Harvest Bowl week this year was settled on more than just the gridiron. After the Pitman girls claimed victory on the court in a volleyball showdown with Turlock on Tuesday night, the crosstown rivals met in four other sports leading up to the headlining festivities at Joe Debely Stadium on Friday night.
CROSS COUNTRY
First, runners from each school competed Wednesday afternoon in the second Central California Athletic League cross country meet of the year at River Bluff Regional Park in Modesto. The Bulldogs bested the Pride in each 5,000-meter varsity contest.
In the boys race, Turlock posted a first-place score of 24, while Pitman finished with a 74. Leading the way for THS was senior Theodore Santos, who placed first out of 63 runners with a time of 16 minutes, 26.73 seconds. Junior Larson Wejmar was the second-fastest Bulldog, as his time of 16 minutes, 31.46 seconds was good enough for second place. Their teammate, junior Gabriel Avalos, rounded out the top five with a time of 16 minutes, 51.18 seconds. Sandwiched between Wejmar and Avalos was Pitman’s fastest runner, junior Colvin Hamel, who posted a time of 16 minutes, 37.76 seconds.
The girls of THS won the team competition with 20 points, while the PHS squad was again a runner-up with a 56. Approximately 40 seconds behind first-place finisher Zoe Leach of Downey was Turlock freshman Ellison Williams and her time of 19 minutes, 43.66 seconds. Senior Aubrey Webb came in third with a time of 20 minutes, 14.80 seconds. Junior Mylie Olson finished fifth with a time of 20 minutes, 35.21 seconds. The fastest time for the Pride came courtesy of junior Avery Carlson, who ran the course in 20 minutes, 48.83 seconds. There were 40 runners in the girls race.
The Bulldogs also won the team competition at the first CCAL meet on Sept. 18. The Pride’s boys finished third that day, while the girls also placed second. The third and final CCAL meet of the year is on Oct. 30 at Legion-Tuolumne Regional Park in Modesto.
GIRLS TENNIS
The Pride’s tennis squad kept the pressure on first-place Gregori with an 8-1 win over a rebuilding Turlock team on Thursday afternoon at the Pitman tennis courts. They improved to 5-1 in conference play, while the Jaguars pushed their undefeated league record to 6-0 after defeating Downey in Modesto during that same time.
In singles matches against Turlock, seniors Megan Schweitzer, Anjuli Avila and Christina Poultian, junior Wimmin Tan and Katherine Volk and sophomore Natalie Simon each won in straight sets. They had similar success in doubles action. Sophomore Amrit Brar and junior partner Juliette Bravo as well as the grouping of junior Ava Khomari and sophomore Kiana Shahbazian also won their matches in straight sets.
The Pride will look to stay within striking distance of Gregori when they travel to take on Downey on Tuesday.
GIRLS GOLF
During that time just a few miles south at the Turlock Golf and Country Club, Turlock’s girls golf club celebrated their senior day with a head-to-head win over Pitman, 216-265, to push their league record to 9-0. Despite the loss for Pitman, they still have a tight grip on second place with a 7-2 record.
Savannah Van Gaalen led Turlock with a three under par 33, carding birdies on holes two, six and nine. Reece Benjamin was second with a 39 and Frankie Ronveaux was third with a 47.
Pitman’s low score came by way of senior Emma Norenberg, who shot a 49 for the fourth-best score of the round. Turlock’s Brianna Cuenca and Kate Harrington followed with scores of 48 and 49, respectively. The Pride’s remaining four golfers rounded out the scores. Clarissa Vallejo shot a 50, Paige Jajko posted 54, Kilynn Vasquez had a 55 and Amaya Singh finished with a 57.
Turlock head coach Mary Krupka, who is retiring after a career of more than 25 years, expressed gratitude to her seniors Benjamin, Van Gaalen and Harrington. The younger players on the team also spoke to praise the leadership of their parting teammates. Closing the ceremonies was Pitman’s senior golfer, Emma Norenberg, presenting the Bulldogs seniors with flowers and cards courtesy of their team.
Turlock closes the regular season with Gregori on Tuesday at Modesto’s Creekside while Pitman will be hosting Downey at TGCC for their senior day.
WATER POLO
Later in the day back at the Pitman campus, the crosstown rivals split varsity water polo matchups.
The Pride edged out the Bulldogs in the girls game, 10-7, handing the Bulldogs their first league loss of the season. Danica Torres took over offensively in the fourth quarter with a pair of goals. Mia Peterson also chipped in with a pair of goals, as well as two earned ejections. Kaydence Braley produced another four scores with two goals and two assists Defensively, goalkeeper Jayda Salazar had nine saves.
The win moved the Pride into a tie for first place with the Bulldogs in the CCAL with matching 5-1 records.
Turlock’s boys, meanwhile, maintained their undefeated record (6-0) with a 16-6 victory over Pitman just over an hour after the girls game. The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 8-2 lead at the half, before scoring four times in the final two frames to keep the Pride at bay. Jack Brem led all players with four goals, while Lars Wenstrand, Michael Rowan and Cooper Harris each had hat tricks. Goalkeeper Abraham Wooley racked up nine saves.
The Turlock polo teams will continue conference play on Monday when they welcome Gregori to the Steve Feaver Aquatic Center. The Pride squads will also be in their home pool on Monday to take on Modesto.
