Archive By Section - Local Sports

Athlete Of The Week - Sara Stevens

Eleven-year-old Fair Oaks sixth grader Sara Stevens closed her summer with a fantastic performance at the Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. Competing with the highly successful Modesto Roadrunners, Stevens and three other girls sped to a first place finish in the 4x800 meter relay.

Stevens earns Athlete of the Week honor for her efforts.

Athlete Of The Week - Emily Bennett

The 11-12 age division standout for the Oakdale gators youth swim team, Emily Bennett, nabbed the highest score of any Mid Valley League swimmer in her group with 23 points at the MVSL championships in Turlock on Saturday, July 24.

Bennett earns Athlete of the Week honor from The Leader for her efforts.

Soccer Squads Prepare For Competition With Special Clinics

Riding the wave of World Cup popularity and preparing for its own upcoming competitive season, the Oakdale Youth Soccer League has brought in some topnotch coaching for special clinics.

Poolside - Gators Post Solid Times In Swim Championships

More than a dozen Oakdale Gators youth swim team standouts improved times in all three of their events at the Mid Valley Swim League championships in Turlock on Saturday, July 24. It was a satisfying way for the 15 members of the team to culminate the summer campaign.

Oakdale Native Sees Baseball Homecoming

Alyssa Freeman, a 12-year-old Oakdale native and Boise, Idaho baseball star, delivered a thrilling homecoming performance in travel tournament action at Rainbow Fields in Riverbank over the weekend.

Oakdale’s Medlen Leads Crew In Win At Infineon

The 23rd Annual Fram-Autolite National at Infineon Raceway thundered to completion earlier this month, with the event featuring all the top professional categories, Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. In addition many of the Lucas Oil sportsman categories were also contested.

U.S. Olympians Train Oakdale Netters

Participants in Oakdale High's summer volleyball clinic received some expert tutelage from some of the best instructors in the sport - worldwide - earlier this month at the Mustang gymnasium.

Athlete Of The Week - Sarah Peterson

Talented Oakdale softball player Sarah Peterson on the Under-16 California Grapettes has been lights out in summer competition. She followed up a thrilling run to a Sac-Joaquin Metro title by playing her best in the Champions Cup premier tournament in Irvine. Peterson was one of five Oakdale players to combine for 28 hits across the tournament and belted her first career home run over the fence in a two-run bomb against Fort Collins. Peterson earns Athlete of the Week honor for her efforts.

Gators Show Big Improvements In Tri-Meet

Nine Oakdale Gators swimmers saw big improvements and stellar times in a three-way Mid Valley Swim League tri-meet with Tracy and Ripon at Ripon High on Saturday, July 17.The Gators finished third to the two much larger programs, but saw faster touches in a successful meet."This is a time of the season where we've been working our Gator swimmers harder in preparation to have them in the best possible form before we taper for championships," Oakdale coach Brian Fogarty said. "So we expect excellent form and improvements in technique, but the continuing time drops are a bonus ...

Grapettes Compile 5-3 Record In Champions Cup Competition

The Oakdale based California Grapettes under-16 softball team went 5-3 among a field of 54 teams at the recent Champions Cup premier tournament in Irvine.With an expected 40 college scouts in attendance, the team was 4-2 in pool play and 1-1 in a difficult single elimination bracket."It was an outstanding team performance, and one the girls should be proud of," Oakdale coach Kelly Olson said. "They faced some very tough teams, and it was an excellent tune-up for Nationals."The Grapettes opened the tournament on Thursday with two straight losses, including a 5-1 defeat in the first game ...

Oakdale Baseball All Stars Go 0-2 In State Tournament

The hits didn't come when Oakdale needed them most in back-to-back losses for the Oakdale Baseball Association's 11-12 Cal Ripken All Stars in state tournament action at James Polk Middle School in Fresno this past week.The team slipped in 7-3 form to Clovis in the tournament opener, despite five innings of sharp pitching from Blake Whiting. The team was down just 3-2 in the fifth, but surrendered late scores and ultimately the contest.Whiting smashed an RBI double in the loss while Dalton Stewart connected on a key single and Bradford Aquino grabbed a base hit and ...

Gators Win Big In Turlock

The Oakdale Gators youth swim program saw fast times lead to big points and a tri-meet win over both the Stanislaus Sharks and Turlock Marlins on Saturday at Pitman High. The victory was a sweet one for the Gators, as they look to start peaking in time for the championships in the Mid Valley League later this month.In all, seven Oakdale swimmers earned the nod as top swimmers in their collective age groups during Saturday's Mid Valley Swim League action.Arielle Cook was best in the 15-16 girls division after wins in each of her events. She finished ...

McDonald Nearing WEC debut

One of the highest organizations for lightweight mixed martial art fighters in the world, World Extreme Cagefighting, could see an Oakdale product make his nationally televised debut by the end of the year.Modesto resident and Oakdale Mixed Martial Arts Academy fighter, Michael McDonald, was approached by WEC general manager Reed Harris after his impressive second round knock out of highly touted Cole Escovedo on Saturday at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore.The fight, which won McDonald a Tachi Palace bantamweight title, was expected to be Escovedo's precursor to re-entrance in the WEC, but instead left ...

Fogarty, Gators Set Sights On Bright Swimming Future

Prep and collegiate coaches often complain about flaws in an athlete's technique or style that creates difficulties in competition at the next level.

Champs - District Title Run For Oakdale Baseball All Stars

With his Oakdale Baseball Association 11-12 All Stars sporting a 14-11 lead over Lodi in the bottom of the fourth inning, Oakdale manager Ron Helms could only turn away from the diamond as a towering Lodi connection seemed to soar for a game changing grand slam.