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WINTER REIGN IN MANTECA
Buffaloes boys basketball team rally from defeat for state title
YIR--Winter front file 1
The Manteca Highs boys basketball team celebrates its CIF State Division III championship at Winter Gym following a downtown parade commemorating the achievement. - photo by HIME ROMERO/The Bulletin

Manteca and Weston Ranch’s rival boys basketball teams both had reasons to celebrate at the end of a momentous 2015-16 winter season.

Weston Ranch did so at the expense of the Buffaloes. Following a perfect run through the Valley Oak League, the Cougars swept through the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs, ending it with a 69-57 win over Manteca at Sleep Train Arena. The section championship is Weston Ranch’s first in program history.

Motivated by the fourth straight loss to the Cougars, Manteca wound up with the biggest prize of all — the CIF State Championships trophy.

Weston Ranch and Manteca were seeded 1 and 2, respectively, for the CIF State Northern California Division III Regionals, but the Cougars were upset by No. 8 Bishop O’Dowd — a powerhouse from Oakland which was then the state’s reigning Open Division champ — in the second round. 

Meanwhile, the Buffaloes held off Albany and Archbishop Riordan on their way to the NorCal finals, where they stomped Bishop O’Dowd, 70-45. 

Then on March 24 they made history, bringing home the first basketball state title “For the City” and Manteca Unified after knocking off Ayala of Chino Hills 60-51 victory anchored by 6-foot-9 Kenny Wooten’s 24-point, 17-rebound and nine-block masterpiece. Wooten again made headlines more than a month later, as he withdrew from Manteca High weeks before graduation and enrolled at Trinity International out of Las Vegas.

East Union’s girls hoops team ran the table in the VOL and tied the program record for most wins in a season, finishing with a 27-2 record. Seeded second for the SJS Division III playoffs, the Lancers were stunned by No. 7 River Valley 52-49 in the quarterfinals, ending a 17-game winning streak.

Lathrop earned its first-ever postseason berth, and as the 10th seed and battled valiantly in a 57-41 defeat against Division IV runner-up and second-seeded West Campus. 

George Contente led Ripon to the Trans-Valley League championship in his 11th and final year as head coach. Ripon Christian won the boys title by beating rival Ripon in the regular-season finale in Mark Hofman’s first season as head coach at his alma mater.

The Ripon boys had a short but thrilling ride in the SJS Division IV playoffs, starting with Cole Stevens’ miracle buzzer-beater from halfcourt that lifted the Indians past Union Mine, 68-66. The magic wore off late in the eighth-seeded team’s upset bid against No. 1 Central Catholic, where it lost 64-59 in overtime. 

The wrestling season ended with two from the area reaching the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield. Junior Branden Rullan became just the second Sierra grappler to do so, while Tristan Smith made a second straight appearance. They’re the Manteca Bulletin’s Co-Wrestlers of the Year, while Weston Ranch’s Jaelen Ragsdale and Olivia Vezaldenos are the basketball MVPs. 

Here is a rundown on each of their outstanding seasons:

 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Jaelen Ragsdale, Weston Ranch senior: While the VOL’s MVP honor went to teammate D’Angelo Finley, Ragsdale was recognized as the Cal-Hi Sports Division III Player of the Year.

Heading to Stanislaus State along with fellow Cougar Fred Lavender, the 6-foot point guard scored over 20 points per game in leading Weston Ranch to the VOL and SJS Division III titles. 

Among his big moments was a sterling effort in the Cougars’ first of two league games against Manteca, which led by double digits in the third quarter. Ragsdale spearheaded the 72-68 comeback win by scoring 28 of his game-high 34 points in the second half.

Ragsdale later poured in 20 points in Weston Ranch’s section title-clinching win over Manteca.

 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Olivia Vezaldenos, East Union senior: A two-time All-Area MVP, Vezaldenos led the Lancers back to prominence in her four-year varsity career.

On top of helping East Union claim its first VOL title since 2012, she graduated as the program’s all-time second-leading scorer behind Danelle (Liles) Bishop with 1,701 points. She finished her senior season averaging 20.4 points, 5.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds.

Vezaldenos’ most memorable moment last winter was a 38-point outburst in a first-place battle with Manteca. East Union won handily, 74-58. Her career high for a single game was 40 scored against Sierra during her sophomore year, a point off the program record held by Christin Gowan.

 

WRESTLING

Branden Rullan, Sierra junior: Rullan needed to get past someone who had previously beaten him three times this season on his road to the state tournament.

Squaring off with VOL and SJS Division III 120-pound champion Cody Williams of Oakdale, Rullan outpointed him 5-2 in an elimination match during the Masters meet. He then pinned Kimball’s Kai Caspillo in the second period to earn a top-six spot and a state berth before losing the fourth-place match.

Rullan went on to go 2-2 in the first day of the state championships, but he gained valuable experience for his final year at Sierra.

 

Tristan Smith, Ripon senior: Smith established himself as one of the top heavyweights during a junior season that culminated with a 2-2 finish at state.

He yearned to place at that same meet as a senior. Smith dominated to win the TVL championship, took second in the SJS Division V Tournament and third at Masters. Smith did not get a chance to place in his return trip to Rabobank Arena, as he lost two of his three matches in the first day of the state tourney.