DOWNEY – Warren High School held their 2014 Scholar Athlete Signing Recognition Day in the Library this week. Several student-athletes gathered from various fall, winter and spring sports to make official where they will be attending college this fall. Warren had 11 student-athletes sign letters. Fall sports programs had five representatives, winter sports had three representatives and spring sports had three representatives.

Michael Hernandez of boys’ cross country signed with Long Beach State and will become a 49er in the fall. Yajaira Zarate of girls’ cross country signed with Chico State and will become a Wildcat in the fall. John Ohakamnu will play football and compete in track and field at Whittier College and become a Poet this fall. Juan Sixtos of boys’ water polo signed with Penn State, Erie-Behrand Campus, and Kendall Sonico of girls’ volleyball signed with Kean University in New Jersey and will become a Cougar next fall.

Gionni Blankenship of girls’ basketball signed with Vanguard University and will become a Lion in the fall. Kayla Casas and Jocelyn Casas of girls’ water polo signed their letters with Arizona State and San Diego State, respectively. Kayla will become a Sun Devil and Jocelyn will become an Aztec in the fall.

Warren had three baseball and softball players sign their commitment letters. Bear baseball player Alan Trejo signed with San Diego State and will also become an Aztec. Bear softball player Juliana Bravo signed with Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia and will become a Battler in the fall and teammate Nereyda Gutierrez signed with Bethune-Cookman University in Florida and will become a Wildcat next fall.

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Warren High School girls’ cross country and track and field coach Jay Waldron hosted his annual TLC carne asada barbecue yesterday in front of his classroom at Warren.

Waldron cooked 100 pounds of meat and fed 300 of his student-athletes for their involvement in the “Pennies for TLC” challenge. Each class set a goal of $750 and surpassed that goal.

The total money raised for TLC was just under $6,000.

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Downey High had 11 student-athletes sign letters. Fall sports programs had three representatives, winter sports had three representatives and spring sports had five representatives.

Erin Freeman of girls’ tennis signed with Utah State and will become an Aggie in the fall. Arturo Gomez of football signed with Fresno State and will become a Bulldog in the fall and Carlie Norczyk of cheer signed with Oregon and will become a Duck next fall.

Sal Carlos of boys’ basketball signed with Biola University and will become an Eagle in the fall. Nona Carter of girls’ basketball signed with William Penn University in Iowa and will become a (Statesmen) Stateswoman in the fall. Lucy Martinez of girls’ soccer signed to attend the University of Antelope Valley and will become a Pioneer next fall.

Downey had five baseball and softball players sign their commitment letters. Gabriel Llanes signed with Fresno State and will become a Bulldog next fall. Tyler Tungate signed with UC Riverside and will become a Highlander in the fall. Brittany Juarez of girls’ softball signed with El Paso College and will become a Tejana next fall. Rachel Rodriguez will join her older sister at New Mexico State University and become an Aggie after signing her commitment letter and Alexis Zavala signed with Scottsdale Jr. College and will become a Fighting Artichoke in the fall.

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The Downey Calvary Chapel softball team finished their season with an overall record of 6-12-1 and an Academy League record of 4-3-1. the Lady Grizzlies were eliminated by Polytechnic (17-5, 7-2) 15-0 in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 6 playoffs.

DCC sophomore Tiana Rodriguez was selected to the first team All-Academy League and also earned league M.V.P. honors. Rodriguez was nominated to the All-C.I.F. Division 6 team. Rodriguez also won Grizzly co-athlete of the year honors for her efforts.

Rodriguez played catcher this year for the Lady Grizzlies. She threw out .528 of base runners trying to steal. Tiana hit .456, had six home runs, 29 RBIs, stole seven of eight bases and scored 20 runs. Freshman shortstop Bella Veloz was also selected to the All-Academy League first team. Veloz batted .483, hit one home run and drove in 18 runs.

Coach Rodriguez is proud of his team and how hard they worked this season. There were no seniors on this playoff team. This year’s team consisted of two juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen. The future certainly looks promising for Downey Calvary Chapel softball.

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Middle school sports have finally returned to the Downey Unified School District after a near four-year absence. The Doty Middle School boys’ track and field team won all three grade levels last Friday afternoon at Downey High School.

The 6th grade boys defeated second place West 58-39, third place Griffiths 58-32 and fourth place Sussman 58-27. The 7th grade boys dfeated second place Sussman 81-32, third place West 81-27 and fourth place Griffiths 81-16. The 8th grade boys defeated second place Sussman 62-43, third place West 62-33 and fourth place Griffiths 62-18.

The 6th grade boys had several city champions and placers. Miguel Solis won the mile and placed fifth in the long jump. Elijah Flores won the 400 and placed second in the 800. David Alvizures won the 800 and placed third in the mile. Carlos Vellejo won the high jump and the relay of Aaron Chavez-Barraza, Brian Nava, Justin Yzquierdo and David Alvizures took first place.

The 7th grade boys had several city champions and placers too. William Pluma won the mile and 800 and placed fourth in the high jump. Tristan Lugo won the hurdles, Dominic Gallardo won the long jump, Eddie Martinez won the 100 and 200 and Jose Cisneros won the shot put. Ernie Franco won the high jump and the relay of Dominic Gallardo, Noah Skobis, Eddie Martinez and Louis Gonzalez took first place.

The 8th grade boys had several city champions and placers too. Nick Correa won the mile, 800 and placed fourth in the high jump. David Kim won the hurdles, long jump and placed fourth in the 200. Deven Wyatt won the high jump. Jonathan Covarrubias placed second in the mile and 800 and Jesus Garcia and Ricardo Torres took second and third in the 400. Miguel Guillen took second place in the long jump and Jaime Placencia placed third in the shot put.

Coach Fetter would like to congratulate all the athletes who competed on this year’s track and field team and thank all the faculty members and students who showed up at Downey High to cheer for Doty.

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The Doty Middle School girls’ track and field team won all three grade levels last Friday afternoon at Downey High School.

The 6th grade girls defeated second place West 67-54, third place Sussman 67-26 and fourth place Griffiths 67-9 . The 7th grade girls defeated second place Sussman 65-42, third place West 65-37 and fourth place Griffiths 65-13. The 8th grade girls defeated second place Sussman 78-46, third place West 78-25 and fourth place Griffiths 78-9.

The 6th grade girls had several city champions. Dafne Rodriguez won the mile and 800. Jasmine Orozco won the 400, Amarah Gonzalez won the shot put and the relay of Kaylie Lara, Jasmine Orozco, Emily Carter-Loza and Ilani Avila took first place.

The 7th grade girls had several city champions too. Laura Velasco won the mile, Nicole Pena won the 400, Surie Camacho won the 200 and shot put and the relay of Nayelly Ledesma, Aaryn White, Isabel Gonzalez and Surie Camacho took first place.

The 8th grade girls had several city champions as well. Claire Smith won the mile and 800, Vanessa Romero won the hurdles and 400, Jocelyn Galloway won the 100 and shot put, Yoli Vandermostvanspijk won the 200  and the relay of Jocelyn Galloway, Valerie Flores, Veronica Villareal and Yoli Vandermostvanspijk took first place.

Coach Lavalle and Coach Sturgeon would like to congratulate all athletes who competed on this year’s track and field team and thank the faculty members and students who showed to cheer for Doty.

 

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Published: June 12, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 09