SpartanSports

Six De La Salle athletic programs have completed their season for this school year. Of those, the Spartans have captured four North Coast Section championships. In addition, four varsity teams moved on to compete for state championships, including football water polo, basketball, and wrestling.

Individually, cross country had a third-place finisher at the NCS Championships and a top-10 runner at the CIF State Championships, and 42 De La Salle student-athletes received All-East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) honors. Below is a recap for each of the six fall and winter sports seasons at De La Salle High School.

Football – The 2022 De La Salle football season concluded with a 10-4 overall record. The Spartans captured their 30th consecutive NCS championship, defeating Pittsburg (30-23) in the Open Division championship game. De La Salle then avenged back-toback losses to Folsom, with a 17-14 win in the 2022 CIF NorCal State Championship game. The Spartans’ season ended with a hard-fought loss to Lincoln (San Diego), 33-28, in the 2022 CIF State Division I-AA Championship game. Fourteen players from the 2022 roster earned All-EBAL recognition. Cooper Flanagan ‘23 was named the CoDefensive MVP, while Stef Bakiev ‘23, Spencer Brien ‘23, Charles Greer ‘23, Johnathan Guerrero ‘24, Joey Manzone ‘23, Journey McKoy ‘23, Cooper Powers ‘23, and Derek Thompson ‘23 were first-team selections. Earning second-team honors were: Dylan Greeson ‘23, Drew Cunningham ‘24, Jaden Jefferson ‘26, Tommy Rainsford ‘23, and Grant Wells ‘23. In addition, as of print time, seven student-athletes had signed National Letter of Intent (NLI) agreements to continue football at the collegiate level.

2022 season with an overall record of 21-7. Along the way, the Spartans posted a 7-0 East Bay Athletic League record to capture the league title. De La Salle then won the NCS Open Division Championship for the second straight season, defeating Miramonte (12-8) in the championship game. Next up was the CIF NorCal Water Polo Championships, where De La Salle defeated Jesuit (17-11) in the quarterfinals, before falling to Bellarmine (16-14) in the regional semifinals. Five Spartans earned All-EBAL First-Team honors: Dominic Brown ‘23, Jay Hubbard ‘24, Tyler Layman ‘23, Carsten Peters ‘23, and Jack Richards ‘23. Four of these same student-athletes have also signed NLI agreements for college next year.

Cross Country – The De La Salle cross country season included a fifth-place finish at the EBAL Championships and a ninth-place finish in the NCS Division II Cross Country Championships. Individually, Trey Caldwell ‘25 had a great end to his season; finishing second at the EBAL Championship (earning all-league honors), third at the NCS Championships, and ninth at the CIF State Championships. After the State Meet, Trey turned his attention to the regional and national competition, where he finished eighth, out of 180 runners, at the Champs Sports Western Regional to qualify for the national meet. In doing so, he became just the fourth runner from De La Salle to earn the right to compete at the national level. Trey finished 30th overall at the 2022 Champs Sports National Cross Country Championships.

Basketball – The De La Salle basketball program posted a 19-6 record during its regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the NCS Open Division Championship, where the team defeated Salesian (55-49) in the semifinals, before falling to Dougherty Valley in the championship game. However, the defeat did not end the Spartans’ season, as De La Salle earned the No. 5 seed in the Northern California regional bracket. After posting a come-from-behind win over Archbishop Mitty (46-44), De La Salle battled top-seeded Modesto Christian in the Northern California regional semifinals. It was an extremely close game but, unfortunately, they fell to the San Joaquin Section Champion, 57-56. Three Spartans earned all-league honors. Alec Blair ‘25 was a first-team selection, Billy Haggerty ‘23 earned second-team honors, and Evan Wells ‘23 was awarded honorable mention.

Soccer – In a season that included 23 games, the De La Salle varsity soccer program posted a 13-9-1 overall record and saw the season end in the quarterfinals of the NCS Division I Playoffs. Six Spartans earned All-EBAL honors. Lucas Pfister ‘23 (defender) was a First-Team All-EBAL honoree, Matthew Rajecki ‘25 (midfielder) earned second-team honors, while Cooper Kennedy ‘23 (forward), Hudson Merritt ‘23 (forward), Leo Bravo ‘23 (midfielder), and Mateo Marchis ‘23 (defense) were honorable mention selections.

Wrestling – The De La Salle wrestling team continued its dominance over the section by capturing both the NCS Duals and NCS Team Championships. In between those victories, the program also won the EBAL Championship, which catapulted 14 De La Salle wrestlers to the NCS Championships. Of the 14 Spartans, nine earned First-Team All-EBAL honors and two were second-team and honorable mention awardees. In total, 13 De La Salle athletes finished in the top three of their weight class at the EBAL Championships. At NCS, Gavin Fernandez ‘23, Manuel Martir ‘24, Atri Feizi ‘23, and TJ Arvizu ‘24 won their weight classes, helping De La Salle capture its 12th overall, and eighth straight NCS Team Championship. Along with the four NCS individual champions and Carlos Vasquez ‘24 (126), De La Salle had five competitors advance to the CIF State meet. The Spartans collected 30.5 points at state, finishing 25th in California for the 2022-23 season. Fernandez, who finished fifth at state in the 152-pound weight class, has also signed an NLI agreement with Cal Poly for the fall.

The spring sports season is nearly complete. Please visit the De La Salle Athletics website at www.DLSSpartans.org for season and championship information for the spring season.