresno City was one of the event sponsors. But other schools also had eyes on the field, including University of California Merced, Clovis Com- munity and Taft College.
Sanger lost to Tulare Western in the Cali- fornia Interscholastic Federation Central Sec- tion Division II championship even though the Mustangs didn’t score a single goal in regu- lation or in multiple overtime periods. The game, which had been a 1-1 tie, was decided on penalty kicks. The Feb. 22 loss at Tulare
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times
Saul Sanchez, No. 21, started for the North team, made up of mostly Fresno County players, in the North South All Star Soccer game in Lindsay on June 22. North won the contest over South, mostly made up of players from Kern County, 5-2.
The Fowler Sea Dragons will be competing in the Central Valley Recreational Swim League Division 2 Time Trial on Saturday at Tulare High School. Other teams competing at that time trial are Reedley and Sanger. (Above) A Fowler Sea Dragon competes in a freestyle event.
Local swimmers wrap up summer season, prepare for time trials
Union’s Bob Mathias Stadium proved heart- breaking for the Apaches.
And Sanchez and Bautista, both starters in the all-star game, wanted a win this time. So did their teammates.
“You can see the hunger in the players’ eyes,” Gutierrez said.
They played hard. Not that South didn’t. But North had a week’s worth of intensive training and a little “forced chemistry” that paid off with players able to conduct consis- tent drives through opposition territory.
“Good. Great. Amazing experience,” Bau-
tista said after the game. He’s a senior next year. “I’m ready to come back next year, win- ning league, winning Valley. For sure.”
“I’m really proud of you,” Garcia told the team after the game. “It was an amazing week, amazing experience. It was good to get to know you boys.”
Sanchez, who before the game kicked the ball around with Victor Flores of Fresno High, predicted the win. “We built the chemistry this week,” he said. “As much as we could. For
See SOCCER on page B12
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Photo contributed / Yvonne Hernandez
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
When Lauryn Paredez first started playing golf at Dinuba High, she was not the player she has become. Pare- dez’s hard work and dedica- tion to the game of golf re- sulted in the Cutler resident getting a chance to play at a four-year college.
“I’m a little nervous, but excited,” She said. “I’ll be ready to go on August 16.”
Although, Paredez has yet to step foot on campus, she’s fully committed.
“I just knew it was a small Christian college in Kansas,” she said. “I just wanted to get out of Califor- nia. I didn’t know anything about the school. No visit, haven’t seen the campus at all, I’m just going to wing it.”
Tabor College, located in Hillsboro, Kansas, will be fielding its first full wom- en’s team, according to golf coach Michael Jamieson. Ja- mieson was hired to revive the men’s program and the inaugural women’s golf team in 2018. The Blue Jays are a member of the Kansas Col- legiate Athletic Conference which is part of the National Association of Intercolle- giate Athletics (NAIA).
“Literally, Tabor has never had a women’s team,” Jamieson said. “The college is committed to building a golf program. We have one sophomore who was added late and the rest are all freshman. Lauryn’s team- mates will be from Indonesia and Texas. So many differ- ent personalities and ethnic background. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Paredez said her coach at Dinuba High School, Manuel Mejarado, once told her if she continued to practice she could earn a scholarship. At the time, Paredez was play- ing softball and the chance to play in college on a scholar- ship was convincing enough
to focus solely on golf. Paredez improved each year and during her junior
year it all started to click.
“I noticed I could hit the ball farther than my team- mates,” she said. “I started to realize I can be good at this.” Her senior season was one for the record books for Paredez and her teammates as they broke the school re- cord twice for team average. Dinuba eventually cracked the top-10 at the Central Sec- tion Division III Champion- ships, finishing ninth overall
with a team score of 532. With the momentum from a solid campaign, Pare- dez is hard at work continu- ing to fine tune her game as she practices at Ridge Creek Golf Club in Dinuba, the home course for the Em-
Lauryn Paredez
perors.
“I’ll try to go out there
two or three times a week,” she said. “But I’ll practice whenever I can.”
Paredez said she wants to be a pre-med major with hopes of becoming a neurol- ogist or anesthesiologist or possibly biochemistry.
“Golf is just a stepping stone,” she said. “I’m going to go over there and hope for the best.”
The reporter can be reached at sports@thedi- nubasentinel.com or by phone at (559) 591-4632.
Dinuba High grad on
women's inaugural
college golf team
Sports staff
The Fowler Sea Dragons enters their time trial meet on the heels of a solid ef- fort against Woodlake on July 2.
Fowler’s Sophia Rubalcaba opened the meet with a win in the girls 18 and under 100 free with a time of 1 minute, 03.44 seconds. Zachary Mimura followed with a win in the boys 18 and under 100 free in 1:04.33.
The boys 8 and under 100 free relay team of Lincoln Medeiros, Nathan Chan- dler, Evan Aguayo, McKennon Medeiros came out on top with a time of 1:38.25. The girls 9 and 10 100 FR squad of Brook- lyn Medeiros, Rebecca Monroy, Viviana Monroy and Ava Garcia were victorious as well in a time of 1:27.83. The girls 11-12 200 FR team of Catarina Sanchez, Tianna Pruneda, Nayeli Loya and Charlotte De La Cerda won in a time of 2:30.85.
The Sea Dragons also did well in the girls 13-14 200 FR behind Sydney Stoen, Salma Contreras, Emmerson Gardner and Sophia Rubalcaba, who won in a time
of 2:13.15. The 13-14 boys 200 FR of Jacob Shepard, Kenneth Stoen, Keenan Dick and Jad Dick posted a 19 second win in their race with a time of 2:05.16.
C. De La Cerda won three individu- al events in the 50 free (34.18), 50 back (40.73) and 50 fly (35.58). Isla Contreras picked up a pair of individual wins in the the 25 free (21.00) and 25 back (26.64). J. Rico also was a double individual winner in the 9-10 boys 25 free (20.53) and 25 back (23.91). S. Rubalcaba brought home wins in the 50 free (29.45) and 100 indi- vidual medley (1:14.95).
Other individual winners were M. Medeiros (25 free, 23.07); J. Shepard (50 free, 31.56); Cheyenne Gunlund (25 back, 24.12); Sydney Stoen (50 back, 39.05) and T. Pruneda (50 breast, 56.44).
Reedley Marlins
The Reedley Marlins tuned up for their time trial with a meet against the Visalia Buccaneers on June 26.
The girls 9-10 100 free relay team of Sage Hallum, Liv Delport, Olivia Flores and Jamilah Taylor came out on top of a
very close race 1:08.08, only a hundredth of a second ahead of Visalia (1:08.09).
Zoey Sullivan won the girls 6 and un- der 25 free in 29.37 and 25 back in 31.04 while Jace Knaak won the 6 and under boy’s race in 30.60 and 25 back in 30.49. The Marlins went 1-2 in the girls 8 and under race led by Layala Ruiz (18.38) and Julianna Dean (18.83). Ruiz also won the 25 fly in 26.10 and Dean touched first in the 25 breaststroke (28.00). In the boys 8 and under race, George Snell won that event in 31.30, just ahead of Visalia’s Noah Elliott (31.65). Sebastian Preheim won the 13-14 50 free in 25.30 and Abby Delport touched first in the 15-18 50 free in 28.32.
In the girls 8 and under 25 back, Reedley’s Anna Lopez won the event in 23.11. Elijah Ramos led a clean sweep in the boys 9-10 25 back with a winning time of 21.69. In the boys 13-14 race, Roman Ramos came out on top with a time of 31.87 and later won the 100 IM in 1:08.83.
See SWIMMERS on page B2