As 2019 comes to a close, it is time to look back at some of the Island City’s sports highlights of the last 12 months.

Part One
January

The Alameda Recreation and Parks Department held its 46th annual Elks Hoops Shoots contest on Jan. 4. Max VanLieshout won the boys’ eight- to nine-year-old division. The boys’ 10- to 11-year-old bracket was won by Carlan Samuels. Colin Pero won the boys’ 12- to 13-year-old division. Jaide Sensu won the girls’ eight- to nine-year-old division. Desiree Shoblo was victorious in the girls’ 10- to 11-year-old bracket. Chelsea Wee won the girls’ 12- to 13-year-old division.

St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) alum Jason Kidd was selected to the 2019 Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame induction class. The 2019 class was announced Jan. 25. Kidd graduated from SJND in 1992 after leading the Pilots to back-to-back California Interscholastic Federation basketball state championships. 

February

In February, Alameda High School (AHS) student, Lars Wick, was selected as one of the National Football Foundation’s Northern California chapter’s scholar-athlete scholarship recipients. Wick played on the AHS Hornets varsity football team for three years beginning with his sophomore season. Wick received a $1,000 scholarship.

The SJND women’s basketball team advanced to the women’s Div. III final but lost in a close 58-54 defeat to Salesian College Prep of Richmond on Feb. 23. In the contest, Zhane Duckett led the Pilots with 22 points. Malia Mastora contributed 18 points for SJND. Current USC basketball player Angel Jackson had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Pride. The Pilots were also defeated by the Pride, 55-47, in the opening round of the CIF NorCal Open Division tournament on Feb. 27.

March

A pair of SJND track-and-field athletes won two individual races at the second Bay County League-East meet of the season on March 5 at Chabot College in Hayward.

Current Oregon State track-and-field athlete Emily Perez won the women’s 1,600- and 3,200-meter races, while current senior Zavier Annis won the men’s 100- and 200-meter races.

Encinal High School (EHS) senior Shelby Nelson won the women’s varsity 1,600-meter race at the San Leandro Invitational on March 16, at Burell Field. Nelson completed the race with a time of 5:27.69.

April

Alameda native Race Roizen won the gold medal in the Skier Cross competition (seven-and-under) at the USA Snowboard and Freeski Association National Championships on April 9, in Copper Mountain, Colo. Roizen (aka Branson, Race is his middle name) beat nine other division opponents in the final race to win the gold. He completed his trip down the slopes in 66.63.

Jason Anthony won the 92nd Alameda Commuters Golf Tournament on April 14. Anthony, a Fresno State alum, won the tournament with an eight-under-par 280 after 72 holes on the Jack Clark Course. He tied for third in 2017 and 2015, and tied for second in 2014.

Seven Alamedans took part in the 123rd Boston Marathon on April 15. Connie Shieh finished the 26.2-mile race with a time of 3:12:11. Abby Farmer, 36, finished with a time of 3:30:18. Carrie Hahnel, 40, finished with a time of 3:40:23. Trudi Seiwald posted a time of 4:20:09. The times and placements of Nicole Farrington, 31, and Hallie Von Rock, 42, were not available on the Boston Marathon website. John West was the only male of the seven Alamedans to compete in the Boston Marathon. The 57-year-old finished with a time of 3:11:30.

AHS graduate Keelan Doss signed with the hometown Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent on April 27.

May

EHS senior Marion “Kobe” Allen competed in the state long-jump competition after a qualifying performance at the North Coast Section Track-and-Field Meet of Champions on May 18. Allen traveled 23’.75” to earn second place in the long jump competition.

The Alameda Lacrosse Club Girls High School women’s varsity team won its fourth Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association championship in five years after defeating Elk Grove, 10-3, on May 19, at Patelco Fields in Pleasanton.

June

The AHS Hall of Fame Committee inducted 10 former AHS athletes into the Hornet Athletic Hall of Fame. Nicole Carroll-Lewis, Herb Turner, Angel Martinez, Grace Na, Sarah Walker, Andy Carey, Dan Lufkin, Charlene Murphy and Rich Zecker were the 10 members inducted. The third annual ceremony took place June 8. 

AHS graduate Michael Woodworth was selected with the 884th pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft by the Oakland Athletics on June 5.

On June 20, Tai Chewpanich won the Alameda Women’s Golf Club’s 67th annual President’s Cup in a thriller decided with a playoff on the Jack Clark Course. Chewpanich entered the final round six strokes behind leader Jeanne Yip at net 141. Chewpanich shot a net 69 in the third and final round, while Yip posted a net 75. Chewpanich defeated Yip in the first playoff hole 5-to-6 to win the Cup.

The EHS Esports team, Encinal Astros, won the High School Esports League Summer Invitational Overwatch Series on June 29 making them the best high school Overwatch team in the country. The Astros beat Haltom High School of Haltom, Tex.

July

Alameda native Cooper Teare finished first overall at the Alameda Fourth of July Ralph Appezzato Charity Event (R.A.C.E.) 5K. Teare, a St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) alum and current track-and-field athlete at University of Oregon, finished the 5-kilometer race with a time of 15:17.

August

Young swimmers throughout the city showcased their talents at the 65th annual City Swim Meet the weekend of Aug. 2 to 4, at the Encinal Swim Center. Sydney Thompson, 13, was among the big winners of the weekend, winning all six meets she competed in. Ethan Sue was one of the big winners on the boys’ side. Sue, 17, won five of the six events he competed in.

The first week of the 2019 high school football season was a success for both Alameda and Encinal high school teams. EHS put a thumping on the overmatched Washington High School of Fremont football team en route to a 42-0 shutout victory on Aug. 23 on the road. AHS took down West Alameda County Conference newcomer Oakland Military Institute, 19-0, on the same day.

September

After being released by the Oakland Raiders at the end of training camp, Alameda native Keelan Doss re-signed with his hometown team on Sept. 9, after the Raiders released wide receiver Antonio Brown.

The 106th annual Alameda Tennis Tournament took place the weekend of Sept. 6 to 8 at Krusi and Lower Washington parks. Dung Pham, Douglas Stewart and Yashwanth Kothapalli won men’s singles tournaments at the event. Natalie Chriss, Julian Morris and Olivia Willard won women’s singles tournaments at the event.

The fourth annual Alameda Running Festival took place on Sept. 15 at Alameda Point. Cesar Lira won the half-marathon (13.1 miles) event with a chip time — time starts when runner crosses the beginning line — of 1:21.33.79. Tony Martinez won the 10K event with a chip time of 33:52.64. Felipe Garcia won the 5K run/walk with a chip time of 16:35.91. 

Stephanie Bellato easily beat the field to win the Alameda Women’s Golf Club’s 88th Club Championship Sept. 26 on the Jack Clark Course. 

October

The AHS women’s golf team won the West Alameda County Conference (WACC) women’s golf tournament on Oct. 14. AHS beat six other teams to win the league title at the Skywest Golf Course in Hayward. The Hornets finished ninth at the North Coast Section (NCS) Div. I women’s golf tournament on Oct. 30, at Lone Tree Golf & Event Center in Antioch. The Hornets posted a 476 as a team. Twenty teams and several other individuals competed in the NCS tournament.

SJND men’s and women’s cross-country teams both earned top-five finishes at the 72nd annual Mt. San Antonio College (SAC) Invitational on Oct. 26, in Walnut, Calif. The men’s team finished third out of 17 teams in the Div. V Blue competition. The women’s team finished fourth out of nine teams in the Div. V green competition.

November

The EHS women’s water polo team defeated rival AHS, 9-6, to win the West Alameda County Conference (WACC) title Nov. 2. EHS junior Emma Laszlo led the team with four goals. 

The EHS football team lost the NCS Div. V championship game, 14-13, to Del Norte High after a missed extra point field goal late in the game on Nov. 29.

The AHS women’s cross-country team finished eighth in the NorCal Div. III cross-country championship on Nov. 30, at Woodward Park in Fresno. The team was one of 24 squads to compete in the Div. III team competition. The Hornets qualified for the regional tournament by finishing second in the NCS Div. III race. The Hornets were led by Olivia Liuson who finished 13th out of 203 competitors in the 5K race with a time of 18:25.5.

December
 

Alameda resident Kai Zarehbin was one of four members on the United States table tennis team that competed at the 2019 International Table Tennis Federation World Junior Table Tennis Championship. The tournament took place Nov. 24 to Dec. 1 at Terminal 21 in Korat, Thailand.