5 minute read
Deals with fries and a beverage, maybe
Enterprise staff
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The UC Davis track and field team capped off the season at the NCAA West Prelims.
Matthew Okonkwo, along with Marlene Gutierrez, Marin Chamberlin and Brooke Starn represented the Aggies.
Okonkwo was the first Aggie to toe the line and did so in impressive fashion, breaking a 15-year-old school record in the 200-meters. Just at the legal wind limit of +2.0, Okonkwo clocked at 21.07 seconds to finish 33rd overall.
Also on the track, Starn clocked 35 minutes, 25.30 seconds in the 10,000 meters to place 39th.
In the field, Gutierrez unleashed the hammer 197 feet, 5 inches to finish 22nd place. Chamberlin cleared 12-6 in the pole vault to place 34th.
UCD softball
IRVINE — The UC Davis softball team earned five All-Big West honors, the conference office announced recently with the unveiling of this spring's all-conference teams.
Sophomore pitcher Kenedi Brown was named to the first team, while fellow sophomore Anna Dethlefson nabbed second-team honors at the catcher position. Delaney Diaz was named honorable mention and Reese Mattley also earned honorable mention accolades and was named to the allfreshmen team.
For Brown, it marks her second straight season being named to the first team. The righthander finished the season 13-18 and sported a 1.73 ERA. Brown held opposing batters to a .194 clip and struck out 224 in 190 innings pitched.
Brown, an Elk Grove native, added 19 complete games and three shutouts, including a no-hitter. In conference play, Brown was 7-10 with a 1.78 ERA. She held the conference to a .189 batting average and struck out 129 in 114 1/3 innings.
Dethlefson was a catalyst for the Aggies all season long in the lineup. The versatile Dethlefson led the Ags with a .328 batting average, 57 hits, 42 runs, six home runs, 19 stolen bases and nine doubles.
She broke the Division I single-season school record with 86 total bases and sported a team-best .494 slugging percentage.
In Big West play, Dethlefson hit an impressive .348 and showcased a .543 slugging percentage while also adding 22 runs, 32 hits, seven doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI and eight stolen bases.
Diaz put together her finest season in an Aggie uniform, batting .272 with four home runs and 25 RBI. Diaz added four doubles and 37 hits. In conference action, Diaz batted .279 with two home runs and 11 RBI.
Mattley closed out her freshman campaign in impressive fashion, finishing the season second on the team with a .304 average.
Mark Honbo/courtesy fiLe pHoto
UC Davis pitcher Kenedi Brown high fives teammates during a recent game. The Big West Conference recently named Brown a first-team all-conference selection, on of five Aggie softballers honored.
MEDALS: ‘It feels amazing’ AGGIES: Ceremony honors seniors
From Page B8
stay in Lane 1 as much as I could.”
Ayers had a chance to race against a future teammate, both of whom will be on the Air Force Academy’s track and field and cross-country teams next school year. Big Bear’s Max Sannes, who finished in the top 10 at seventh place at 9:01.97.
How does it feel to be the top runner in high school boys’ 3200-meters?
“It feels amazing,” Ayers said.
Ayers was one of two Blue Devils who came back to Yolo County with medals.
Ray Oldham, also a senior, finished in a three-way tie for second place in the high jump at 6 feet, 5 inches. Leon Gillis from Steele Canyon out of the San Diego Section and Chukwunonso Udeh from De La Salle of Concord in the North Coast Section, joined Oldham in the tie.
“Ray’s clean opening height clearance turned out to be really important,” said Elliott, who saw Oldham leap to 6-04 in the preliminaries. “For whatever reason, many of the high jumpers seemed to struggle. The competition became more about beating opponents, rather than hitting personal best marks.
“We are extremely proud of Ray and his second-place finish. After all the work he has put in, he deserves to be recognized.”
There were two more Blue Devils who competed at the championships.
Andrew Baum, a senior who will be part of Davis High’s Class of 2022 graduating receiving their diplomas on Friday, June 10, took 14th place in the discus with a toss of 160 feet, 4 inches.
Ryan Mitchell, a junior, took 15th place in the boys 1600-meters race at 4:14.76.
“I’m very proud of all four State Meet competitors,” Elliott said. From Page B8
allegations of player misconduct. More than 20 players transferred.
This year’s schedule featured 41 games — 14 fewer than the average number of games UCD’s Big West conference foes played.
Under first-year coach Tommy Nicholson, UCD (5-25 in the Big West Conference, 6-35) avoided last place in the 10-team Big West. The Aggies finished a game ahead of UC Riverside (4-26, 8-45).
A pregame ceremony on Saturday honored the four seniors, three of whom were in the starting lineup: infielders Kyler Arenado and J.D. Mico, right-fielder Raul Sandoval played the duration of the game. Pitcher Nate Lemos was unavailable.
Arenado’s sixth appearance on the mound was his best. He retired the side in order in the ninth inning.
Afterward, he reflected on his college career — and predicted the future of the program where he spent five years.
“I played over 100 games here, with three different coaching staffs. I’m going to miss Davis. This coaching staff is going to take this program to the next level. I’m excited to see where they go in the future. Every year, our goal is to win the Big West. But in these coming years, I really think that’s going to come to fruition.”
The Aggies featured 12 freshmen on their roster. Center fielder Mark Wolbert emerged as a potential star this season. He entered the game hitting a team-best .345, before going 2-for-3 with a walk. He was among the conference leaders in slugging percentage (.493), while committing only one error all season.
Designated hitter Nathan Peng (2-for-3) was the only other Aggie who collected a hit against Long Beach on Saturday. The Dirtbags’ Juaron Watts-Brown worked six innings to earn the win. He struck out 12 Aggies total. All the punchouts occurred in the first five innings. — Follow Mark DeVaughn on Twitter: @OrangMarkD.
