Roundup: Merced star wins section title. Atwater boys, girls teams advance to state.

Merced High senior Cole McKain won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III individual title on Saturday in Folsom.

McKain crossed the finish line at the 3-mile Willow Hills Cross County Course in 16 minutes, 22.3 seconds.

McKain was one of seven Merced County athletes to qualify for the CIF State Meet at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday, Nov. 30 as an individual.

The Atwater High boys and girls teams both qualified for the state meet. The girls finished third as a team in the Division III race. The Falcons were led by Alexis Stubbs (20:56.9), who finished ninth, and Elisabeth Garner (20:59.2), who placed 11th.

The Atwater boys placed second in the Division III boys race and were led by Daniel Ramirez (17:22.6) and Zachary Pickle (17:22.9), who finished 13th and 14th respectively.

Other boys to advance to state are Buhach Colony’s Jimmie Summers and Pacheco’s Daniel Herrera.

Also headed to state are Merced’s Isabel Perez-Zoghbi and Celeste Magana-Casillas and Los Banos’ Aryanna Sandoval on the girls side.

Girls Volleyball

Stone Ridge Christian 3, Burney 1 in Merced — Maartje Vander Dussen turned in a strong all-around performance with 15 kills, 18 digs, two blocks and six aces to lead the top-seeded Knights to a 25-15, 25-18, 21-25, 25-9 win in the Northern California Regional Division VI semifinals.

Sydney Shaw added 10 kills, 12 digs and 17 assists for SRC (36-4).

Stone Ridge Christian will host No. 2 Fall River of McArthur on Tuesday in the championship game at 6 p.m.