More recruiting news coming from Diablo Valley College. Safety Paul Wright, a 2006 De La Salle graduate, is headed to Illinois State. DVC coach Mike Darr said Wright (6-foot, 198-pounds)  told him of his decision on Tuesday.

To make the jump to the college level as a safety, it seems like DVC is the place to be these days. All-Golden Gate Conference safety Jeremy Gibson signed with Idaho State after the 2007 season and 2006 DVC standout James Francis is now in the Canadian Football League. Wright will be reunited with fellow former Spartan and Viking Chris Garrett, who plays cornerback at Illinois State. The Redbirds play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and are a Football Championship Subdivision (the artist formerly known as Division I-AA) school.

Eric Sondheimer reported Tuesday morning on the LA Times’ “Varsity Times” blog that De La Salle junior quarterback Nick Montana, the son of Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana, picked up enrollment papers at Newbury Park High School on Monday.

The post goes on to say that a final decision has not been made on a potential move, but that the Montana Family was looking at houses in Ventura County. According to the report, the 6-foot-2 quarterback often trains in the L.A. area with private quarterback coach Steve Clarkson.

Montana, who has been the DLS starter at the freshman and JV levels each of the past two seasons, is behind senior Blake Wayne on the Spartans’ current depth chart. However, the two of them have been sharing reps in 7-on-7 summer passing league games. It’s unclear whether De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur intends to use a two-QB system during the regular season, but it’s certainly something he’s made work before.

As a junior in 2007, Wayne — a traditional veer offense quarterback — successfully split time with the more pro-style passing senior, Mike MacGillivray. The different look each quarterback gave the Spartans’ offense gave opposing defenses fits when it came to scheming against the De La Salle attack. Montana’s older brother, Nate, was the third string quarterback on the 2007 team, but was playing in his first season with the Spartans and did not have the knowledge of the veer offense that Nick has after two years in the system. Nate made out just fine, however, gaining preferred walk-on status at his dad’s alma mater, Notre Dame.

To read all of Sondheimer’s post, click here.

Clayton Valley coach Herc Pardi checked in today to let us know that RB/DB Keith Franklin has signed a letter of intent to attend Portland State University. Franklin will receive a full scholarship.

Anyone who saw Franklin play in high school knows that he’s a very explosive player with great speed. The Vikings are getting a good one.

When Donovan Edwards graduated from Pinole Valley High School in 2007, he knew he was too small to be a Pac-10 offensive lineman.

Now, after a year at Diablo Valley College, Edwards is making the jump he’s always wanted to.

Read the rest of this entry »

The California Interscholastic Federation has just announced that Veterans Memorial Stadium, on the campus of Buchanan High School in Clovis, will host the CIF state track and field championships for the next three years.

The venue has a Mondo Super X track which was installed in 2007. In an e-mail, the CIF also stated that the scoreboard will display real-time timing of running events as well as event results. It stated that Veterans Memorial Stadium has more than 8,500 permanent stadium seats and additional seating will be added to bring the capacity to more than 12,000.

Next year will mark the first time since 1984 that the CIF state championships will not be held at either Cerritos College in Norwalk or Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. It will also mark the first time since 1973 that the state meet will be held at a high school venue.

Woodward Park in nearby Fresno has hosted the CIF state cross country championships since its inception in 1987.

The 2009 CIF state track and field championships are scheduled to take place on June 5-6.

How exactly did Campolindo grad and current Ohio State wrestler Nikko Triggas follow up his fifth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials? He hopped on a plane and headed to Ecuador for the Pan American Junior Greco-Roman Championships.

As it turned out, the trip was a fruitful one for Triggas. Over the weekend of June 20-22, Triggas won four gold medals. Two were of the team variety, as the United States won the team competitions in both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. It edged out Ecuador 67-65 to win the Greco portion and beat Venezuela 74-64 to take the freestyle crown. Triggas played a big part in the team success, winning gold in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. He defeated Venezuela’s Jose Figueroa in the freestyle title match and beat Ecuador’s Andres Montano to win Greco gold.

Larry Gurganious III announced last week that he is transferring from Gonzaga to a school closer to home. I talked with Gurganious’ dad, Larry Gurganious Jr., and he did confirm that the 2005 Times Boys basketball player is transferring.

He wouldn’t say which school are in the running but it would be closer to the East Bay. Larry Gurganious III is also waiting on an NCAA waiver to be able to come in and play right away. Gurganious III missed time due to injury at Gonzaga and is hoping the waiver will allow him to play right away.

Here is a link on Gurganious III leaving Gonzaga.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/collegesports/2004456042_webzags03.html

 Stay tuned.

Well, we put an end to yet another high school sports season last night with our Top 100 banquet at the Concord Hilton. Las Lomas’ Jason Welch and Kasey Carlson were named athletes of the year and I think I speak for everyone on staff when I say we had a great time.

Now, if you weren’t there, you should check out a few of the multimedia pieces we put together to recap the season. First, check out the final Two Geeks episode of the season, starring De La Salle’s Mike MacGillivray and Ms. Carlson herself.

Two Geeks: The Banquet Episode

Next, check out the multimedia slide show that Karl Mondon, Ray Saint Germain, and the multimedia staff put together.

Top 100 Athletes slide show

And, finally, if you don’t even have a clue who the top 100 athletes are, check ‘em out on our Top 100 presentation.

Top 100 Package

Concord High football coach Brian Hamilton gave us a call today to let us know that wide reciever C.J. Porter has committed to Utah. I haven’t yet spoken with Hamilton or Porter but it sounds like a good fit.

For those who’ve never seen him, Porter is a tall, rangy wideout with great athleticism and pretty good hands. I remember thinking he was very projectable when I saw Concord play last season. He’s certainly benefited from Concord’s wide-open attack and he’ll continue to do so at Utah.

Our online staff, specifically multimedia editor Ray Saint Germain, has finished the ten additions to the top 100 online package and I’d like to share it with you all. So, go check it out.

Times Top 100 Athletes of the Year