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Local Roundup: Vacaville Christian volleyball picks up win

Vacaville Christian High’s Kirra Martin (23) blocks the ball over Esparto High’s Lily Buenvenida (13) during the first set of their three-set sweep (25-10, 25-9, 25-8) over the Spartans in league play Tuesday at Vaca Christian. The Falcon travel to North Highlands, today to play Highland High School, the match begins at 6 p.m. (Joel Rosenbaum / The Reporter)
By  | tgase@timesheraldonline.com | Vallejo Times Herald
 

The Vacaville Christian High girls volleyball team improved to 2-0 in the Sierra Delta League on Tuesday night with a sweep of Esparto.

The Falcons won 25-10, 25-9, 25-8.

 
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Vacaville Christian track and field coach reflects on strong season

It’s been nearly a month since the Vacaville Christian High track and field team had its season end, but head coach DeShawn Seymour Sr. can’t help but stop smiling.

At the start of the season, Seymour recognized that his first hurdle was building consistency in his numbers. Originally having over 30 student athletes signed up, the Falcons only managed to get around 14 competitors total to the track for their first league meet that fluctuated as high as 18 competitors throughout the season

“It was definitely a spectacle among many things…but we were ready to rock and roll,” Seymour Sr. said.

Getting their footing, all came ahead for the Falcons back on May 4th. Though strong marks were made in the Field events, the Falcons shined in between the race lines, winning numerous racing competitions.

“I want to say we ended up taking over 14 different championships,” Seymour Sr. said.

In such a small program, the Falcons only had two seniors that crossed the stage at seasons end with Chris Lespron and Cali Webb, both who won multiple league events.

Lespron won league in the 800 meters (2:26.49), the 1600 meters (5:01.78) and a member of the 4X400 meter team (4:00.82) with Aaron Laxamana, Apollo Adams and Dominque Ruff.

Seymour Sr. credits Webb to having one of the biggest leaps of improvement in the program. For her first time competing in Track and Field, Webb managed to finish her season with winning the Sierra Delta League Title as a member of the 4X400 meter team with Cate Ferreira, Kara Krulick and Katrina Husby, they finished with at 4:52.07.

In the 400 meters, Seymour Sr. saw a jump in Webb’s speed endurance and tried her out at that distance at the League final. Finishing at 1:04.62, Webb won the event, only to be eclipsed at sub sections nearly 9 days later when she finished 2nd in her preliminaries at 1:02.65, a new school record.

“I knew she had it in her to advance and run well at sub sections” Seymour Sr. said about Webb’s efforts. “I just wasn’t expecting a 62 (seconds).”

Proud of their efforts and hard works, Seymour Sr. sees that their hard work sets a precedent for their younger classmates to work towards.

“They went out with a bang,” Seymour Sr. said. “They gave it everything that they had, they left as league champions and were a couple of seconds away from making it to masters this year. What it did was not only raise the bar for the juniors and sophomores and the incoming freshman. It also raised the bar for our program and our league.”

Another notable leap of improvement that Seymour Sr. recognized was Ruff. An accomplished runner, the junior was always challenged from Jordan Sherman, a senior from Linden High School. Having lost to him at different events prior to this year, Ruff managed to beat Sherman at every league event in his races this year.

“He put in the work, he followed the blueprint and he did not take a loss from that kid once at all,” Seymour Sr. said.

Though a strong showing in sub sections by the Falcons ended with no one on the podium, but Seymour Sr. remains excited for the future of Vacaville Christian in Track and Field. Excited for the incoming class of 2026, Seymour Sr. is ready to watch his son, D.J. come into the fold.

Finishing up his time on the Middle School level, D.J., or known by his peers as, “Flash,” he has hit his marks in the 100 meters at 11.03, the 200 meters at at 23.21, both would of landed him on the podium at the SDL meet.

“It’s going to be extremely exciting to see him on the high school level where he’s going to be one of the youngest ones on the track,” Seymour Sr. said. “I’m excited to see the peaks, I’m excited to see the lows, the rebounds and the bouncing back. I’m just excited to see how far he can be pushed.”

Vacaville Christian High football player Zack Mercado makes it official with University of Nevada

Vacaville Christian High School’s Zack Mercado looks over his paperwork before signing his letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada and continue his football career Wednesday during a short ceremony on campus. Mercado is the first player from the school to earn a scholarship to play football at a Division I program. (Joel Rosenbaum / The Reporter)

PUBLISHED:  | UPDATED: 

Four years ago, the Vacaville Christian High School football program got a reboot.

One of the stalwarts of that new team was a kid with a lot of upsides and the willingness to put in the work needed, both academically and athletically, to be a success in the classroom and on the field.

On Wednesday, that hard work was officially rewarded as Zack Mercado, a 6-foot-3. 250-pound defensive lineman for the Falcons signed his letter of intent to play football for the University of Nevada. With his parents standing behind him and the room filled with teammates and well-wishers, Mercado put paper to pen and made it official.
XC 2021 Section Champs

Vacaville, VCS win section cross country titles

 
By Matt Miller | Daily Republic |
PUBLISHED: November 14, 2021

FOLSOM –  The varsity boy runners from Vacaville and Vacaville Christian high schools each won division titles Saturday at the Sac-Joaquin Section Cross Country Championships in Folsom at Willow Park.

Both teams qualified for state meet, to be held Nov. 27 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Vacaville earned a championship in the Division II varsity boys race, ahead of Whitney and Vista Del Lago. The Bulldogs took third through seventh with Donald Cherviyot (3rd, 16:16.7), Kellen Ruiz (4th, 16:19.2), Colton Walker (5th, 16:27.3), Asher Love (6th, 16:31.3) and Paul Hobbs (7th, 16:31.8). Kellen Steplight and Evan Mitchell will join them on the trip to state.

Vacaville Christian’s varsity boys finished first in a field of 11 teams in Division V. Four Falcons had top-25 times in Chris Lepron (6th, 18:23.4), Maverick Adam (10th, 19:06.3), Aaron Laxamana (20th, 19:53.3) and Apollo Adam (22nd, 19:57.4). Harrison Jones, Brian Laxamana and Ryder Sietsema will join them on the trip to state.

Vacaville Christian’s girls came in second to only Bret Harte in the Division V race and will also advance to state. Katrina Husby (7th, 20:56.7), Kara Krulick (11th, 22:38.4), Laura Everett (16th, 23:04.9) and Cate Fereira (25th, 24:41.1) led the charge. Kimberley Miller, Zoe Stires and Taylor Wood will join them in Fresno.

Read more…

XC 2021 Section Champs
XC 2021 Section Girls 2nd
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Vacaville Christian High volleyball player Kirra Martin is athlete of the week

Vacaville Christian High School’s Kirra Martin returns a serve in their first-round section playoff match against Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy last week. She has been named The Reporter’s Athlete of the Week. (Joel Rosenbaum / The Reporter)

PUBLISHED:  | UPDATED: November 2, 2021 at 11:08 a.m.
PHOTO:(Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter file) 

Junior has Falcons in the section semifinals

Heading into the Carmichael Invitational Tournament in September, the Vacaville Christian girls volleyball players were searching for their identity, unsure of just how good a team they could become.

After two straight losses to fall to 2-3 overall, something clicked. The Falcons bounced back for two straight wins in the tourney and a second-place finish.

“We went in thinking we weren’t going to do well,” said Kirra Martin, middle blocker for the Falcons, “and we took second place. That helped us going into league. We were able to see our potential as a team during the tournament.”

Read More….

BASKETBALL CAMP

The Skills Factory Experience Basketball Camp

If you missed out on the free clinic going on May 15th, the Skills Factory Experience returns June 5-6 for a two-day camp. Intended for ages 5 yrs. to 14 yrs., the camp runs both days from 9am to 12 noon at the VCS Falcon Gymnasium.

WHO: Boys & Girls, 5-14 yrs. old

WHEN: June 5-6th

TIME: 9am-12noon

COST: $150/player for both days or $100 for only one day.

Space is limited and CDPH guidelines will be enforced. Each player must bring their own basketball and there will be special guests and prizes awarded!

Go to www.hoopitup3x3.net to register today!

VCS Baseball

Season Opener: Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity Fights Back In Loss To Rio Vista

Season opener on Friday, March 19, 2021

Despite a 4-run deficit in the fourth inning, Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity almost came all
the way back, eventually falling 4-3 to Rio Vista on Friday. Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity
scored three runs in the failed comeback on a error and a triple by Steve Dingman.
Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity couldn’t keep up with Rio Vista early in the game. Rio
Vista scored on a double by Baldwin and a single by Drury in the first inning.

Rio Vista got things moving in the first inning, when Baldwin doubled on a 2-1 count, scoring
one run. Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity tallied three runs in the fourth inning. Rafa Rios and Dingman each had RBIs in the frame. Baldwin earned the victory on the mound for Rio Vista. The ace allowed five hits and three runs over five innings, striking out five. Drury threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen. Drury recorded the last six outs to earn the save for Rio Vista. John Elliott took the loss for Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity. Elliott surrendered four runs on six hits over three and two-thirds innings, striking out one.

Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity scattered six hits in the game. Elliott and Dingman each managed multiple hits for Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity. Dingman and Elliott each collected two hits to lead Vacaville Christian Falcons Varsity.

 

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UPDATE: Outdoor and Indoor Youth and Recreational Adult Sports

Summary

COVID-19 continues to pose a severe risk to communities and requires all people in California to follow recommended precautions. This guidance provides direction on outdoor and indoor youth and recreational adult sports activities to support a safe environment for these sports. The guidance applies to all organized youth sports and recreation— including school- and  community-sponsored programs, and privately-organized clubs and leagues — and adult recreational sports (hereafter youth and adult sports). This guidance does not apply to collegiate or professional sports. Additionally, this guidance does not apply to community events, such as marathons, half-marathons, and endurance races. 

Inter-team competitions (i.e., between two teams) resumed in California beginning January 25, 2021. The guidelines outlined in this document shall take effect on February 26, 2021.

The status of return-to-competition is subject to change at any time given the level of COVID-19 transmission in California.

Click here to review the full CDPH update.

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VCS Athletics and the lifting of the state’s regional stay-at-home order for all regions

SACRAMENTO – Officials with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today ended the Regional Stay at Home Order, lifting the order for all regions statewide, including the three regions that had still been under the order – San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area and Southern California. Four-week ICU capacity projections for these three regions are above 15%, the threshold that allows regions to exit the order. The Sacramento Region exited the order on January 12 and the Northern California region never entered the order.

This action allows all counties statewide to return to the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity. The majority of the counties are in the strictest, or purple tier. Tier updates are provided weekly on Tuesdays. Individual counties could choose to impose stricter rules.

Read the full announce by clicking here.

What does this mean for VCS Athletics?

Solano County remains in the Widespread – Purple Tier allowing youth sports to begin the use of shared equipment within our cohorts/teams during practice sessions following the CDPH guidelines for masking, social distancing to the maximum extent possible, hygiene and Equipment Sanitation. Athletes and coaches are expected to choose one team for the season, they are not to participate/coach on multiple teams during the same time frame.  Once outside competitions begin, due to the added risk of spreading the COVID virus if an athlete contracted the virus while competing with an outside school, the athlete must stop training with all other teams.

For example: If Joe is participating on the school football team, he cannot concurrently participate with his outside club basketball team.  Joe must choose to participate with only one team. Also, if Joe is currently participating on the school cross country team and practicing with his school basketball team, once he starts to compete against other schools with his cross country team, he must stop training with the basketball team until he is finished with his cross country season. This is all about protecting everyone involved and we must abide by our county order to follow the CDPH guidelines.

Donna Hagans, VCS Director of Athletics


CURRENT CIF SPORTS SCHEDULE:

IN-SEASON (In-person competitions allowed to begin according to assigned tier): Cheer (Yellow), Cross Country (Purple), Football (Orange), and Women’s Volleyball (Orange)

LIMITED PERIOD for all other high school sports: Baseball (Red), Basketball (Yellow), Competitive Cheer (Yellow), Golf (Purple), Soccer (Orange), Softball (Red), Swimming (Purple), Track & Field (Purple), and Men’s Volleyball (Orange)

Still, the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section has yet a new proposal on the table. They are preparing to vote on a new Sports Calendar for the remaining 2020-2021 school year this week. This new proposal could give the VCS sports league, the Sierra Delta League, the opportunity to determine which sports our small school league could actually make happen this spring based on anticipated movement into particular tiers. The SDL has many things to consider in their decision, such as student-athlete participation numbers, facility availability, transportation, and coaching staff to name a few. Part of the CDPH guidelines requires schools to limit their competitions to their own county and adjacent counties within the same tier. For VCS this means we can only compete with schools in the same tier and located in Solano, Napa, Sacrament, and Yolo counties respectively. The challenge for the SDL is that we are not all in adjacent counties, so VCS is not even allowed to play two of the seven league teams: Golden Sierra and Linden.

Our heads are spinning as A.D.’s as we try to manage the constant changes handed down by both the state and our CIF section along with the many unknowns of this virus. Our goal is the same at this point – we simply want our kids to be able to compete!

Donna Hagans, VCS Director of Athletics
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