A pair of Armijo High School students have won the recent 14th annual Solano County Constitution Essay Contest.
Keith Nelson Tagupa won the Grand Prize and Best of School, and Risha Sharma won the Founders’ Choice Award, the Fairfield Unified School District announced.
Source: Armijo High students sweep essay contest | Education | dailyrepublic.com
Family, friends, coaches and teammates gathered in the campus library to celebrate the collegiate signings of three premiere athletes at Rodriguez High School.
Swimmer Brandon Ha will be headed to Northwestern University once his senior season is complete. Nick Schikore will take his pitching skills to the University of the Pacific baseball team. Coco Trotter will make the short drive to Cal State East Bay to join the women’s golf team.
“We are celebrating three seniors off to bigger and better things,” Rodriguez athletic director and swim coach Sarah McLaughlin said. “Thanks to all that have played a part in their support network. They are all tremendous students and athletes.”
By Thomas Gase
Vallejo native CC Sabathia always had the keys to success on the pitching mound. Now he’s getting the key to the city of Vallejo.
Vallejo, in partnership with the Vallejo City Unified School District and Sabathia’s PitCCh-In Foundation, will honor the baseball legend, philanthropist and hometown hero on Nov. 16.
The big day, recognizing Sabathia for his achievements and contributions his home city, will take place at Vallejo High School’s Corbus Field. Sabathia will be presented with a proclamation, an honorary street renaming, and a key to the city.
Source: Vallejo set to honor CC Sabathia next weekend – Times Herald Online
The red carpet will roll out Nov. 13 at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre.
In partnership with the North Bay Regional Center, the Solano County Office of Education hosts Inclusion Films, founded by Joey Travolta, by which aspiring filmmakers dive into the world of moviemaking.
Over the course of an intense two-week session, campers dream up scripts, step into the spotlight and bring their vision to life using movie equipment and expert guidance.
A classroom of second-graders at Laurel Creek Elementary School have joined past students to become published authors.
“Last year’s story grew from my grandchildren’s experiences of losing their beloved stuffed animals,” Shawna Hafner, teacher of the class, said in a statement released by the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District.
The book, “The Everyday Hero,” was completed in the spring.
Source: Second-grade class gets book published – a tradition at Laurel Creek | News | dailyrepublic.com
By Matt Miller
Vallejo should be well-represented on Sunday in Cooperstown, New York, as CC Sabathia is enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Vacaville residents Abe and Terri Hobbs will be in attendance to join the festivities. Abe Hobbs was Sabathia’s high school baseball coach at Vallejo High School and the families have remained close.
“We have more in common than baseball now,” Hobbs said. “We both have four kids, so we have that connection. He’s 45 now and I’m 55. Where has the time gone?”
By Matt Miller
Armijo High School graduate and area running legend Luis Grijalva is a month away from taking the track at Stade de France in north Paris for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad.
Grijalva is among the very best in the men’s 5,000 meters. He attended schools in Fairfield but competes for his native Guatemala as a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
On May 30 in Oslo, Norway, he set a new national record for Guatemala and a personal-best time of 12:50.58 when he finished sixth overall at the Bislett Games. The 25-year-old distance sensation entered the event ranked No. 7 in the world.
By Jeremiah Martinez
A Vacaville teacher is being rewarded for his work with a multi-day vacation.
Ryan Price, who is a teacher at Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy, is one of three grand prize winners for Norwegian Cruise Line’s fourth annual Giving Joy contest.
•Video Above: PRIDE Industries helps veterans find jobs
The contest is an annual honor by the cruise line to highlight the “hard work and relentless dedication” of teachers across North America, according to a press release.
Source: Vacaville teacher Ryan Price named a grand prize winner in Norwegian Cruise Line contest
A former Fairfield resident and 2020 Rodriguez High graduate is serving as a fire controlman aboard the USS Ralph Johnson in Japan.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Cruz joined the Navy after graduation.
“I joined the Navy to develop technical skills that I can use in the civilian world,” Cruz said in an article released by the Navy Office of Community Outreach.
Source: Rodriguez High graduate serving on destroyer in Japan
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
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 Rebecca Wasik
When she was 4 years old, Santa Claus brought Molly Rose Hendricksen a plastic toy drum set for Christmas. When she was 9, she asked for a real drum set for her birthday.
Vacaville born and raised, Molly Rose has now made it all the way to the small screen. The professional drummer will be starring in “Banded: The Musician Competition,” set to air May 13 on AXS TV.
Once she received her real drum set, Molly Rose was determined to learn the rudiments of drumming.
“She would sit for hours at her First Acts drum set in front of a portable DVD player, wearing her dad’s military headset learning the rudiments,” said Althea Taschioglou Hendricksen, Molly Rose’s mother and “momager”. “It was amazing to watch her learn. She had no other guidance at that point, but a lot of dedication.”
Source: Vacaville drummer to star in new TV competition show – The Vacaville Reporter
By Susan Hiland
Quinn Brown a junior at Vanden High School is looking forward to her summer vacation because she is getting to do something only a few kids get the honor of doing; an internship at NASA.
The 17-year-old is a huge fan of science, astronomy and pretty much anything to do with space.
Source: Vanden student journeys to Texas for NASA internship this summer
By Nick Sestanovich
Just a few months after starting high school, Linda Hernandez is already set to have a busy 2023.
The Will C. Wood freshman was named the Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club’s Youth of the Year for 2023, where she will serve as the club’s ambassador for the year and be entered into the National Youth of the Year competition.
Linda’s new title was announced in a ceremony held at the Opera House Wednesday evening, where the Boys & Girls Club kickoff the first major celebration of what will be the club’s 20th year of operation in Vacaville. The evening not only looked back at the past but also toward the future, which will see a much larger main campus on Brown Street.
Source: Will C. Wood freshman named 2023 Youth of the Year – The Vacaville Reporter
By Corey Kirk
During his days in Pop Warner, 9-year-old Carson Strong wanted to be under center, going back to pass and throwing the ball deep, aiming for the end zone. He dreamed and hoped that one day he would find himself in the NFL.
Fast forward over a decade later, a path of practicing hard and competing at the Division I level behind him, the 2018 Will C. Wood High, graduate now 22, stands on the doorstep of joining the league he had cherished his entire childhood.
What would 9-year-old Strong think now?
Source: Will C. Wood High grad Carson Strong has sights on NFL Draft – The Vacaville Reporter
By Todd R. Hansen
Lt. Micah Rankin took an unusual route to Army Ranger School, but he graduated like all other rangers.
The Fairfield High alum was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Arizona National Guard after graduating from California State University, Sacramento, the last two years of which he was a member of the ROTC.
He knew then, however, he wanted to “try his hand” at Army Ranger School.
Source: Fairfield High alum graduates from Army Ranger School
Lined up in front of the confines of Vanden High School, patrons decked in black, green and gold lined up the sidewalk with posters, confetti poppers and smiles from ear to ear waiting for the Vanden High football team to embark on De Ronde Road.
“I could watch it over and over again, I love seeing them enjoy the moment and they worked so hard,” said Sandra Null, the mom of junior Orion Null. “They deserve this and so much more.”
Source: A parade fit for champions: Vanden High football team – The Vacaville Reporter
Aaron Beverly has a friend in Tiger Woods.
The 15-time major winner and tournament host announced that Beverly, an Armijo High graduate, is the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption into the 2022 Genesis Invitational.
Beverly, the 2014 NCGA Amateur runner-up and two-time Fairfield City Amateur Champion (2013-14) will join the 120-player field at The Riviera Country Club Feb. 17-20.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming Aaron Beverly to The Genesis Invitational as the 2022 Sifford Exemption,” Woods said in a Northern California Golf Association release. “Like me, Aaron learned the game from his dad. I know Charlie Sifford would be proud of Aaron as he makes his PGA Tour debut at Riviera next month.”
By Corey Kirk
Decked out in crimson red, with some of her accolades laid out all around her, Vacaville High senior Kyla Jackson signed a letter of intent to compete in equestrian sports at Texas A&M.
Beaming with pride, her mother Maureen Jackson, sitting with her husband Mark, couldn’t have been any prouder of seeing their daughter accomplish a dream.
“When they made the offer it was absolutely fantastic,” Maureen Jackson said. “Kyla was the first western commit for A&M so that was just huge.”
Source: Vacaville High senior signs with Texas A&M for equestrian sports – The Vacaville Reporter
By Nick DeCicco
Valhalla, they are coming.
The Vanden High Vikings drove their ships to new lands Saturday night with a come-from-behind, fourth-quarter rally to win the California Interscholastic Federation Division 3-AA State Championship Game, 14-13, over visiting Aquinas of San Bernardino at George A. Gammon Field.
To fight the visiting Falcons horde, Vanden called on the resilience that has been the wellspring of the Vikings’ success throughout the year for a team inspired to succeed after the deaths of teammate Daniel Hughes and coaches Dan Gardner and Michael Belk Sr.
Source: Vanden captures state crown in comeback win over Aquinas