SVHS Swim & Dive, Track & Field head to VVAL championships

Dragons’ swim will look to continue its dominance as it travels to American Canyon for the League Championships on Friday and Saturday.

Sonoma Valley’s girls squad was the most dominant team in the Vine Valley Athletic League this season, finishing with a perfect 6-0 record in league while crushing the rest of the teams in their league.

Though the girls are led by their relay teams, they have a group of fantastic individual swimmers who have been able to mop up the Vine Valley for the entire season. Joining a senior trio of Sierra Pine, Glorianna Ring and Erin Nicholson in the upper echelons of the lineup is sophomore Remy Harrison, who leads a young corps of swimmers who have finished just behind their veteran counterparts in almost every race.

Though the boys squad only had two swimmers on its roster, the duo of senior Greyson McCaw and junior Tully Meyer have both been successful members of the swimming program as a whole.

McCaw is one of the best swimmers in the area, and is hoping to claim several event titles at the championships and to qualify for the NCS playoffs in the process. Meyer, on the other hand, is hoping to continue his season-long improvement in only his second year of high school swimming by improving his times and making strides towards a successful senior season.

There are two meets scheduled; the first round of events will take place at noon on Friday at American Canyon, while the finals will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Track & Field heads league championships

Following their meet at Montgomery, Sonoma Valley will compete in the VVAL championships to test their mettle against the league’s best on Wednesday and potentially Friday.

Siena Hoban has been a leader on the girls’ team, especially in the 1-mile run. She’s routinely placed in that event and has been largely responsible for the girls’ success along with her sister, Lilianna.

Sophomore Adam Tovar has been a fantastic runner for the Dragons this season in both the 1-mile and 2-mile runs, and stands a chance of placing well among his peers and establishing himself as a solid runner in the VVAL for the next couple years.

The championships are slated to take place on two separate days; beginning at noon on Wednesday, while the second will take place at the same time on Friday. Both meets will be held at Petaluma High School.

Sonoma Valley High sports schedule

Tuesday, April 26

Softball vs. American Canyon, 2 p.m.

Sonoma Valley (5-11, 2-5 VVAL) sought to turn things around before the end of the regular season, sitting just a game behind Casa Grande (7-7, 3-4) with five games left in the league circuit. Results were not available at presstime.

The Dragons entered into another slide last week, losing three league games to the Gauchos as well as Petaluma and Vintage and extending their losing streak to four games.

The Dragons’ pitching staff struggled in their past three games, giving up 39 runs in the three contests while scoring just 10 runs themselves. The offense performed well against Petaluma, but was shut out by Vintage and scored just two runs against Casa Grande.

Going into the home stretch of the season, Sonoma Valley could claim a playoff spot if they get hot and manage to win a series of games to vault them over Casa Grande.

If the Dragons’ pitching staff can turn it around to end the season and prevent big innings from the opposition, the Dragons’ will be able to stay competitive in any of their games to close out the season.

Boys Golf at Justin Siena, 3:30 p.m.

Baseball vs. Hercules, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 27

Boys Golf vs. Vintage, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, April 29

Baseball vs. Petaluma, 7 p.m.

The Dragons won both their weekend games, besting American Canyon on Friday and Albany on Saturday.

Sonoma Valley powered past American Canyon, scoring seven runs in the fourth on the back of a series of clutch hits and walks to blow the Wolves out of the water.

The Dragons won 9-1 in the league matchup, led by Grant Boydell’s one-run complete game. Boydell struck out four while allowing just six hits in his best performance on the mound this entire season.

Facing off against Albany, Sonoma Valley managed to win yet another game in walk-off fashion on Saturday with Jack Alcayaga’s extra-inning base hit to right field. Although the pitching staff surrendered six runs, the pitching was generally stellar outside of the first and six innings.

Senior Christian Hernandez earned the win in 2.1 scoreless innings of work to end the game, lowering his season ERA to 2.67.

Sonoma Valley (8-11, 4-4) sits at fifth place in the VVAL, a few wins away from a spot in the league playoffs and the NCS Division 3 playoffs if they can hold their winning ways through the final games of the season.