Prep notes: Water polo, cross country teams look to make a splash and dash

The Modesto Metro Conference water polo season begins next week with three matches on Tuesday.

Beyer travels to Johansen, Modesto visits Davis and Gregori visits Downey. Enochs has a bye. The Eagles will get their first action on Thursday at home against Davis. Games begin at 3:30 p.m., starting with varsity girls.

The Downey boys are the two-time defending conference champions. The Knights shared the 2013 crown with Johansen. Modesto is the reigning girls champion.

For more information on MMC water polo, including a schedule and results, visit ms.aquanite.com.

Volleyball: Central California Classic

A Central Section power will take part in the 21st annual Central California Classic this weekend. The tournament will feature 32 teams at eight venues with play beginning Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Saturday’s action will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the championship matches for the four divisions scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

The tournament starts with eight four-team pools. The top seeds in each pool are Pitman, Clovis West, Central (Fresno), Tehachapi, Garces (Bakersfield), Turlock, Hilmar and El Diamante (Visalia).

The tournament will shift to four sites Saturday with Golden Valley, El Capitan and Merced High and Merced College hosting games. Golden Valley coach Matt Thissen is the tournament director.

The field includes several local teams, including Beyer, Gregori, Big Valley Christian, Enochs, Orestimba, Central Catholic, Turlock Christian, Escalon, Merced, El Capitan, Atwater, Golden Valley, Buhach Colony, Livingston and Stone Ridge Christian.

Cross Country: Sierra XC Invitational

The cross country season will get its unofficial start Saturday at the 11th annual Sierra XC Invitational.

More than 40 teams from throughout the Sac-Joaquin Section are expected to attend the 5-kilometer meet at Legion-Tuolumne Regional Park, near the Modesto Airport.

The boys race will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the girls to follow at 11.

Participating are: Amador, Argonaut, Atwater, Big Valley Christian, Buhach Colony, Central Catholic, Central Valley, Ceres, Chavez, Cosumnes Oaks, Don Pedro, Downey, El Capitan, Franklin-Stockton, Golden Valley, Grace Davis, Gregori, Hilmar, Johansen, Kimball, Laguna Creek, Lathrop, West, Modesto, Oakdale, Patterson, Pitman, Pleasant Grove, Ripon Christian, Riverbank, Sacramento Waldorf, Sierra, St. Mary’s, Stagg, Summerville, Tioga, Turlock, Turlock Christian and Waterford.

Meet director Dave Shrock was anticipating a few late entrants, pushing the list over 40.

The best will be chasing the times established by two of Riverbank’s finest.

German Fernandez set the boys course record in 2007 with a finish of 14 minutes, 47 seconds, or 4:46 per mile. Maritza Garcia holds the girls mark of 18.38, established in 2005.

Say ‘Aloha!’ to Riverbank runners

For the third time since 2011, the Riverbank cross country team is headed to Hawaii for a run and some sun.

The Bruins will compete in the Iolani Invitational on Oahu. Head coach Monte Wood said he’s taking 15 runners, three of whom made the trip in 2013.

The Iolani Invitational will take place Sept. 19. In all, the Bruins will spend six days traveling, Sept. 16-21.

Prep Rewind: Wednesday’s standouts

Kaylin Randhawa’s defensive presence helped the Pitman volleyball team finish off its fourth consecutive sweep, a 25-13, 26-24, 25-21 victory at Oakdale. Modesto’s Alyssa Cover had 32 assists in a 25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19 loss to East Union. … Michael Farrell (19:25) and Yvette Fregoso (22.32) highlighted Los Banos cross country’s sweep of Ceres. … McKenna Doyle earned medalist honors with a 43 as Sierra golf routed Weston Ranch, 249-387. Emily Lehman fired a match-low 44 in Central Catholic’s 240-386 victory over Lathrop.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Prep notes: Water polo, cross country teams look to make a splash and dash."