After winning in the opening round and the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs, the Escalon varsity volleyball girls – the number three seed – had to go on the road for a Tuesday, Nov. 3 battle against the number two seed Placer Hillmen.
Escalon had earlier defeated River Islands and Union Mine on their home court, but the long trip to Placer ended in a tough 3-2 loss for the Lady Cougars, ending their hopes for a Section title.
They lost the semifinal match to Placer, 16-25, 25-13, 14-25, 25-17, 9-15.
“It was an extremely tough battle from start to finish,” said head coach Stephanie Ceja. “I think the intensity and back and forth of the game caught up to us in that fifth (set) and we just couldn’t hold on to pull out a win.”
Aniston Hunt had two aces, eight digs, 33 assists and four kills in another stellar effort on the court. Avery Bartelink had three aces, 21 digs, nine kills and two blocks. Emma Strong added two aces, 10 digs and a massive 25 kills. Brynn Caton had one ace and 18 digs; Arie Paulsen had seven kills and four blocks.
“I’m so extremely proud of the grit that this team has,” Ceja noted. “I am in no way disappointed in the loss but sad we couldn’t make it to the section final with this particular group because they deserve it.”
In the final, it was Hughson from the Trans-Valley League defeating Placer to win the blue banner.
With two Section playoff wins to their credit, Escalon hosted - and defeated - No. 15 seed Quincy in opening round NorCal State Tournament Division 5 action on Nov. 10, sweeping the visitors. That puts the No. 2 seed Lady Cougars into the quarterfinals and they will host No. 10 seed Bear River in a 6 p.m. match Thursday, Nov. 12. Bear River defeated No. 7 University Prep in the first round, winning 3-0.
The other quarterfinal features No. 3 Santa Cruz hosting No. 6 Ripon Christian on Thursday, with the winners of those Nov. 12 matches then meeting in the North semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 14.
CROSS COUNTRY
Traveling to the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp on Saturday, Nov. 7, all the teams in the Sac-Joaquin section competed in the preliminary meet at Sub-Sections.
“Escalon put athletes in all the available races which is something that has not happened in a number of years,” said head coach Arend Jones.
In Division 4 for the varsity boys, there were 30 teams that competed.
“Unfortunately, Escalon did not place as well as hoped, finishing 24th overall, but that can happen with injuries and sickness,” Jones noted. “But some individuals still managed to finish with some respectable times.”
Senior Kenneth Vargas finished the 3-mile race with a time of 19:46; junior Ethan Young finished with a time of 20:14; sophomore Easton Beneux finished with a time of 20:32; and junior Mateo Estrada finished with a time of 21:21.
“The varsity girls finished a bit better with a place of 19th overall,” Jones said. “Senior Victoria Calderon finished her high school cross country career with a time of 23:44.”
Other solid efforts came from freshman Andrea Calderon, 24:59; senior Peyton Houser Keaton, 26:29; senior Leigh Garside, 27:14; sophomore Sofia Lozano, 27:30; and seniors Brooklyn Sparacino and Jaslene Rodriguez finished together with times of 28:05 and 28:12.
In the JV boys race, some honorable mentions include: senior Maximilliano Diaz finished the 3 miles with a respectable time of 22:59; senior Rylan Eproson finished with a time of 24:05; and senior Angel Partida finished with a time of 26:06.
“In the JV girls race there were a lot of seniors too, with some honorable mentions like Miroslava Torres placed and medaled 17th with a time of 26:29,” said Jones. “Hope MacKinnon finished the 3 miles in 30:05, Ashley Flores finished with a time of 31:59.”
For the rest of the races, athletes ran two miles instead of three. Brandon Gonzalez was the only sophomore who ran in the exclusively sophomore race, finishing 28th with a time of 13:27.
“The frosh/soph girls placed well, finishing second overall,” Jones said, paced by freshman Jocelynn Jelinek, finishing 13th in a time of 16:41 and sophomore Amy Alvarado, 16th overall with a time of 17:01.
Also, freshman Melissa Flores finished with a time of 18:12; sophomore Trisha Freitas finished in 18:38; and sophomores Ava Montgomery and Juleth Herrera finished together in 20:56.
In the freshman boys race, three boys ran for Escalon: Ismael Delgado finished eighth in 13:35; Ivan Isidro finished 10th with a time of 13:53; and Hank Estevam finished the course in 15:32.
“That concludes our cross country season as no teams nor individuals qualified for sections in this exceptionally competitive season,” Jones shared. “Come December, track and field will start conditioning including many distance runners from cross country.
Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.
