The Bulletin
Three Sac-Joaquin Section champions, three CIF state medalists and an U.S. Olympic Swim Trials qualifier — a fitting ending to what was an eventful 2015-16 for Manteca-area schools.
The Manteca girls soccer and Ripon softball teams clutched section banners for the first time.
It was a big weight lifted off the shoulders for Manteca head coach Justin Coenenberg’s bunch. The Buffaloes made their third straight appearance in the SJS Division III soccer finals (fourth overall) and came up empty-handed their previous trips.
Thanks to Leah Manuleleua’s game-tying header in the second half, Manteca’s championship-round battle with powerhouse Rio Americano was sent to overtime and ultimately penalty kicks, which was capped by goalie Ashlee Miller title-clinching save for a 2-1 (6-5 on PKs) win.
Moments before the soccer final kicked off at Lincoln High of Stockton, Ripon’s had completed an exciting finish of its own in the SJS Division V title round across town at Arnaiz Softball Complex. After Linden forced the “if” game with a 4-2 victory, things were looking bleak for the Indians after they fell behind, 6-2. They battled back and eventually won it in the with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, when Humboldt State-bound outfielder Taylor Jaquez cracked a walk-off hit to score Shay Furtado
Manteca’s baseball team claimed its second section crown in three years, only this time the Buffaloes did so without the weight of expectation. The Valley Oak League champs stumbled at the end of the regular season, getting swept by rival East Union and getting the No. 4 seed for the postseason.
There was no stopping the boys in green come playoff time. They beat three higher-seeded opponents along the way, including a stunning sweep of No. 1 Vista del Lago. On Memorial Day, Manteca held off No. 3 Christian Brothers 9-6 for the pennant.
Also noteworthy:
uSierra’s soccer team went 22-0-5 in the regular season but settled for a second-place finish in league and, as the top seed in SJS Division IV, suffered a 1-0 heartbreaker despite dominating the run of play against No. 9 West Campus. Head coach Manuel Pires was going after his 400th career win.
uRipon and Ripon Christian’s baseball teams enjoyed outstanding seasons. Ripon earned its first Trans-Valley League title in 15 years but was eliminated in the SJS Division in the SJS Division V semifinals. The Knights, meanwhile, ended Mariposa’s six-year reign as Southern League champs by capturing the outright title. They went on to make its first section championship game in Division VI, losing to none other than Mariposa.
uBack to the pitch, Ripon and Ripon Christian’s girls soccer teams repeated as TVL and SL champions, respectively. Both were eliminated in the postseason semifinals.
uThe Ripon girls and Sierra boys swim teams seized VOL championships. It’s the first for the Sierra boys.
uVOL softball co-champion East Union and Sierra came up short of repeating as Division III and IV champions, respectively.
uIn tennis, Ripon Christian’s co-ed team won the SL title with undefeated singles champion Jake Van Vuren leading the way. Avery Veilleux and Hannah Lockwood captured the girls doubles title. The Manteca boys took second in the VOL and came up short in its quest to return to the SJS Division III finals, losing to eventual champion River City in the semifinals.
There were also some outstanding individual efforts put forth by local athletes.
Sierra senior Scott Tolman won the section’s 100-yard breaststroke final with Ripon Aquatics teammate and Ripon High sophomore Ty Wells taking second as both earned berths to the CIF State Championships. Tolman (more on him later) was also the 200 individual medley runner-up, while Wells took fifth in the 100 butterfly and advanced to state in that event as an at-large qualifier. Joining them at state was Ripon’s Daniel Esenwein in the 100 backstroke.
Two area athletes made the CIF State Track & Field Championships. Lathrop’s Isaias Hunter became the first at his school to achieve this after a surprising second-place finish in the high jump with a career-best mark of 6 feet, 8 inches.
Sierra hurdler Bikram Thiara is the Manteca Bulletin Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year for his benchmark performance at state. Here is more on him and the rest of the area’s top spring athletes:

BASEBALL
Tyler Graves-Kelso, Manteca senior: All-VOL first-team pitcher finished 9-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 67 innings. Also hit .259 with a home run and 18 RBIs. Graves-Kelso played the season with a torn ACL, and the Buffaloes needed all that he could give in their section championship run. He truly shined in a gutty effort during the SJS Division III semifinals, when he outdueled ace Landon Mitchell of top-seeded Vista del Lago in a 1-0 upset.

SOFTBALL
Michelle Castro, East Union senior: William Penn-bound infielder saved her best season for last, hitting .608 with eight home runs, 25 RBIs and 15 steals en route to earning the All-VOL Offensive Player of the Year Award while batting leadoff for the first time in her four-year varsity career.

GIRLS SOCCER
Leah Manuleleua, Manteca senior: A two-time All-VOL MVP, Manuleleua is Manteca’s all-time career scoring leader with 116 goals. She ended her senior season with 45 goals, most in the state for spring soccer, to go with 10 assists.

BOYS GOLF
Connor, Larkin, Ripon freshman: Led Ripon to the TVL team title while earning individual accolades along the way. Among them were the league’s Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player honors after winning the year-end tournament with a 2-over 74. He wasn’t done yet, as he went on to win the SJS Division V Tournament with an even 71 at Diablo Grande before carding a solid 76 in the SJS Masters.

BOYS TENNIS
Solmon Aniss, Manteca freshman: Qualified for the SJS Division II Individual Tournament with a third-place finish in the VOL. His only league losses were to four-time champion Garret Chun of Kimball and Central Catholic junior Connor Fenton.

BOYS SWIMMING
Scott Tolman, Sierra senior: Graduated as the city’s most accomplished swimmer. As an underclassmen, he set a new section record in the frosh-soph 100 breaststroke (57.23) and went out as the varsity champion in the race. At state, double-medaled with a runner-up in the 100 breaststroke and fourth-place finish in the 200 IM. He broke his own program records at the meet and is an All-American for the second straight year. The day after state, he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team Trials and placed 49th overall in the 200-meter breaststroke earlier this week.

GIRLS SWIMMING
Hannah Sweet, Ripon senior: Led Ripon to back-to-back VOL championships and was again a part of four winning efforts in the league meet, winning the 200 IM and 500 freestyle individually. Sweet made the section finals in three events, taking first in the 100 breaststroke. She also helped the 200 free relay team place 12th.

BOYS TRACK & FIELD
Bikram Thiara, Sierra junior: Thiara’s thrilling finish in the SJS Masters 300-meter hurdle finals was just the beginning. He became the school’s first hurdler to qualify for the state meet when he passed up two others down the stretch for a third-place finish. Thiara twice broke his own school record at state and medaled with a sixth-place finish in 37.82 seconds.

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD
Jade Griffin, Manteca senior: Griffin is the VOL champion in the 100- and 200-yard dashes. She then set all-time personal bests in both events (12.45, 25.63) during the SJS Division II-III Trials. At Masters, she was one spot shy of reaching the 200 finals, finishing with the ninth best overall time of 25.95.