Around the district: Basketball all-stars compete, local products chase NFL dreams
The top seniors from Modesto and surrounding cities took the same court at Modesto JC on Saturday night, repping their high schools one last time at the 29th annual 6-County All-Star Senior Basketball Game.
After two days of practice and a dinner Thursday where Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen was the guest speaker, the week finished with a pair of competitive games and three-point and slam dunk competitions. In total, 24 girls and 22 boys participated in the games.
Riverbank’s Leilani Olanolan won the three-point contest, which was at halftime of the girls all-star game. She went against Kimball’s Emma Coronado in a competition that drew cheers with every make. Olanolan went first, scoring 20 total points, while Coronado followed with a 16-point effort.
In the all-star game, Olanolan led the Red Team with 16 points, draining four threes and adding a pair of two-point field goals. A quick guard who will play next year at Folsom Lake College, Olanolan transferred to Riverbank from St. Mary’s as a junior. She helped lead the Bruins to a section title runner-up finish as a junior and a playoff appearance during her senior season.
She posted a 30-point, 11-rebound, 15-steal triple double and, a few games later, set a Bruins scoring record with 50 points. She finished the season 17th in the nation in steals (8.6), sixth in the SJS in scoring (23.6 ppg) and 14th in California in made field goals (253).
Team Blue led the entire way in the girls game. The team took a 43-29 lead into the halftime intermission, and by the end of the four-quarter, 40-minute exhibition, pulled out a 79-67 victory. Pitman’s Dailynn Greener took home MVP honors after scoring a game-high 19 points.
The boys slam dunk contest was the lead-in to the most competitive game of the night.
Tayton Harkabus of Stone Ridge Christian, Koby Cervantes of Denair and Lincoln of Stockton’s Dilan Fanuchi took center stage in front of three dunk contest judges. When all three rounds were done, Harkabus took the crown. He capped his dunk contest experience by jumping over a judge seated in front of the basket for a perfect 30.
Defense stole the show in the final few minutes of the boys all-star contest.
After the Blue Team took a 49-41 halftime lead and maintained a near double-digit advantage for the entire second half, Team Red powered back. The Red players chipped away at the lead until a stretch of four layups and a pair of stolen inbounds passes on consecutive possessions put them ahead 77-73 with about three minutes left. The Red Team came up with a defensive stop on the last possession to seal an 80-79 win. Game MVP Jordan Magana scored a team-high 19 points and drained five threes.
Local products chasing NFL dreams
Despite going undrafted in this weekend’s NFL draft, local products and former Modesto JC teammates Jacob De Jesus and Zelmar Vedder will team up again at the pro level after signing undrafted free-agent deals with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Both are Manteca products who graduated high school the same year. De Jesus starred at Manteca High and Vedder at East Union. After graduating in 2021, they played at MJC.
Vedder left after his freshman season and played three years at Sacramento State before finishing his college career at the University of Houston.
De Jesus spent two seasons at MJC and two at UNLV before setting records at the University of California, Berkeley. De Jesus was named an All-American returner after leading the nation in total return yards in 2023, his first season at UNLV. In Berkeley, he set the single-season school record for receptions (108) and was named First-team All-ACC and led the ACC in receptions and all-purpose yards.
Turlock High and MJC alum Anthony Frias II will also get his shot at the NFL, agreeing to attend rookie mini-camps with the Chiefs and Buccaneers.
The 5-foot-10, 225-pound power back played his true freshman season at MJC in 2021 and spent a redshirt year along with his sophomore seasons at Kansas State.
He transferred to UCLA, where he played his junior and senior seasons. He played in all 12 games and led the Bruins with 7.6 yards per carry in his final season. He rushed 24 times for 183 yards and a touchdown and had 13 catches for 78 yards and another score.
Baseball postseason begins next week
The prep baseball postseason begins next week and the playoff picture is starting to take shape during the season’s final week.
Central Catholic is likely the No. 1 team in the Division IV bracket and won the Valley Oak League championship. The Raiders posted a 15-3 league record, finishing ahead of Manteca, East Union and Oakdale.
While the Mustangs did not earn an automatic bid with a top-three league finish, they will get in the D-IV bracket with an at-large bid as one of the top 16 schools in the division’s MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section D-IV rankings (No. 5).
Turlock has locked up the CCAL title after beating Pitman on Monday and Wednesday, and Ripon Christian and Central Valley earned league titles in the Trans-Valley League and Western Athletic Conference, respectively.
Postseason brackets will be released Saturday, play-in games are Tuesday, and first-round matchups are Wednesday.
The baseball semifinals are once again a best-of-three series, with the higher seed hosting May 12, lower seed hosting May 14 and the higher seed hosting the if-necessary Game 3 on May 15. The finals will be May 20-23.
Champions and runner-ups in Divisions I-III advance to the CIF Northern California Regional Playoff bracket. In D-IV through D-VII only champions advance to NorCal Regional play.
Gregori girls basketball coach receives CIF statewide honor
One of the Stanislaus District’s winningest girls basketball coaches received statewide recognition by the California Interscholastic Federation last week. Gregori High’s Marissa Shull was named one of the CIF’s Model Coach Award winners. Shull earned the award, announced via press release on April 21, because she is one of the coaches who has “served as a positive role model in their schools and communities and have exhibited the traits evident in the 16 principles of Pursuing Victory with Honor.”
On the court, Shull has led the Jaguars to three undefeated CCAL titles in the past four seasons and multiple consecutive playoff appearances. Off the court, she is a presence around campus, supporting other teams at their athletics events, often traveling to different counties to watch games.
“For 26 years, Shull has coached girls’ basketball at Gregori High School, the last 11 as the varsity head coach. Shull supports the entire Gregori student body,” the press release reads “She consistently demonstrates genuine commitment to the school, community, and the young women she mentors. Her devotion to her athletes extends well beyond the season, as she monitors their academic progress, reinforces positive citizenship, and ensures their social and emotional well-being.”
