The University of Redlands softball team has earned a berth in the NCAA Division III Womenâs College World Series beginning Thursday in Illinois. (Photo: Courtesy)
The University of Redlands softball team is headed to the NCAA Super Regional.
The Bulldogs defeated Emory University 13-2 last week to clinch their berth.
And it was a Redlands High grad, Maya Holshoe, who played a pivotal role in the Bulldogsâ win. Holshoe, with the Bulldogs clinging to a 3-2 lead, hit a two-run, pinch-hit triple to put Redlands in control.
The Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Division III Womenâs College Series this week at Illinois Wesleyan University. Their first game is against Trine University on Thursday.
TERRIERS ADVANCE TO STATE
Caption: Redlands High's Su'Riah Williams and Michael Cullen have qualified for the CIF-State Track and Field Championships in Clovis. (Photo: John Murphy)
Redlands Highâs Michael Cullen and SuâRiah Williams have qualified for the state track and field meet in the pole vault and girlsâ discus, respectively.
The CIF State Track and Field Championships are May 30-31 at Buchanan High in Clovis.
Cullen finished second at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet with a vault of 15 feet, eight inches. Santa Margaritaâs Brady Furr won at 16-2.
âIâm glad I get to go for the second straight year,â Cullen said. âI think there is a good chance I can get on the podium, and I think Iâll have a chance to win.â
Khaliq Muhammad of Pittsburg High in the Bay Area leads all Californians in the pole vault with a mark of 17-2, one inch better than University City of San Diegoâs Kai Anderson. Cullen did 16-3 at the CIF-SS D2 finals and 16-6 in January at the Pole Vault Summit in Reno.
Williams finished sixth at the Masters Meet in the girlsâ discus with a heave of 140-11. Aliso Niguelâs Jaslene Massey won with a mark of 165-06.
STATE MEET HISTORY
There have been some interesting venues for the CIF State track and field meet over the years.
Among the sites were the Sacramento Fairgrounds (1918), San Bernardino High (1919), the Los Angeles Coliseum (1926), Chico State (1956), and Mitchell Field in Oroville (1972).
The first California state meet that included girls was in 1974 at Memorial Stadium in Bakersfield.
FAMOUS COACH GOT START IN REDLANDS
While studying state track and field history I was reminded the late, great Payton Jordan got his start coaching at Redlands High in the 1940s.
Jordan, who died in 2009 at 91, was the US Olympic track and field coach in 1968. Besides his stint in Redlands, Jordan coached at Occidental College and Stanford University.
In 1968 in Mexico City, Jordan guided a US team that won 24 Olympic medals, including 12 golds. Among them was Bob Beamonâs spectacular long jump of 29 feet, 2 Âź. That world record stood for almost 23 years until broken in 1991 by Mike Powell.
âPayton was so mentally and physically fit and had such a magnetic personality that one felt inspired just being in his presence,â Redlandsâ Gary Scholton told the Redlands Daily Facts in 2009.
Gary Scholtonâs father, Robert, coached with Jordan at Redlands High.
Jordan was inducted into the Redlands High Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
BULLDOGS EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS
The University of Redlandsâ Allyn Asberry-Blanco and Maigan Adams put forth strong showings in the triple jump at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Geneva, Ohio.
Asberry finished 13th with a best mark of 48-0. Adams took 16th place with a mark of 38-7 ½. Both made second team All-American.
Redlands finished with four All-Americans â Asberry-Blanco, Adams, Corte Peterson, and Ella Bachmeier.
MARTINEZ MOVES ON
Caption: Jeff Martinez is moving on, after 25 years as the University of Redlands athletic director. (Photo: Courtesy)
Jeff Martinezâs last day as the University of Redlands athletic director was Friday.
Martinez arrived at Redlands in 1983 as the head athletic trainer. He also served as the first Bulldog womenâs golf coach. He became the athletic director in 2000.
"Jeff is the true embodiment of a âBulldog for Life.â We are grateful to have had him lead our athletics program, and his impact will be felt for many years to come," University of Redlands President Krista Newkirk said in October.
Succeeding Martinez is Nikki Ayers, who was most recently the director of athletics at Juniata College in Huntington, Pennsylvania. Before that, Ayers held leadership positions at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges where she helped the college win four national championships.
A third-generation San Francisco native. His first job was in Watsonville, where he wrote stories on a typewriter and people smoked in the office. He's covered Redlands, San Bernardino and Riverside.
