Page 9 - Sanger Herald 3-7-19 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019
Rain fails to slow Blossom Trail 10k runners
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Pedro Ramirez of Fresno crossed the finish line first in the Blossom Trail 10-kilometer Run well ahead of any competition.
“I was expecting Jesus Campos,” Ramirez said, still out of breath.
Campos is a regular participant in the 10k, which begins and ends in downtown Sanger. Last year, Campos, 34 of Fresno, finished first. His absence meant Ramirez, 48, dominated, winning with 39:20.6 minutes. Ramirez completed the scenic course just ahead of Anselmo Trejo, 29 of Fresno, with 40:11.3 and Daniel Meyer, 59 of Fresno, in third with 40:11.7.
Campos ran 34:23.8 minutes in 2018.
Rain failed to dampen the spirits of contestants in the bevy of foot races — and walks — highlighting Sanger’s annual Blossom Festival on March 2. Events included the one-eighth mile run for children 3 and younger, children’s quarter- mile races, a half-mile race, a 2-mile walk and a 2.2-mile run.
Finishing first amongst
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Pedro Ramirez of Fresno won the 10k Blossom Trail race, while Elia Figueroa was the first woman and seventh overall.
for female runners and fourth overall with her 13:56.9-minute time in the 2.2 mile.
Finishing second overall was Marvin Ashcroft, 57 of Clovis, with 13:46 and third was Noah Hernandez, 13 of Sanger, with 13:56.3.
Joaquin Zamora with Sanger’s parks and recreation said he received assistance this year from eight members of the Sanger Youth Council, which normally advises the city council. Zamora said he arrived that morning at 3 a.m. He said weather wasn’t a problem.
“The event is rain or shine,” Zamora said. “Just like the Christmas parade was in December.”
Fresno County supervisor Buddy Mendes, whose name appeared on the shirts of many participants, said it rains on Blossom Trail Run more often than it doesn’t. “Somebody looked it up,” he said. “It rained 19 of the past 30 years on this day.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
women and seventh overall in the 10k was Elia Figueroa of Fresno with 44:44.7. “It was beautiful,” she said after the race. “It feels warm actually.”
The rain didn’t descend in torrents until later that day, but it definitely fell consistently early that morning.
Like Ramirez, who said he used the race as training for the Los Angeles Marathon on March 24, she said the 10k would help her get ready for the various Spartan and Ultra- Spartan races she plans to run in upcoming weeks.
She explained that an Ultra Spartan is 32 miles and includes more than 70 obstacles.
“I’m 41,” she said. “So when you’re competing against these young girls, they keep you on your toes.”
Figueroa said she woke up that morning and decided to register for the race. She also said that as an obstetrics nurse specializing in high-risk pregnancies her patients deal with all sorts of emotions and that running helps her cope. “It’s so therapeutic,” she said.
Ramirez said he’s shooting for under 3 hours and 10 minutes for the LA Marathon. He said he ran the Boston Marathon in 2011. “You always need a race before a bigger race,” he said.
Chris Caudillo, 13 and an eighth-grader at Quail Lake, blew through the 2.2- mile race, winning with a blistering 12:26.3-minute time. That compares with his third place finish with a time of 13:32.6 last year. Yet, Caudillo wasn’t overly impressed with his performance.
“It could have gone
better,” he said. “I could’ve had a faster pace. I just ran my race, keeping up with the cop car (which led all runners).”
Girls basketball player Elise LeBeau also ran the 2.2 mile, finishing 10th overall and second amongst female runners. She finished in 16:06.4 minutes. “I just run it every year,” she said. “Reminds me of when I was in track.”
LeBeau’s sister Olivia, 11, ran the half mile. “Just something fun to do,” she said.
Krista Sheaffer, 13 of Fresno, finished first
Apaches want to take charge
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Central capitalized on a Sanger volleyball team that got a little distracted in the opening round of the Sanger Slam Tournament on March 1.
The Grizzlies, one of a slew of teams drawn from all over the state, won the first set 25-13 in the Coach Dean Nicholson Gymnasium, which was set up to have a couple of games going on at the same time. Then the Apaches came back and won the second 25-18. Then Central pulled off the match with a 15-7 victory in the final set.
Still, Sanger was just getting warmed up, dispatching Roosevelt and Golden Sierra (from Garden Valley north of Sacramento) in two sets apiece later that same day. On March 2, the second day of the tournament, the Apaches tackled Arroyo Grande and Clovis West in the same fashion before losing to rival Clovis East 2-1.
The Apaches embraced difficulty this season, preparing for the tough Division I post-season. “We have a pretty ambitious schedule,” coach Scott Okada said. “I can’t imagine too many sports teams in Sanger playing a tougher schedule. These kids put in the work. It will toughen us up for the division.”
This weekend, Sanger heads to San Diego where it will face 20 of the nation’s top 25 teams in the Best of the West Tournament. “All those teams are pretty good,” Okada said. “It will be a battle. It’s good (though), it will make us work. We’ll see how these guys handle it this year. I think we have a shot against everybody.”
The Apaches, 9-2 overall so far this season, face Clovis North on Tuesday.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
This year's volleyball team already has gone through a tough preseason and forecasts a competitive year. Brennan Taylor, right, slams the ball through Central defenders at a Sanger tournament last week that drew teams from across the state.
“This is a good year,” sophomore Brennan Taylor said. “We have good all- around players. We have good chemistry. The preseason showed us how good we are. We only lost one (game). It showed us what we need to work on.”
In January, the Apache varsity team traveled to San Mateo to play in the Northern California Volleyball Association’s Far Westerns Bid Tournament. The visiting team from Fresno County won it all, qualifying for a spot in the national championships in
Dallas this summer.
“It’s a profound
accomplishment,” Okada said at the time.
Senior setter John Her said he likes what he sees. “We’re definitely better than last year,” he said. “Chemistry has grown. We could go far this year.
“A lot of hard work is getting put in. They all have improved. It makes my job easier.”
The setter sets up each shot over the net.
“It’s going to be a good year for us,” said junior Grant Harrison. “We have a lot of talent, and we can make a push for the championship.”
Senior Adrian Mercado said already this year his Apaches have shown their adaptability and strength playing other tough teams, for instancing bouncing back after being down two sets against Clovis East on Feb. 27, winning 3-2. “We had a big comeback,” he said. “We have a lot of weapons we can use, a lot of new players we can use in multiple positions.
“It’s (the preseason) gotten us better and it’s shaped us better as a team.”
And Mercado said he likes his teammates. “I’ve never felt as close to the team as this year,” he said.
“We had a lot of complications last year. But this year, we get through the tough situations (because of the chemistry).
“These tournaments prep us for the playoffs. Last year, we lost in the first round against North. All these tournaments will help us get better defensively and offensively.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.