Delano Tiger tennis boys were to battle Tulare Western March 12 and Tulare Union March 14 in the league openers before taking part March 16-17 in the Lynch Cup and March 23-24 in the Wasco Tournament.  DHS returns to league play April 3 at Monache.

      The Tigers started fast with a 9-0 blanking of Cesar Chavez and then a 9-0 win over Wasco.

     In the victory over Wasco, No. 1 singles player Jaime Alvarez of the Tigers was 6-2, 6-4 victor, Miguel Duran won, 6-2, 6-1; Hector Cisneros triumphed, 6-2, 6-0; Andre Zizumbo, 6-1, 6-1; Quinton Cacal, 6-4, 6-3; and Justin Salon, 6-0, 6-1.  Alvarez and Cisneros combined for an 8-5 doubles win, Zizumbo and Xavier Duran won, 8-4, and Mike Dapito and Augustin Santiago teamed for an 8-0 victory.

Delano High tennis boys through April 20 stood 7-1 in the East Yosemite League in wins and losses with remaining matches against Porterville and Mission Oak.

      DHS was league champion last year when it lost to Tulare Western in the EYL opener and then won nine in a row.    DHS this season lost the opener to TW and has since won, but DHS needs to close with two wins to assure of at least a tie for the title.   Before last season the last Tiger net crown was in 1947.

       In a makeup match vs. Tulare Union, DHS won, 5-1, and followed that with a regularly scheduled match and beat Union again, 5-1.   It was a close 5-4 squeaker over Monache as Jaime Alvarez, Xavier Duran, Hector Cisneros, Quinton Cacal, and Justin Salon won singles with one singles bout and the three doubles losses for DHS.

Delano High tracksters in varsity boys outscored Porterville, 78-47, in an East Yosemite League meet run at Robert F. Kennedy.   Porterville girls outscored DHS, 80-40, and won frosh-sophs, 105.5 to 15.5.

      Standouts for DHS boys were Pablo Alonso who won in the shot put and discus, Javier Negrete in the 110 high hurdles and 300 hurdles and a tie for first in the high jump, and Junior Molina in the 100 and 200 meter sprints.    Javier Casillas ran second and JC Segura third in the 800 and 1600 and Segura led a 3200 sweep with Pedro Rodriguez and Matthew Rafanan following.  Arturo Villa won the 400 and DHS won the 1600 meter relay.

     For DHS girls, Natalie Chocoteco won the 3200 with Mirtha Vidal second, Nicole Bonifacio won the high jump and was third in the long jump, Ana Meza won the shot put and discus with Ivette Tobon third in both, Jennifer Gutierrez won the 800 with Chocoteco third and was second in the 1600 with Vidal third.    Mya Garcia and Mia Madrigal also scored points for DHS which won the 1600 meter relay.

     Seven Delano High School senior cheerleaders received plaque awards at the school’s annual Families and Friends Luncheon in the school cafeteria.

     Recognized were Alyssa Ashley Campos, Miranda Chavez, Kimberly Bautista, Jocelyn Valdez, Jordan Villanueva, Jaqueline Guzman, and Roman Villarreal.

Delano High’s Tiger baseball team lost a 7-6 championship game tussle in the finals of the San Diego Lions Tournament after winning the first four tourney games.

     Imperial High was the tourney champion over Delano which was making its first appearance in the tournament.

     Delano dropped a 6-0 bout to Porterville and 2-1 to Mission Oak after spring break, leaving Delano 0-4 in league games though their season mark is 11-6.  In two tourneys the Tigers were 8-1.

     Delano softball girls rallied past visiting Bishop, 8-4, in a final tuneup for the start of the East Yosemite League.

Delano softball girls dropped to 4-7 on the season with losses to Sierra Union, Mt. Whitney, 13-6, and Farmersville, 8-6.

     After the tourney Delano had a home game Friday, April 6, against Bishop, the first meeting ever of the two schools.

Winners of special awards for Delano High School’s winter sports have been announced by athletic director Albino Duran.

     For varsity wrestling Angel Nava, a state meet qualifier, was named Most Valuable and Most Dedicated.   Salvador Salas was named Most Improved.

    For JV wrestling, Eric Lema was the Most Valuable, Irvin Ayon the Most Improved, and Mark Guinto the Most Dedicated.

    For varsity girls basketball, Sonia Farfan won the Tiger Spirit Award, Kaitlyn Juan was Rookie of the Year, and Celine Bonifacio was Most Inspirational.

    For JV girls basketball Mia Madrigal was named winner of the Tiger Spirit Award, Mya Garcia the Offensive MVP, Alexa Silvas the Most Improved, and Alyssa Garaygordobil the Most Inspirational.

     Kristine Joy Almajano and Renee Hernandez were Tiger Co-captains and Zeline Mayubay the Most Inspirational Tiger.

     Angel Gonzalez was Most Valuable Player for varsity basketball with Leonel Zepeda and Gerardo Carranza both honored with the Mojo Award.

      Isaac Quiroz was Offensive Player of the Year and Nate Cardenas the Defensive Player of the Year for the JV basketball boys.   Rigo Reyes was Most Valuable and Sebastian Espinoza Most Improved for freshman basketball.

      For boys soccer, Jose Cardenas was Most Valuable Player for the varsity with Luis Torres Defensive Player of the Year and Quinton Cacal the Student Athlete Leadership Award winner.

    For JV soccer boys, Alonso Flores was Most Valuable, Leonel Rivera the Defensive Player of the Year, and Yovani Espino the Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

      Haide Magana was Most Valuable Player for varsity soccer girls with Jocelyn Garibay Most Improved and Alondra Galindo Most Dependable.

      Olga Rodriguez was Most Valuable Player for JV soccer girls with Gina Delgado gaining the Coach’s Award and Kimberly Godoy named Most Improved…..

March 20, the Delano varsity softball girls practically swam to victory.  While boys played at 1 p.m. to avoid expected rain, softball games were not slated until 4 p.m. when a drizzle greeted them and eventually full-out rain.

      Lady Tiger Jordan Villanueva slugged a triple in the first but was stranded.  DHS tallied twice in the third as Jocelyn Valdez beat out a grounder and two errors followed before a fly dropped right behind second base as two runs scored.  Errors helped DHS to two runs in the fourth to tie the score and then a hit batsman with the bases loaded forced in the winning run in the fifth…..

     Delano softball girls host Bishop on April 6 and start league Wednesday, April 11, at Tulare Western….

Delano Tiger baseball dropped to 0-2 in the East Yosemite League before spring break, losing to the visiting Monache Marauders March 20 as the visitors plated three runs in the top of the seventh to make up a two-run deficit and beat DHS, 7-6.

     Sloppy field play allowed the Marauders to score four in the first inning before Tiger pitcher Gabe Ulloa allowed just three hits and fanned 10 before exiting the mound in the sixth.

     Ulloa launched the DHS seventh with a double to deep center, but a fly-out, walk, and two strikeouts ended the game.

     Delano relief hurler Angel Jasso fanned the first batter in the top of the seventh, but an infield error was followed by three straight hits for three runs.

     DHS in the last of the sixth had a leadoff single and steal of second by Nate Cardenas, but on a sacrifice bunt he was caught in a jam between third and home.      A. Jasso reached second on the bunt, Casey Jasso’s single to deep shortstop advanced Joseph Ramirez to third and he scored on a passed ball.

     C. Jasso was 3-for-3, Ulloa belted two doubles, Dan Murillo and Cardenas both slapped two hits and Alex Carrillo and Brandyn Perez both swatted a hit and yet Delano could not plate enough runs.

     Delano JV’s beat Corcoran, 12-2, in non-league and Monache 10-0 for a league victory.

      DHS was entered in the March 24-26 San Diego Lions Tournament, scheduled to play Contreras High at Chula Vista March 26 and Morse High on March 28.   A third game was uncertain.   

      Delano returns to East Yosemite League play Wednesday, April 4, at Porterville and then plays Friday, April 6, at Mission Oak….

The Delano Tiger baseball team turned back visiting Corcoran, 13-3, in a non-league game March 19.

     For the Tigers, Daniel Murillo blasted three doubles and a sacrifice fly, driving in four runs.   Gabe Ulloa and Alex Carrillo both singled twice and Jesse Perigo slammed a run-scoring double

Delano High’s varsity tennis boys, who last year won the school’s first league title in that sport in 46 years, started the East Yosemite League on the losing end, 5-4, to visiting Tulare Western.   DHS was March 19 to host Tulare Union in a match originally scheduled last week but postponed due to rain.

    Against Western, DHS’s Xavier Duran, Quinton Cacal, and Joseph Salon won singles bouts with Duran and Cacal combining for a point in doubles.

     Closest match of the day was in third singles where Tiger Hector Cisneros lost the first game, won the second, and then after leading 9-7 in the tiebreaker lost 11-9.

      To start the Lynch Cup play in Division II Friday, DHS beat Wasco 5-5 but lost 5-1 to Lemoore and 4-2 to Bakersfield.

    Crosstown rival Cesar Chavez in the same tourney in Division V lost 5-5 to Mira Monte and Independence.

Delano High tracksters, who either practice at Cecil Avenue Park or travel to another local high school, were heavy underdogs against East Yosemite League power Monache in a March 13 dual match.

    Monache varsity boys won the team title, 85-26, and frosh-sophs 108-22 and the girls, 120-12.

      Jr. Molina led Delano boys, taking the 100 in 11.2 and 200 in 23.87.   Pablo Alonso won the discus (126-9) and shot put (44-2), the latter event with an all-time top mark.

     Delano’s Anthony Murguia and Sergio Gonzalez tied for fourth in the 100.

    For DHS girls, Ana Meza was second in the shot put (28-5) and discus (85-5).

       The Delano Tiger baseball team ran its record to 6-1 with a non-league 7-3 victory over visiting Robert F. Kennedy which also has a winning record to launch the season.

        Delano plated three runs in the first.  Jesse Perigo singled to open the Tiger first and after three walks, Angel Jasso drove in two runs with a single for a 3-0 DHS lead after one.

      In the top of the third Kennedy after two were out had a hit batsman, a single by Isaiah Staples and a run-scoring single by Niko Gardea.  Another run scored on a bases loaded walk to Frankie Ruiz.

      Kennedy socked two hits while Delano lashed six hits including a pair by Perigo.   

     Delano Tiger baseball after a 3-1 home loss April 20 to Tulare Union stood 2-7 in the East Yosemite League and 13-9 on the season.   DHS won a makeup game over Union, 4-0, behind the shutout pitching of Angel Jasso and two days later won, 5-0, as combined pitching of Nate Cardenas, Alex Carrillo, Gabe Ulloa, and Daniel Loera shut out Union again.

     In the April 20 night contest, Cardenas doubled and raced home on the catcher’s overthrow to third base and DHS nursed a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning.   Two DHS errors in that frame and another in the seventh allowed three runs total for Union and a 3-1 victory.   Jesse Perigo laced two DHS hits in the Friday game.

The Delano Tiger baseball team blanked the Wasco Tigers, 3-0, in the North/Terrio Classic National Division finals March 5 at Wasco.

     Gabe Ulloa hurled until one out in the seventh and fanned 12 while Angel Jasso got the final two outs on strikeouts to end a combined no-hit game.

     Alex Carrillo stroked a double and single for half of Delano’s hits.  The game was won in the fourth.   Carrillo led off with a single and went all the way to third on an Estevan Loera sacrifice bunt.   Casey Jasso’s fielder’s choice against a drawn-in infield scored a run and Ramon Ortega ran for Jasso.  Ortega stole second and third and tallied on a passed ball for a 2-0 DHS lead.

     DHS ran out of pitching in a 12-2 non-league loss at Ridgeview March 8.   The Tigers on March 14 were to open league play at Tulare Western.

Delano High varsity softball and baseball celebrated Monday, March 5, with shutout victories.

      DHS girls’ softball blanked visiting Cesar Chavez, 6-0, in a non-league softball game, ending a long string of losses to the Chavez girls.   Lady Tiger pitcher Viviana Gonzalez hurled the distance and smacked a double.

     Freshmen Krystal Lugo and Samantha Salinas laced hits for CCHS.

      In the championship finals of the National Division of the Terrio Classic, the Delano Tiger boys shut out host Wasco, 3-0, on Monday, the fifth straight victory to start the season for the Delano Tigers.

      Delano pitcher Gabe Ulloa hurled into the seventh with one out and had 12 strikeouts before a save by Angel Jasso who fanned the last two outs in a combined no-hit win.

     Alex Carrillo slugged a double and single for DHS, Ulloa one hit, and Ramon Ortega stole three bases and scored once.

      Two DHS runs in the fourth came when Carrillo singled, an Estevan Loera sacrifice bunt sent him all the way to third, and Carrillo tallied on a Casey Jasso fielder’s choice against a pulled-in infield.   Ortega ran for Jasso and stole two bases and scored on a passed ball.

      Delano coach Mike Cardenas for a March 8 contest at defending Division IV champion Ridgeview planned to pitch A. Jasso and Carrillo.

    Delano High tennis boys rolled past visiting Wasco, 9-0, in a non-league match Feb. 28.   The victory was the second for Coach Marc Gomez’s team after a prior 9-0 win over Cesar Chavez.

     No. 1 Tiger player Jaime Alvarez claimed a 6-2, 6-4 victory with other singles wins from Miguel Duran, 6-2, 6-1; Hector Cisneros, 6-2, 6-0; Andre Zizumbo, 6-1, 6-1; Quinton Cacal, 6-4, 6-3; and Justin Salon, 6-0, 6-1.

    In doubles play, Alvarez and Cisneros earned an 8-5 victory, Zizumbo and Xavier Duran an 8-4 win, and Mike Dapito and Augustin Santiago an 8-0 victory.

Delano High basketball boys closed the season with a spirited effort but a sour feeling after losing 83-81 at higher ranked Dinuba in the first round of the section Division IV playoffs.

          Dinuba led early before Delano forged ahead 37-32 at half and 61-44 entering the fourth quarter.

       Despite Dinuba’s more aggressive defensive play and full-court press in the second half, at one point Delano had 10 fouls and Dinuba just three.

      When Delano’s league scoring champion, Angel Gonzalez, fouled out with 5:17 left in regulation, DHS trailed 73-73.   The game remained close, but it took a regulation play buzzer-beater corner 3-point basket by Juan Nunez to pull DHS into a 73-73 tie and force overtime.

      The teams remained close and the game was tied until a winning Dinuba lay-up with 4 seconds left in overtime.

     Gonzalez canned 19 points to head Delano.    Nunez had four 3-pointers among his 18 points, Gabe Ulloa added 14, and Gerardo Carranza canned 13 before fouling out in overtime.

       Josh Magana sank 31 points including six 3-pointers for Dinuba which rimmed 22 of 33 free shots to Delano’s 10 of 15.

Delano High basketball boys gained their biggest upset of the season with an overtime victory over Porterville High.

      But the following night, Delano was beaten by Cesar Chavez and in the final league game Delano lost 68-66 at Mission Oak.

      DHS scorers were Gerardo Carranza 19, Gabe Ulloa 16, Angel Gonzalez 15, Leonel Zepeda 9, and Daniel Murillo 7.

      Delano on Feb. 17 was to learn its seeding and first away game in the division playoffs which begin Feb. 20.

Varsity and JV baseball teams for Delano High are opening the season Feb. 23 through March 3 by participant in the North-Terrio tournament in Bakersfield.

     DHS on Monday, March 5, will host Cesar Chavez varsity and JV teams with frosh at CCHS.   DHS is at Ridgeview March 8.  JV’s take part in the March 9-10 Wasco tournament.   League play starts Wednesday, March 14, at Tulare Western.

      Delano returns most of last year’s team.   Gabe Ulloa, Angel Jasso, Daniel Loera, and Daniel Murillo are all back as possible pitchers.   Ulloa and Loera may rotate at third base.   Senior Jesse Perigo returns at second base and sophomore Nate Cardenas at shortstop along with Murillo in left field and Brandyn Perez in center.  Alex Carrillo returns at catcher.

In a season-opening scrimmage the Delano Lady Tiger softball varsity edged host Corcoran 6-4.

     Jocelyn Valdez pitched the five-inning distance for DHS.  Outfielder Jordan Villanueva pounded two hits, including a solo inside-the-park home run, and drove in three runs.

     Bianca Casillas, Viviana Gonzalez, and Savannah Ramirez also tagged DHS hits.

     DHS Feb. 22 is scheduled at Kennedy with JV and varsity teams Monday, Feb. 26, at Strathmore.   Varsity plays in the March 1-3 North High Classic with freshmen at the Shafter tournament March 1-3.   DHS softball faces Cesar Chavez at DHS March 5.

In the East Yosemite League wrestling tournament, Delano High’s Angel Nava at 115 pounds became a league champion for the second straight year.

      Claiming third places for Delano were Kevin Lema, Salvador Salas, and Allen Sandoval.  Ivan Zapata placed fifth.

     At the JV level, Michael Dela Cruz and Irvin Ayon wree both champions for Delano.