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MHS teacher Ron Gross to be inducted into Colusa County HOF
Ron Gross
Ron Gross

Last year, it was the Yuba College Hall of Fame. This year, on July 8, Manteca High teacher and girls golf coach Ron Gross is being inducted into the Colusa County Sports Hall of Fame.

Gross was a four-sport standout athlete at Colusa High School, earning all-conference and All-Area honors in football, baseball, and track. He was one of the top sprinters in the Northern Section, anchoring the 4x100 relay team to a Northern Section championship. He was also a starter on the basketball team.

After graduation, Gross played football and baseball at Yuba College. Gross was a two-year starter in football and was on the 1984 Bay Valley Conference champion and state runner-up 49ers baseball team.  The 1984 team was inducted into the Yuba College Hall of Fame in 2022. The 1984 team’s batting average and double-play marks still stand today.

After coaching at Colusa High School, Gross has coached at Modesto Junior College for most of the past 17 years. Gross is an assistant football coach and the former head men’s golf coach. Gross is one of the most respected and honored coaches in the California junior college ranks, winning many coaching honors.

During his time at MJC, Gross has coached the offensive line, running backs, and defensive backs, producing many outstanding players, including two All-American’s and 12 all-state players, and many all-conference and Division I players. His teams have won five conference titles (2006, 2007, 2016, 2021, 2022) and captured eight Bowl Championships (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021).
In addition, his MJC men’s golf teams were one of the top teams in Northern California, as he guided the Pirates to a Big-8 Conference Championship (earning Big-8 Coach of the Year) and to California Community Colleges Athletic Association Final Four and Elite-8 levels.  In 2011, MJC golfer Austin Whitworth finished second place in the CCCAA State Championships. His 2016 team still holds the scoring record with a scorching 366. Ron’s teams also earned CCCAA Team of the Year honors three times and were nominated six times.

Gross was also a coach of the 2019 Manteca High School team that won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Football Championship.