Where Are They Now? West grad Alexander is a one-man snowboarding team
| Tuesday, Mar 02 2010 06:46 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Mar 02 2010 09:48 PM
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Ty Alexander, West High grad, is a snowboarder at Fresno State.
Ty Alexander, West High grad, is a snowboarder at Fresno State.
Although he grew up in Bakersfield, Ty Alexander's heart has always lived at a little higher elevation.
A ski and snowboard enthusiast since he first hit the slopes as a preschooler, the 24-year-old West High and Bakersfield College graduate has found a new arena to satisfy his passion.
Now a junior at Fresno State, the Ag-Business major is the lone member of the Bulldogs' ski and snowboard team, and recently qualified to compete in this weekend's USCSA Nationals at Sunday River Mountain in Maine.
"I've just always loved it," said Alexander, who has qualified to compete in the giant slalom and snowboard cross, but may also enter the halfpipe and slope-style events. "Every chance I get, I try to hit the slopes.
"It's just one of those things where I'd always try to hit all the jumps, but after you've hit all the biggest jumps, what's next? I just wanted to try to take it to the next level."
Although he's qualified for the event, getting to Maine might present a few challenges for Alexander, who has been trying to raise money for the trip.
"I have enough money to go, but it's supposed to go on other things like living expenses and rent," Alexander said. "But this is the nationals, which is also a qualifier for the World Cup."
Alexander is scheduled to leave Thursday with the event running through Monday.
"I can't wait," said Alexander, who said he is hoping others will join the Fresno State team next year. "I'm hoping that everyone will see how awesome it is and they'll want to come out."
Alexander got a late start on the season, but managed to qualify for the giant slalom with a top-10 finish three weeks ago in Mammoth. He had already qualified for his favorite event -- the boardercross -- by reaching the finals in just his second competition.
"The (snowboard) cross is my favorite," said Alexander, who played strong safety at Bakersfield College in 2004-05. "I've always liked hitting people, so maybe that's why."
That's perfect for the snowboard cross, which features six snowboarders traversing through a course featuring jumps and turns.
"It gets pretty physical," Alexander said. There's a lot of elbows being thrown and pushing trying to make a pass."
Basketball (women's)
Caty Huntington (Liberty), G, Northern Arizona -- Sophomore had four points, five assists and three steals in a 104-98 loss to Sacramento State on Thursday.
Britt Peters (Centennial), G, CS Fullerton -- Junior had seven points, four assists and two rebounds in a 70-63 win over Cal Poly on Thursday.
Jayme Salim (Cesar Chavez), G, Cuesta College -- Freshman was the starting point guard in basketball, and an infielder in softball. She had three rebounds and four assists in a season-ending loss to Santa Barbara.
Ashlee Stewart (Stockdale), G, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo -- Senior had 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal in an 85-70 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. She had two points, eight assists and two rebounds in Thursday's 80-73 lost to Cal State Fullerton.
Nicole Villalobos (Centennial), F, Mount San Jacinto College -- Sophomore was named first-team all-Foothill Conference. She averaged 9.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for the Lady Eagles (23-6), who lost to Mount SAC 76-65 in a SoCal Regional.
Cheyenne Wallace (Stockdale), F, Concordia (Irvine) -- Junior had six points, six rebounds, two blocks and two assists in an 87-80 win over San Diego Christian in the regular season finale Monday. The Eagles (12-16) play Vanguard University (Costa Mesa) tonight in first round of the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament.
Basketball (men's)
Charles Anderson (Bakersfield), G, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo -- Senior 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 60-57 win over UC Santa Barbara.
Ryan Darling (Tehachapi), F, Cal Poly SLO -- Senior had three rebounds, two blocks in a 60-57 win over UC Santa Barbara.
Darrin Dorsey (BC), Dakota Wesleyan (Mitchell, S.D.) -- Junior had 16 points, four assists, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 73-55 win over Briar Cliff University (Iowa) to advance to the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament title game.
Scott Draughon (BC), G, Northeastern State (Okla.) -- Junior had an assist in six minutes of play in Saturday's 77-70 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma.
Luis Gomez (Delano, BC), G, Texas A&M International -- Junior had 10 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in a 61-57 win over St. Edward's (Texas).
Jamar Harrison (BC), Clarion University (Penn.) -- Junior had 20 points, 10 rebounds and a block in an 86-79 overtime loss to Edinboro (Penn.).
Reggie Lassiter (BC), Oklahoma Pan Handle -- Senior had 19 points, five steals, four rebounds and an assist in an 81-76 loss to Lincoln (Missouri).
Cesar Menjivar (East), G, Cal Baptist -- Junior had six points, six assists and four rebounds in a 74-71 win at Vanguard University (Costa Mesa) on Monday.
Andrew Ready (BC), G, Western Washington -- Senior had two steals, a rebound and an assist in a 90-86 win over Cent. Washington.
Daniel Williams (BC), G, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) -- Senior 21 points, four rebounds and four assists in an 81-77 loss to Westminster (Utah) on Saturday.
Demetrius Williamson (BC), F, Niagara (N.Y.) -- Senior had 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in a 80-74 overtime loss to Fairfield (Conn.).
Gymnastics
Vanessa Klass (Stockdale), Cal State Fullerton -- Sophomore was 13th in the floor excercise with a 9.475 and placed 16th in the vault with a 9.175 in a tri-meet with Utah State and UCLA on Friday.
Sarah Smith (Centennial), Boise State -- Junior scored a season-best 9.875 in the floor excercise, for a two-way tie for first place, and a season-best a 9.85 for three-way tie for fourth place in vault at Burnsley Invitational in Denver.
Women's hockey
Kristi Kehoe (Liberty), F, Northeastern (Boston) -- Junior assisted on her team's only goal in a 4-1 loss to Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East Athletic Conference tournament.
Wrestling
Jake Varner (BHS), Iowa State -- Senior will compete in the Big 12 Conference championships Saturday in Norman, Okla.
Baseball
Daniel Arvizu (Centennial), soph., OF, Macalester (Minn.); Aaron Brown (Ridgeview/North), Fr., C, Cal State Monterey Bay; Casey Brown (Centennial, BC), Sr., OF, Liberty University (Va.); Jeff Burleson (Liberty, BC), Sr., P-Inf, Oral Roberts; Corey Davisson (West, BC), Sr., P, Evansville (Illinois); Tyler DeMasters (West), Fr., C, College of the Sequoias; Joe Etcheverry (Centennial), Jr., Inf, Northern Illinois; Tyler Garewal (Centennial, BC), Sr., OF, Oral Roberts; Jeremy Gonzales (South, BC), Jr., P, Northern Illinois; Keven Inman (Garces), Jr., P, Pepperdine; Matt King (Shafter), Sr., P, Ashford; Ryan Lay (Stockdale), Soph, OF, College of Southern Idaho, Thomas Lee (Liberty), Soph., P, Sonoma State; Simmon Menchaca (Delano), Fr., P, College of the Sequoias; Alex Mitchell (Bakersfield), Fr., OF, Whittier; Pete Mitchell (Bakersfield), Soph., C, Whittier; Travis Morgan (Liberty, BC), Jr., Inf, Fresno Pacific; Chris Neal (Liberty), Fr., OF, Biola; Mitch Porwoll (Bakersfield Christian), Soph., P-OF, Christian Brothers University; Dusty Robinson (Centennial), Soph., OF, Fresno State; Philip Valos (Stockdale), Fr., P, College of Southern Idaho; Kirk Walker (Liberty), Jr., Inf, Oklahoma City University.
Softball
Cassidy Bell (Liberty), Fr., OF, Penn State; Bianca Castillo (North), Jr., util., UC Davis; Ensley Gammel (Centennial), Fr., P-util, Florida; Tori Hoffmann (BCHS), Fr., 1B, Abilene Christian; Carly Hummel (Ridgeview), Fr., P, Memphis; Cheri Johns (North), Sr., P-1B, Cabrini; McKenzie Joseph (Centennial), Fr., 1B-2B, Colorado State-Pueblo; Megan Langenfeld (Centennial), Sr., P-1B, UCLA; Nathalie Martinez (BC), Jr., 2B, Dickinson State; Vanessa Medina (Centennial), Soph., C-1B, Lipscomb; Mackenzie Oakes (Stockdale), Soph., P, Fresno State; Lyndsie Roberts (Stockdale), Jr., P-inf, Biola; Myranda Sawyer (Highland, BC), Soph., P, Mt. Hood College; Sara Whaley (BCHS), Jr., C-DH, University of Chicago.
Track & field
Eric Quick (Liberty), jumps, Notre Dame -- Team captain was awarded the Most Outstanding Field Event Performer at the 2010 Big East Indoor Track & Field Championships after helping the Irish to the team championship. He won the men's triple jump with a leap of 15.46 meters and also placed in the long jump. The victory in the triple jump was his sixth All-Big East Conference honor of his college career.
Alana Alexander (Centennial), Fr., jumps, Washington; Deleon Carter (West), Fr., hurdles, CS Northridge; Marissa Crook (Centennial), Sr., distance, CS Northridge; Desirae Gonder (Stockdale), Jr., jumps-multi events, CS Northridge; Anakia Jackson (Stockdale, BC), Sr., heptathlon, UC Davis; Cameron Jost (Liberty, CSUB), Soph., sprints, Sacramento St.; Dominique Lauderdale (Ridgeview), Jr., sprints, Washington; Christine Merrill (BCHS), Sr., hurdles, UC Davis; Taylor Nichols (Stockdale), Soph., jumps-sprints, Washington; Haylee Varner (BHS, BC), Sr., throws, CS Northridge.
