January 03, 2012 05:06 pm
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MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: TRAVIS ARENAS, Senior, Sweeper, Summerville
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January 03, 2012 04:52 pm
 SUMMERVILLE BEAR TRAVIS ARENAS is the 2011 Union Democrat All-Area Most Valuable Player. Arenas played on the varsity for Summerville for three seasons. He was the unquestioned leader of the Bears' defense which gave up just 20 goals in 20 2011 games. MAGGIE BECK/UNION DEMOCRAT
Reel looked up at his 6-foot-5 senior star sweeper Travis Arenas.
“I will never, ever forget the look Travis had,” said Reel. “His face said it all: Exhaustion, determination and happiness. He was proud of what he and his teammates had accomplished. There were tears of joy running down his face. He’s got this huge smile. There’s blood running down his legs. He’s completely spent but he was so pumped up he kept yelling out encouragement to his teammates. He had great things to say about everyone. He knew he and his teammates had accomplished something — and he was determined that they’d keep it all going.”
And did they ever.
Behind the leadership and all-around sensational on-the-field efforts of Arenas, Summerville went 10-3-2 in Mother Lode League play, knocked off No. 1 seed and Trans Valley League-champion Riverbank, 2-0, in the playoffs and advanced to the Final Four of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Championships.
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January 03, 2012 04:43 pm
Swarming defense in the second half got Columbia back into the game and then clutch shooting in the final minute propelled the Claim Jumpers over the Cañada Colts 78-74 in the championship game of the Robert Dominik Fuchs Memorial Basketball Classic at Oak Pavilion.
With 44 seconds remaining in the game, the Claim Jumpers trailed 74-73 and were inbounding the ball on the Colt’s baseline.
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January 03, 2012 04:39 pm
 FIGHTING ILLINI All-American Whitney Mercilus (85) is unable to get around UCLA tackle and former Bret Harte star Brett Downey (78) during Saturday's Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. GREG SCOTT/UNION DEMOCRAT
For the first time ever, a Bret Harte graduate is starting in a Division I bowl game. Brett Downey, class of 2008, is now a junior quick-side tackle at UCLA.
This is the first start of Downey’s collegiate career and he has been squaring up against Whitney Mercilus (6-4, 265, Jr.). Mercilus, a consensus All-American, was recently honored with The Ted Hendricks Award, signifying him as top defensive end in America. This, most likely, is the final collegiate contest for Mercilus. He’s projected as a first-round selection in the 2012 NFL draft.
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December 22, 2011 07:01 pm
 Bret Harte's Kylie Kester, left, and Sonora's Abby Runte are the 2011 Union Democrat All-Area Co-Most Valuable Players. Kester led the Bullfrogs to the Final Four of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Championships. Runte led Sonora to a perfect record and Valley Oak League championship and to a playoff win. AMY ALONZO ROZAK/UNION DEMOCRAT
Sonora had won outright or shared a Valley Oak League title in six of the past eight years.
From 2008-10, Bret Harte had a combined three-year Mother Lode League record of 7-38. The last time Bret Harte had hung a championship banner was 1987.
But while watching Bret Harte junior Kylie Kester and her teammates warm up, Sonora head coach Kim Evans felt fear.
Recalled Evans, “I remember saying to myself, ‘We are in big trouble.’ ”
Bret Harte head coach Rich Juarez approached Evans during warmups.
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December 15, 2011 05:21 pm
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The Columbia Claim Jumpers basketball team whipped the Gavilan Rams 73-57 on Wednesday afternoon in Gilroy.
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December 15, 2011 05:20 pm
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Just because the high school cross country season ended for local stars Samantha Smith and Kaylee Sedler, it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped running and competing.
In fact, the duo stepped it up a notch on Saturday by traveling across the country to compete in the prestigious USA Track and Field National Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships held at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, SC.
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December 14, 2011 04:07 pm
 Summerville guard Josh Johnson knifes through the lane for a layup with five seconds left in the third quarter. MAGGIE BECK/UNION DEMOCRAT Curtis Kellogg drained three treys within a four-minute span in the third quarter propelling Sonora to a 47-38 home win over Summerville on Tuesday night.
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December 13, 2011 06:41 pm
 Sonora Elementary School earned first place in the Tuolumne County Elementary Wrestling Tournament that was held on Saturday at Columbia College’s Oak Pavilion.
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December 12, 2011 02:34 pm
The Sonora Wildcat girls’ basketball team took home third place on Saturday in the Lodi Tournament.
After their opening-round win on Thursday, the Wildcats lost to tournament champion Beyer 56-50 on Friday and defeated Gregori 41-30 in the third-place game on Saturday.
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