Shania Evans did two sports simultaneously at Ceres High School.

She welcomed the double challenge, which required a lot of time and energy.

“If you have strong enough will power, you can do anything,” said Evans, who starred in softball and track and field during the springtime her senior and junior years.

 “That’s very hard to do,” Bulldogs’ softball teammate Vianney Perez said. “Props to her.”

 “It was pretty cool to see her do that,” Ceres High softball head coach Mike Corsaut said. “I’m all for kids being able to do two sports at the same time as long as you can make it work. You’re only in high school once. Let them create those memories.”

A standout hitter and shortstop, Evans earned first-team, all-Western Athletic Conference honors in softball. 

She filled a key role as the Bulldogs posted a 19-6 overall record, captured the WAC title with a near-perfect 13-1 mark and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III playoffs.

Evans batted .390 on the year with three homers, four triples, 13 doubles, 26 RBIs and 24 runs. She had slugging and on-base percentages of .756 and .474, respectively. She made just five errors on defense.

“She’s just so gifted,” Corsaut said. “She leads by example. She works hard at everything she does.”

Evans finished fifth in the triple jump at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Track & Field Championships. 

She placed third in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump at the WAC finals.

Evans’ individual excellence translated into team success for Ceres High, which took second overall in the conference dual standings (5-1).

“We talked about it (Evans doing two sports) as a team,” Corsaut said. “The other girls didn’t have a problem with it. She’d split practice between softball and track and field. She didn’t miss any games.  I know how taxing it was. I just wish more athletes were like her.”

“She always brought energy to practice even when she had track before softball,” Perez said. “She’s just a great athlete.”

Evans’ schedule was more manageable during the 2018-19 school year.

Softball games were played on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Track and field competed on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

“It was a little harder my junior year because the games conflicted with each other,” she said. “I had to split my time. I missed about three track meets and three games. The schedules flipped and nothing interfered this year.”

“If there was a home track meet, we’d go watch her compete,” Corsaut said.