It was a great way to kickstart Winter Break as Sprinter Alexander Franco signed his official Letter of Intent just minutes after final exams concluded on Thursday, December 22nd. Franco will be on scholarship to run at Cal Poly SLO next year.
Franco plays a pivotal role running the final leg in two of Track and Field’s marquee events – the 4×100 and the 4×400 Relays. In last year’s North Coast Section Meet of Champions, Franco was part of a Relay team that finished in 1st place in the 4×400 Relay, and also had a memorable finish on the backstretch in the 4×100 to ensure that the Gaels would medal. Franco also qualified for the State Meet in the 400m, and his contributions helped Dublin to win an NCS Title in 2022.
The other big highlight of the final week heading into break was achieved by the Varsity Girls Basketball team, as they went on the road to defeat Amador Valley 46-41 to win their East Bay Athletic League opener. Kenya Craven led the way with 20 points, while Sophia Ignacio made some big free throws down the stretch to hold off a late rally by the Dons and preserve the hard-fought victory.
Looking ahead to this week’s action, the marquee event taking place at Dublin High School is the West Coast Jamboree, which is a premier Varsity Girls Basketball tournament. Dublin enters the tournament with a record of 6-3 overall and will be competing in the Pearl Division. The Gaels opening round opponent is Freedom on Wednesday, December 28th at 1:30. Dublin has already played the Falcons earlier this season, coming away with a 62-45 victory.
In addition, the Dublin High Sports Complex will also play host to the Platinum Division featuring some of the top high school basketball teams on the West Coast. For the full schedule of all brackets, go to www.westcoastjamboree.org.
The Dublin High Varsity Boys Basketball team will also be participating in a prestigious invitational tournament, as they travel to Southern California to compete in The Classic at Damien. Dublin has been selected for the Platinum Division, which will feature all of the strongest teams. The Gaels’ 1st Round contest will be on Tuesday, December 27th at 11:30 a.m. against undefeated West Ranch (12-0).
Dublin improved its record to 9-3 overall after going on the road on December 22nd to defeat Kennedy High School (Fremont) 80-50. The win over the Titans follows a Don Nelson Classic tournament title at home the previous week, helping to give the Gaels a bit of momentum heading into their stiff 4-day test this week. Mehki Thomas led Dublin with 13 points, while three other players also finished in double figures Jalen Stokes (12 points), Evan Bautista (11 points) and Donovan Cooks (10 points).
In other tournament action, the Boys and Girls Wrestling teams will be competing in tournaments at Liberty High School on December 28-29. Coming off of wins over Kennedy and Willow Glen last week, the Junior Varsity Boys Basketball team will be competing in the San Ramon Valley Tournament while the Freshmen Boys Basketball team will be participating in the Dougherty Valley Tournament.
The Dublin JV and Varsity Boys Soccer teams will take the pitch again after a 17-day break as they travel to Pittsburg for a nonleague match on Thursday, December 29th (12:00/2:00). The Freshmen Boys Soccer team will be at home that same evening to take on Berkeley (5:00).
The Girls Soccer teams along with the Girls JV and Freshmen Basketball teams are all off this week.
