Athletics Roundup: Boys Volleyball Remains in EBAL Title Contention, Wild Finishes, Strong Showing at West Coast Relays, and Much More

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It has been a season of streaks for the Dublin High Varsity Boys Volleyball team. The Gaels won their first four matches, then dropped its next four to drop back to .500 at 4-4, but has since recovered with a streak of 4 straight wins to improve to 8-4 overall and within striking distance of an East Bay Athletic League crown at 7-3 in league play.

The latest stretch of good fortune for Dublin started last week with victories over perennial powerhouse Foothill followed by a nonleague win at Acalanes. This week, Dublin outlasted Dougherty Valley on March 29th 3-2. The Gaels won the first 2 sets before the Wildcats seized the momentum to take the next 2 sets 27-25 and 25-22. Despite being on the ropes, Dublin rebounded to win the 5th set 15-11. On Thursday, Dublin defeated Livermore 25-20, 25-15, and 25-23 to pull within 2 games in the loss column of first place Amador Valley.

Although the Gaels lost to the Dons earlier this year, Dublin has victories over 2nd place De La Salle and 3rd place Foothill. In an EBAL season that is more wide open than any in recent memory, there are five teams still with a legitimate chance to win the title over the final three weeks (including Granada at 7-4).  In addition, the Boys Junior Varsity Volleyball team remains unbeaten on the season with a mark of 12-0, so even if the Varsity doesn’t win EBAL the JV team has an excellent opportunity at an undefeated season and a league title of its own.

Another team that is in the midst of a positive streak is the Baseball team. Over a span of less than 24 hours, the Gaels posted wild victories on the road at Livermore (8-7 on April 1st) and Alhambra (5-1 on April 2nd). Dublin improved to 8-5-1 overall, and with the victory over the Bulldogs advance to the semi-finals of the Alhambra Tournament to face Amador Valley on Tuesday, April 5th at 7:00 p.m. In an earlier matchup in league play, the Gaels defeated the Dons 9-4.

The win against the Cowboys in EBAL action on Friday came in a game which saw the Gaels fall behind 4-1 after the first three innings, go on top 8-5 before relinquishing 3 runs in the 6th, and then winning when T.J. Costello managed to score after escaping a run-down. Carston Pearson went 3-for-4, Brendan Moddelmog was 3-for-5, and Zach Miller was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI to lead a balanced offensive attack.

On Saturday, Moddelmog had another strong day at the plate by going 2-for-4, Mason Gomez went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI, and Cole Gaynor went the distance on the mound to lead the Gaels. Similar to Friday, this game also had a wild finish of its own, but this time it was on defense. Alhambra had loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, but Gaynor induced a pop-up on an attempted squeeze play, and the Gaels turned a rare triple play to end the game.

Dramatic finishes for the week weren’t limited to the Baseball and Volleyball teams. The Boys Lacrosse team trailed for most of its nonleague game at Las Lomas on March 29th before scoring 3 goals in the final minutes to come away with an 8-7 victory. Despite losing 2-6 to Foothill on Friday, at 5-5 overall the Gaels still have an opportunity to finish .500 or above for the first time in the program’s history.

Another program seeking to make history is Track and Field. Even with a storied past, this year’s team could be the best yet as evidenced by its performance in the prestigious West Coast Relays this weekend in Clovis.

Sophomore Jathiyah Muhammad was the Meet Champion in the Girls Pole Vault at 13’2 while senior Anish Kasam was the Meet Champion in the Boys 110m Hurdles at 14.72. Kasam also finished in 2nd place in the Boys 300m Hurdles and was part of the Boys 4×400 Relay team with Manogya Yara, Brandon Burns, and Sebastian Guinther who broke a school record and came away with a 3rd place medal registering a mark of 3:23.99. Other Gaels who broke school records at the West Coast Relays were junior Alexander Franco in the Boys 400m (49.68, 2nd place), freshman Khaliq Muhammed in the Boys Pole Vault (15’4, 2nd place), and Leila Champion in the Girls 100m at 12.06.

Two teams with valiant efforts that came up a bit short in close contests this week included the Softball and Boys Tennis teams. The Softball team went to extra innings before falling to Foothill 7-5 after the Falcons came from behind to tie the Gaels in the 7th and won on a walk-off in the 9th after shutting the door on multiple scoring chances for Dublin. The Boys Tennis team battled league powerhouse Monte Vista to a narrow 5-4 defeat, dropping the decisive match in a 3rd set tiebreaker. Earlier in the week, Dublin defeated Livermore 8-1.

One team that was extremely consistent last week was Boys Golf in their two matches at their home course (San Ramon Golf Course). The Gaels shot a 206 on March 29th in a 206-186 loss to Amador Valley. On March 31st, Dublin once again shot an identical mark of 206, but that time it was good enough to defeat Granada 206-226.

Stunt Cheer also had a contest against Granada this week, falling 9-13 on March 29th before posting a victory against San Ramon Valley on April 1st. Girls Lacrosse dropped its only game this week to College Park that same evening, and rescheduled their game at Foothill from April 1st to April 27th. Swimming dropped their first Dual Meet since 2019 after falling to Amador Valley on Friday.

 

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