Records fall, career milestones highlight spring sports season

By DARIO RODRIGUEZ  
The Tower  

Every athlete in the world strives to be at the top of their game in the discipline they are pursuing. The cheers from the crowd, the medals and the podium, the high fives from coaches and fans, are what athletes live for.  

At Manteca High School, we house very special athletes that put their heart and soul into the game. Today we will be recognizing our top-5 most exciting and memorable moments in sports in the spring season.  

Starting off in No. 5, we have our tennis boys, Yok Chai Ma and Micheal Osanna making it to the Sac-Joaquin Section tournament for singles. What makes this so special is the variety in players we have. Ma is a very experienced tennis player with this season being his sixth year playing. However, this is Osanna’s first year playing tennis, displaying his raw talent in the sport. Both Ma and Osanna are juniors and have set their sights on Valley Oak League and section titles next year.

Our No. 4 spot is Oscar Angel breaking the 3200-meter record. Track and field usually gives a lot of attention to the sprints. They’re flashy, they’re fast and fun to watch, but our top distance runner, Angel, has made his mark at Manteca High by breaking four school records. The previous record for the 3200-meter race was set at 9 minutes, 46.5 seconds. Angel shattered that when he hit a time of 9:28.7. With this being Angel’s junior year, great things our in store for his future.  

Coming in at No. 3: Senior Nayellys Torres breaking the softball career strikeout record. Previously the record was 437 strikeouts. Torres surpassed that reaching 494 career strikeouts in a game with the Central Catholic Raiders, a section finalist. Torres will continue to ascend in her career as she goes to Dominican University.

In our No. 2 spot, the boys’ 4x400 meter relay team broke the school record and became the first relay team to make it to the CIF State Championships. The team of Jayden Scarver (junior), Isaiah Archega (senior), Dario Rodriguez (senior), and Julian Moncada (Julian) broke the previous relay record of 3:21:58 with a 3:20.96.

The No. 1 spot goes to senior baseball star Rex Watson joining the 100-hit club. Watson is the fourth person in school history to reach 100 hits. Watson entered the record book in a game against Oakdale. A pivotal part of the varsity team the last four years, Watson heads to the University of San Diego.