Sergio Torres has been named Ceres High School’s Male Bulldog Athlete of the Year for the class of 2026.

He was recognized in front of family, friends, classmates and teammates during the Senior Awards Evening ceremony on May 19 inside the cafeteria.

“When they were announcing the award, I wasn’t expecting to be called up,” said Torres, who was rewarded for his excellence in athletics and academics. “I’m beyond grateful for it. It’s the most special award I’ve gotten. We have so many bright student-athletes that work hard. Being the one to receive the award is amazing.”

Torres earned eight varsity letters during his prep athletic career, including four in both track and field and cross country.

Torres enjoyed his best season to date in track and field this spring.

He ran the first leg on Ceres High’s 4x800-relay team, which capped off the 2026 season with a school-record performance at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships on May 23 in Folsom.

Torres, Jamesdean Robertson, Andrew Alfaro and Julian Barrera placed eighth in the event with a time of 8:11.07.

They lowered their time by more than 24 seconds during the course of the season.

Torres, Robertson, Alfaro and Barrera brought home third-place medals from the Division-IV finals on May 9 at Oakmont High School.

They posted the fastest time en route to a third-place showing at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on May 2 at Johansen High School.

They finished second while teaming up for the first time at the County Clash on May 27 at Oakdale High School.

“I joined (the 4x800 relay team) in the middle of the season,” Torres said. “I contributed by setting an example for the rest of the team. We pushed each other. We all got pretty even splits by the end of the year.”

“Once we moved Sergio into the group, it took them to another level,” Bulldogs’ first-year head coach Paul Smith said. “He elevated the whole group. We leaned on him and he delivered. He’s a great competitor and teammate.”

Torres also ran the first leg on Ceres High’s 4x400 relay team, which posted the third-fastest time in school history while placing second at the Division-IV finals on May 16 at Sacramento City College.

Torres, Robertson, Barrera and Cashton Almeida completed the race in 3:27.09.

They took first (3:31.43) at the WAC Championships.

Torres also experienced success in his individual event at the conference finals.

He took third in the 800 with a time of 2:06.86.

He finished seventh (2:02.26) at the Division-IV Championships.

“My senior year was definitely the hardest,” Torres said. “I was trying to break two minutes in my main event (800). I’m still happy with the results I got. My first 800 was 2:41 freshmen year. It was terrible.

Torres helped lead Ceres High’s boys track and field program to new heights.

The Bulldogs finished the WAC season undefeated.

Ceres High placed first overall at the league championships.

The Bulldogs claimed their second straight conference dual meet title with a 7-0 record.

Ceres High took third at the Division-IV finals.

Torres and his Bulldog teammates made sure longtime coach Brett Johnson’s final season with the team was memorable.

Johnson, who taught in Ceres Unified School District for 32 years and coached track and field and football for a combined 37 seasons, retired at the end of the 2025-26 school year.

“He’ll be missed,” Torres said. “He did a lot for the team in terms of having us all push each other.”

Torres was Ceres High’s top runner in cross country this fall.

He finished in a career-best 17th place while representing the Bulldogs at the WAC Championships on Oct. 29 at O’Neill Forebay.

He posted a time of 17:50 on the 3.1-mile course.

“Freshmen year, I didn’t know what I was doing,” Torres said. “I joined the team because my older brother (Javier) was into cross country.”

Sergio also teamed up with Javier for one season in track and field.

“Honestly, it was really fun,” Sergio said. “He made the overall experience more enjoyable.”

Torres had a blast being part of two sports programs at Ceres High.

“I enjoyed training and being with the teams,” he said. “I created a second family.”

“My coaches really helped me,” he added. “They always believed in me. I believed in the process. Slowly but surely, I got my time down.”

Torres had a weighted cumulative grade-point average of 3.6 at Ceres High.

He took three Advanced-Placement classes, including government, Spanish and pre-calculus.

“It was pretty difficult,” Torres said while talking about his life as a student-athlete. “There were some mornings I didn’t want to get up and train. You have to have a tough mindset to push yourself beyond your limit. My family and friends were my support system behind the scenes. They helped me find motivation.

Torres will attend Stanislaus State this fall.

He’ll major in business.

He plans to continue his running career.

“I’m going to try to walk on the track team,” Torres said.