Sports Shorts for August 2019

Terrapins team 3rd at Far Western swim championships

Terrapins Swim Team scored the highest team finish of all local teams at the Far Western Championships at the Soda Center pool in Orinda. The Terrapins scored 577 points to finish third behind the Santa Clara Swim Club and Pleasanton Seahawks. The Terrapins outdistanced local teams Crow Canyon (5th), Orinda (6th) and Aquabears (21st) to score their highest Far Western finish in years.
Leading the team effort once again were the 11-12 boys. Aden Li, Diego Castaneda, Mason Wendler and Christian Ceja won all four relay events (200 and 400 free and medley relays) with Ceja contributing vital relay swims for the four victories. including Castaneda having the meet of his life swimming in seven finals winning the 50 100 and 200 butterfly races. The quartet are in their first year of Terrapin year-round swimming and are already posting some of the top times in the United States for their age group. First-year Terrapin swimmer Abbey Keller also had a great meet, making four individual finals and scoring valuable team points in her age group.

Other top TERA Far Westerns swimmers were Diana Chan (14), Maile Andresen (15), Morgan Wendler (9), Dmitriy Oransky (10), Danila Likitin (16), Andrew Rodriguez (18), Adrian Dulay (16) and Niklas Weigelt (18).

6th Diablo FC Poker Night fundraiser Sept. 6

Local competitive soccer club Diablo FC will hold its 6th annual fundraising Poker Night on Friday, Sept. 6. There will be tri-tip and chicken dinner before gaming starts at Centre Concord. The poker tournament will have gift cards and tickets as prizes. For more information or to sign up visit diablofc.org.

Red hot New York Mets recall Chris Mazza again

Clayton Valley High School grad Chris Mazza is becoming familiar with the distance between Syracuse and Citi Field in Queens, New York. He was recently called up to join the pitching staff of the New York Mets for the third time in a month. Mazza, who was enjoying a career year at AAA Syracuse, is on the Mets roster as they have burst into the middle of the National League wild card race as the hottest team in baseball. His most recently callup came Aug. 2. The 29-year-old righthander had his roughest MLB outing against the Giants. He’d been in four Mets games as of last weekend.

Aquanuts medal at U.S. Junior Olympic Championships

The Walnut Creek Aquanuts wrapped up their competitive season with a trip to Tonawanda, New York for the U.S. Junior Olympic Championships. The synchronized swim team sent a team of 11-12-year-old athletes and two 13-15 teams to the national event. In the 11-12 division, WCA athlete Chloe Davitiani took gold in every event she entered, making it a grand slam meet for the 12-year-old. Aquanut Mako Begossi took the solo silver medal and Karen Xue joined Davitiani to win gold in duet followed by WCA’s Ava Chu and Begossi. The Aquanuts also took gold in 11-12 team. In 13-15, WCA won gold and bronze in the free combination event where 10 athletes swim at one time. In the 13-15 team event, the Aquanuts A squad won the routine portion and finished second overall. The Aquanuts enjoyed one more 13-15 podium finish in the duet event with Joanna Liu and Dalia Ovadia winning bronze followed by Miya Yamamoto and Emileen Moore in fourth.

The Aquanuts host their annual Fall Swim Show “DIVAS” on Labor Day weekend Aug. 29-Sept. 1. For more information on the show and to purchase tickets visit aquanuts.org.

Registration open for All Out Sports Leagues programs in Clayton

Fall youth basketball and volleyball leagues and fall adult softball league are coming to All Out Sports in Clayton. AOSL is taking registration online for all programs. For complete information on All Out Sports leagues, camps, clinics and other programs, visit alloutsportsleague.com.

Diablo FC presenting free recreation soccer league this fall

Diablo FC is offering a completely free fall recreation soccer program for boys and girls born in 2005 to 2015. The program at Newhall Park in Concord runs 10 weeks through October. There is one training session each week and Saturday morning games. Contact coach Chelsea Stewart at cstewart@diablofc.org or visit diablofc.org for complete information.

Walnut Creek Aquanuts offer special summer programs

Walnut Creek Aquanuts are offering “Try It” days to introduce athletes 4-18-years-old to its synchronized swimming program. The 90-minute sessions are held Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Registration is $10 for a session with top WCA coaching staff on hand. The world renowned Aquanuts also offer trainee sessions over the summer and fall, each running 4-5 weeks. The trainee sessions are for ages 4-18 who are new to the sport. Swimmers must be comfortable in deep water and able to swim 25 yards. Registration is open for sessions through September at Clark Memorial Swim Center in Walnut Creek. Registration for both programs can be found at aquanuts.org.

Terrapins Swim Team fall technique program starts Sept. 7

The Terrapins fall technique development program will run from Sept. 7-Dec. 13 at Concord Community Pool. The program is open to swimmers of all abilities, including those just concluding the summer recreation season. For additional information and to register visit terrapinswim.com.

Not too late to try out for Diablo FC competitive teams

Formal tryouts for Diablo Futbol Club boys and girls for birth years 2001-2013 have concluded. However, the area’s premier youth school club has openings on teams. Contact director of coaching Zach Sullivan at docdiablofc@gmail.com or visit diablofc.org to arrange a tryout.