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A memorable spring
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The spring high school sports season is over. Now is a great time to highlight the accomplishments of top individuals and teams.

Male Athlete: Luis Ochoa and Alejandro Garcia, 2010 Ceres High graduates, are both worthy of recognition. Ochoa compiled a 32-1 record, won his second straight Valley Oak League singles crown and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Playoffs while starring on Ceres High's boys tennis team. Garcia placed seventh in the 3,200 meters at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Track and Field Championships. He completed the race in 9:29.90, almost 11 seconds faster than his old school record. A week earlier, Alejandro finished first in the same event at the Division III meet. Randy Mittelstadt (class of 1971) held the old school record in the two miles.

Female Athlete: Jode Johnson won the Valley Oak League Offensive Player of the Year award during her final season with Ceres High's softball program. The senior shortstop batted .506 (40-for-79) with three homers, one triple, seven doubles, 18 RBIs, 29 runs, 17 stolen bases and a .696 slugging percentage for the Bulldogs, who posted a 17-9-1 overall record and tied for third place in conference play (11-5). Johnson was voted the conference's MVP as a junior.

Male Newcomer: Central Valley's Ruben Casas and Ceres High's Le Hong both had productive first seasons at the varsity level. Casas, a freshman second baseman, earned Valley Oak League, honorable-mention accolades in baseball. He batted .452 (14-for-31) with one triple, four doubles, nine RBIs, eight runs, three stolen bases, a .645 slugging percentage and a .528 on-base percentage in 13 conference game. Hong, a junior hurdler, advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters track and field meet after taking second at the Division III competition. He completed the 110-hurdle event in 15.58 seconds. Le was second in the 110 hurdles (15.72) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (42.81) at the Valley Oak League championships. Hong wasn't eligible as a sophomore.

Female Newcomer: Bryce Ford had an outstanding first season with Ceres High's girls track and field team. Competing at the varsity level as a freshman, Ford established herself as one of the program's greatest hurdlers. Bryce ranks second on the all-time list in the 300 hurdles as she completed the race in 47.21 seconds at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III track and field trials. Ford advanced to the Masters meet in the 300 hurdles and high jump. She was the runner-up in the high jump (5-0) at Divisionals. During the Valley Oak League championships, Bryce took second in the high jump, third in the 300 hurdles, fourth in the 400 and sixth in the triple jump.

Coach: Under the tutelage of Bret Durossette, John Bussard, Julio Marquez and Fulvio Bertolotti, Ceres High's varsity baseball team finished 16-10-1 on the year and fourth in the Valley Oak League standings (10-6). The Bulldogs remained in the hunt for a playoff berth until the final week of the season. Ceres High won just six league games in 2009.

Team: Ceres High's boys tennis made history this year. Led by Luis Ochoa, Wilson Liang, Harman Bains, Raul Massie, Gurman Bains, Nick Serratos, Manuel Cerrillo and Victor Cruz, the Bulldogs won a share of the Valley Oak League title with a 13-1 record and participated in the Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs for the third time in four years. Ceres High finally beat conference co-champion Manteca, ending a seven-match losing streak that spanned three-plus seasons. The Bulldogs finished runner-up to the Buffaloes in 2008 and 2007. Brian de la Porte coached Ceres High with assistance from Bryan Harden.

Game: Ceres High's and Central Valley's girls soccer teams battled for bragging rights during their Valley Oak League finale. The back-and-forth contest appeared headed for a tie before Bulldog Leah Rose scored from 23 yards out in the final 90 seconds to lift visiting Ceres High to a 1-0 win. Teammate Monika Martinez helped set up the play when she pressured a Hawk defender into a turnover. The ball deflected off Martinez's foot and rolled to Rose, who took advantage of the mistake. The fifth-place Bulldogs (4-10-2) held a three-point lead over Central Valley (3-11-2) in the VOL standings.

Contributors: Central Valley junior Taylor Rogers participated in the Sac-Joaquin Section Swim Championships. Taylor qualified earlier in the year when she finished the 50 free in 26.31 seconds. Rogers placed second in the 50 free an third in the 100 free at the Valley Oak League finals ... Ceres High senior track and field member Kayla Causey had a memorable debut in the shot put at the VOL finals. With less than a month of practice under her belt, Causey managed to finish first in the event with a toss of 33 feet, 43/4 inches ... Jasveen Brar, a senior on Central Valley's girls track and field team, placed second in both the 100 hurdles (18.08) and 300 hurdles (50.58), and fourth in the triple jump (32-001/2) at the VOL meet ... Carter Silveira, a four-year boys golf member at Ceres High, earned second-team all-league accolades and his first-ever trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV tournament ... Dustin Baisdon, a junior pitcher/outfielder on Ceres High's baseball team, received first-team, all-conference honors. He posted a 5-2 record with a 3.29 ERA, two complete games, one save and 49 strikeouts in 38 innings. He had the second-highest win total in league and ranked third in strikeouts. On offense, Baisdon ranked second in hits (25), third in runs scored (25), fourth in batting average (.463), sixth in on-base percentage (.525) and eighth in slugging percentage (.611). He also had one homer, one triple, three doubles, 11 RBIs and four stolen bases ... Greg Guerra starred at pitcher and third base on Central Valley's baseball team. The fourth-year player compiled a 4-3 record with a 3.20 ERA, one shutout, six complete games and 47 strikeouts. He collected wins against VOL champion Oakdale, fourth-place Ceres High, East Union and Weston Ranch. Guerra hit .333 (19-for-57) with one triple, five doubles, 12 RBIs, six runs and four stolen bases. Greg was named to the VOL second team ... Bulldog senior tennis player Wilson Liang won 25 of 30 matches and advanced to the quarterfinals of the VOL championships. He garnered VOL first-team honors. Central Valley's Alex Cunningham and Heath Sousa had a memorable run at the VOL doubles tennis championships. The senior-junior tandem won twice en route to a fourth-place finish. The top three teams qualified for the section tournament ... Kaycee Creek, a sophomore pitcher and cleanup hitter on Ceres High's softball team, was a major contributor. The VOL first-team honoree ranked first in shutouts (5), and second in wins (9), complete games (11) and strikeouts (64). She led the conference in doubles (7), and ranked second in triples (4), third in RBIs (23), fifth in hits (23), seventh in slugging percentage (.760), ninth in runs (12) 11th in batting average (.460) and 13th in on-base percentage (.491) ... Bulldog girls soccer player Leah Rose scored six of her team-leading seven goals during league play. The fourth-year starter was a VOL second-team pick.