Stanislaus-area teams receive Cal-Hi Sports awards; Modesto football recruits commit

The high school sports season ended last week with the CIF Baseball and Softball Regional Championships. Two Stanislaus District teams took home Northern California titles as Central Catholic’s baseball and softball teams took home the Division III championships.

Still, awards continue to roll in for local teams, including the Cal-Hi Sports annual baseball and softball Team of the Year awards.

In baseball, Central Catholic and Ripon Christian took the honors in their respective divisions.

The Raiders won in Division III after a dominant season. Led by a pitching duo of TP Wentworth and Adrian Garcia and the power hitting of Braxton Thomas, Central Catholic swept the three major team titles, winning the Valley Oak League outright, capturing a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title and a NorCal Division III title. The Raiders ended the season 23-8-1.

Ripon Christian was named Division V baseball Team of the Year after winning a Division VII section title over Turlock Christian, 11-3, and advancing to the Division V NorCal semifinals. The Knights were led by talented upperclassmen Grant Sonke, Dustin Hoekstra, Eli Terpsman and Micah English. Each came through for the team multiple times in the postseason to help lead comebacks during their historic run that featured the program’s first ever NorCal Regional playoffs appearance and win.

Ripon Christian won a share of the Southern League title and set a new wins record with a 23-8 record.

Central Catholic also was awarded the Division III softball Team of the Year after going a perfect 10-0 in the competitive Valley Oak League and capturing a NorCal title. Led by Cal-bound Randi Roelling, the Raiders won 30 games this season.

The Raiders advanced to their second straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title this year but fell 1-0 to Ponderosa. They breezed through the first two rounds of the NorCal tournament to set up a rematch with the Bruins. This time, they were ready. Emori Machado hit a home run, Taryn Calderon had two doubles with three RBI, and Roelling hit a two-run home run and pitched a perfect game in a dominant 7-0 win to secure the Northern California title.

Modesto Slam-N-Jam camp returns: The Modesto Slam-N-Jam summer basketball camp is returning in early July. The camp is for children in grades 2-6 from Wednesday, July 5, through Friday, July 7. Due to popularity from last year’s camp, the event was moved to Modesto Junior College.

Times for Grades 2-5: Wed-Thurs 3-6 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m.-noon

Times for Grades 6-8: Wed-Thurs 6-9 a.m., Fri. noon-3 p.m.

For the second year in a row, the camp is expected to feature Modesto native Gabe Vincent if there are no conflicts with professional commitments. Vincent is a starting guard for the NBA’s Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat and is participating in the NBA Finals.

The camp fee is $175 and includes a camp basketball and T-shirt. Online registration is open.

Central Catholic’s Cheek commits: Central Catholic defensive back Brooklyn Cheek knows where he wants to play college ball. The three-star recruit announced his commitment to the Golden Bears via social media on June 3. At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Cheek is versatile enough to play both cornerback and safety.

The rising senior plays defensive back and receiver for the Raiders, but he will play strictly defense at the next level. According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Cheek is the No. 78 safety nationally and the No. 59 prospect in the state of California in 2024.

Central Catholic’s Itete to USC: Central Catholic lineman Manasse Itete recently announced he has verbally committed to play football at USC. Itete has been playing football for only about two years after originally coming to the United States to play basketball.

His recruitment took off last summer after Itete showed great footwork, athleticism and strength at a number of football camps with college coaches in attendance.

Now a four-star lineman, Itete had a number of offers from schools in the ACC, SEC and Pac12. He took his official visit to Southern California on June 2 and announced his commitment June 6 on social media.

Orestimba softball falls in NorCal Championship: Orestimba High’s historic softball season ended in a loss in the Northern California Division IV Regional Final on Saturday, June, 3 to fellow Sac-Joaquin Section member Capital Christian. The Division V section champion Warriors won their first two NorCal Regional Tournament games as the No. 5 seed, shutting out St. Helena High and upsetting top-seeded University Prep. They won both games on the road to set up a matchup against the No. 3 Cougars, who captured the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV title.

Jacquelyn Lujan pitched the full six innings, striking out five batters. She provided Orestimba’s only two hits and drove in Joslyn Sotelo for the team’s only run in the 6-1 loss. Sophia Machado and Sotelo walked in the game. The Warriors finished with a 25-5 overall record and went a perfect 14-0 in Southern League play. In the last two seasons, Orestimba went 26-0 in SL games.

Modesto Christian to host California’s best this weekend: Modesto Christian will welcome a number of the top basketball teams in Northern California this weekend for its third annual Summer Classic. Gregori, Central Catholic and Modesto Christian will host varsity games and Ripon Christian will welcome junior varsity teams for the weekend. Games start at 9 a.m. and will continue all day until 6 p.m. Local teams Turlock, Gregori, Ripon, Central Valley, Johansen, Enochs and more will also participate. The Final Four will play at Modesto Christian.

NFHS announces basketball rule change: There is a rule change coming to high school basketball. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its annual meeting April 24-26 in Indianapolis approved a number of new rules, among them one that will change how teams shoot free throws.

“Beginning next year, high school basketball teams will shoot two free throws for common fouls when in the “bonus.” This change to Rule 4-8-1 eliminates the one-and-one scenario and sets new foul limits each quarter for awarding the bonus free throw.” the NFHS said in a release on nfhs.org.

Teams will get two foul shots for every foul once a team is in the “bonus”, both shooting fouls and common fouls. A team will reach the “bonus” when their opponent commits five fouls in each quarter. Team fouls will reset at the end of each quarter.

Previously, teams reached the bonus when their opponents committed seven fouls in a half, earning one-and-one free throws. They earned two foul shots when their opponent committed 10 team fouls in a half, referred to as the “double bonus.”

The NFHS committee also amended rules on uniforms as well as inbound procedures.

All-SJS softball team announced: With the end of the spring season, MaxPreps on June 4 released its All-Sac-Joaquin Section Softball Team and many Stanislaus District athletes earned honors for their class. There are 27 players from the Class of 2023, 26 from 2024 and 15 players from the 2025 and 2026 classes. Each class has its own Player of the Year. Pitcher Randi Roelling was named the Class of 2023 Player of the Year. She was also named the MaxPreps California Player of the Year on June 6.

Class of 2023

Player of the Year - Randi Roelling, Pitcher, Central Catholic

Delainey Everett, Pitcher, Oakdale

Victoria Lloyd, Infield, Central Valley

Jacquelyn Lujan, Pitcher, Orestimba

Addie Mettler, Catcher, Pitman

Class of 2024

Presley Barnes, Utility, Oakdale

Kharmine Caratachea, Pitcher, Ripon

Natalie Camarena, Pitcher, Enochs

Kailey Estes, Pitcher, Gregori

Class of 2025

Mariah Avila, Infield, Orestimba

Morgan Merzon, Outfield, Oakdale

Ava Montesdeoca, Infield, Ceres

Jazmarie Roberts, Infield, Central Catholic

Class of 2026

Emry Couch, Outfield, Central Catholic

Maya Guzman, Infield, Riverbank