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CCS VOLLEYBALL: FAMILIAR FOES MEET IN FINAL
Archbishop Mitty has been the Bay Area’s most dominant girls volleyball team this season.
The Monarchs (30-3) are ranked 10th nationally and fourth in the state by MaxPreps.
They breezed to the West Catholic Athletic League championship. They’ve done the same to advance to the Central Coast Section Open Division championship match.
In Wednesday’s semifinals, the top-seeded Monarchs hardly broke a sweat, cruising to a 25-15, 25-16, 25-8 victory over fourth-seeded Valley Christian.
In the final, they’ll face a St. Francis team on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Palo Alto High that they have beaten twice this season, winning six of the seven sets.
Mitty has won 21 consecutive sets since St. Francis – the defending CCS Open champion – took a 1-0 lead against the Monarchs with a 32-30 opening-set victory on Oct. 14.
The Monarchs answered by winning the next three sets, 25-20, 25-14, 25-15 to spoil St. Francis’ upset bid.
No. 3 seed St. Francis (19-10) reached the final by sweeping second-seeded St. Ignatius 25-22, 25-16, 25-17.
Since 2021, Mitty and St. Francis have split the Open championships, each winning twice.
– Darren Sabedra
CCS GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL: FINALS ARE SET
The first CCS girls flag football championships will be held on Saturday.
In the Open Division, top-seeded Menlo School has powered its way to the final with a 30-6 victory over Los Altos in the first round and a 27-12 triumph over Menlo-Atherton in the semifinals.
The Knights (15-2) will meet third-seeded Los Gatos for the championship at 4 p.m. at Santa Clara High.
Los Gatos needed two overtimes to edge second-seeded Sacred Heart Prep 6-0 in the semifinals. The Wildcats opened the playoffs with a 13-12 win over Carlmont.
– Darren Sabedra
MT. DIABLO: PRO TEAM HELPS WITH FIELD COSTS
Just weeks after the middle of its new field was charred in a fireworks mishap, Mt. Diablo’s football team returned to its home stadium to play a mid-September home game.
Turns out, a professional team that abandoned its East Bay home years ago helped foot the bill. The Las Vegas Raiders pledged a donation of $250,000 to assist with the cost of restoring the field after learning of the fire and needed repairs.
The Mt. Diablo turf field has been returned to its previous state-of-the-art condition after a destructive fire that was started by illegal fireworks melted the artificial turf, forcing the Red Devils football team to play its first three home games offsite.
“As a lifelong Raiders fan and past season-ticket holder, I couldn’t be more pleased with their generous contribution,” Mt. Diablo Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark said in a release. “The Mt. Diablo High School student body, alumni and community deserve a learning environment that they can be proud of. With the help of Mark Davis, owner of the Raiders, we have restored the field to its original state.”
Although the turf was repaired in September, the Mt. Diablo logo was installed in October because it had to be special-ordered.
The team christened its newly restored home field during its homecoming game against Ygnacio Valley last Friday.
The Raiders’ donation covers the cost of the insurance deductible, which the District would have had to pay out of its own funds toward the total repair costs of nearly $350,000.
– Christian Babcock
NCS GOLF: CARONDELET WINS INDIVIDUAL, TEAM TITLES
Carondelet’s Lily Peng shot a 72 at Windsor Golf Course this week to capture medalist honors at the North Coast Section Division I championships and help her school win the team title.
Peng won in a tiebreaker over Lauren Kim of Monte Vista, who also shot 72. Dougherty Valley’s Erin Lee (73) took third and Irvington’s Elsa Hsieh (74) was fourth.
The top three teams and four individuals not on a qualifying team advanced to next week’s NorCals.
Dougherty Valley (419) finished second in the team standings, 19 strokes behind Carondelet. Dublin (432) placed third.
Kim, Hsieh, Athenian’s Cindy Yuan (74) and Healdsburg’s Brooklyn Viramontes (74) qualified for NorCals as individuals.
– Darren Sabedra
CCS GOLF: CRYSTAL SPRINGS’ CUI FINISHES FIRST
Crystal Springs’ Victoria Cui shot a 67 this week at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch to take medalist honors at the Central Coast Section girls championships.
Stevenson’s Ashley Gettleman finished with a 69 to place second and help her school win the team title. Mills’ Irene Hur and Valley Christian’s Ziqing Wang each shot a 71 to tie for third.
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Cui, Hur, St. Ignatius’ Stevie Umali (72) and Santa Catalina’s Candy Liu (72) advanced to NorCals as individuals.
Stevenson (374), Valley Christian (389) and Monta Vista (402) are the teams that qualified for next week’s NorCals.
– Darren Sabedra
NEWARK MEMORIAL: COUGARS UNVEIL HALL OF FAME CLASS
Newark Memorial will induct its 10th Hall of Fame class in January, and this one features something special.
Not only will individuals Craig Ashmore, Harry Edwards and Michelle Hanifin be inducted into the Cougars’ ring of honor, Newark Memorial’s 2000 state runner-up boys basketball team will be as well. That Cougars team stamped itself as impactful enough to warrant induction as a group.
The ceremony “honoring greatness,” as the school put it, will take place at The Commons on the Newark Memorial campus at 6 p.m. on Jan. 23.
– Christian Babcock
