Forty years ago, on March 12, 1976, Doug Swift, a 1975 graduate of East Union High, is off to a flying start on the San Joaquin Delta College baseball team. Swift, one of the finest all-around athletes produced on the Union Road campus, has earned a first-base starting spot on the Mustang team, coached by Dan Flores. Going into yesterday’s game with Los Medanos, the Mantecan was batting .380.
In other sports stories
from The Bulletin files:
40 years ago: March 11, 1976 – The Manteca High baseball team unloaded on Modesto High with an 11-2 victory. Dave Camara and Rocky Christeson got two hits apiece for the Buffaloes, coached by Jim Brown.
East Union High athletes named as outstanding at the annual winter sports social were: Linda Yonemoto and Karen Schneider, gymnastics; Ronda Hardcastle and Steve Aufdermaur, basketball; Andy Franco, wrestling and Doug Ota, soccer.
The rebuilding East Union High baseball team had its pitchers raked for 10 hits in an 8-2 loss to Lincoln High in Stockton on Friday. Jim Heupel led the Lancers at the plate with two hits.
30 years ago: March 9, 1986 – East Union High’s golf team passed one of its first hurdles Tuesday in vying for the VOL title this year by edging Central Catholic High 214-220 in a match at Dryden Park golf course in Modesto. Mike Parsons shot a 40 to lead the Lancers, who are now 6-0 overall.
Manteca High’s Andy Hulsebosch, Joette Lucas and Brian Briggs reaped the top awards Wednesday for their respective sports as the awards were handed out at the annual winter sports banquet. Each was named a most valuable player; Hulsebosch for boys’ basketball, Lucas for girls’ basketball and Briggs for wrestling. In soccer, Melvin Armstrong was named the outstanding offensive player, while Heath Hitzman was the outstanding defensive player.
20 years ago: March 10, 1996 – On Saturday, the Manteca High baseball team was victimized by six errors and stranded three base-runners in the final two innings in a 3-1 loss to Lincoln High of Stockton in the fifth-place game at the Pedretti Tournament in Turlock. All three Lincoln runs were unearned. The Buffaloes got their only run in the sixth when Fernando Maestas doubled to drive in Tim Honda, who had singled.
East Union High snapped a three-game losing streak with a 10-hit display Wednesday to topple Livingston High 8-2 on the road. Jeff Abrew had three hits in four trips to the plate and Carlos Herrera, Eric Denton and Jim Lewallan each had a double for Coach Darrell Hardcastle’s Lancers.
After leading by 5-2 after two innings, the Manteca High softball team allowed Lodi High to score the next seven runs and dropped a 9-5 game to the visiting Lady Flames Monday. Ryann Nieves slammed a double and Jodi Plath, Ranette Sousa and Jodi Miller all drove in runs for the Lady Buffs.
A five-run fifth inning drove Johansen High to a 7-2 win over Sierra High in softball action on Monday afternoon in Modesto. Tara Tengco blasted a triple and Charity Leyva and Andrea Hansen drove in runs for the Lady Timberwolves.
The Manteca High swimmers won their season opener against Tracy High on Wednesday, taking a 104-62 decision in the boys’ races and a 94-78 win on the girls’ side. Matt Gouaux was a double winner, with times of 22.9 in the 50 freestyle and 52 flat in the 100 free. Dustin Kuykendall also won twice as he took firsts in the 20 free and t backstroke. For the girls, Deni Lowry took firsts in the 50 free (26.86) and the 100 backstroke (1:09.05); Jessica Houck had wins in the 200 and 500 free, and Becky Pendexter touched first in both the 200 IM and the 100 free.
The Sierra High track team routed Ripon High on Thursday by an 89-23 score in boys’ action, while the girls rolled to a 100-17 win. Leon Johnson took two firsts for Coach Greg Leland’s T’wolves, with top marks in the high jump and triple jump. For the girls, Angela Allgaier and Angela Albert were double winners, with Allgaier taking the 100 and long jump, while Albert topped the field in the 800 and 1,600 meter races.
On the opening day of VOL swimming action, East Union High swept past both Sierra High and Sonora High to improve to 3-0 overall in both boys and girls divisions. The Lancers took a 96-69 win over Sonora and cruised past Sierra 124-41. EU sophomore Silke Bradford shined, with individual wins in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke. It was Sierra’s first meet of the season, but sophomore Alicia Lowry won both the 200 IM and the 500 free (5:11.04), with Section qualifying marks.The T’wolf boys had only four swimmers, but had double winners in sophomores Jason Beier and Adam Plain. Beier took wins in the 200 IM (2:16.27) and the 100 butterfly7, while Plain topped both the 200 free and the 500 free.
10 years ago: March 15, 2006 – In a first-half pouring rain and with life-sized lightning bolts, the high-powered Sierra High soccer team took 34 shots on goal and pounded visiting Buhach Colony High 5-1 yesterday in a match at Teicheira Stadium. The unbeaten Timberwolves were led by Bri Doty and Cheri Deprater, who each scored a pair of goals with freshman Nicole Varni notching the other score.
Dominating the flow of the game, the East Union High soccer team ended up with a 4-4 tie against visiting Oakdale High yesterday. Julie Lennert had two goals, with Jenny Dobbins and Ashley McGuiness adding one each for Coach Vince Meyers’s girls.
The dynamic play of Jenna Morgan, Michelle Christensen and Briana McGraw led Sierra High’s well-balanced softball team to a 4-2 victory over host Modesto High yesterday. Morgan was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, while scoring a run for the T’wolves. Christensen finished 2-for-4, with an RBI, two runs scored and a pair of doubles. McGraw pitched a one-hitter in the win.
