Sports notes: Orestimba head coach leaves position; MC adds basketball transfers
For the first time in 15 years, Orestimba football will have a new man wear the head-coach headset on Friday nights.
After one of the best runs in the school’s storied history, Aaron Souza on Friday, May 30, stepped down as the head coach to become the school’s assistant principal.
“The rumors are true,” he confirmed in a text to The Bee on Tuesday afternoon.
Souza took over the program in 2010 and is the longest-tenured coach in school history. His 101 wins are also a school record. He led the Warriors to four league titles, 11 playoff appearances, four section semifinals and a section title game. Under Souza, Orestimba three-peated as league champions from 2015 to 2017.
He said he has too many memories from his time on the sidelines to count, but a few stand out: In 2015, the team went 11-1 overall and earned a playoff win. In 2022, the team went 10-2 and lost a 21-17 heartbreaker to Hughson’s “Heart-attack Huskies” team in the section semifinals. And, of course, his first team in 2010, which he coached to a 6-5 record and ended a 20-year playoff drought.
“I’m always going to miss the camaraderie of a football team, building a team and the relationships I’ve had with players and staff and parents and administration in that role,” Souza said in an interview Wednesday.
The head coaching position has been posted and assistant coach Austin Martin, who played on the 11-1 team in 2015 and has been on staff for three seasons, is leading day-to-day operations.
Souza, a third-generation Orestimba graduate, is 41 and said now is the time to elevate his career. He has also taught at elementary and middle schools through his 19-year career in education. Though he was never formally offered the assistant principal position when it came up in the past, he said the conversation came up a handful of times, but he was not interested. Now, it’s time.
“The decision to walk away is hard because it’s something I’ve invested so much of my life into,” said Souza, a 2002 Orestimba graduate. “But at the same time, I’m super-excited about a different challenge in education. I’m at the midway point of my educational career and I want to take on a new role.
“I’ve had great superintendents and great principals, and anybody who knows high school football knows that you need those to be successful. I’m just excited about the next move.”
While he won’t have the headset on, Souza said he’s still going to support the football program he played and coached for. He is looking forward to working behind the scenes and being at every game.
“I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going to just drift away,” he said. “This is gonna continue to be a big part of my life. I’m going to continue helping these guys behind closed doors, and come Friday night, I will gladly stand in the end zone supporting these guys and let the next group carry the torch.”
Modesto Christian retools roster with transfers
New head coach Chris Teevan and the Modesto Christian boys basketball team are bringing a pair of super sophomores into the fold for the 2025-26 campaign. Inderkum’s Siincere Hudson and Natomas High’s Aeron Wallace. The Crusaders’ summer team participated in the Nike Summer Showdown at Clovis North, winning the top bracket. Modesto Christian athletic director Brice Fantazia confirmed the transfers.
Fantazia also confirmed that Pitman High junior guard Cole Martin will be headed to Sisk Road for his final high school season. Martin has already scored over 1,100 points in his high school career. Last season, the second team All-District player and All-CCAL first team member finished as the Pride’s second leading scorer (18.3 ppg).
The Crusaders three-peated as section champions from 2022-24 before falling to Folsom in the 2025 title game.
Hudson has had his battles with the Crusaders through his high school career, facing Modesto Christian late in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. Hudson led the 29-3 Tigers with 14.8 points a game. Wallace led Natomas to the section title game at Golden 1 Center and averaged 14.5 points a game.
Central Catholic baseball’s season ends in NorCal first round
The co-Valley Oak League baseball champion Central Catholic saw its season end Tuesday in the first round of the CIF Northern California Regional Championships against Saint Francis of Mountain View. The No. 7 Raiders hit the road Tuesday afternoon to take on the second-ranked team in the Division II NorCal bracket and were unable to extend their season, losing 5-0.
The Raiders had a week of practice after their blown lead in the late innings of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship to Yuba City to play their first NorCal game. They were held scoreless with five hits and committed four errors. They did put the ball in play, however, striking out just five times in 25 team at-bats.
Saint Francis scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and Central Catholic held the Lancers scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when they added two insurance runs.
The Raiders threatened to score in the sixth inning in an attempted two-out rally. Kayden McHenry drew a 3-1 count and doubled and Chase Perino singled then advanced to second on an error. With Central Catholic runners on second and third, Saint Francis pitcher Nick Chow forced a lineout.
Perino had a team-high two hits, AJ Miligi tripled, McHenry’s sixth-inning double was his lone hit and Broden Thomas had a hit for the Raiders. On the mound, McHenry pitched the start and went 4.1 innings, allowing nine hits and five runs. He finished his outing with five strikeouts. Marcus Davenport entered in relief and pitched 1.2 innings with a strikeout.
The Raiders did not advance in the NorCal tournament after making it to back-to-back NorCal title games in Division III. They will return the majority of their roster next season, including five players batting .325 or better. Thomas and McHenry, the team’s home runs leaders with five and three, respectively, both will be back. McHenry also emerged as the team’s ace this season, picking up a team-high seven wins in 14 appearances.
Central Catholic softball suffers first-round NorCal road loss
The undefeated Valley Oak League champion Central Catholic softball team finished an overall impressive campaign that included 26 overall wins and a 14-game mid-season win streak Tuesday. The Raiders, who fell to Vanden Saturday, May 24 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship, lost to Liberty of Brentwood in the first round of the CIF Northern California Regional Championships.
Central Catholic, the No. 5 seed in the Division II bracket, traveled to the No. 4 Lions and could not get things rolling offensively in the 14-3, five-inning loss.
The Raiders scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning off the bat of junior Amaya Gustavis. Jazmarie Roberts walked to lead off the inning and two batters later, Carsyn Lomeli walked to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, with two outs, Gustavis hit a shot over the center field fence for her fourth homer of the season. Brooklyn Nicholls doubled in the next at-bat but they could not bring in another run. Ceriah Fitzhugh singled in the second inning for the Raiders’ other hit.
Liberty scored once in the first, three times in the second and once in the third before the Raiders’ home run made it a 5-3 game. The Lions answered with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and a pair of runs in the fifth to close out the game.
The Raiders will return seven of the nine batters in their lineup, but will lose a lot of production from leadoff hitter Taryn Calderon and No. 3 hitter Jazmarie Roberts. Roberts, who will play at Arizona State next year, is one of the best hitters in the state, ranking seventh in RBI (58). She is also 12th in the section in home runs and 13th in runs scored. She leads the team in hits, RBI, doubles, is tied for the team lead in home runs and is second on the team in batting average. UNLV-bound Calderon is fourth in the section in runs scored (49) and is top three on the team in batting average, runs scored, doubles, triples and stolen bases.
Stanislaus District state track finals results
At least 11 Stanislaus District athletes traveled to Clovis to compete in the CIF State Track and Field Championships last weekend. Friday, all athletes competed in the prelims with the top placers qualifying for events on Saturday, the final day of the high school track season. Here’s how local athletes that advanced to the finals finished:
In the girls 100-meter hurdles, Ripon’s Starla Skiles finished ninth. She advanced to the final after finishing third in Heat 1, but scoring one of the six next best times in Friday’s prelims. Skiles, who qualified for state in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles but made the finals in just the 100, finished her final high school race in 14.19 seconds.
In the girls 1,600-meter final, Riverbank junior Giselle Hernandez ran the best race of her high school career, finishing in a personal record 4 minutes, 43.80 seconds. Fernandez also collected her best finish at state ever, coming in sixth. Last season in the state 1,600-meters, she finished 19th with a then-personal record 4:59.52.
In the girls 3,200-meters, Patterson’s Natalie Arriaza and Pitman’s Avery Carlson both advanced to Saturday’s final. Arriaza set a new personal record, finishing the eight-lap race in 14th place with a time of 10:35.24. Carlson finished in 10:54.65, good for 21st place. Both are juniors and will be favorites to qualify for state again next season. This year, Arriaza won the 3200 title at Masters and Carlson won the 3200-meter Stanislaus County title.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 1:03 PM.
