Concluding its first season, the Escalon College men's volleyball team split its final two games of the campaign. They defeated Riverbank on the road on April 23, but lost to Ripon on Senior Night at home on April 25.
At Riverbank, they defeated the host Bruins 25-1, 25-5, 25-19.
“We lost a little bit of our edge and focus in the third set, but we were able to pull it off,” head coach Shay Beam said. “Ben Ferreira had 8 aces, 17 assists, and 4 kills. Mikie Lorenko had 7 kills and 1 block, and Frank Barrera had 3 blocks for the game.”
Libero Aydun Melo was also solid in the back row with 21 digs.
Frank Barrera was honored as the only freshman senior on the volleyball team during Thursday's Senior Night ceremony. The team then battled against a more experienced Ripon team.
“I played well in the first two sets, but unfortunately I couldn't take a set away from Ripon,” Beam said.
They lost to the visitors in straight sets, 17-25, 16-25, and 14-25. This season, the boys had 4 wins and 4 losses in league play.
“There is tough competition in the Trans Valley League, and boys volleyball has been around for several years. I am very proud of our players, both at the JV and varsity levels.”
This year, Escalon offered volleyball as a men's sport for the first time.
“I look forward to seeing how much this program grows in the future,” Beam said.
track/field
Escalon welcomed rival Ripon to town on April 24th for its second track and field meet of the season. EHS coach Arlend Jones said the visitors went home with victories in both the boys and girls track and field events.
“Escalon was way behind in overall points, but we had a few guys who did really well, many of them setting personal records,” Jones said.
Freshman Bryn Cayton was third in the long jump with a record of 15-4. Sophomore Annabelle Armstrong placed second in the pole vault with a record of 6-0. Her senior, Chloe Farley, achieved another PR in the shot put, winning with a record of 34-4.5. Freshman Victoria Calderon was third in the 800 meters in 2:50.99. Junior Megan Silva was third in the 100 meters with a score of 12.90.
Sophomore Chase Cummings took first place in the 110 hurdles with a score of 16.84. Junior Callan Crumbley took first place in the 400 meters with a time of 54.27 seconds.
The Escalon girls placed second overall and the boys placed fifth at the TVL Frosh Sof finals held Friday in Hughson.
“There were some more great performances and new PRs in the TVL Frosh/Sof finals,” Jones said.
Northcutt, a sophomore, took first place in the 400 meters with a score of 54.36. Sophomore Chase Cummings placed first in the 110 hurdles and second in the 300 hurdles.
Sophomore Gracie Airola took first place in the shot put with a record of 29-1. Sophomore Gloria Segura placed second in the discus with a record of 84 wins and 4 losses. Freshman Rachel Barker placed third in the high jump with a record of 5-0. Freshman Carly Jones placed third in the long jump with a record of 28-8.
The TVL national team final is scheduled for May 2nd in Ripon.
Several team members also visited the invitational tournament held in Oregon on April 20th, with 15 players participating. A total of 12 new PRs were set and several Cougars also won medals at the competition. The medalist was Andu Morales, who ran a PR of 2:04.25 in the 800 meters, the fourth fastest time in Escalon history. He also placed 3rd in the 1500 meters with a time of 4 minutes 22 seconds, setting a new EHS and personal record. Jose Calderon set a personal record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:34.57 and was second in the 3,000 meters.
Kylie Fast placed fourth in the 1500 meters with a PR of 5:21, earning her a medal and the third fastest time in EHS history. She also won a medal in the 800 meters, finishing fourth in 2 hours and 29 minutes.
Other notable results include Ben Lawlor, 8th in shot put and 100 PR in discus. Nicholas Fernandez, PR 113, discus. Amy VanDykhuizen, PR 73-3 discus, PR 26-1 triple jump. Maddie VanDykhuizen, PR 400 1:05.87, 10th place. Also, Jocelyn Espinoza, PR 6:09, 1500. PR 3:02, 800; Christian T. Cruz, PR 0:12, 100.
golf
At the TVL No. 6 tournament in Ripon, the Cougar boys struggled but still finished in fourth place. Ripon took first place with a team score of 323 and Hewson took second with a 400. Livingston, who played cards that day, finished in 4th place with 418 and Escalon with 497. Hilmar and Riverbank also competed. Brenden Berchtold placed 18th with a score of 90, and Nate Krieger placed 19th with a score of 91. Escalon was led by Matix Trimble with a 97, Angel Castro with a 98 and Ethan Telles with a 121.
tennis
Escalon's tennis players will take the court on Tuesday, May 7, after earning a first-round bye in sectional action. Having earned the No. 2 seed, they will play the winner of the match between No. 7 El Dorado and No. 10 Highland on May 2nd. Game time on May 7th is 4:00 p.m.