Vacaville High School graduate Gavin Dimick catapulted high into the air for a victory in the pole vault Saturday at the Jeff Rahn Classic in Spokane for his Washington State University Cougars.
The sophomore won the men’s competition with a jump of 15 feet, 7 inches.
Dimick has four wins this season and six for his career. His best personal-best came in late February when he leaped 17 feet, 0.75 inches to win the MPSF Indoor Championship, against in Spokane.
By Thomas Gase
For years, thousands of people felt the effects of being around Jacob Wright at Will C. Wood High School. Although the longtime football coach and educator died suddenly of a heart attack in 2023, the school made sure everyone setting foot at the school still feels Wright’s presence.
The school held a special ceremony on Sunday, unveiling a banner honoring Wright by naming the football field the Jacob Wright Memorial Field.
“The first thing you see when you enter Will C. Wood would be this banner,” said Wood teacher and field naming committee member Tracy Ruiz. “The last thing you see when you leave Will C. Wood will be this banner.”
Source: Will C. Wood High has the ‘Wright’ stuff – The Vacaville Reporter
Vacaville Unified School District will hold a special Field Dedication Ceremony in honor of the late Jacob Wright, the beloved teacher, coach, and mentor who died in 2023.
The event will take place on Sunday, April 13, at 12:30 p.m. at the Will C. Wood Stadium. Gates will open at 12:15. The ceremony will commemorate Coach Wright’s legacy and impact on the Vacaville community.
The dedication will include the unveiling of a permanent plaque at WCW Stadium, as well as new signage above the press box that will bear the name “Jacob Wright Memorial Field,” alongside one of his most memorable sayings: “It’s a Great Day to be a Wildcat.”
By Richard Bammer
Vacaville Unified trustees are expected to approve renaming the Will C. Wood High School Wildcat Stadium field to the Jacob Wright Memorial Field, after the late varsity football coach, during the school district’s governing board meeting Thursday.
The renaming proposal comes after the Will C. Wood Wildcat Family Committee last year met to discuss ways to honor the coach’s legacy “and his lasting contributions to the campus and community,” according to wording in agenda documents.
Source: VUSD leaders likely to rename Wood High stadium field after late coach – The Vacaville Reporter
The Vanden High state champion football team will be honored with a community parade today (Jan. 24).
The parade begins at 11:15 a.m. along the perimeter of the Vanden High School Campus, 2951 Markeley Lane, in Fairfield.
“We are incredibly proud of our Vikings football team and their extraordinary season,” Tiffany Benson, superintendent of the Travis Unified School District, said in a statement. “Their thrilling overtime victory against Rio Honda High is a testament to their resilience and determination. This parade is an opportunity for our community to come together and show their support for these talented young athletes.”
Source: Parade set today to honor Vanden football champs | News | dailyrepublic.com
Two of Rodriguez High School’s top student-athletes were celebrated Wednesday afternoon as they signed national letters-of-intent with Division I programs near and far.
Ava Bautista will continue her swimming career and education at San Jose State. Arden Billingsley has found a volleyball home at DePaul University in Chicago.
Source: Rodriguez High students sign with Div. I programs | High School | dailyrepublic.com
Armijo High School graduate and world track and field star Luis Grijalva announced Monday on Instagram that he will be joining Grand Slam Track, the professional racing series launched earlier this year by four-time U.S. Olympic champion Michael Johnson.
Grijalva attended Fairfield schools but competed in the 2021 and 2024 Olympics for his native Guatemala as a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. He is a two-time World Championship finalist and holds 10 national records across a range of distances from 1,500 to 10,000 meters.
By Matt Miller
The Cha’pelle Brown era begins for the Will C. Wood High School football program with a burst of energy and a bounce of enthusiasm his predecessor would have greatly enjoyed.
Brown is the ninth head coach in the school’s 34-year history. Head coach Jacob Wright had three memorable seasons at Wood before he died late last season at the age of 46.
“We plan to honor Coach Wright and build on what he did here,” Brown said. “Coach will not be forgotten.”
By Matt Miller
There are new names at many positions on the Vacaville High School football depth chart, but the Bulldogs will always been Monticello Empire League contenders under long-time coach Mike Papadopoulos and his veteran staff.
Papadopoulos is beginning his 20th season as Vacaville’s head coach. His teams have won 10 or more games six times and the Bulldogs have two Sac-Joaquin Section championships to their credit.
Vacaville had won six straight MEL titles before finishing second last season to Vanden. The Bulldogs still went 4-1 in the MEL and 7-5 overall. Vacaville beat Elk Grove 31-19 in its playoff opener before falling to St. Mary’s 38-0.
Source: Vacaville football features new faces but same championship goals | High School | dailyrepublic.com
By Nick McConnell
For the 2024 graduating class of Will C. Wood High School, the last four years have been bookended with adversity.
The freshman year of 2020 was marked with the loss of in-person classes and a conventional high school experience.
The senior year of 2023 was marked with the sudden loss of a pillar of the Will C. Wood community, head football coach Jacob Wright.
Source: Will C. Wood graduates overcome obstacles for big moment – The Vacaville Reporter
By Nick McConnell
Sports schedules will look a little different next year for Vacaville, Will C. Wood and Vanden high schools as the Monticello Empire league undergoes realignment for the first time in six years.
Armijo and Fairfield will leave the MEL, said Associate Superintendent Sasha Begell at a recent Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, and Woodland’s Pioneer, West Sacramento’s River City and Sacramento High will be joining the league. The league will have these members for the next four years, she said, at which point realignment will be considered again.
Equity of competition is the most important factor in realignment decisions, Begell said, with scope and diversity of programs and size of school also holding weight. Travel distance is considered as well, she said.
Source: Monticello Empire League to add three schools, lose two – The Vacaville Reporter
By Matt Miller
Mark Wudel continues to roll on as one of Solano County’s winningest high school boys basketball coaches.
Although he recently retired from teaching and is 66 years old, he’s not ready to walk away.
“I have no plans to give it up,” Wudel said. “It’s too much fun. I plan on coaching for years as long as they let me keep doing it.”
By Lynzie Lowe
The Vacaville Public Education Foundation is seeking mural designs created by local youth for the pavilion at the Play for All Park.
“Designs must be colorful and include a school house, as well as an owl,” said organizers. “Other elements like trees, books, animals, stars, and other creative ideas can be included. Interior spaces of the pavilion can also be incorporated into the concept.”
According to organizers, all Vacaville Unified School District students in grades 7-12 are eligible to enter.
Source: Vacaville youth sought to design Play for All Park mural – The Vacaville Reporter
By Thomas Gase
Last year was the first season Scott Swartz wasn’t involved in football in some capacity since 1985.
He missed it.
After taking a year off from the sport while teaching at Benicia Middle School, Swartz is back on the gridiron again — this time as Benicia High’s head football coach. He is the Panthers’ first new head coach in about 20 years.
Swartz previously coached for the San Francisco 49ers, Oregon State University, San Jose State University, Northern Arizona University, and other high school programs, including the defense with Benicia. He graduated high school from Oak Grove in San Jose and attended De Anza and Cal State Northridge for college. Swartz played as a backup quarterback at Northridge before the school cut its football program.
Source: Benicia’s Swartz looks to turn football team around – Times Herald Online
The Fairfield High School Hall of Fame induction class for 2023 will feature one of the best hurdlers ever to come out of Solano County and a baseball team that shocked the Sac-Joaquin Section with a championship run.
Daje Pugh earned the state track and field championship in the 300-meter hurdles in 2012, was a six-time state placer and a seven-time Section Masters champion. Pugh went on to compete collegiately at Washington and Kentucky.
The 1999 Fairfield baseball team won the section title despite entering the postseason tournament as the third seed out of the Monticello Empire League. The Falcons went undefeated in the playoffs and defeated Woodland, with future Boston Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia, in the title game.
Source: Fairfield High names its upcoming Hall of Fame class for 2023
By Matt Miller
Ever since running with the boys in kindergarten, Armijo High School senior Cierra Kinsey knew she was fast.
The track and field standout signed a national letter-of-intent Saturday afternoon with UC Davis in the Armijo cafeteria before family, friends, coaches and teammates. Kinsey will made the short trek up Interstate 80 to become an Aggie in athletics and in the classroom, eventually working toward medical school and a what she hopes is a future as a heart surgeon.
But the speed? Very noticeable throughout the Royals ‘season, it took her all the way to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championship (at UC Davis, no less), a season to remember and an athletic scholarship.
Source: Armijo track star Cierra Kinsey ready to make tracks for UC Davis
Will C. Wood High School recently announced that eight student-athletes have received athletic scholarships to four-year colleges.
Darrius Hickinbottom and Raymond Lane from the football team are moving on to the next level. Hickinbottom will play at Western Oregon. Lane is headed for Adams State in Colorado.
Baseball players Mason Sayre and Jarren Ford are both headed to Hawaii Pacific. Softball standout Kaitlyn Martinez will go to North Dakota State.
Source: Will C. Wood announces eight student-athletes earn scholarships
By Matt Miller
Eleven student-athletes headed to four-year colleges on scholarships were honored Tuesday night at Vanden High School in what athletic director Sean Murphy called “the most decorated class in school history.”
Murphy said that this group of Vikings has been a part of eight Sac-Joaquin Section championships during their careers and “numerous league championships.”
“It says a lot about what they put into their four years,” Murphy told the assembled athletes, coaches, family, friends and teammates. “I truly feel our staff has gotten them prepared for college. We’re very proud of all of them.”
Source: 11 Vanden student-athletes celebrated for college scholarships
By Matt Miller
Four area athletes were named all-conference last week for their universities, while others have begun or are getting ready for postseason competition.
Senior third baseman Lewa Day (Armijo) was named first-team, all-Big Sky Conference for the second straight season in softball. Day hit .328 this season and hit 10 of the Hornets’ 19 home runs this season.
Day is Sac State’s all-time leader in home runs with 46, and has another year of eligibility ahead to build on it. Day is also just 20 RBIs short of being the Hornets’ all-time leader in that department as well.
Source: Armijo grad named first-team, all-Big Sky in softball for second straight season
By Thomas Gase
For the first time in two decades, Benicia High School has a new head football coach.
The school announced on Friday the hiring of Scott Swartz to lead the program, just two weeks after the school said longtime coach and athletic director Craig Holden had “resigned.”
Swartz previously coached for the San Francisco 49ers, Oregon State University, San Jose State University, Northern Arizona University, and other high school programs.
The school announced the hiring in a Twitter post, adding that “Coach Swartz will offer spring ball for ninth through 11th-grade student-athletes planning to play football during the fall season starting on Monday. Students should meet at 3:45 p.m. at the stadium. Additional info about summer training and start of fall season coming soon.”
Source: Benicia High announces new head football coach – Times-Herald