Gridley guard Megan Anthony drives to the basket against Wheatland.
As a sports fan, I have been witness to some of the most compelling accomplishments in history. Whether it be baseball or ice hockey, bowling to skiing, I have seen many great moments in many different sports, and this weekend, illness, or was it fate, enabled me to view two more compelling sports moments.
Boys champs-The Manzanita Boys won the championship of their own Manzanita Basketball Tournament.
Back Row L to R: Taylor Miskin, Billy Roles, Vincent Sanchez, Angel Santana, Grayson Wedin, Jacob Pawek, Quinn Spring, Jack Becker, Sam Cota
Front Row L to R: Colby Pantaleoni, Christian Eller, Kyle Dulai, Jarred Kopp, Nick Hunter, Leo Magana, Mark Martinez, Blake Schelhorn, and Max Holmes. Not pictured Steven Williams.
Cutline Manzanita-The Manzanita eighth grade boys basketball team, coached by Jim Schroeder (left) won the eighth grade basketball tournament held last weekend at Corning.
Gridley senior Ryan Donnahoe continues to prepare himself for his final spring track season at Gridley High, and his extra work is paying dividends. Donnahoe, having won the UC Davis shot-put competition a week ago, traveled to Fresno where he met up with the state's best at the California Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Rabobank Arena.
Gridley guard Madison Mardesich dribbles around two Orland defenders.
The Manzanita Mustangs are hosting an eighth grade boys basketball tournament this weekend.
Monday night, Sheridan's Lady Wolverines provided smiles, laughter, tears, and plenty of headaches, stomach issues as Biggs jumped out to a big lead on the visiting Sutter Huskies early, then let the lead slip away, only to mount a furious fourth quarter comeback to notch an impressive 45-43 win over Sutter.
The routines are the same. Sweep and mop the mats. Warm-ups followed by practicing moves over and over again until they are second nature. The difference for the Gridley High School wrestling program is the location.
The Gridley girls basketball team faced a tough task Tuesday evening when they hosted the the top Division V program in the North state, the Hamilton City Braves.
Former Live Oak High School standout Mercedez Duenas has made the softball squad at Division I University of California Riverside, and I recently sat down and spoke with her about her new life outside the mid-valley, what the life of a college athlete is like, and what she is working towards in the future.
These are the games which give coaches any variety of ailments. Insomnia, ulcers, gray hair, vomiting, loss of appetite. These are just a few of the symptoms Live Oak and Biggs girls head basketball coaches Erin Walton and Tim Sheridan experienced following Tuesday nights double-overtime thriller. A game which featured easily 75+ turnovers, horrendous foul shooting, tired legs, inadvertent buzzers and whistles, all of which made for the most exciting finish in my time at The Gridley Herald.
When the final horn had finally sounded after Biggs Maribel Garcia nailed the last basket for two points, the Lady Lions of Live Oak had hung on to win 51-50. The players had just given there all throughout 40 minutes of play, and when the game ended, most every fan in the incredibly loud gym at Biggs High School stood and gave the girls a well-deserved standing ovation. For those in attendance, this is a game which will not soon be forgotten for good and bad reasons.
The 58th annual Gridley Invitational Basketball Tournament final will be remembered as one of the best match-ups in the illustrious history of the tournament as the Salesian Pride and Jesuit Marauders delivered one of the most stirring and hotly contested games seen in Farmers Hall in many years. Two great programs battled it out for 32 minutes of basketball played at the highest level, and when the horn sounded, Salesian fans and players stormed the court after Pride forward Sean O'Neal hit a lay-up with literally no time left on the clock giving Salesian the 51-49 victory.
While most of us spent the Thanksgiving holiday enjoying the treats of the holiday season from big meals to leftovers to Black Friday shopping, a couple of Gridley High School cross-country runners were preparing themselves to compete against the best in the state at the CIF Cross-Country Championships in Fresno last Saturday.
Gridley junior Averie Roberts and freshman Brenna Payne both qualified for the prestigious race which brings together all of the top runners from Eureka to San Diego each year during the Thanksgiving holiday at Woodward Park in Fresno to see who is the best of the best in California.
Thanksgiving at my house growing up meant two thing. First, sports would be played during the week, and in the 1970's world before ESPN this was still considered a rarity. Starting with the Lions playing the Packers at 9 a.m., and the moving on to whatever the NFL picked as its second game. Thanksgiving gave sports fans the opportunity to increase the amount of football watched by two-fold.
The second thing Thanksgiving meant in my house was not as fun for the sports fan. Relatives coming to my house who weren't sports fans. People who thought it was rude not to want to have a conversation with people I saw only once or twice a year. Aunts and Uncles and cousins who didn't know the difference between a halfback and a bowl of beets. Every year these people would invade our home, or my family would trek to their homes for a dinner of foods this picky eater would never touch, and would leave me eternally frustrated at some peoples lack of respect towards this sports fans wants and needs.
As a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, I always found it fun to laugh at Raiders fans who had to hearken back to the 1970's and early 80's to try and argue the greatness of the Raiders. Throughout the niners run of fifteen straight years of 10 win seasons, along with four Super Bowl titles, it was hard not to grow complacent about a team which always found a way to get the best players and coaches on its side.
The Gridley Bulldog volleyball team, the sixth seed, earned a first-round bye in the Northern Section Division IV play-offs with their play during the season, and gave them the opportunity to have a week off to prepare for their second round match-up. It wasn't enough.
The Willows Honkers, champions of the Sacramento Valley League, and seeded third in Division IV, showed why they compiled a gaudy 30-7 regular season record, dispatching of the hard-fighting Bulldogs in three straight games 25-16, 25-19, 25-12 ending the Gridley season Tuesday night.
The Gridley Bulldog seniors all stood together in the east end zone Friday night after the game. They didn't want the night to be over, instead choosing to spend just a few more moments together savoring the satisfying taste of victory in their final home game as Bulldogs.
While the season hasn't lived up to the promise many had imagined, Gridley came into Friday nights matchup with the visiting Winters Warriors knowing they would never step on the Boneyard field again as players, and they wanted to do everything in their power to make sure they left winners.
Gridley played like a team peaking at the right time, smashing Winters 39-14, and if the fickle fates of football continue to work their magic, these seniors could have the opportunity to sneak into the playoffs with a victory over Wheatland this week.
Maybe it was the north wind. Maybe it was the pressure of an undefeated season. Or just maybe the law of averages catching up to them. Whatever the case may be, the tennis season for the Live Oak girls ended one day earlier than they expected when they dropped their first round matchup to the visiting Orland Trojans.
The Lions dream of an undefeated season ended Tuesday night under the lights at Live Oak High School when they dropped the number two doubles match, giving the Trojans a 5-4 victory and a berth into today's Northern Section title match against the SVL runner up Colusa Redhawks, who finished second to the Lions during league play.
The Live Oak Lions were facing a time of uncertainty. Entering into arguably their biggest game of the season, the Lions would be without leading rusher Justyn Harned, missing with a leg injury. On top of this story line, Live Oak was facing the Sacramento Valley League leaders, the Durham Trojans. featuring swings of momentum throughout the first three quarters, it was a terrific bit of improvisation in the fourth quarter which allowed Live Oak to take command of the game, scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns to defeat the Trojans 49-26 and move into a first-place tie in the SVL.
After the game, Live Oak head coach Dan Johnson spoke about his teams inspired play. “I am so proud of these guys,” said Johnson. “They gave a great effort. I know they are capable, and tonight they played like champions.”
