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Local athletes shine at Special Olympics event

COURTESY OF TV30

Foothill High wrestler Arthur Knatt (right) was among the 52 local students honored during TV30’s recent Outstanding High School Athletic Awards event. Also pictured are Pleasanton Mayor Jerry Thorne (left) and former San Francisco 49er Dennis Brown.

Outstanding Tri-Valley athletes honored

KAY KING

21 Pleasanton students receive awards at TV30 ceremony BY JEREMY WALSH

Tri-Valley Community Television recognized more than four dozen local high school athletes for their accomplishments last season during a recent ceremony featuring local elected officials and guest speaker Dennis Brown, a retired defensive end from the San Francisco 49ers. Each of the 52 student athletes had been selected as a 2013-14 Athlete of the Week on TV30’s weekly sports show “Tri-Valley Sports Final,” hosted by Ian Bartholomew, George “Dr. B” Baljevich and Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti. More than 250 people attended TV30’s fourth annual Outstanding High School Athletic Awards event at the Robert Livermore Community Center on May 29. The athletes received congratulations from Brown and mayors Sbranti, Jerry Thorne (Pleasanton) and John Marchand (Livermore) as well as recognition on behalf of U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (DDublin), State Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) and Alameda

County Supervisor Scott Haggerty. A taped broadcast of the awards event, which includes player and coach interviews, is airing on TriValley Television through Aug. 31 and is available online at www. tv30.org. In all, 21 students from Pleasanton high schools were honored during the ceremony. From Amador Valley High: Stokley Chaffee (basketball), Cambi Cukar (lacrosse), Jackie Gilbert (lacrosse), Johanna Grauer (softball), Kimberly Liu (golf), Ashley Lotoszynski (softball), Ariah Mack (basketball), Tyler Pangia (soccer), Austin Piscotty (baseball), Brandon Plihal (water polo) and Michael White (football). From Foothill High: Ryan Anderson (football), Emily Barrett (basketball), Jennifer Beadle (water polo), Rachael Butler (wrestling), Cory Frederickson (volleyball), Tanner Hughes (golf), Kyle Kearns (football), Arthur Knatt (wrestling), Isaiah Langley (football) and Maddie Smith (volleyball). N

Kids Splash and Dash

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Avalanche pour it on in holiday tournament The Pleasanton Avalanche (U11) win gold at the Bay Area SuperSeries lacrosse tournament over the Memorial Day weekend.

Ryan Butterly (left), Jennifer Thomas and Torren Pickett — members of Pleasanton’s Recreational Activities for the Developmentally Disabled (RADD) team — combined to take home two gold medals and ﬁve silvers at the Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games held June 27-29 at UC Davis. Thomas, 27, who lives in Pleasanton and works at Safeway, earned gold in the TurboJav event (javelin throwing) and silver in the 200- and 400-meter runs. Pickett, a 39-year-old Pleasanton resident who works at Mountain Mike’s Pizza, took silver in the TurboJav and 100-meter dash and earned a ribbon in the 400-meter run. Butterly, 19, of Livermore ran his way to gold in the 800-meter and a ribbon in the 400-meter. He also took home silver in the TurboJav.

The Tri-Valley Triathlon Club is set to hold the first installment of its third annual Kids Splash and Dash Series on July 20 at the Dolores Bengston Aquatic Center in Pleasanton. The event, open to children between 5 and 15 years old, is designed to introduce young athletes to multi-sport activities, such as events combining swimming and running. The young athletes will swim between 50 and 200 yards and then run either one and two kilometers, with distances based on the child’s age. The July 20 event opens with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the first wave of participants starting their swim/run at 10:30 a.m. The second Kids Splash and Dash installment is scheduled for Sept. 7. For more information on participation, event details and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.tvtckidssplashanddash.com. N —Jeremy Walsh

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