BY CHRISTOPHER CORREA AND JOE CORTEZ
Turlock Journal
The bells have stopped ringing, Christmas trees have been chucked to the curb and there are way too many chocolate hearts in the stores…must be time again for a high school sports year in review story.
Here are five top sports moments from 2023 as chosen by Journal staff:
Lilly Avalos reigns supreme at 121 pounds
In February, the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield played host to the 2023 CIF State Wrestling Tournament. By event’s end, it produced the Turlock Journal’s top prep sports moment of the year – Pitman High’s Lillian Avalos pinning her opponent at the 1:19 mark of the very first period in the 121-pound finals to become the third state wrestling champion in the school’s 21-year history. The victory also capped a perfect 42-0 season to finish Avalos’ high school career.
The championship-clinching victory on Feb. 25 came against Anaheim’s Lilyana Balderas. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard, Avalos saw a slight opportunity for the fall. Despite Balderas’ best effort to stick to the mat and force the referees to break the girls up from lack of action, Avalos was simply too strong and secured the finish. She immediately fell to her knees and looked to the sky. It was a moment of reflection and relief, as winning a state title weighed heavily on her mind for nearly an entire year’s time after finishing as the runner-up in the 2022 tournament.
“When the pin actually happened, I was in shock,” Avalos said a day after her win. “Especially after last year losing in the finals, coming out with a different result this time was the part that hit me so hard.”
A banner commemorating her championship season was raised in the Pitman gymnasium this past summer. It now hangs alongside the banners of fellow Pride state-title winners Lilly Freitas (2019 and 2020), Juan Mora (2021) and Alana Ontiveros (2021).
“I couldn't imagine it not happening,” said Pitman head coach Adam Vasconcelos. “It just had to happen. She wasn't going to let it not happen. She needed to get her banner in our gym and be part of our history of our school forever. That was a huge deal for her. I’m just so incredibly proud of her.”
Avalos is currently continuing her wrestling and academic careers at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. On Dec. 16, she earned her first collegiate podium at the West Coast Tournament of Champions in Sacramento.
Maggard, Streeter win golf titles
Turlock High’s Christian Maggard’s won the Sac-Joaquin Section boys Masters championship last school year, while Turlock’s Sydney Streeter won the SJS Division 2 title earlier this school term.
Maggard shot a 5-under-par 67 at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton last May to give the Bulldogs their first Masters champion since 2011, when Paul Smith won the second of his back-to-back titles.
Maggard, then a sophomore, out-kicked his more heralded teammate — Clark Van Gaalen, who has signed to play at the University of Oklahoma — to the finish line. Van Gaalen finished with a 2-under 70.
Maggard started play that morning at hole No. 13. Thirty minutes later, he was standing on the 16th tee box, with the course’s three toughest holes immediately in front of him.
“I think what made the difference is that I went birdie, birdie, birdie on those three holes,” said Maggard, who advanced to the Northern California championships at Berkeley Country Club in El Cerrito with his Masters victory. “I made an 8-foot putt and I had two tap-ins on holes 17 and 18 for birdies. So, that definitely helped.”
In October, Streeter captured the section’s D-2 championship with a round of 74 at River Oaks Golf Club in Nicolaus.
“This was such a great way to close out her career,” said THS golf coach Mary Krupka. “Sydney was solid. She’s really steady out there and stays calm. It’s always hard to know how she’s doing because she keeps such an even keel throughout the whole match.”
Streeter, a senior who was named MVP of the Central California Athletic League as a sophomore, finished two strokes ahead of Gregori’s Mimi Whang and Inderkum’s Madison Whitney.
“Overall, I think my putting saved me,” said Streeter. “I had a lot of really long par opportunities — about 15 to 20 feet. And I made a 25-footer for birdie.”
Local track and field stars shine
2023 was a special year for local track and field athletes.
Turlock High’s girls and Pitman’s boys track teams each claimed Division 2 championships at the Sac-Joaquin Section meet at Bella Vista High School in Orangevale.
Turlock’s girls were led by Olivia Walker, who won individual titles in the 400 and high jump, then ran a leg with teammates Ava Torres, Ella Spaulding and Zoe Lamur on the victorious 4x400 relay team.
Spaulding also won an individual title in the 300 hurdles, and teammate Brooke Schumacher won the pole vault title.
Pitman’s boys, who finished just two points ahead of rival Turlock for the team title, dominated the sprints with victories from Joey Stout in the 200 and 400, and a win in the 100 from Blayne Siebert. Stout also delivered a victory in the long jump.
The Pride’s foursome of Rylan Parsons, Julius Camacho, Javier Camacho, Diego Cisneros took first in the 4x800 relay.
Turlock’s Phoenix Nunez-Bradshaw won the boys shot put and discus competitions, while Max McFarlane turned in a season best effort of 16-5 to win the pole vault.
The following week at the Masters meet at Davis High School, McFarlane again brought home a gold medal, while teammate Shaylan Roy-Williams won the long jump with a leap of 18-7. Hughson’s Joseph Lighthall was the third local athlete to win a Masters title, claiming the 800 in 1:53.41.
Lighthall would go on to win the 800-meter state championship in a thrilling race at Clovis’ Buchanan High School.
Lighthall helped Hughson the boys Division 5 team title win victories in the 800, 400 and 200. Larkin Meyer contributed to the championship with his win the 110 high hurdles, while the foursome of Hudson Conners, Nathan Horton, Dominic Haupt and Owen Bullock won the 4x800 relay.
Also in Division 5, Hilmar’s Derek Taylor won the D-5 boys high jump, while Denair’s Kylie Davis won the D-5 girls 100 hurdles.
Hughson football repeats as D-6 champ
By now, you’ve probably heard the story of how Hughson High football coach Shaun King threw his championship hat into a roaring fire to motivate his team.
Nevertheless, it bears repeating.
At a team-bonding camping trip, the players and coaching staff gathered around a huge bonfire to talk about their goals for the 2023 season. When it was King’s turn to speak, he hoped to impress upon his players that their 2022 state championship was a thing of the past, and the ’23 squad needed to write its own story. To bolster the point, he took his commemorative championship hat off his head, flung it into the flames and told his troops, “Let’s go get another one.”
It worked.
The Huskies recorded postseason victories over Colfax, Sutter and Bradshaw Christian — coming from 18 points down in the second half to defeat BC at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium — en route to a second consecutive Division 6 banner.
And another hat for King.
Pitman’s Pontes-Christian steps down
Kristen Pontes-Christian, one of the most successful volleyball coaches in the history of the Sac-Joaquin Section, decided to step down after 16 years as Pitman’s coach.
A graduate of Turlock High, Pontes-Christian took over as Pitman’s coach in 2007 and led the Pride to 10 league championships and three Sac-Joaquin Section Division I titles.
Overall, Pontes-Christian’s teams won 376 games, including 58 consecutive league victories between 2011 and 2015. Her best season came in 2014 when she led the Pride (44-2) to league, section and Northern California titles. Her final season resulted in a 34-7 mark and a trip to the NorCal tournament, where the Pride were ousted in the first round by Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco.
Prior to the start of the postseason, Pontes-Christian was honored by the school.
“Actually, last week on Senior Night, that was an emotional night,” said Pontes-Christian last month. “We obviously honored our six amazing seniors and then they honored me, which, I don’t really like. I mean, I appreciate that stuff, but I also don’t feel like it’s needed. But that was emotional.”
