Between lower level volleyball tournament championships, lower level football, upcoming local volleyball tournaments and the constant barrage of Valley Oak League athletics, things have been busy for Oakdale High athletes on the court, soccer field, pool and gridiron.
Volleyball
Oakdale (7-3 overall) has won four straight contests, including a 3-0 landslide over Lathrop on Sept. 12 to begin Valley Oak League action. Lathrop battled in a 25-15 final-game defeat, but couldn’t overcome 25-9, 25-8 losses during the first two contests.
Kaitlin Van Ryn exploded to a 25-service point performance with eight kills and three aces in the win. Brittany Carpenter added seven kills and three digs while Hayley McIntyre (six kills, three points, five blocks), Kelsey McIntyre (four kills, four points), Kellie Gratigny (25 assists, six digs, eight points), Madison Ault (nine digs), Marissa MacDonald (three kills, four points) and Hannah Butler (five assists, two points) did well.
The Lady Mustangs hosted Sierra on Monday, though results were not available at press time. Oakdale hosts a 16-team tournament on Saturday. Pool play begins at 8:30 a.m. and the championship match is expected to begin at 5:30 p.m.
Oakdale’s junior varsity team won their own hosted tournament on Sept. 8 by outlasting the same team they edged for the title last year, Pitman. The Oakdale freshmen are fresh off a Stockton Classic Tournament championship on Sept. 15.
Soccer
Anguish from a 3-1 loss to Sierra on Sept. 11 was quickly forgotten as Oakdale edged Kimball 2-1 two days later to get off to a 1-1 start in Valley Oak League competition. Davis Harper scored on an Oskar Nilsson assist during the loss to Sierra and came through on an assist from Trenton Pierson to score on Kimball. Pierson would score on a Harper assist to ensure the winning score while Jake Hicks and Zeke Spani combined for nine saves on Kimball’s shot attempts.
Oakdale hosted Lathrop on Tuesday, though results were not available at press time. The Mustangs face host East Union on Thursday.
Water Polo
The Lady Mustangs bested Lincoln on Sept. 11 after an 11-7 scoring advantage. Cassie Lee scored four goals while Amee Neathery added three. Shelby Stender chipped in two scores while Katie Vanderburg came through with two.
The Mustangs were at Tokay on Sept. 18, though results were not available at press time. The team faces visiting Kimball at home to open the VOL today, Sept. 19.
JV/Frosh Football
Missed opportunities plagued Oakdale’s junior varsity football team during a 40-20 loss to Sutter on Sept. 13.
“They were just a very fine-tuned football team and we made some mistakes while they played mistake free,” Oakdale coach Dave Hill said. “We didn’t capitalize when we needed to capitalize and left a couple of touchdowns out there.”
Oakdale scored on a 70-yard touchdown run from C.J. Domingo and watched Dylan Farquhar connect on a 15-yard scoring strike to Frankie Trent. Kevin Corral added a 15-yard score.
“We need to become a little more polished ourselves,” Hill said. “I think it was a good test coming into our first league game with Sierra.”
Lane Trapp of Oakdale’s freshman football team stayed busy by converting all of Oakdale’s extra points as the Mustangs rallied to a 49-0 blowout of Sutter on Sept. 13.
Darus Nelson ran for touchdowns of 50 and 40 yards, and caught a 30 yard touchdown pass when a bad snap on an Oakdale field goal attempt allowed Robert Bagley to heave the ball downfield.
Eric Amador also ran for a touchdown while Greg Wikoff connected with Ben Solario on a 30-yard score and Isaac Moreno found Bobby DePuy open for a 45-yard score. Logan Hall returned an interception for a score in the win as well.
