MJC fall teams finished in Top 10 in overall excellence among state programs

Modesto Junior College athletics ranked No. 7 of 108 community colleges in the state last fall.

The NATYCAA (National Association of Two Year College Athletic Administrators) Cup recognizes excellence in two-year college athletics based on success in championship competition across all sports. Colleges are awarded points based on their teams’ final positions in post-conference competition with state championships worth the most points.

It was the Pirates’ highest ranking since 2012-13, when they finished 11th.

Baseball: MJC has won three of its last four games and swept College of the Redwoods last weekend.

Leading the Pirates in batting is Payton Rios (Bear Creek HS) at .368.

The Pirates are 10th in the state in stolen bases with 21 steals and only one caught stealing. The pitching staff is 12th in the state in ERA at 2.90, led by Bradley Enos (0.79), Jason Raine (1.13) and Tyler Stout (1.13).

Softball: The Pirates 2-1 after sweeping West Hills Coalinga last weekend.

Alyssa Donaldson (Waterford HS) leads MJC in batting average at .636 with Jana Fontana (Beyer HS) hitting .400.

MJC has a doubleheader at Los Medanos next Tuesday at noon and 2 p.m.

Tennis: The women’s team finished second out of 11 teams over the weekend at the MJC tennis tourney.

Leading the charge for the Pirates were Cynthia Hernandez (Pitman HS), Rylee Garcia (Orestimba HS), Maddy Lyu (Enochs HS), Jenna Carriegan (Gregori HS), Nora Ribeiro (Belgium) and Maya Young (Turlock HS).

Men’s Basketball: The Pirates are in fifth place in the Big 8 Conference with two games remaining.

Amrit Dhaliwal (Central Catholic HS) and Inder Sandhu (Ceres HS) continue to lead the Pirates in scoring with 14.0 and 12.7 points per game, respectively.

Women’s Basketball: The Pirates are one game out of fourth place in the Big 8 Conference with a 3-8 conference record and 12-10 overall.

Winning at least one of their next three games ensures the Pirates with a winning season and two or more wins could possibly bump them into a playoff spot, as they are No. 17 in the north according to RPI (power ratings).

Swimming: On Feb 7, the MJC women faced Merced College and San Joaquin Delta College.

On the women’s side, Lindsey Amos (Turlock HS) won the 100 individual medley and finished second in the 100 butterfly; Hayley Rivera (Oakdale HS) won the 200 free and the 100 backstroke; and Christine Berry (Beyer HS) won the 1,000 free and 500 free.

Levi Burch (Downey HS) won the men’s 100 breaststroke and finished second in the 100 IM.

This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 2:12 PM.