Local signings: Riverbank makes school history, Central Catholic sends 18 to next level
Across the Stanislaus District, schools used the waning moments of the 2025-26 school year to honor some of their top senior athletes; those who will become some of the less-than-5% of high school student athletes who will go on to play their sport in college.
Signing recognition ceremonies across the area highlighted people who will attend NCAA, NAIA and JUCO programs to further their academic and athletic careers for the next few years.
Riverbank and Pitman made school history with their ceremonies, Central Catholic nearly hit a school record for players headed to the next level and a pair of teammates at Ripon High made their commitments official in the gym Wednesday night.
Riverbank honors 4 girls in historic signing ceremony
Riverbank High athletic director Juan Harvey knows for sure this year’s Bruins NCAA signing class is the biggest he’s ever had. And he believes it is the biggest in recent school history.
Four graduating student athletes signed with NCAA Division I and II schools Friday, May 8.
Distance runners Giselle Fernandez and Gianna Cruz will attend Northern Arizona and University of the Pacific, respectively. Softball player Maya Guzman and soccer player Emmah Montes will also go to Stanislaus State.
Harvey introduced them all at the beginning of the ceremony then had each athlete’s coach say words about their impact in their respective sport and in the Riverbank community.
Fernandez holds four Riverbank High school records that likely won’t be broken any time soon. She is a state qualifier in distance running. Cruz has six top three finishes in the 800-meter run and four in the 1,600-meter distance run with a personal best 5 minutes, 35.17 seconds and a second place finish at the Mother Lode League finals, trailing only Fernandez.
Guzman was a six-sport athlete at Riverbank and as a freshman helped the Bruins reach the section softball title game and finished her senior campaign fifth in California and second in the section with 267 strikeouts. Montes scored 23 goals and added 10 assists in her senior campaign for the Bruins and helped lead the team to the Division V section playoffs.
Central Catholic’s next level ceremony a hit yet again
At Central Catholic, the high school celebrated its second-largest Next Level Ceremony Tuesday. In the Mark Gallo Health and Fitness Center, 18 seniors who will continue their respective sports in college sat in front of family, friends and peers. Football players headed to schools like Fresno State and Modesto JC sat alongside softball players, baseball players, basketball players, track runners and wrestlers.
Before they spoke, each athlete was introduced by an underclassman whom they had an impact on during their time at the school. They then thanked family members, teammates and coaches who helped them earn the opportunity to play at the next level.
Here are the athletes recognized at the ceremony:
- Jonathan Fuentes, Football, Modesto JC
- Legend Pio, Football, Modesto JC
- Jonathan Palafox, Cross Country/Track and Field, Modesto JC
- Jordan Magana, Basketball, Feather River College
- Madison Harrison, Softball, Sacramento State
- Kayden McHenry, Baseball, Sacramento State
- Chase Perino, Football, Fresno State University
- Max Medina, Baseball, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- Czyleah Pabustan, Volleyball, Wheaton College, Massachusetts
- Amaya Gustavis, Softball, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff
- Alyssa Thomas, Volleyball, Delta College
- Joseph Frainha, Baseball, Modesto JC
- Broden Thomas, Baseball, Modesto JC
- Isaiah Faagata, Football, Modesto JC
- Marcus Davenport, Baseball, Modesto JC
- Carter Meeks, Football, Golden West College
- Ryan Jackson, Track and Field, Modesto JC
- Alex Gutierrez, Combat Sports, Sacramento State
Ripon has signing for teammates
Ripon’s signing ceremony celebrated a pair of track and field teammates who helped bring a blue banner to the program. Kaiya Kroutil (Fresno State) and Clara Schoolland (Concordia University, Irvine) celebrated in the North Gym on campus Wednesday evening.
This season, Schoolland does not have a finish outside the top four in any running event. She finished third with a personal best 12.59 seconds in the 100-meters at the Division V trials then finished fourth at the SJS Divisional Finals. She won the 100-meter hurdles at the Division Finals and along with Kroutil helped Ripon to four first-place finishes in the 4x400 relay and a second-place finish in the Trans-Valley League championships. She also participated in the high jump and triple jump, winning the high jump at the TVL Championships, SJS D-V trials and the SJS Division Finals.
In her senior campaign, Kroutil placed third in the 200-meters at the Division Finals with a personal best time of 26.01 seconds. She finished 10th at the prestigious Stanford Invitational in the 400 meters, posting a personal best 57.33 seconds. She has 10 first-place finishes in the 400 this season, including winning the event at the TVL Championships and the Division Finals.
Pitman wrestlers celebrate with historic signing ceremony
Head coach Adam Vasconcellos told the Turlock Journal it was a “historic day” when Mason and Mika Ontiveros, Carter Vannest, Edward Sheeran Jr. and Isaac Padilla all signed to college programs across the country.
All had decorated high school careers. Mason Ontiveros was a four-time state qualifier with a pair of runner-up finishes. Sheeran won a pair of Sac-Joaquin Section Masters titles and qualified for the state tournament. Vannest finished fourth in back-to-back years. Padilla is also a two-time state qualifier.
Mason Ontiveros and Vannest will wrestle at Oklahoma University program and Mika Ontiveros, will attend Menlo College. Sheeran will attend the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington and Padilla will be going to the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky.
