From Register Staff

The St. Apollinaris Catholic School fifth-grade girls basketball team recently won the North Bay Catholic Schools League basketball championship.

The St. A’s Shamrocks finished their season unbeaten with an 11-0 record.

In the semifinals of the league playoffs, St. A’s defeated cross-town rival St. John’s Catholic by a score of 20-9.

The final score was not indicative of how close the contest was, as the St. John’s Gaels put up a strong effort in a hardfought game.

Olivia Henderson led St. A’s with six points. Katelyn Leveque, Mackenzie Mills and Michelle DeBlauw chipped in four points each.

Anna Lee (eight rebounds), Emilie Dolan (five rebounds, two points) and Vendela Aguayo played excellent defensively.

St. John’s was led in scoring by Danielle Mirda and Carly Schmitz with five and four points respectively.

The Shamrocks faced St. Francis of Sonoma in the championship game.

After a slow start in the first half, St. A’s used a half-court trap to jump start their third-quarter effort.

A relentless defensive effort by Maddie Long, Iilianna Keith, Jackie Frappia, Raquel Flores, and Hannah Bartlett led to eight unanswered points to give the Shamrocks an 18-11 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The final score was St. A’s 24, St. Francis 15.

Offensively, Olivia Henderson had eight points, while Michaela Rossi (six points, six rebounds), Michelle DeBlauw (four points), Katelyn Leveque (two points) and Bridget McLaughlin (two points, three rebounds) contributed to a strong, balanced attack.

Emilie Dolan played an excellent all-around game despite being hampered by a sprained ankle.

The Shamrocks have a large team consisting of 14 players. Each and every player played a significant role in the team’s overall success.

Team members include Vendela Aguayo, Hannah Bartlett, Jackie Frappia, Michelle DeBlauw, Emilie Dolan, lilianna Keith, Mackenzie Mills, Katelyn Leveque, Anna Lee, Maddie Long, Raquel Flores, Michaela Rossi, Olivia Henderson and Bridget McLouglin.

Napa Renegades win tournament title

The Napa Renegades girls U-12 basketball team won the championship at the Strictly Hoops AAU Basketball Tournament in Marin recently.

The team received outstanding play from the following girls: Ely Ceja, Jennifer Cardey, Lauren Cardey, Sarah Francke, Teal Geyer, Danielle Green, Olivia Husted, Jenna Joske, Mackenzie LeMasters, Rebecca Steen, and Caroline Zaia.

The girls beat the Petaluma Chicks and Roseland Blue Devils before winning the championship against the Ukiah Rebels.

The team is coached by Steve Dreher, Kevin LeMasters and Roger Keilig.

Napa Track Club competes in

Santa Rosa meet

The Napa Track Club recently competed at an invitational meet held at Santa Rosa High School, hosted by the Santa Rosa Express Track Club.

The Napa Club sent 20 athletes, a number of whom are first-time competitors.

The Napa team came away with six first-place finishes:

• Jennah Richmond, midget girls 400 meter dash, 1.11.03

• Denika Schmidt, youth girls high jump, 4-0

• Mario Govannoni, youth boys high jump, 5-0

• Henry Calforda, bantam boys hurdles, 13.31

• Megan Zoller, intermediate girls 100-meter hurdles, 19.69

• Anthony Zoller, intermediate boys shot put, 30-4.

Megan Zoller also won a second place in the intermediate girls 200 meter dash, and a fourth in the 400 meters.

Her brother, Anthony Zoller, added a third place in the long jump and shot put.

Brother Eric Zoller, youth boys, got a second in the 800 meters with a 2:21.83, as well as a third in the 200 meters.

Mario Giovannoni also placed third in the youth boys triple jump, and Jennah Richmond nabbed a third place in the midget girls 100 meters.

The Napa Track Club’s next meet will be at Diablo Valley College today.

West Coast Elite squad wins

bronze medal

West Coast Elite Cheer and Dance, which features several competitors from Napa, recently competed at the World Spirit Federation National competition in Las Vegas, with all three teams finishing in the top 10 of their divisions.

The two-day competition, held at the Cox Pavilion at UNLV, hosted over 140 nationally-ranked teams from as far away as Maine with representatives from across the U.S.

The Small Senior team of Jessica Brewer, Breanne Boggs, Brianna Foster, Shawna Miller, Gemma Southerlington, Monique Maduro, Nyowa Falley, Nicole Hernandez, Lindsey Schmitt, Tony Oliver, Ebonne Collins, Shatia Foster and Samantha Baird — coached by Amber Kirk and Meagan Brightwell — went in to the second day of competition in first place.

After a small bobble, the team finished third, just 0.2 points from the national title.

The Youth Level 2 team sat in eighth place after the first day of competition, but after a stellar performance, the squad took sixth.

The Senior Prep Hip Hop started off with a disadvantage by being moved up to a senior level of competition, but they were able to hold on to a solid eighth place for both days of competition.

The 45 members that traveled to Las Vegas represented the community well and were recognized for their outstanding performances.