Former Stan State pitcher shines in Tokyo. Tuolumne shooter comes close to medal
Groveland-area resident Sagen Maddalena fought to the end in her quest for a shooting medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Meanwhile, former Stanislaus State University pitcher Joe Ryan won his start against Israel for Team USA Baseball.
They are among six people with Modesto-area ties who qualified for the Games, which run through Sunday, Aug. 8.
Maddalena, 27, was named to the women’s 50-meter smallbore rifle team while serving with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit.
She finished second among 37 entrants in the first round of shooting Saturday, July 31. Each woman had to fire a total of 120 times from standing, kneeling and prone positions.
The top eight shooters advanced to the finals, where Maddalena ended up fifth. Nina Christen of Switzerland won gold.
Maddalena will continue to compete around the world while also serving as an instructor for her unit, based at Fort Benning, Georgia. She enlisted in March 2019 and has reached the rank of specialist.
Pitcher wins soon after MLB trade
Ryan, 25, got the win in Team USA’s opener against Israel in the Olympic baseball tournament Friday, July 30. He allowed five hits over six innings in the 8-1 victory.
Ryan is from San Anselmo, Marin County, and spent his senior season, 2018, at Stanislaus State. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was with its Triple-A club in Durham, North Carolina, when the Olympic team was named.
Ryan has since been traded to the Minnesota Twins organization as part of the four-player deal that brought slugger Nelson Cruz to Tampa Bay.
Team USA is 2-1 in the six-nation Olympic tournament. Its bench coach is Jerry Weinstein, 77, who managed the Modesto Nuts from 2007 to 2011.
Modesto native plays for Nigeria
Modesto native Gabe Nnamdi Vincent is playing for the Nigerian basketball team because his father, Franklyn Vincent, is from that country.
Nigeria is 0-3 so far in the 12-nation Olympic tournament.
Vincent, 25, is a guard for the NBA’s Miami Heat. He spent his freshman year at Modesto Christian High School before transferring to St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. He went on to play at UC Santa Barbara.
Vincent went undrafted in 2018 but then signed with the Stockton developmental team for the Sacramento Kings. He later signed with the Heat and made his NBA debut in January 2020.
Swimmer, golfer also have local ties
Modesto-born swimmer Erika Brown, 22, has completed her Olympic events, including a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay July 24. She got as far as the semifinals in the 100-meter freestyle four days later.
Brown spent her freshman year Ripon High and later moved to the Charlotte area. She won two state high school titles in North Carolina and excelled on the University of Tennessee swim team.
Golfer Bryson DeChambeau, 27, qualified for the Olympics but withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19. He was born in Modesto and moved to Clovis in the third grade. He won the U.S. Open last year and has seven other victories on the PGA tour.
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 1:53 PM.
