Enochs’ girls swimmers end Modesto’s streak; softball pitcher hurls 4th straight shutout

It’s been a good week for Enochs High School athletes.

On Thursday, the girls swimming team defeated Modesto 97-86 in a battle of unbeaten Modesto Metro Conference teams, as the Eagles improved to 3-0 while the Panthers dropped to 2-1.

More importantly for Enochs, the win snaps the Panthers’ 46-meet league winning streak, dating back to 2007 when Eagles coach Mikayla Walker was a junior at Modesto High.

“I knew it going to be close but I thought the girls could pull it off,” said Walker, who along with her sister, Candice Walker, swam for MHS coach Mike Chiavetta. “My girls swam with a lot of heart (Thursday). They gave everything they had.”

Eagles freshman Katrina Guevera made her presence felt with individual wins in the 50-yard (27.03 seconds) and 100-yard (1:01.4) freestyle events.

“She’s a very good swimmer,” said Walker. “She’s already made section times for the junior varsity meet. By the time she’s a senior, she’s going to something special.”

Enochs swept the relay events, taking the 200 individual medley (Lexi Mauldin, Brittneigh Redfern, Alicia Munoz and Guevera) in a season-best 2:04.87; the 200 free relay (Averi Peterson, Kamila Lopez, Maddie Dean and Guevera) in 1:53.16; and the 400 free relay (Peterson, Lopez, Dean and Mauldin) in 4:02.57.

Lopez, the only senior in the free relays, delivered personal bests on her legs of each event.

“I think this win lights a fire under us,” said Walker. “They know they’ve got it in them to take MMCs and it’s a real confidence booster.”

In addition to being a dominant swimmer, Guevera was a member of Enochs’ state championship girls wrestling team. Two members of the Eagles’ wrestling program, Sariyah Jones, a state champ at the 106-pound weight class, and McCoy Kent, who placed second among boys in the state’s 138-pound division, have been honored by The Bee as the Stanislaus District’s top wrestlers (see Page C-1).

In softball, Enochs High’s Elisa Perez had a big week … for the second week in a row.

Perez, a senior, hasn’t allowed a run in 26 innings, pitching four consecutive shutouts (one was a five-inning no-hitter in a 10-0 mercy-rule victory over Davis on March 17).

On Thursday, Perez no-hit Downey in a 7-0 win, striking out 10 Knights. On Tuesday, in a 2-0 win over Beyer, she allowed one hit and fanned eight.

Over the past four games, in which the Eagles have built a perfect MMC mark, Perez has allowed five hits and has struck out 38.

The Eagles have a one game lead over Johansen thanks to their 2-0 win over the Vikings last week, and are 1½ up on defending league champion Gregori.

Enochs takes on last-place Modesto on Tuesday then visits the champs on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.

Another big week from Perez would put the Eagles firmly in command of the league race at the midway point.

“Elisa played travel ball over the summer and she continuously takes pitching lessons throughout the week,” said first-year coach Moises Martinez, who took over the reins from Tim Williams. “She’s committed … a workhorse, actually.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Enochs’ girls swimmers end Modesto’s streak; softball pitcher hurls 4th straight shutout."