Thirty years ago, on March 15, 1987, Scott Brooks was named the Most Valuable Player at the University of California-Irvine’s basketball awards banquet. The Lathrop native and former East Union High player had earlier been named to the first team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association. Brooks led the Anteaters in scoring at 23.8 points per game, the highest on the West Coast this season.

In other sports stories

from the Bulletin files:

90 years ago: March 16, 1927 – The Manteca High baseball team won its first practice game of the season yesterday, defeating a team composed of present Tracy High players and Tracy High alumni. The score was 4 to 2. Errors by both teams played an important part in the run-making. Burton Bauer, little freshman, pitched fine ball for the Green and White team of Manteca High.

70 years ago: March 20, 1947 – Manteca High bowed to Sonora High in Sonora last Friday night. This appearance marked the final basketball game for the Buffaloes this season. The Buffaloes led throughout the first three quarters, but Sonora edged them at the final whistle, 33-31. Curt Patterson scored 19 points for Manteca.

60 years ago: March 20, 1957 – Glenn McDonald singled in Dave Bordenkircher in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Manteca High a 7-6 extra-inning win over St. Mary’s High last Friday.

50 years ago: March 17, 1967 – The Manteca High pitching combination of left-hander Butch Dowhower and righty Carl Yamasaki limited Lodi High to four hits as the Buffaloes knocked off their second Central California Conference team in a row Wednesday.

The Manteca High tennis team dropped a close 3-2 decision to Tracy High Tuesday afternoon at the Buffalo courts. Chuck Baxter was the lone singles winner for the Buffaloes. In the doubles competition, Peter Anderson and Henry Machado defeated the Tracy duo.

40 years ago: March 16, 1977 – During a match in which the Manteca High JV golf team defeated Galt High, 227-240, sophomore Dave Carroll took out a nine iron on the par-three third hole at the Manteca Golf Course and aced it. It was the first hole-in-one carded by a Buffalo linksman in competition during the 10-year history of golf at MHS.

Anchored by the razor-sharp control of Billy Poindexter who struck out 10 in five innings, East Union High took a pleasing 4-2 verdict at Tracy High on Tuesday.

The Manteca High track team waited until the mile relay, the final event at Tuesday afternoon’s windy meet at Hughson High, before clinching a 71-65 victory. The Buffalo girls also won, 77-63. The mile relay team of Mark Guzman, Curt Manges, Mike Greenlee and Darrell Fletcher won their event in 3:44.2. Leading the girls were Lori Watson with a first in the hurdles and Andrea Negley in the high jump.

In their final non-league game, Manteca High’s baseball team was defeated here Tuesday by Franklin High, 9-0. Bob O’Rourke and Rick Hogan got two of the Buffaloes’ five hits.

Manteca High’s tennis team hosted Patterson High Tuesday on the Manteca courts and came away with a convincing 5-0 victory. Singles winners were Javier Castillo and Lee Griffen, while duos of Randy Adair-Jim Bylow and Ray Valencia-Paul Moore were among the victors in doubles play.

One of the top performers for East Union High’s tennis team could be senior transfer Don McKinney, who picked up EU’s only point in a 4-1 loss at Edison High last week.

30 years ago: March 17, 1987 – Soaking in its first taste of weightlifting competition, Manteca High came away with a solid third-place performance at Modesto’s Beyer High Saturday. Junior Mark Kokoris highlighted the Buffalo outing, recording a total lift of 775 pounds in the heavyweight division.

Manteca High crushed Lincoln High 113-24 in a track meet in Stockton on Monday. In the girls’ division, Manteca was edged out 65-62 in the season opener for the Buffalo track teams. Triple winners for the Buffs were Mike Housden in the 440 (54.63), 880 (2:10.17) and triple jump (39-1.25); Paul Culham in the 120 high hurdles (16.78), high jump (5-10) and the mile relay with Housden, Dan Hitzman and Garret Hubbart. Heath Hitzman notched firsts in the 100 meters (11.76), 220 (24.1) and the 400 relay. In girls’ action, Brandi Ross and Tina Cummings were both double winners. Ross captured both the discus (104-1) and the shot put (34-6), while Cummings snagged firsts in the mile (6:12) and long jump (14-.25).

Monday night’s Manteca High sports social saw basketball coach Mike Henry hand out MVP awards to his five starters: Rob Van De Pol, Chad Johnson, Kevin Wentworth, John Gibson and junior Marshall Cannon. Girls’ coach Butch Linn named Joette Lucas his MVP. Lucas is a three- year varsity starter. Soccer MVP was Aaron Spradlin and top wrestler was Mike Carroll.

East Union High, garnering just four hits on the afternoon, went on to post a 5-3 non-league baseball win over Stagg High in Stockton Monday. The Lancers of Coach Darrell Hardcastle took advantage of Sean Persinger’s run-scoring double in a three-run fourth inning.

Some tricky greens on Napa’s Silverado golf course gave the Manteca High golfers some headaches but they still came away with a 220-225 win over Vintage High on Monday. The Buffs’ Robert Warren took medalist honors with a five-over-par 40.

East Union High’s softball team pounded Edison High 9-4 Tuesday in a non-league contest in Stockton. Sisters Tracy and Stacy Lee each collected three hits on the day and Wendy Rosenquist belted a three-run homer.

East Union High, despite struggling on the Oakdale Country Club course, pulled out a 231-232 Valley Oak League golf win over the host Mustang linksters Tuesday.

10 years ago: March 21, 2007 – The golf teams of Sierra High and East Union High ended their match on Tuesday at the Manteca Park course in a 214-214 tie. On the throw-out score tie-breaker procedure to determine a winner, the Timberwolves’ score of 46 was better than EU’s 51 so the winner was SHS. Will Langdon paced Coach Jeff Williams’ crew (5-0) with a 40, while the Lancers were led by identical 39’s from Jay Brink and John Ott in a losing effort.

The Sierra High soccer team was unfazed by Tuesday evening’s chilly weather as they unleashed an awesome offensive attack on Weston Ranch High, taking care of the Cougars 11-0 in Valley Oak League play.

Mayra Gonzales scored four times and Delaine Quaresma tallied twice, while Kayla Cody, Nicole Vanni, Stephanie Teunissen and Sam Dyer each had a goal for Coach Manuel Pires’ squad.

East Union High knocked off perennial VOL soccer contender Manteca High 3-2 Tuesday at Dino Cunial Field. Cozette Heinze scored the winning goal with 10 minutes remaining in the match.

The Sierra High softball team opened its VOL season on Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over Sonora High. Breann McGraw worked the mound for the Lady T’wolves, striking out five and scattering four hits. Sydney Deffner and Emily Campbell each had a pair of hits for SHS as Campbell delivered a two-run homer in the first inning.

Manteca High’s Josh Traser finished first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.21 seconds at the Gold Rush Meet hosted by Calaveras High in San Andreas over the weekend. Karen Marks collected MHS’s only first-place finish on the girls’ side, winning the pole vault with a 7 feet-six height.

Manteca High’s Samantha Phillips, the California State female wrestling champion, traveled to Portland, Oregon and Olympia, Washington over the weekend and became the female champion in each of those states, also. Wrestling at 130 pounds, Phillips went 4-0 in Portland and 4-0 in Olympia to win the title in those states.

The Sierra High girls’ swim team outlasted East Union High 101-96 in a VOL dual meet Friday. Devyn Pereza was victorious in the 50 free and fellow freshmen Amber McKinney and Megan Viduya both grabbed victories in the 100 free and 100 breast, respectively. EU fought valiantly, with Natalie Heihn and Alicia Alfter both scoring wins in multiple events, but it simply wasn’t enough.  The tables were turned in the boys’ division, with the Lancers asserting themselves as one of the top teams in the VOL. Daniel Heihn continued his dominating run through the VOL, tallying wins in the 100 fly, 100 breast and two relay races. Sierra got a strong performance from sophomore Josh Revives, who won the 200 and 500 frees. 

East Union High unleashed a seven-run inning on their way to blowing Los Banos High out 10-3 on Friday. EU was led by the offensive onslaught of Kim Brooks, who finished the day 3-for-4 with two doubles and a bases-loaded triple. Brittany Lewallen and Alicia Cook each stroked a pair of hits for EU.

Junior outfielder Andrew Gabriel went 3-for-3 with a game-high four RBI’s to lead Sierra High to a 12-0 five-inning romp of Mesa Verde High on Friday. Junior hurler Austin Nogeiria pitched a solid one-hitter with no walks for the T’wolf win.

The Manteca High tennis team took another 15-0 win, this time over Weston Ranch High on Thursday. Coach Frank Fontana’s Buffaloes, now 8-0 on the young season, were paced by singles player Mustafa Aniss, who swept his three opponents, giving up only two games. Joey Aprile-David Schaefer led the Buffs’ doubles action.