The Future is Bright For Athletes Moving on to College

Several dozen athletes from six high schools in the Mount Diablo district received a grand sendoff last week from the United Mount Diablo Athletic Foundation.

There was a reception at the Concord Hilton Hotel May 25 for those high school student-athletes moving on to pursue their sports in college (the list is at the bottom of this story). 

“Two years ago, the school district eliminated high school sports because of state budget cuts,” said Kent Caldwell, a member of the UMDAF board.  “In response, parents from all six MDUSD high schools formed a foundation together to face the daunting tasks of funding high school sports.Two years later, the six MDUSD high schools continue to enjoy the many benefits of athletics, including the 43 graduating student-athletes who will follow their passion of playing a sport in college either as a scholarship athlete or a recruited walk-on.”

The UMDAF faces many challenges in raising money to keep interscholastic sports going in the high schools:

• a continued bad economy;
• multiple fund-raising demands — “parents are experiencing fund-raiser fatigue,” said Caldwell;
• disparity in collections among high schools and teams;
• unfavorable legal ruling — “Some parents feel they do not have to contribute financially since the MDUSD high schools are public schools,” said Caldwell. “While this is true, we still must raise enough money to offset our costs if we expect to have sports.”

 DAF is planning its largest fund-raiser for Oct. 9 at Newhall Park in Concord: a five-kilometer running race.

 Athletes:

Clayton Valley High:
Derek Anderson, water polo, Long Beach State;
Kelsey Booth, soccer, San Diego State;
Cheryllyn Brock, water polo, Cal State Monterey Bay;
Camille Condit, volleyball, U.S. Naval Academy;
Mitchell D’Angina, volleyball, Brigham Young;
Melissa DelBene, soccer, St. Mary’s;
Allyson Hansen, water polo, UC Davis;
Josh Harmon, swimming, Principia;
Sarah Nelson, basketball, Dominican;
Shayana Gois, soccer, Dominican;
Victoria Kobold, softball, San Diego State;
Nick Mazza, football, Sacramento State;
Chaz A. Meadows, baseball, Long Beach State;
Michael Stupka, track and field, Illinois;
Kaila Wakida, soccer, Dominican;
Sarah Litwiller, cross country and track, Principia;
Kenny Johnson, water polo, U.S. Air Force Academy;
Breana Partida, soccer, Holy Names. 

Concord High:
Ricky Lloyd, football, Southern Mississippi;
Cody Chapple, football, Chapman;
Kevin Chase, football, San Diego State.

 College Park High:
 Michelle Yasutake, soccer, UC San Diego;
Marissa Buckley, cross country, San Jose State;
Anthony Ortolan, cross country and track, UC Santa Barbara;
Will Holland, cross country and track, UC Santa Barbara;
Jeff Bickert, cross country and track, Cal Poly;
Cooper Shanks, cross country and track, Adams State;
Orry Elor, wrestling, Ohio State;
Keisi Chinen, softball, Sonoma State;
Zack Tobias, baseball, Chico State;
Erik Naccara, baseball, U.S. Coast Guard Academy;
Lauren Cefali, sailing, U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Mount Diablo High:
Raheem Blackmon, track and field, Jackson State;
Jasmin Cunningham, track and field, Sacramento State.

Northgate High:
Maddie Hagen, volleyball, University of the Pacific;
Tyler Jean, swimming, UC Santa Barbara;
Jessica Carpenter, track and field, Augusta State;
Erin Delaria, track and field, Pomona Pitzer;
Caroline Weston, swimming, Emory;
Matt Holder, football, Willamette;
Elissa Anderson, golf, University of Puget Sound.

Ygnacio Valley High:
Grant Jones, football, Brigham Young;
J’Ron Erby, football, Wayne State.