Outstanding year for Napa Valley College Athletics
Photos by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
It was an outstanding year for Napa Valley College Athletics.
The 2022-23 school year – which began in August and continued into May – featured all kinds of success stories, including team and individual achievements, playoff appearances, national letter-of-intent signings, and the addition of two beautiful trophies from the California Community College Athletic Association for NVC golf that are on display in the Athletic Department offices.
In addition, Derek Mayer, the Storm's new head softball coach, is doing all he can to build a roster, get a team on the field for the 2024 season, and resurrect a program that at one time was one of the very best in Northern California. NVC has not had softball since the 2016 season, as the program has not had enough players.
"We're extremely pleased with his effort and diligence that he's done," Jerry Dunlap, NVC's Associate Dean of Kinesiology, Health and Dance and the Storm's Athletic Director, said of Mayer. "The one thing that I've heard from everybody in town say is that Derek has been present at softball games. I know he's contacted schools in Marin (County), and all over.
"He's been out busting his rear end. It's been very nice to see within the community, seeing coaches, especially Derek, at everybody's softball games, reaching out, and outside of Napa County as well.
"The issue we're having is that it's becoming more and more difficult to rely solely on Napa Valley seniors, because the numbers are dwindling a little bit. We will always recruit the Napa Valley athlete as hard as we can. But then we need to branch out in order to fill our programs."
NVC will offer a summer class for softball, as part of the Storm's offseason program.
There are summer classes and practices for every intercollegiate sport that Napa Valley offers.
The women's soccer team is preparing for its fall season. NVC canceled its season last year, but coach Mark Corbett has continued to lead the program, overseeing practices, workouts and conditioning since last fall.
"We made a tough decision last spring (of 2022) by holding back on the program, because we weren't sure if we'd have enough kids to make it through the season," Dunlap said last week. "We just did not play in the fall, even though we did have a team in the fall and practiced and worked out. But we just did not compete.
"Our issues are if you get injuries, or if one or two athletes can't play because of work or school, then it really causes a conflict within the (Bay Valley) Conference by dropping sports out that late. We did it mostly to help the conference build a schedule, and kind of fulfill their requirements. And then for us to know that the following year we'd retain almost all of those girls back and then the incoming freshman class, we would have really good numbers.
"We knew the incoming class was going to be larger. We could really have a nice sized roster in the fall of 2023. So, we're hoping that it pays off. I think the women's team is going to be very competitive."
It was a super start to the 2022-23 athletic year for Napa Valley, with the Storm men's soccer team winning a fifth straight Bay Valley Conference championship and advancing to the California Community College Athletic Association-Northern California Regional playoffs.
It was a great season for the NVC women's golf team. After taking third place in the Big 8 Conference, the Storm continued its season, placing third at the CCCAA Northern California Regional Championships and finishing fifth at the CCCAA State Championships.
It was the first time a NVC women's golf team advanced to the state tournament.
NVC men's soccer had a terrific season. Rogelio Ochoa, who led the Storm to a first-place finish in the Bay Valley, was named as the Conference's Coach of the Year. In addition, seven players were named to the All-BVC team.
Ivan Chavez, a freshman, was named as the Bay Valley's Defensive Player of the Year/defensive Most Valuable Player.
Named first-team All-Conference for the Storm were Ivan Chavez, freshman defender; Josiah Cortez, sophomore defender; Justin Sotelo, freshman forward; and Angelo Vivan, freshman forward.
Named second-team All-Conference were Gerardo Perez, freshman forward; Christopher Hernandez, sophomore forward; and Angelo Dominguez, freshman forward.
Napa Valley lost in Round 1 of the CCCAA NorCal Regional playoffs, 7-2 to host Evergreen Valley College-San Jose.
During the winter, the NVC women's basketball team enjoyed one of its greatest seasons in school history. After taking third place in the Bay Valley Conference, the Storm advanced to the postseason and won its first-ever playoff game, beating College of the Siskiyous, 92-80, in a Round 1 game in the CCCAA Northern California Regionals in Weed. In addition, the Storm's 19 wins ties the program record for victories in a single season.
During the spring, the NVC men's golf team put together one of its best seasons in school history. The Storm finished in fourth place in the Big 8 Conference, third at the California Community College Athletic Association Northern California Regional Championship, and fourth at the 2023 California Community College Athletic Association State Championships.
It was a sensational spring for NVC men's golf, with Markus Nanpei winning the individual title at the 2023 California Community College Athletic Association Men's Golf Northern California Regional Championship, and A.J. Tomasini earning All-State honors after tying for third place individually at the 2023 California Community College Athletic Association State Championships.
The team consists of Markus Nanpei, A.J. Tomasini, Matthew Commander, Anthony Zahradka, Jack Mitchell and Max Taylor.
"For a small institution, we were very impressed with what we accomplished this year," said Dunlap. "Great coaching staff.
"You can talk to anybody in this department – the student athletes we had this year were just phenomenal young men and women. They were great to be around."
Dunlap is also very proud of the great work the student athletes are doing in their classes.
"Academically, we average over a 3.0 grade point average. They have to carry a full load every semester they're here, in order to be eligible," said Dunlap. "We're so excited to see what they did on the field, on the court, but also what they did in the classroom.
"The amount of kids that are moving on to either play at the four-year level or moving on to continue their education is just growing and growing and growing. We presented at the board meeting – the amount of student athletes that are moving on to play four-year sports next year, it's impressive."
What's also impressive are the two trophies, displayed in the Athletic Department offices.
The Storm received the third-place trophy at the CCCAA regional for women's golf and the third-place trophy at the CCCAA regional for men's golf.
The golf programs are led by head coach Bob Freschi. The Storm's assistant coach is David Knox, a PGA Class A golf professional and the Director of Instruction at Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park.
"I can't say enough about what (Coach Freschi's) done with our golf program," said Dunlap.
The Storm's Alexis Larsen and Makayla Kearney will transfer to four-year schools and continue playing college golf.
Larsen, NVC's No. 1 player the last two years, signed a national letter-of-intent with Cal State East Bay (Hayward). She will play for the Pioneers, who are in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, an NCAA Division II conference.
She was named All-Big 8 Conference and All-Northern California as a freshman in 2021. She ended her season finishing 18th as an individual qualifier at the California Community College Athletic Association Women's Golf Championship at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande.
This past year, as a sophomore, Larsen was second at the North/South Invitational, a two-day tournament, at Morro Bay Golf Course. She was named to the All-Big 8 Conference team after finishing second in the conference for scoring average. She tied for 12th at the CCCAA Northern California Regional Championships at Dragonfly Golf Club in Madera. She concluded the season, tying for 12th at the CCCAA State Championships at Morro Bay.
Kearney has committed to play for the University of Puget Sound. It's a private NCAA Division III school in Tacoma, Wash., and is a member of the Northwest Conference.
Kearney was a two-year starter for Napa Valley.
The NVC women's golf team consists of Alexis Larsen, Makayla Kearney, Desiree Berdiago, Shireen Pervez, Mya Brooks and Melanie Raymundo.
Cameron Joseph, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound sophomore forward and team captain for the NVC men's basketball team, signed a national letter-of-intent with University of Redlands. It's is a private NCAA Division IIIschool and plays in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
It was a big year for Joseph.
He was named first-team All-Bay Valley Conference, it was announced in February by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association, at www.cccmbca.org.
Starting all 28 games for the Storm, he averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game this past season. He averaged 30.0 minutes per game and shot 36.6 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from 3-point distance, and 77.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Joseph and Albert Dennis were named as Honorable Mention for Northern California, it was announced by Signal The Light Basketball, in a report on March 23 at stlball.com. Dennis was also named to the Bay Valley's All-Defensive Team.
It was a great season for NVC women's basketball, with head coach Paul DeBolt leading the Storm to the playoffs and to the Sweet 16 of the Northern California Regionals.
There is more.
Amaree Bennett set the school record for made 3-pointers in a career. She had 134 3-pointers during her outstanding two-year career for the Storm.
Bennett was named first-team Academic All-State by the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association this year. It's the first time in program history that NVC has had a player selected Academic All-State.
NVC Athletics honored DeBolt on his 1,000th career game as a head coach in January. DeBolt became only the fourth head coach in California community college history to coach 1,000 games and the first one to do it in Northern California.
There are the seven scholarships that were presented to players in the program.
Brooklyn Giles, a freshman guard, and Rose Jamison, a freshman guard, were each named All-Bay Valley Conference as unanimous first-team selections.
Bennett, Addison Alsbury and Suraya Lloyd will continue in basketball as they each signed a national letter-of-intent.
Bennett signed with UC Merced, an NAIA school that plays in the California Pacific Conference.
Lloyd signed with La Sierra University in Riverside. It's an NAIA school and plays in the California Pacific Conference.
Alsbury signed with the University of Saint Katherine of San Marcos, Calif. It's also in the California Pacific Conference.
In baseball, five NVC players were named to the 2023 All-Bay Valley Conference team.
Owen Schnaible, a sophomore pitcher, was named first-team All-Bay Valley.
Hunter Graham, a sophomore outfielder, was named second-team All-Bay Valley.
Selected as honorable mention All-Bay Valley was Mateo Santos, a freshman pitcher-infielder; Raisean Avila-Dorsey, a freshman utility player; and Angel Cota, a sophomore second baseman.
Dunlap is expecting to see an influx of out-of-state students and international students enrolling at NVC once the school's on-campus housing project, River Trail Village, is completed in the fall of 2024.
"We think we'll start attracting some different student athletes onto this campus. I think it will make us a more well-rounded campus as well, a more well-rounded athletic department. So, we're excited about that," said Dunlap. "This department is super excited to get campus housing here."
NVC offers nine sports. The 2023 fall season starts with NVC men's soccer opening at home against Modesto Junior College in a nonconference match on Aug. 29.
"We have a goal, to fulfill all the sports that we do have. We're really focused on the nine sports that we do have. We just try to stay upbeat. I think if you're putting a good product out, that student athletes will come," said Dunlap.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.