VHS boys basketball has benefit dinner program Saturday

By Marty James

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Thursday in the Napa Valley:

Vintage High School boys basketball is having its third annual “Tri-Tip Tipoff” Saturday in the main gym at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 and it’s an all-you-can-eat affair with tri-tip, ravioli (donated by Genova Delicatessen of Napa), salad and garlic bread.

Proceeds go to the boys basketball program. Tickets may be purchased at the door or from a player in the program.

Vintage had its first scrimmage against Santa Rosa Monday.

“We were pleased with the effort and energy that all levels played with. They all got after it,” said Crushers coach Scott Thom.

Vintage visits Justin-Siena at Clark Gym on Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the season opener for both schools.

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Lindsay Brown, a junior setter from Napa, is now the Sonoma State record holder for career assists with 2,483. Brown broke the record in a California Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball win over Humboldt State. In that record-breaking match, she posted 39 set assists.

A strong finish, with wins over Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego, propelled the Seawolves to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993.

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Ryan Wessels of Napa will be playing closer to home as the San Francisco State men’s basketball team is in Rohnert Park for the eighth annual Ron Logsdon Basketball Classic, hosted by Sonoma State.

The Gators play Menlo College at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and face Northwest Nazarene at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in nonconference games.

Wessels played basketball locally at Vintage and Napa Valley College.

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Brad Lloyd, who plays football for Vintage and is a race car driver, will be the guest of the “KVON Sportsvine” Saturday. The hour-long show starts at 9 a.m. on KVON 1440 AM and is hosted by Terry Simpkins, Charles Kennedy and Mark McLeod.

After winning four karting championships, Lloyd switched gears and is in his first season in the Sports Car Club of America racing circuit. Lloyd’s team is Lloyd Family Racing of Napa.

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Starting at setter in 22 of the Cal State Stanislaus volleyball team’s matches, Napa’s Nicki Brown accumulated 576 assists and 46 kills. For the season, she finished with 14 blocks/block assists, 21 service aces and 97 digs.

Brown, a 2007 Napa High graduate, ranked fifth in the very competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association with 8.35 assists per game.

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Eric Branagan-Franco, a senior from Napa, won co-Big West Conference Goalkeeper of the Year honors for the Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo men’s soccer team. Branagan-Franco was also selected to the All-Big West First Team.

Branagan-Franco, a Napa High graduate, holds eight Cal Poly records, including 2008 tallies of 98 saves, 21 matches started in goal and a .831 save percentage. He led the conference in saves and is second in goals-against average.

He currently has 24 career shutouts, eight in 2008, with at least one more match to play.

This year, Branagan-Franco tallied 10 or more saves in three different matches, the first Mustang to achieve that feat in a single season.

Cal Poly will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995 as an at-large team. The Mustangs open the first round against Pacific-10 Conference champion UCLA on Friday at 7 p.m. in Drake Stadium in Los Angeles.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.

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