Five Chowchilla athletes sign with four-year schools. Where are they headed?

Chowchilla High recently celebrated five Tribe athletes signing their national letter of intent to four-year schools.

Track standout Isaac Salazar, golfer Claire Wright and softball players Kylie Hill, Morgan Sewell and Kelsey Volkmar all made their college choices official.

Salazar is headed to Valley City State University in North Dakota to complete in track. He plans to major in biology. Salazar excelled in the hurdles for Chowchilla. He was also the lineman of the year for the Tribe football team. He has maintained a 3.0 GPA.

Wright will attend Rocky Mountain College where she’ll major in business.

The Tribe senior is one of the top golfers in the Central Section, finishing first this past fall in the North Sequoia League and second in the Division III tournament. Wright was also the Sun-Star Girls Golfer of the Year.

Wright has maintained a 4.0 GPA all four years at Chowchilla. She received a full-ride scholarship.

Hill, Sewell and Volkmar will make four college signees from the Tribe softball team after Jana Pope signed with Nevada-Reno in the fall.

Hill is headed to Lewis & Clark College and plans to major in studio art. Hill played water polo for three years and four years of basketball and softball at Chowchilla.

Hill has also had a 4.0 GPA or higher during her four years of high school. She’s ranked No. 4 in her class.

Hill is tied for the team lead with 10 RBIs this spring to go with a .296 batting average.

Sewell will play softball at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. Sewell’s softball accolades at Chowchilla include utility player of the year, all-NSL second-team and defensive player of the year.

Like Wright and Hill, Sewel has compiled a 4.0 GPA during her four years at Chowchilla.

Sewell has helped the Tribe start out this season with a 9-1-2 record by hitting .281.

Volkmar has shared pitching duties with Pope during her high school career. She’s headed to Holy Names University in Oakland.

Volkmar went 12-5 last year with a 1.57 ERA. She struck out 177 batters in a little over 98 innings pitched. Volkmar was named the NSL Pitcher of the Year and a first-team all-NSL selection.

She had a 3.5 GPA at Chowchilla and plans to major in criminology and minor in English.

Local athletes headed to Stanford Invitational

El Capitan’s Brian Mattews and Nylah Hassaan will both compete at the prestigious Stanford Invitational this weekend in Palo Alto.

Matthews qualified for the meet in the 400 meters with a time of 49.92 seconds. Nylah Hassaan with run the 100-meter dash after qualifying with a time of 12.49 seconds.

Matthews will team up with Gaucho teammates Divine Peters, Maurice McGauley and Naseem Hassaan to run in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Golden Valley senior Angelena Williams will also compete at Stanford Invitational in the 100 hurdles (15.23) and 300 hurdles (50.10). The Cougars 4x100 girls relay team will also make the trip.

Atwater boys, Golden Valley girls win CCC center meet

The Central California Conference’s second center meet was held on Wednesday at Veterans Stadium. The Atwater boys and Golden Valley girls both took home victories.

Williams won two individual events to lead the Cougars girls. The senior won the 100 hurdles (16.39 seconds) and the long jump (15 feet, 6-4 inches).

Other Golden Valley girls winners included Keionnie Clemons in the 200 (27.07), Josette Vigil in the 3200 (12:41.13) and Libby Hamilton in the high jump. The Cougars 4x400 relay team also won with a time of 4:26.90.

The Cougars finished with 189 points to run away from second-place Atwater (147 points).

Other highlights included Atwater’s Clara Harman winning the 800 (2:28.71) and 1600 (5:43.99) and Buhach Colony’s Morgan Johnson winning the shot put (37-5.5) and discus (121-9).

Eric Maldonado (800/50.81), Samuel Jenkins (discus/129-1), Eduardo Hurtado (high jump/6-0) and Richard Dela Rosa (triple jump/42-10) all won individual events to help the Falcons boys win with a team points total of 161.5. Golden Valley finished second with 133.5.

The Falcons also won the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:33.68.

El Capitan’s Matthews and Buhach Colony’s Jimmie Summers were both double-winners. Matthews won the 200 (22.70) and 400 (50.81) and Summers picked up victories in the 1600 (4:36.16) and 3200 (10:13.79).

This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 2:54 PM.