5 local schools’ players named winter league MVPs
Three local soccer athletes and one basketball player were named Diablo Athletic League most valuable players while De La Salle’s East Bay Athletic League and North Coast Section basketball champion point guard Thomas Gregorios was his league MVP.
Alexa Avelar of Clayton Valley Charter was offensive co-MVP and league champion Northgate’s Carly Ortega was defensive co-MVP in the Diablo Athletic League while Concord junior Anthony Fuller was offensive co-MVP for DAL boys soccer. Concord’s senior basketball standout Cole Arabian was co-MVP in the DAL Valley division.
Gregorios averaged 10 points and five assists per game this season as the Spartans shared the EBAL title with Dublin and then beat State finalist James Logan in the NCS Division I championship game. The team was beaten by Sheldon of Sacramento in the NorCal semi-finals. Sheldon won NorCal but fell to Sierra Canyon in the State finals.
“Thomas had a great senior campaign. A true winner and someone that seemed to make huge plays when our team needed them most. We are proud of what he accomplished. He is someone that is very deserving of the EBAL MVP,” De La Salle coach Justin Argenal said.
Carondelet continued its domination of EBAL basketball and the senior-laden team ended up with four seniors receiving all-league honors. University of Washington-bound Ali Bamberger, who was the league co-MVP as a junior, was passed over for the honor this year as junior Paige Gerhart of San Ramon Valley was named MVP.
Seniors Erica Miller, Emily Howie and Alex Brown also got all-EBAL recognition. Along with Tatyana Modawar, they all were four-year varsity members of the Cougars, notching NCS championships each year, the last three in Division I.
Clayton Valley Charter senior Jacob Sartorio completed a rate double. He was named first-team all-league wrestling in the 285-pound division, matching his first-team all-DAL football honors last fall for the champion Ugly Eagles. Sartorio was second at NCS and then capped his winter season by reaching the podium in eighth place at the CIF State Meet in Bakersfield.
Diablo Athletic League (5 local schools), Carondelet and De La Salle soccer, basketball and wrestling athletes getting all-league honors):
Girls Soccer
DAL: Offensive MVP – Avelar (Clayton Valley Charter), Defensive MVP- Carly Ortega (Northgate); 1st team- Jenna West (CVC), Julie Hagedorn, Meighan Farrell (NG), Samantha Reyes (Ygnacio Valley); 2nd team- Micaela Davis (Concord), Nayeli Martinez (Mt. Diablo), Abigail Chang, Natalie La Rue (NG), Olivia Kreamer (CVC); Honorable Mention- Neftali Ramirez, Julia Morgan, Vanessa Castrillo (Con), Yaznelly Martinez, Stefania Villanueva, Araceli Castro (YV), Ally Liu, Serena Connel, Sasha Chalener (CVC), Nataly Guzman, Asley Renderos, Jessica Contreras (MD), Delaney Cook, Katey Wohlers, Lucy Goller (NG)
Carondelet: 1st team- Ellie Ospeck, Jordan Young, Angelina Anderson ; 2nd team- Angelina Scoma, Annaliese Giusto, Hannah Macaulay
Boys Soccer
DAL: Offensive MVP – Fuller (Con); 1st team- Paris Ruiz (CVC), Diego Ramos (YV), Daniel Shanoda (NG), Roberto Barahona (Con); 2nd team- Edgar Castenada (CVC), Alex Lopez, Alexzander Sandoval (YV), Daniel Nakamura (NG), Sergio Barba (Con); HM- Yovani Villa, Huriel Rodriguez, Oliver King (YV), Anival Montes (MD), Jack Varble, Felipe Ognian (NG), Jorge Hernandez, Alex Hockenberry, Enrique Guzman (Con)
De La Salle: 1st team– Dillon Morley, Seb Maza; 2nd team- Tyler Cessio, Ramiro Rosas; HM- Matt Ramirez, Ryan Nguyen, Ben Parker, Sebi Ramirez
Wrestling
DAL: 1st team-Gage Mettler (NG), Sartorio (CVC); 2nd team- Cole Sanchez, Angelo Esposito, Nicolas Le Sieur, Mac Graves (NG), Steven Reynolds, Andre Dargani (Con); HM- Ethan Dimitri (CVC), Francisco Espinosa (NG), Paul Diaz (Con)
DLS: 1st team- Logan Sumulong, Ankhaa Enkhmandakh, Riley Hilt, Kyle Parco, Dwayne Guerrero, Ben Roe, Bobby Cuevas, Zavion Fernandez, Mario Franco, Lance Hackett; 2nd team- Mateo Sandez, Bradley Moore; HM – Darin Guerrero
Boys Basketball
DAL Foothill: 2nd team- Zack Martinez (CVC), Aidan Lechner (NG); HM- Cooper Dadami (CVC), Alden Friedman (NG)
DAL Valley: Co-MVP – Arabian (Con); 1st team-Jacob Goodwin (Con); 2nd team-Adaryon Bennett (YV), Trevion Williams (MD); HM-Elias Davis (YV), Jalen Sutton-Brown (MD), RJ Serna (Con)
DLS: MVP– Gregorios; 1st team – Tim Kostolansky, Gregorios; 2nd team – Cade Arbogast; HM-Andrew Flanigan
Girls Basketball
DAL Foothill: 1st team-Ysobelle Eustaquio, Katriel Segovia (CVC); 2nd team – Tegan Gaines (NG); HM-Susie Kresch, Amy Barry (CVC), Eva Smith (NG)
DAL Valley: 1st team- Auxanna Buegre (YV), Alexa Sotto (MD), Sheridan Todd (Con); 2nd team- Darolonie Skyes, Niamey Guillory (YV), Rachel Sanders (Con); HM-Julissa Zazueta (YV), Melissa Becerra (MD)
Carondelet: 1st team- Bamberger; 2nd team- Miller, Howie; HM- Brown
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.