Dos Palos High School senior is Sun-Star Baseball Player of the Year after dominant season
Isac Mandujano said it felt like his senior baseball season played out like a plot from a movie.
The Dos Palos High School star felt blessed to play his final high school season with lifelong friends. Together they won a West Sierra League championship and finished with a 26-3 season, finishing one win shy of winning a Central Section championship.
Along the way, Mandujano posted video game-type statistics, finishing with a .563 batting average, 52 runs scored, 10 home runs and 50 RBIs. On the mound, Mandujano compiled a 7-0 record with a 1.12 ERA.
Mandujano was named the West Sierra League MVP and is the Merced Sun-Star Baseball Player of the Year.
“We all grew up together so playing my last year in high school as seniors was special,” Mandujano said. “Then to have the season we did with just three losses and 26 wins was crazy.”
Mandujano says his season started off slow but he caught fire at the Hilmar tournament, where he hit three home runs in the tournament.
He never slowed down.
His 10 home runs ranked third in the state. Mandujano also finished second in the state in RBIs and third in runs scored.
“Everyone stops what they’re doing when that kid hits,” Dos Palos coach Leonard Davis said. “There’s a different sound coming off the bat. It’s the sound you hear of a next level-type of hitter.”
“Isac knows how to use his whole body. He uses every ounce of his body in his swing,” Davis added.
The Broncos reached the Central Section Division III championship game, but fell 7-5 to Kingsburg.
“It still hurts a little bit,” Mandujano said. “It happens, it’s part of baseball. We’ve played that group since Little League, Cal Ripken and travel ball. We’ve gone back and forth on wins. It was their night that night.”
Mandujano deserves some of the credit for Dos Palos’ success in recent years. Davis says Mandujano is a big reason many of his players started spending time in the weight room.
“Isac was the first one to ask if I would open the weight room after practice,” Davis said. “At first it was just him in there. Then some of his teammates would go lift weights. Eventually they would ask if I would open the weight room before school.”
Mandujano will next year begin his college career at Fresno City College, where he’ll enter the Rams program as a third baseman.
“I’m going to miss pitching,” he said. “You can really control the game as a pitcher, especially if you are dominating on the mound. When you are dominating, the way you can control the game is insane.”
Mandujano says he’ll miss playing at Dos Palos.
“I played with good friends I grew up with since elementary school,” Mandujano said. “I’ll remember the crazy support we received from our fans.”
Volleyball
Max Phong, Merced
Max Phong was asked to do a lot for the Merced High School boys volleyball team.
The Bears senior led the team in kills (466), assists (566), digs (324) and aces (80), leading Merced to a share of the Central California Conference championship and to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game.
Phong was named the CCC Offensive Player of the Year.
Phong also repeats as the Merced Sun-Star Boys Volleyball Player of the Year.
“This season was very special,” said Phong, who was also named to the all-Sac Joaquin Section first team. “Our team was very undersized so it was important that our skill and competitiveness overcame teams that were taller and more athletic.”
Phong led the Bears to a 29-7 season overall and 11-1 in CCC play.
Merced coach Joel Garcia has said Phong has been a natural leader since he arrived on campus as a freshman.
Phong grew up playing volleyball, spending his free time playing against adults.
“It’s kind of easier for me to play against taller players,” Phong said. “I’ve been playing for so long. My job was to get all my teammates on the same page as me. We had to fight through all our hardships and play our hardest every single game.”
That’s what made his senior year so memorable for Phong. He’ll always remember the Bears’ journey to the section title game and playing two games in the Northern California Regional playoffs.
“It was very fun, traveling with the team, creating those team bonds,” Phong said. “It was one of the best seasons during my high school years. I am very proud for a small school like us to make it to the section final.”
Swimming
Rob Carpenter, El Capitan
El Capitan High School senior Rob Carpenter again established himself as one of the top swimmers in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
Carpenter finished second in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at the section championships.
Carpenter is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Swimmer of the Year.
“It was nice racing against some of the guys I’ve raced against in previous years (at section meet),” Carpenter said. “There were some new guys. It was very good competition.”
Carpenter’s performance at the section meet earned him a trip to the CIF State Championships, where he finished 19th in the 50 (21.08 seconds) and 24th in the 100 (46.07).
Carpenter sent a new CCC record in the 50 freestyle at the conference championship meet with a time of 21.18 seconds. That eclipsed the old record of 21.37 set by former Merced High star Brett Fogelberg in 2013.
The next challenge for Carpenter will be competing for UC Santa Barbara after accepting a swimming scholarship.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to meet all the guys I’ll be swimming with the next four years.”
Carpenter is one of seven incoming men swimmers. He said he knew UC Santa Barbara was the right fit for him after visiting the campus.
“My dad went there and when I went on a visit I knew it was the school for me,” Carpenter said.
Tennis
Carson Trost, El Capitan
El Capitan High School senior Carson Trost noticed a big improvement in his game early on this season.
His game had leveled up.
“I saw it more this year,” Trost said. “My junior year, I didn’t take that next step, but as soon as I started playing this year, I saw how much better I was playing.”
Trost was the best player in the Central California Conference, posting a perfect 14-0 record in conference play. He then navigated his way through the singles tournament to win the CCC championship for the first time.
Trost finished the season with a 20-2 record overall.
Trost is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
“This year I tried to play with more consistency and more patience,” Trost said. “I tried to not get in my head. Most players get in their head and it leads to defeat. I tried to stay calm in my matches.”
Trost didn’t start playing tennis until high school. He also played basketball at El Capitan.
“I was always interested in basketball,” he said. “I’ve been playing since kindergarten. I started playing tennis as a freshman and it was a nice break from everything.”
Trost worked his way up the ladder for the Gauchos each year, bouncing around from the No. 2 to No. 4 singles player during the season.
Trost reached the top of the ladder this season as the Gauchos No. 1 player and eventually played teammate Nikhil Parikh in the CCC singles finals.
“I think that was the first time two players from the same team played for the championship,” Trost said. “For El Capitan that was an accomplishment. I practice with him all the time so we had fun during the match.”
“From where I was at as a freshman, I never saw myself playing in that tournament so winning it was exciting and it meant a lot to me.”
Golf
Ricky Sullivan, El Capitan
El Capitan High School senior Ricky Sullivan first picked up a golf club at the age of 2. The clubs were plastic, but it wasn’t long before he had real golf clubs in his hands.
“I started playing golf when I was young,” Sullivan said. “I got it from my dad. He’s been playing his whole life.”
Sullivan finished his high school golf career with a successful senior season, being named the Central California Conference MVP for the second time.
Sullivan is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Golfer of the Year.
“It felt good when I got the MVP my sophomore year but it was a shortened season because of COVID,” Sullivan said. “So it felt good to win (the MVP) during a real season.”
Sullivan helped lead the Gauchos to the CCC championship. He averaged a round of 36.8 for nine holes and a 72.6 average for 18 holes this season.
The Gauchos standout won the CCC Tournament at the end of the year by six strokes with a round of 68.
“This year I really worked on my putting,” he said. “That had been a struggle in the past. This year I really focused on it and I improved a lot.”
Sullivan turned in a round of 73 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championship.
Sullivan plans to continue playing golf at Reedley College.
“I like that golf is an individual sport and I can go out and play whenever I want,” Sullivan said. “I like the team aspect too, but I can also go out and work on whatever I want to work on by myself.”
Track
Delbert Davis, Golden Valley
It’s hard to believe Delbert Davis has only been competing in track and field for a season and a half.
Golden Valley High School coaches have been trying to recruit Davis to come out for the team since he was a freshman.
He finally came out mid-season as a junior last year on a dare.
“One of my coaches told me if I could jump over a certain height in the high jump, he would give me $5,” Davis said. “I figured I might as well do it.”
Davis cleared the height, won the $5 and decided to join the team.
Fast forward to this season and Davis won the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters high jump championship, clearing 6-feet, 4-inches and finished eighth at the CIF State Championships.
Davis is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
“I give my season a 10 out of 10,” Davis said. “I won MVP, I won the Masters Meet, I made it to state and stood on the podium. I won a lot of things this year. It really boosted my self esteem.”
Now Davis wishes he would have started track earlier.
“If I had the chance to do track my freshman year, I would do it,” Davis said. “I’ve learned it’s fun and I love to compete. I think if I would have started earlier, I might be clearing 7 feet. My personal best is 6-7 and that’s with only a year of training.”
Davis improved from clearing 6 feet as a personal best last year to the top high jumper in the section as a senior.
Davis also excelled at the triple jump, finishing second at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III finals with a mark of 42-10.5. He helped Golden Valley finish runner-up as a team at that meet.
Davis says he’s headed to Merced College to play football and compete in track next year.
“I’m very grateful to my coaches for making me want to do track,” Davis said. “It’s something big for me now and it’s what I want to do in college.”
All-Area Teams
Baseball
Koen Heupel, Golden Valley
Peyton Van Worth, Dos Palos
Mitchell Hunter, El Capitan
Julian Cazares, Los Banos
Andrew Bakken, El Capitan
Isaac Macias, Livingston
Landon Laplante, Buhach Colony
Riley Dickey, Merced
Jaxson Percoats, Buhach Colony
Braylen Centeno, El Capitan
Henry Warden, Atwater
Logan Mooneyham, Stone Ridge Christian
Erik Munoz, Buhach Colony
Kevin Ross, Atwater
Kayson Welch, Los Banos
Jarrett Blake, El Capitan
Jacob Ogilby, Mariposa
Volleyball
Marcus Moua, El Capitan
James Yang, Merced
Samson Vang, Merced
Joshua Roden, El Capitan
Anthony Hermasillo, El Capitan
Davis Rowan, Golden Valley
Chase Silveira, Buhach Colony
Jaskaran Dhadda, Livingston
Swimming
Spencer Cox, Hilmar
Jacob Sotelo, Buhach Colony
Blake Slocum, Merced
Reid McCall, Merced
Cooper Cox, Hilmar
Michael Kenrik, El Capitan
Ryan Barcellos, Hilmar
Luke Cox, Hilmar
Austin Lyon, Merced
Braxton Belerique, Hilmar
Riley Rosa, Merced
Jordan Garcia, El Capitan
Emilien Cortes Uranga, Merced
Tennis
Nikhil Parikh, El Capitan
Jacob Friedman, Merced
Liam Newsam, Buhach Colony
Golf
Braden Castleton, Golden Valley
Isaac Sheu, El Capitan
Robert Menezes, Atwater
Kellan Perry, Buhach Colony
Clint Helton, Buhach Colony
Brody Collins, El Capitan
Track
Cristian Castro, Merced
Azim Muldrow, Atwater
Caden Bailey, Hilmar
Ezekiel Meza, Golden Valley
Phillip Logan, Merced
Isiah Medina, Los Banos
Alejandro Duran, Golden Valley
Jalonn Booth, Merced
Cristian Ledezma-Perez, Golden Valley
Raul Guitron, El Capitan
Saul Zamudio, Buhach Colony
Mark Carreiro, Los Banos
Derek Taylor, Hilmar
Leonardo Cebrero, Atwater
Donovan Marshall, Merced
Seneca Ybarra, Atwater
