Prep notes: Oldest girls water polo tourney starts Friday; Oakdale golfer sets record
The oldest high school girls varsity water polo tournament in the United States will take place Friday and Saturday throughout Stanislaus and southern San Joaquin counties.
Forty-eight teams from around the area, Northern California, and Oregon will participate in the 41st annual Western States Tournament, hosted by Johansen High School.
“The best part about this tournament is that it brings the top teams from Northern California and Oregon,” Johansen coach Brent Bohlender said. “This is the last opportunity for teams to have seeding prior to section championships.”
The 48 schools are separated into five divisions: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Blue, and Red.
“All the divisions are schools that are equal (talent-wise) with each other,” Bohlender said.
The nine sites that will be hosting the tournament are: Beyer, Downey, Enochs, Johansen, Modesto, Oakdale, Pitman, Ripon, and Turlock.
10 local schools will be participating in the tournament.
“This tournament promotes water polo throughout the area,” Bohlender said.
Play starts Friday morning and ends Saturday afternoon with championship games.
Turlock helps rival Pitman get closer to CCAL volleyball title
Pitman (18-9, 7-1) can thanks arch-rival Turlock after the Bulldogs (11-14, 5-3) beat Modesto (25-5, 6-2) in four sets on Monday, giving the Pride a one-game lead in the Central California Athletic League with two games left.
Junior captain Jazmyn Tubbs led the Bulldogs with 18 kills while freshman Kate Cover had 20 kills for the Panthers, who have lost two of their last three games after starting 5-0 in the CCAL.
Junior Brionna Sims had 16 kills for the Pride in their straight-sets sweep over Downey.
Pitman hosts Turlock in the final game of the season on Oct. 15.
Oakdale golfer sets school record
Oakdale junior Madison Blanc shot a school-record 68 (4-under-par) at Oakdale Golf Course and Country Club on Monday.
“She hit her driver really well and really far,” Mustangs coach Lee McGhee said. “Her drives created short shots into the greens.”
Blanc not only broke the school record, but she is the first Mustang to shoot under par.
“I don’t even know if she knows,” McGhee said. “We haven’t really talked about it.”
Blanc’s 68 helped the Mustangs set a team-record with a score of 399.
MJC alum Mustafa Johnson leads Colorado
Former Modesto Junior College star Mustafa Johnson had seven tackles, two tackles for a loss, and one sack for Colorado in its 28-21 win over Arizona State on Saturday.
Johnson is second on the team with 37 tackles and leads the team with 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for a loss. He is second in the Pac-12 Conference in sacks and third in tackles for a loss.
Modesto Christian boys basketball headlines Nike Extravaganza
The Nike Extravaganza held at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana is one of the top basketball tournaments held in California each year and on Jan. 26, 2019, Modesto Christian will play Oak Hill Academy (VA) at 9 p.m. Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo both played at Oak Hill, which won the 2016 DICK’S Sporting Goods High School National Championship. They went 36-4 and lost in the semifinals last year.
This story was originally published October 9, 2018 at 4:00 PM.