De La Salle track, golf champions claim final 23-24 titles
CONCORD, CA (June 27, 2024) — By any normal assessment, De La Salle High had quite the haul of championships during the just concluded 2023-24 school year with seven North Coast Section team titles as well as a slew of individual boys champions in cross county, track and field, golf and wrestling.
In fact, there are many schools in the Section who have not had seven team championships in their history, highlighting the accomplishments of the private all-boys parochial school in Concord.
However, five other Spartan teams fell just short while taking second in NCS including the baseball team that lost an epic championship game to East Bay Athletic League rival Granada 1-0 in a game that spanned two days over 14 innings last month.
It was the first time since 2015 that DLS didn’t rule the Section in baseball. It was the 11th consecutive time the Spartans reached the NCS title game since 2011. When De La Salle baseball lost to Granda it also snapped a 33-game winning steak in Section games since they were defeated by College Park in the 2015 championship finale.
Granada proved De La Salle’s Achilles heel this year. The Matadors also beat their Concord rivals in EBAL play and then ended the De La Salle season by beating the defending champ Spartans in the second round of the Northern California tournament.
Championships
This spring De La Salle won four NCS spring sports championships. These came in swimming, track and field (Tri-Valley and Meet of Champions) and golf. Incredibly, this is about half the number of titles they claimed a year ago.
DLS’s rugby team in a club sport that does not have NCS post-season play was ranked No. 1 in California. They also placed third in the nation after winning the all-California Schools and NorCal Premier championships this spring.
The legendary Spartan football program has won every NCS championship since 1992 and were also Northern California champions last fall. DLS wrestling claimed its ninth successive section dual and team titles.
De La Salle basketball, baseball, cross country, water polo and lacrosse were all 2023-24 runner-up in NCS.
The DLS golf team followed the NCS victory with second-place finishes at both Northern California and CIF State championships. They now have four consecutive NCS titles.
Bronco boys champions
Northgate boys volleyball was the only other local team to win a Section championship this year. It was achieved in impressive fashion as the Broncos won all four section games 3-0. Northgate was runner up in Division II lacrosse this spring.
College Park lost in the NCS baseball semi-finals to De La Salle. The Falcons softball team took second in Division I.
De La Salle’s neighbors Carondelet went the entire school year without a Section crown, very unusual for the all-girls Concord school. The two-time defending champion Cougar soccer team came in second during the winter. Meanwhile Carondelet’s spring swim team also made runner up after winning the 2023 NCS title.
Clayton Valley Charter’s stunt team was third in NCS for the second successive season following a second-place finish in 2022.
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.