The Redwood High baseball team and San Marin softball team both entered the week looking to successfully defend their MCAL championships.

The Giants accomplished that feat as the No. 3 seed, winning three times to go back to back. San Marin, which won as the No. 4 seed last season, was the favorite this time around and lived up to that billing with a pair of one-run victories.

It was a busy week in seemingly every sport as Marin’s best swimmers competed at State while the track stars competed at the North Coast Section Redwood Empire Meet. Section playoffs wrapped up in lacrosse and boys volleyball.

Matthew Knauer, Jack Gurley, and Jack Moseley, Redwood baseball >> Redwood leaned heavily on its pitching depth last week, needing to navigate the pitch count rules through three games. The Giants shut out San Rafael and Tam in the first two games, scratching out some runs in the late innings to secure 3-0 and 2-0 wins, respectively. Gurley threw 3.1 shutout innings against San Rafael then pitched another 3.1 innings while allowing two runs (one earned) in the title game against San Marin. Knauer pitched a single inning against the Bulldogs then tossed 6.2 innings of no-hit ball in the win against Tam. The Giants fell behind 3-0 early against San Marin but Moseley delivered one of the biggest hits — a two-run single in the fifth to put Redwood in front 4-3.

Amanda Postel, Taylor Testa, and Leah Cronin, San Marin softball >> Postel came up big in clutch situations, driving in two runs — including the game winner — in a 4-3 victory against Archie Williams in the semifinals. Postel then put the ball in play again late in a tie game against Marin Catholic. Savannah Reynolds scored the eventual winning run on the play, which was ruled an error. Cronin, who batted directly in front of Postel all week, set the table for Postel’s heroics. Cronin drove in two runs to tie the game against Archie Williams right before Postel delivered the winning hit. Cronin also drew an intentional walk just before Postel came up with the winning play against MC. Testa put together two strong performances inside the circle, pitching all 14 innings while allowing 10 hits and three earned runs against 10 strikeouts. Testa retired seven of the final eight hitters she faced in both games.

Morgan Carlson and Malliah Foster, Marin Catholic softball >> Carlson got on base repeatedly as MC won a pair of games to advance to the title game. Carlson had six hits during the week, including a three-hit, three-run performance against Redwood in the semifinals. Carlson hit a two-run home run in the first game against Tam and had two more hits, including an RBI triple, against San Marin. Foster, a freshman, strung together three consecutive impressive starts beginning with seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against Tam. Foster limited Redwood to four hits in seven more innings of work, allowing three earned runs and striking out nine. Foster allowed five hits and one earned run in six innings against San Marin.

Sean McGrath and Joey Cipollina, San Marin baseball >> McGrath was dominant against MC in the semifinals, limiting the Wildcats to four hits against 12 strikeouts in 8.2 shutout innings. San Marin eventually prevailed 1-0 in 10 innings. Cipollina had two hits against MC and was even more impactful in the final against Redwood. Cipollina had two more hits against the Giants, including a two-run single to tie the game in the seventh inning when San Marin was down to its final out.

Ben Butler, Nicholas Arinduque, Jackson Wright, and Jack Middleton, Terra Linda boys swimming >> Terra Linda placed eighth as a team at the State Meet in Clovis on Saturday with Butler turning in two top-eight finishes and the 200-yard medley and 200 free relay teams doing the same. Butler, who is set to swim at the University of Arizona next year, placed fifth in the 200 free with a time of 1 minute, 36.65 seconds a day after he set a new MCAL record of 1:35.67 during the prelims. Butler took seventh place in the 100 free in 44.75 a week after setting the MCAL record in that event with a 43.91 at the North Coast Section meet. All four swimmers competed in the relays at State, finishing fourth in the 200 free relay and fifth in the 200 medley relay. The 200 free relay team set an MCAL record of 1:22.55 during the State prelims. Arinduque also set a league record a week ago in the 100 breast with a time of 55.68 at NCS.

Addison Everage, Tam girls swimming >> Everage set a pair of school records during the prelims at State on Friday, putting up a time of 54.34 in the 100 back and 55.53 in the 100 fly. Everage, who is set to swim for UC San Diego next season, came back the following day, placing 17th in the 100 fly in 56.43 and sixth in the 100 back at 54.78.

Annalise Horn and Julia Bayon, Redwood girls track >> Horn and Bayon were both triple winners as Redwood piled up 63 points and finished as champions as the NCS Redwood Empire Meet in Fortuna on Saturday. Horn won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 3.25 inches and took the triple jump with a distance of 35’10”. Bayon dominated the sprints again, winning the 100 meters with a PR of 11.83 and the 200 with another PR of 24.42. Both girls, along with Jaden Vongorder and Jenna Beauchamp, competed on the victorious 4×100 relay team, which posted a time of 48.89.

Caeden Gardner, Nate Wanger, and Shea Sorcher, Tam boys track >> Tam won four events at the NCS Redwood Empire Meet en route to a comfortable victory in the team competition with 83 points. Gardner won the 800 with a time of 1:55.20 and Wanger won the 400 in 50.70. The two runners were also on the victorious 4×400 relay team with Dexter Burnett and Cooper Hatch, winning with a time of 3:24.99. Sorcher also picked up a victory, finishing the 300 hurdles in 40.29.

Antonio Bayon, Redwood boys track >> Bayon put the Redwood in Redwood Empire, winning three individual events on Saturday. Bayon took the 110 hurdles in a PR of 14.81 and won the high jump with another PR of 6’7” Bayon’s other victory came in the pole vault with a height of 14’3”.

William Mulliken and Ian Sharp, Archie Williams boys track >> Marin’s other two individual winners at Redwood Empire were both Peregrine Falcons. Mulliken won the 1,600 in 4:15.23 and Sharp won the 3,200 in 9:26.47.

Ellie McCuskey-Hay. St. Ignatius girls track >> The San Rafael resident and Marin Waves standout secured her spot in the finals in all four of her events at the Central Coast Section Trials in Gilroy on Saturday. McCuskey-Hay put up the fastest time the 100 (11.74) and the third fastest the 200 (24.52). McCuskey-Hay’s distance of 17’6.75” in the long jump was good for fifth best and she anchored the 4×100 relay team to a school record 47.11, finishing first.

Omar Williams, San Domenico boys track >> Williams was a double winner at the NCS Class A Championships, held at Montgomery High in Santa Rosa on Saturday. Williams took the 300 hurdles with a PR of 40.44 and put up another PR of 5’11” to win the high jump.

Farah Allen, Imogen Brown, Maya Gidney, and Hailey Sellers, Branson girls track >> It wasn’t just that the girls from Branson won the 4×800 relay at the NCS Class A Championship, it was the way they won it. The team, which features four of the five girls that won the Division V state title for Branson in the Fall, dominated the competition, winning in 9:32.61 — more than 22 seconds ahead of the field.

Lucy Jeffers, Lucy Miller, and Presley Pewitt, Redwood girls lacrosse >> Jeffers and Miller scored three goals apiece while Pewitt scored twice and added two assists to lead Redwood to its first NCS D-I title since 2022 in a 10-9 victory against San Ramon Valley on Thursday. Jeffers, who also won three draw controls against the Wolves, tied for team-high honors with Nina Baker with three goals in Tuesday’s semifinal win against Tam.

Ishwar Jayaraman and Finn Higgins, Branson boys tennis >> Jayaraman and Higgins picked up victories at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, respectively, to lead Branson to a 5-2 win against Lick-Wilmerding in the NCS D-II title game on Saturday.

Beckett Shewey, Redwood boys volleyball >> Shewey had 35 kills in an NCS D-II semifinal win against Irvington and added 29 more in the title game — a four-set loss to International — as Redwood became one of the first Marin teams in recent memory to advance to the NorCal boys volleyball tournament.

Theo Anderson, Marin Catholic boys golf >> Anderson was the top Marin finisher taking second place at the NCS D-II championships at Foxtail North in Rohnert Park last Monday. Anderson carded a 73 to help MC finish third as a team with a score of 314.