January 28, 2005

Evergreen Sports

San Jose Stars crowned 13U national champions

The San Jose Stars took first place among 16 teams in the 13U American division at the Super Series Baseball National Championship tournament in Glendale, Ariz., Dec. 27 to Jan. 1. Many of the coaches and players hail from Evergreen.

The San Jose Stars rose to the top of their division with a 7-1 record at the Super Series Winter National baseball tournament that took place in Glendale, Ariz., Dec. 27 to Jan. 1.

In the 13U American division, the 11 talented baseball players from the Evergreen community left 15 other teams in the dust, scoring 66 runs and giving up 29 runs in the eight games they played.

They joined 164 other teams from 10 states in this national tournament.

One of the team’s players, Christian Taylor, was also named the tournament’s offensive Most Valuable Player.

“Every pitch, every ground or fly ball that was hit, was huge,” recalls Brandon Moreno of the 10-inning game against the Arizona Smoke. “We kept making plays and they kept making plays; the game was so intense. It was the most exciting game I’ve played in.”
Thomas Reynolds agrees. “To win consistently you need to play good defense and everyone needs to hit. And that’s exactly what we did for the entire tournament.”

The San Jose Stars is a year-round tournament baseball team coached by Harold DeMerritt, Sam Wong, Lew Chavez and Bob Moreno. The team qualified for the Winter National tournament in the fall of 2004 by participating and winning in Super Series qualifier tournaments throughout California.

“The kids just played great baseball. They’ve worked so hard and have had great tournaments, but it really came together for them in this one,” says Coach DeMerritt.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have the Cupertino Carl’s Jr. (on Homestead Road) as a team sponsor,” adds DeMerritt. “It has allowed the kids to participate in many tournaments and have great equipment and uniforms.”

Many of the players and coaches for the San Jose Stars are local to the Evergreen area and played local Little League or Pony leagues prior to joining the year-round tournament team approximately two years ago.

Team players in this tournament included Michael Chavez, Kyle DeMerritt, Trevor DeMerritt, Chris Kasinski, Brandon Moreno, Marco Parker, Thomas Reynolds, Brett Schweiger, Christian Taylor, Stephan Westin and Cody Wong.

Commenting on the Winter Nationals in Arizona, Kyle DeMerritt says he’ll “remember and treasure the experience for the rest of my life. I believe that the keys to our success were team spirit and always working together to achieve our goal.”

“It was fun playing baseball every day that week; to me, it was the greatest experience of my life,” concludes Cody Wong.

The team can be contacted at www.eteamz.com/sites/sanjosestars.

Saturday, Feb. 5

Open try-outs for U-12 Girls Class 3 soccer team  

Velocity, a Mt. Hamilton Youth Soccer League U-12 Class 3 girls soccer team, is looking for a few additional players for the Spring 2005 season (starting in April). We will have open try-outs on Saturday, Feb. 5 from 2 - 3:30 p.m. at James F. Smith Elementary School, 2220 Woodbury Lane.

We are looking for a few high impact competitive level players for the Spring 2005 season. We are a year-round team and will be playing U-13 in the fall.

For additional information, contact Head Coach Rik Thorbecke at (408) 858-5663 or e-mail him at rthorbecke@ea.com or Team Manager Michael van der Zweep at (408) 515-8055 or mvanderzweep@yahoo.com.

San Jose Jr. Sharks Bantam B team wins championship in shootout

Evergreen resident Chris Vonderach named MVP

By Tina Leduc
Times Intern

Just because the National Hockey League (NHL) is in a lockout, doesn’t mean there isn’t exciting hockey to be seen in San Jose. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper.

At the Winter Classic Tournament, held at Logitech Ice from Dec. 30 through Jan. 2, the San Jose Jr. Sharks Bantam B team won four of five hockey games in its division and went on to win the championship game, 2-1, against a team from Arvada, Colo.

As with most championship games, it was one that will not soon be forgotten. After playing three scoreless periods, the intensity of the game escalated in a five-minute sudden death shootout, where the first team to score would win the game.

Yet five minutes later, the score remained 0-0. It finally came down to a shootout, where each coach picked the top shooters from his team and granted them one chance to score. Fortunately, the Bantam B’s had Evergreen resident Chris Vonderach in net. He led his team to victory by stopping four of five shots, compared to his opponent, who only stopped three.

“I was really focused—concentrating on what I needed to do and how to stop the puck,” says Vonderach. “We made it that far, and we weren’t going home without a trophy.” After the victory, Bantam B coach Tyler Shaffar named Vonderach the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Vonderach, a ninth grade student at Evergreen Valley High School, was also in the net for three of the five tournament games. He just shrugs off the accolades. “Our team is very competitive,” he explains. Incidentally, Vonderach has only been playing ice hockey four years, but has been playing street hockey much longer.

“This was Chris’ biggest game, and as a parent, I felt excited, nervous, neurotic—all those emotions,” recalls his mom Lori Vonderach of the nail-biting finish.

Also adding to the Bantam B’s Evergreen flavor was forward Brandon “Recker” Reclusado, a student at LeyVa Middle School. This is the fourth team he’s played on, and he has been an assist machine. He says this championship was one of the top five wins of his career.

Rounding out the B’s Evergreen trio is forward David Romanchuck, who attends Valley Christian. Romanchuck has been playing ice hockey for five years and says he will probably play hockey in high school. Hockey runs in his genes—his dad Rod Romanchuck played for the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars).

According to Coach Tyler Shaffar, the Bantam Bs are fourth out of 11 teams in Northern California for their division (Bantam B.) “We are doing real well and are one of the more solid teams in Northern California right now.”

Overall, the Bantam Bs are 21-9-7 for the 2004-2005 season. Their next game is Sunday, Jan. 30, at 1:30 p.m. at Logitech Ice, 1500 S. Tenth St. Who knows, there could be a future NHL player in our own backyard.

San Jose Jr. Sharks monopolize Winter Classic Championship Games

The Bantam Bs weren’t the only ones shining at the Winter Classic Championship Games. In an impressive showing by the home club, the San Jose Jr. Sharks battled to advance seven of its nine teams to the Jan. 2 championship games. Of those seven teams, the following six came away with victories:

- Mites 4-3 over the Santa Clara Blackhawks
- PeeWee A 4-1 over the California Cougars
- Bantam A 6-2 over the California Northstars
- Bantam B 2-1 OT, shootout over Colorado Team Arvada
- Midget 16A 3-1 over the Tri-Valley Blue Devils
- Midget 18A 4-3 over the Ventura Mariners

Editor’s note: If you live in Evergreen and have a child who played on one of these teams, e-mail Bea Baechle with details at: bea@timesmediainc.com.

Mt. Pleasant’s Sherina Summers scores 15 points

Cardinals out duel Raiders for 43-42 overtime win

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Jan. 13 match-up between the Mount Pleasant Cardinals and the Silver Creek Raiders girls’ basketball teams featured two squads seemingly headed in opposite directions.

The Cardinals, who currently rank second in Santa Teresa Division standings at 4-1, have turned around a season that started out in turbulent fashion, with the team posting a 2-8 record in non-league play, including a six-game losing streak. The Cardinals quickly turned their season around at the start of league play, beginning with a 35-22 win on Jan. 4 against Andrew Hill. That victory started a winning streak of four in a row before losing a 56-30 decision at the hands of Santa Teresa on Jan. 18.

“We definitely made it a point to play tough teams in the beginning to prepare us for league, and I think it definitely worked,” said Cardinals’ Head Coach Celina Juico. “The girls came out at the start of our league against Andrew Hill playing hard and they’ve continued it and kept it up.”

As for the Raiders, the season has been one of trials and tribulations featuring a young and inexperienced roster of six juniors, four seniors and two freshmen. The Raiders’ season started out roughly, with the team going 1-9 in non-league play to open up the year before going 2-3 so far in Santa Teresa Division play. In all, the Raiders suffered through a nine-game losing streak before finally snapping their drought with a 47-40 win over Independence on Jan. 11.

“Overall, the team is coming together,” said Silver Creek head coach Garrett McKenzie, who is in his first year as head coach. “They’re playing hard and we’re trying to get the foundation set for the future of this program.”

Silver Creek meets Mt. Pleasant
So it would stand to reason that the Jan. 13 game between the two division foes came down to the wire, only to have the Cardinals take the contest in the end by a score of 43-42 in overtime.

Having to play catch-up several times throughout the game, the Raiders took the lead in the fourth quarter on a 7-0 scoring run, only to see Cardinal guard Timena Solia hit a lay-up to tie the game 36-36 as the clock expired in regulation.

Overtime proved to be no picnic for the Raiders, as the Cardinals jumped out to a 41-36 lead on a three-point-play from Cardinal forward Sherina Summers and a lay-up from guard Stella Dugal with 2:11 left.

“We just wanted to win,” said Summers, whose team improved to 4-0 in league play with the win. “…It’s hard getting here and we worked together, basically, on offense and defense.”

The Raiders didn’t go quietly however, putting together a modest 6-2 run to end the game, culminating in a lay-up from Silver Creek forward Cindy Tsui with 1.2 seconds to go for a one-point deficit, instead of trying to shoot a three-pointer to tie the game.

Despite the close loss, McKenzie remained cautiously optimistic about the Raiders’ season.

“I’m impressed with the girls,” McKenzie said of his squad. “We started off slow this year but we’re continuing to play hard, as you can see tonight … that was our closest game of the year, so as a team, we grew tonight.”

There was reason for McKenzie to be positive. Senior Wendy Cao, a starting guard on the Raiders, led the team with 11 points while junior forward Kimmai Nguyen chipped in nine points. Nguyen proved to be the go-to player for McKenzie on Jan.13, as the junior chipped in five points during the Raiders’ 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, including a lay-up with 2:42 left to give her team a 32-31 lead.

“It was a tough loss, but I think our team together played better,” Nguyen said after the game. “Everyone really put in their best effort but it was a tough loss.”

For the Cardinals, victory rested on the shoulders of Summers, a sophomore forward who led all scorers with 15 points on the night, including two clutch free throws with 1:24 remaining in overtime to give her team the lead for good.

“Sherina’s been a big contributor because we are comfortable being able to move her around, not only playing on the inside but on the outside also,” Juico said of Summers. “Not only is she a big scorer, she’s an excellent passer.”

Things started out promising for the Raiders, jumping out to an 8-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Cao contributed four points in the quarter, but Summers did her part too, hitting a lay-up with 18 left to cut an 8-4 lead to a two-point deficit.

The Cardinal offense got hot in the second quarter, opening up the eight-minute period on a 10-1 scoring run, with Summers chipping in six points during that stretch for a 16-9 lead.

Silver Creek cut the Cardinal lead back down to two on a small 5-0 run before a jumper from Cardinal guard Elizabeth Cruz gave Mount Pleasant an 18-14 lead going into the half.

The second half opened with Silver Creek jumping out with a 6-0 run to gain a 20-18 lead, with Nguyen dropping in four points during that span. The Cardinals answered back with a scoring run of their own, putting together a 9-4 run to end the third quarter with a 27-24 lead. Cardinal guard Amanda Rivas contributed four of her game-total seven points during the run. In the end, Juico was pleased with the victory and was hopeful that success would find the Cardinals the rest of the way.

“We haven’t done well in league for a while,” Juico said. “But I think it’s the team spirit that’s carrying us right now.”

40th annual Overfelt Classic showcases Evergreen-based wrestling talent

By Val Esquivel
Special to the Times

Wrestling, tradition and Overfelt are synonymous terms in Silicon Valley. On Saturday, Jan. 22, they all came together as Overfelt High School hosted the 40th annual Overfelt Classic wrestling tournament. Showcasing a tremendous amount of talent from the Central Coast Section (CCS), the Overfelt Classic has been a barometer for section talent since its inception.

Fremont High School of Sunnyvale snagged the tournament title with a total of 175 points, followed by Gilroy with 133 total points. Monterey finished third with 131 points, Overfelt took fourth with 99 points and rounding out the top five was Silver Creek High School with 96.5 total points.

Overfelt
Although falling short of the tournament title, Overfelt did manage to produce five tournament medallists. Competing at 114 pounds, sophomore Sammy Rivera took sixth place in one of the most competitive weight classes in the tournament. Nursing injuries, he just fell short of a victory over Evergreen Valley’s Andre Gonzalez in the quarterfinals.

At 121 pounds, King City’s Daniel Mendoza upset 2004 state qualifier Eddy Ngo of Overfelt in the semi-finals. Ngo battled back pinning Alex Kadukora of Monta Vista and defeating Daniel Rodriguez of Gonzalez, Calif., 7-6 in a highly contested match that resulted in a third place finish for Ngo. At 127 pounds, Jose Pinal finished sixth and Jose Bettancourt finished third.

In one of the most exciting matches of the night, Caleb Orozco of Overfelt defeated the number one ranked wrestler in the section, Travis Edwards of Monterey. With the match winding down, Orozco secured a last second escape, sending the 173-pound championship match into overtime. It was all Orozco after that as he took Edwards down with a double-leg, not only winning the title but also garnering Most Outstanding upper-weight honors.

Silver Creek
Finishing in fifth place, Silver Creek sent three wrestlers to the finals with two coming away with tournament championships.

For the second tournament in a row, Silver Creek junior Michael Rico came away with a tournament title at the 137-pound weight-class. In his first match, Rico pinned Jose Rangel of Gonzalez in 0:52 seconds. He wrestled his second match in similar fashion, pinning Nick Consoli of Monterey in 1:30 seconds. Farid Rivera of Oak Grove was Rico’s next victim in the semi’s, losing a 10-3 decision. In the finals Rico recorded an 18-3 technical fall over Evan England of Watsonville. Rico is currently ranked third in the CCS.

At 154 pounds, Silver Creek Senior Eric Carlos pinned his two opponents to get to the semi-finals. Carlos then defeated Les Flores of Monterey 9-2. In the finals, Carlos almost came away with a victory over defending CCS champion Greg Crane of Fremont. Carlos scored a reversal and had Crane on his back but could not record the pin. Crane defeated Carlos by fall in the second period.

The finals of the 277-pound weight class pitted two-time Greco National qualifier Raymond Romero of Silver Creek over Sonoma’s Alan Bauermeister. Romero controlled the pace and the offense of the match with a 5-2 decision.

Romero, as well as the rest of the Silver Creek Raiders, will be competing this weekend at the Mid-Cal tournament in Gilroy.

Evergreen Valley
The combined efforts of the Evergreen Valley High School wrestling team resulted in 68.5 total points, warranting an 11th place finish. Led by freshman standout Michael Rodriguez (105 lbs.) and Sophomore Andre Gonzalez (114 lbs.), Evergreen proved that it will be a team to watch this year and for the years to come.

Gonzalez won a second place medal in his weight class. In the quarter-finals, he secured a takedown in overtime to squeak by Overfelt’s Rivera, 12-10. Gonzalez then pinned Gilroy’s Tim Ibanez in the semi-finals, but lost in the finals to Sergio Hernandez of Oak Grove, 7-4.

Going into the tournament as the #3 seed, freshmen Michael Rodriguez defeated Ben Campbell of Santa Clara by a fall in 1:10. He then recorded a majority decision over Aragon’s Patrick Huckbody. In a closely fought match, he lost a 6-4 decision to College Park’s Zac Firestone. Wrestling back for a third place medal, Rodriguez made short work of Felipe Zumudio of James Lick 15-0 and defeated Leigh’s Joey Citelli, 7-1.

Also placing for the Evergreen Cougars was Junior Joe Duran, who took fourth at the 173-pound weight class.

Mt. Pleasant
With 61 points, the Mt. Pleasant Cardinals were well represented in the tournament. Led by seniors Gabriel Lara (137 pounds), Julian Carbajal (191 pounds) and Mark Tavares (215 pounds) it seemed like four was the magic number. All of the wrestlers competing for Mt. Pleasant placed fourth in their respective weight classes.

Once again Overfelt and its staff continued the tradition of hosting an extremely competitive and well-run tournament. Overfelt’s head coach and tournament director Mark Delgado was pleased with the tournament as a whole.

“The 40th Overfelt Classic was one of the most competitive in the past three years,” says Delgado, noting that 90 percent of the number one and two seeds met in the finals. “Teams from the CCS were well represented. Competition as far south as King City and Gonzales and as far north as Sonoma and College Park from the NCS helped prove that the Overfelt tournament attracts some of the best talent around. El Camino and George Washington from the San Francisco section were also represented. As far as upsets go, that’s expected, as in every great sport there will always be the underdog trying to make a name for themselves.”

As the tournament came to a close and the wrestlers collected their medals, immortalizing themselves in such a rich wrestling history, it will be interesting to see what the next 40 years bring from one of the longest running wrestling tournaments in the area.

Chaboya conquers Valley Christian in Evergreen Shoot-out Final

By Mike McFerran
Staff Writer

The host school claimed the 14th annual Evergreen Shoot-out title, as Chaboya Middle School defeated Valley Christian 73-59 in the final game on Friday, Jan. 14. It was Chaboya’s third championship, but their first since 1994.

The tournament, an annual invitational for eighth-grade basketball teams, draws some of the most talented teams from the area. In addition to the two finalists and last year’s champion, Aptos Junior High (Aptos), teams from Brownell Academy (Gilroy), South Valley Middle School (Gilroy) and Palma Junior High (Salinas), joined local Evergreen middle schools, Ley Va and Quimby Oak.

Chaboya’s Colts reached the final with victories over Aptos and Ley Va. The Warriors from Valley Christian knocked off Palma and Brownell.

In a civil-war twist, the final pitted long-time teammates against each other. The Colts’ leaders, Shawn Grant and Jordan Gallagher, and Warrior stars Tim Harris, Kyle Bailey and Jordan Taylor all play together with High Intensity, an AAU 14-under team. According to Gallagher, “We’ve been playing together since we were in second grade.”
However, if familiarity does breed contempt, it was not evident here, as the five traded friendly words and handshakes before and after the contest.

First Warrior loss in two seasons
Fans filling the bleachers at the championship game saw the Colts jump out to a quick 19-5 first quarter lead. Once the Warriors adjusted to Chaboya’s quickness and collapsing zone defense, they settled down and started chipping away at the lead.

Grant’s 14 first half points were nearly matched by the 12 Harris tallied for the Warriors. Chaboya led 29-20 as the coaches made halftime adjustments.

The Warriors came out with a more aggressive defense as the second half started. They forced several turnovers and cut the lead to seven points. But that turned out to be as close as they were able to get it.

“We brought in (Joseph) Gallegos and slowed it down and got our composure back,” recalls Chaboya coach, Joe Parisi. “We knew there was no way we could run with them.”

The Colts then worked to get the ball into Gallagher’s hands more often and he responded by scoring 19 of his 24 points in the second half. Grant added 11 more, ending with 25 points and 14 rebounds, as Chaboya cruised to the victory.

Gallagher’s second-half outburst and his success in breaking the Warrior’s frantic pressing defense in the closing minutes, earned him the nod over Grant as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

For Valley Christian, Harris was an intimidating presence on defense. He rejected four Colt shots and changed several more. He led the Warriors with 21 points, while Bailey chipped in 15.

How important was it for Chaboya to be playing on their home court? “I don’t think it was a big deal because they (Valley Christian) had lots of fans there,” Parisi said.

LeyVa plays for third place
In the third-place game, Ley Va’s Bulldogs stayed even with the high-scoring Brownell Bruins through three quarters. The Bulldogs’ Daniel Johnson did all he could to keep the game close.

But, when Brownell employed a half-court press in the final quarter, they forced Bulldog guards into several turnovers and pulled away to win, 87-74. An All-Tournament selection at guard, E.J. Harrell confidently directed the Bruins attack while leading the team in scoring.

All-Tournament team
The All-Tournament Team selected by tournament directors John Franza and Allen Ventura included: Gallagher, Grant and Ryan Miller (Chaboya); Harris and Bailey (Valley Christian); E.J. Harrell (Brownell); Daniel Johnson (LeyVa); Charlie Chu (Quimby Oak); Nick Ingram (Aptos); Jason Olivo (South Valley) and Nick Ramirez (Palma).