Youth roundup: Three Diamonds finish well at state championships

Davis Diamonds gymnasts Marishke Pretorius, Sonia Sutton and Alissa Casillas all placed on at least one event last weekend, as they participated in the Level 5 State Championships in Folsom.

Pretorius led the way with a first-place finish on the floor exercise, and all three locals, who were making their Level 5 debuts, stuck their beam routines. The trio qualified for the event, along with more than 400 other gymnasts, by scoring a 34.5 or higher all-around during the season.

Competing in the 10-year-old division, Pretorius opened with one of her most dynamic vaults of the year. Next on bars, Pretorius swung her most technical routine of the year — earning a fifth place with 8.925 — before finishing strong with a floor routine that was both cute and athletic. Her dance moves were precise and her tumbling was fast and big to get a 9.175 and the gold medal on that event and take sixth place all-around.

Qualifying just two weeks ago, Sutton started her first state championships by posting a personal-best score to earn fourth for her handspring vault. After clean bars and beam routines, Sutton concluded with one of her best floor performances of the year to finish 11th all-around.

In the session for 11-year-olds, Casillas rose to the level of competition with an amazing floor performance. She was both powerful and elegant, playful and precise, earning a sensational 9.4 from the judges. This score was bested only by the eventual all-around champion and Casillas’ silver medal there helped her get eighth all-around with a 35.0.

Devil roller hockey

The Davis Blue Devil club roller hockey varsity and JV-level teams competed last weekend in the Sierra Inline Hockey Tournament in Chico.

The local varsity squad matched the Antioch Bucks in a back-and-forth affair that ended in a tie, but fell to the Chico Firebirds and their home-rink rivals from Woodland.

In the tournament, Devils Danny Kumata (three) and Joe Blakewell had goals with assists coming from Jacob Muller, Daniel Rooney, Ricky Pacciorini and Blakewell. Teddy Xiao provided solid offensive support and the Davis defense got strong play from Dailey Glander, Ryan Kowta and goalie Eddie Berlin, who turned away 66 shots for a save percentage of 85.

In JV action, the Blue Devils fell to a powerhouse Chico squad, got closer in a 6-4 loss to Antioch, then exploded for a 9-3 win over the Livermore Vipers. Scoring on the day came from locals Victor Valdez-Chabot, Dylan Lee, Max Landy, Jack Skoog, Jack Shields, Sam Blakewell and Cole Skoog. Goalie Max Muller got worked hard throughout the tournament but he held strong in the end.

Wildcats hoops

The Wildcats 12U Black and White teams competed at Saturday’s Fall Classic Tournament.

The local Black squad posted one win on the day and ended in a tie for third place.

In its opener, Davis got 10 points and four steals from Collin Yee and an amazing 19 rebounds from Kayden Hoal to go with his six points, but fell to Flight Elite Blue, 63-37. Lance Prussel added eight points for the Wildcats, who bounced back in Game 2 to beat the FTS Saints, 30-25.

In that contest Davis was behind 21-11 at intermission, but used tenacious, second-half defense to come back. Local Rayan Tilmatine (seven boards) led all scorers with eight points and Hoal contributed 15 rebounds and six points. Henry Siegler, Max Seed and Erick Lengtat put in four points apiece.

An exciting finale found the Wildcats dropping a 64-47 decision to PSPH.

The Davis White team dropped three games but got several strong individual efforts.

Marc Fields led the squad in scoring with 20 totals points, while Ethan Ramos had four points in a opener and nine rebounds in the finale. Danny Yi picked up four steals to pace the local defense in Game 1, then matched Fields with six points in the third outing. Other contributions came from Charlie Karagosian, Jake Goidell and Mike Anchante.

Red Bulls soccer

The Davis Red Bulls, a U10 boys soccer team, stormed through State Cup competition last weekend in Manteca, winning three qualifying games (all by a score of 3-1) and a quarterfinal outing, 5-1.

In the first game on Saturday, Jackson Isidore had a goal and Ledger Petracek scored twice to erase an early 1-0 deficit. Then later, Sepp Sanchirico and Ty Soderquist collaborated for the first goal of the next contest, before Tyler Venner and Petracek provided the rest of the scoring.

On Sunday, Zevik Citron moved up to striker after pacing the Red Bull defense for much of the season, and played just as well up front, scoring the team’s first goal. Davis midfielder Elan Kalman also had a strong game and Petracek tallied twice, the second coming off a monster throw-in from Cameron DeMasi.

In the quarterfinal, the locals took control from the opening whistle with three quick goals. With their team in the lead, DeMasi and Daniel Jauregui displayed sure hands and aggressive stops as goalkeepers. and Teagan Favorite, Jerry Godfryd, Eliot Liederman and Kai Moore paced the defense and midfield.

Heat soccer

The Davis Heat, a U16 girls soccer team, took a 1-0 win over the California Odyssey last weekend.

Sophie Hernandez scored the game’s only goal in the first half when she recovered a deflected shot by Kristin Ward and placed the ball just over the keeper.

After that, Heat defense shined as Renee Schuman Madison Nicholas, Hannah Thompson and Claire Dicker allowed just two shots to get through, both of which were snuffed out by keeper Christina Roeckl-Navazio. Jaha McClean, meanwhile, provided offensive pressure for Davis.

Strong second-half play from locals Elexsis Valenzuela, Alexia Moore, Kaitlyn Wagner and Brooke Rosenblum kept the Odyssey scoreless after the break, with Roeckl-Navazio adding a few huge saves. In the second period, it was Heat offensive players Suleikha Sutter, Sofia Evanoff  and Olivia Haass who kept the Odyssey busy.

Spring lacrosse

Registration for all Davis Lacrosse Association spring teams is now open at www.davislax.org.

In the sport’s primary season, the DLA will have teams for boys and girls in multiple age groups. Practices start by early February and games will be played from March through May.

Registration costs $275 to $400 per player, with scholarship assistance available, players must obtain their own equipment and each athlete must be members of U.S. Lacrosse for a $25 annual fee.

Team sizes are limited, so early registration is encouraged. Pre-registration ends on Friday, Nov. 30.