Signing day tracker: Here’s where Modesto-area athletes will play college sports

Quinton Hamilton
·6 min read

Hughson High head football coach Shaun King said Thursday was his first signing day as a football coach.

When you win back-to-back section championships and a state title, that’s what happens. Colleges near and far come calling for talent. Everyone needs a winner.

Hughson High hosted signing day Thursday, Feb. 8, during the regular football signing period that started the day before.

A number of Stanislaus District football players also signed during the early signing period in December.

Ripon Christian hosted its signing day Wednesday. Brady Grondz and Chase Bunnell, a pair of section champions in their own right, put pen to paper.

Patterson also had a softball player sign her letter of intent. On Feb. 2, Haleigh Pierce made her decision official and will attend Eastern New Mexico University.

Football

Brady Grondz, Ripon Christian

School: Wheaton College

Grondz will play slot receiver at Wheaton College, an NCAA Division III school in Illinois, after back-to-back section championships with the Knights. He will make the slight position switch from fly back, where his high school responsibilities were primarily running the ball. He flashed his hands with a pair of touchdown receptions and 346 passing yards. He showed his big-play ability in the return game, returning a kickoff for a touchdown in the 2023 Division VII NorCal Qualifier.

Carson Bunnell, Ripon Christian

School: Black Hills State University

Bunnell overcame a freshman-year hip injury to earn a scholarship offer to a number of NCAA schools across the nation. The 6-foot-5, 307-pound lineman picked Division II Black Hills State University to continue his athletic and academic careers. He plans to major in business with a minor in exercise science. On the field, he will continue to play offensive line and said he hopes to work into a starting role as an underclassman.

Ripon Christian High football players Brady Grondz and Carson Bunnell sign letters of intent to play college football during the football regular signing period on Feb. 7, 2023. Quinton Hamilton/qhamilton@modbee.com
Ripon Christian High football players Brady Grondz and Carson Bunnell sign letters of intent to play college football during the football regular signing period on Feb. 7, 2023. Quinton Hamilton/qhamilton@modbee.com

Alexander Villarreal, Hughson

School: Simpson University

Villarreal rushed for over 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Huskies. He is expecting to switch sides of the ball in college to play defensive back but he has some experience. Villarreal said he played in the secondary as a junior. Because he accounted for nearly half of the team’s overall rushing production, he played primarily offense as a senior. He is excited to join Simpson University in Redding, which will play its first full season in 2024, with some of his teammates. He said they will dorm together.

Navi Arretche, Hughson

School: College of San Mateo

College of San Mateo sent 10 offensive linemen to the next level recently and that is why one of the Stanislaus District’s best at the position decided to take his talents to the Bay Area. The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Arretche joins a team coming off a national championship and will try to impress the coaching staff during summer workouts.

David Burns, Hughson

School: Simpson University

Burns was one of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s leading tacklers in both his junior and senior seasons, which drew Simpson’s attention. He is no stranger to physicality, either, as he grew up wrestling and currently is one of a handful of Hughson High wrestlers competing in the SJS postseason. His size, physicality and skill set can translate to the upstart NAIA school, where he will continue playing linebacker.

David Delgado, Hughson

School: Simpson University

Delgado was an elite two-way player for the Huskies, excelling at receiver and defensive back. He was one of the best players on the field in Hughson’s comeback win in the 2023 Division VI section title game, catching six passes for 133 yards and a touchdown while recording 10 tackles and returning an interception 36 yards to set up a key touchdown. He also averages 6.2 points for the Huskies’ basketball team.

Eli’jah Cook, Modesto Christian

School: Simpson University

Cook put up good offensive numbers playing alongside Cal Poly-bound Jeremiah Bernard at Modesto Christian. He finished his senior season with 566 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He also doubled as a defensive back. He finished with an impressive 60 tackles and two tackles for loss while also forcing two fumbles with one recovery.

Modesto Christian High football players Eli’jah Cook and Jesus Ontiveros signed letters of intent to play college football during the football regular signing period on Feb. 8, 2023. Modesto Christian High School Athletics
Modesto Christian High football players Eli’jah Cook and Jesus Ontiveros signed letters of intent to play college football during the football regular signing period on Feb. 8, 2023. Modesto Christian High School Athletics

Jesus Ontiveros, Modesto Christian

School: Simpson University

Ontiveros played on both sides of the line for the Crusaders and put up impressive defensive numbers. He recorded a team-high 79 tackles with six tackles for loss and four sacks. Ontiveros and Cook will join the Redhawks and their former coach, Jerry Grimshaw, who is recruiting the Central Valley heavily.

Softball

Haleigh Pearce, Patterson

School: Eastern New Mexico University

Patterson High softball player Haleigh Pearce said the relief after signing with Eastern New Mexico University was similar to passing her driving test.

In front of family, friends, teammates and coaches, Pearce signed to play for the NCAA Division II university in Portales, New Mexico.

“It’s like, you’re studying so hard, you’re working so hard and then you go to the test, you pass it and it’s just like a weight off your shoulders. That’s how it was for softball,” Pearce said. “It felt like a job at times, but a job I wanted to do. Completing that job and getting signed is just a relief. I found my forever home.”

Patterson softball player Haleigh Pearce signed with NCAA Division II Eastern New Mexico University on Friday, Feb. 2. She was the first athlete to sign in the school’s new Performing Arts Center Quinton Hamilton/qhamilton@modbee.com
Patterson softball player Haleigh Pearce signed with NCAA Division II Eastern New Mexico University on Friday, Feb. 2. She was the first athlete to sign in the school’s new Performing Arts Center Quinton Hamilton/qhamilton@modbee.com

Pearce said she looked into attending schools in California and Missouri, but picked ENMU because she felt it was the best place to combine softball and what she wanted to study.

“It’s hard to find a school with a forensic program,” said Pearce, who plans to major in forensic science with an emphasis in anthropology, with hopes of going into the FBI. “And the fact that I found that and the softball program at the same time is just amazing.”

Pearce’s career started with little league baseball as a way to get out of the house but quickly became much more. She credits her little league coach for helping her enjoy the game. She made the switch to softball shortly afterward and her career took off.

“He really believed in me, so I decided I wanted to take this further than just a get-out-of-the-house activity,” she said.

Pearce as a junior hit .345 with a .410 on-base percentage and 19 hits, nine RBI, six extra base hits and scored 13 runs in 17 recorded games. As a senior, she believes now she can let loose a bit and have fun playing the game again, while trying to help her team to the playoffs.

“I just want to have fun,” she said of her expectations for her senior year. “I felt like I wasn’t enjoying myself as much knowing I had to get on a college team, but now I get to just play. I’m hoping it goes good this year.”