Le Grand’s Minor makes major decision

For Le Grand’s Bianca Minor, Mount Marty College was a perfect fit.

The Bulldogs ace visited the South Dakota college in March, quickly felt at home and decided that was the school for her.

Earlier this week, Minor signed a national letter of intent to attend and play softball at Mount Marty.

“I really liked it,” Minor said. “It’s not too big, and it’s not too small. The town (Yankton) reminds me a lot of Le Grand. There’s a lot of farms, and it’s something I’m used to being around. The people were great.”

Her scholarship and financial aid for academics will cover 75 percent of her costs.

During her visit, Minor felt comfortable with the coaches and players.

“I got to stay overnight with one of them and got to know some of the girls,” Minor said. “I got to work out with them also, and that gave me a feel of it.”

Minor says she is a little nervous about moving away from her family, but she’ll be able to come home during the holidays.

“I’m pretty friendly, so I think I’ll be able to make new friends,” Minor said. “I’m very excited, and I think this is a great opportunity. I’m glad I found the perfect place for me to go to college. It’s a great feeling.”

Local athletes earn Lacky scholarships

Six area athletes recently received A. Dale Lacky scholarships from the Sac-Joaquin Section. The scholarships are handed out for outstanding athletic performance, community service and academic success during students’ four years of high school.

Los Banos senior Stephen Georgiou received a $1,000 scholarship. The senior participated in track and field, cross country, tennis, water polo and swimming. He is the senior class president and is No. 2 in his class with a 4.4 GPA.

Receiving $600 scholarships were Atwater’s Brody Patterson, Golden Valley’s Danielle Vigil, Los Banos’ Jade Fachin, Mariposa’s Dillon Acker-James and Hilmar’s Kenzye Spears-Tasho.

All five were also multiple-sport athletes and rank at or near the top of their class with a 4.0 GPA or higher. Patterson (4.31 GPA), Vigil (4.39) and Acker-James (4.42) rank No. 1 in their class.

The section awarded 48 Lacky scholarships totaling $33,800. More than $25,000 came from basketball and volleyball foundation games.

Central California Conference swimming championships

The top swimmers in the Central California Conference will be in action on Saturday in the conference championships at Golden Valley. The varsity meet is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

The Merced boys and girls are trying to finish perfect runs through the CCC. The Bears boys seek their seventh consecutive championship. The girls are vying for their sixth straight.

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Le Grand’s Minor makes major decision."