Local report: BHS' Hammond captures national title
| Sunday, Apr 03 2011 09:58 PM
Last Updated Sunday, Apr 03 2011 09:58 PM
Bakersfield High senior Bryce Hammond finished his career in style Sunday, winning a senior national championship at the NHSCA class national wrestling tournament in Virginia Beach, Va.
Hammond beat Austin Wilson from Hastings (Neb.)-St. Cecilia 7-4 in the 160-pound Senior Nationals championship, capping a 5-0 weekend. Wilson is a three-time Nebraska state champion and will wrestle for the University of Nebraska.
For Hammond, a Cal State Bakersfield signee and the nation's top-ranked recruit at 165 pounds, the victory was the culmination of a prep winning streak that has lasted more than two years. He was a sophomore national champion in 2009, then won back-to-back CIF state championships. He didn't wrestle at Junior Nationals last year because of injury.
And that wasn't the only good news for Bakersfield: Team scores for individual scores aren't kept at Senior Nationals, but if they had been, the Drillers' senior class would have been won a national title. That came on the strength of Hammond and three other All-Americans: Ian Nickell (fourth at 112), Timmy Box (fourth at 135) and Adam Fierro (third at 152, with eight straight wins after a loss in his first match).
California, which also had championships from Chico's Nashon Garrett, Turlock's Fabian Garcia and Clovis North's Vince Rodriguez, easily won the team standings with 240.5 points. Second-place New Jersey had 156.5.
College baseball
Ryan McIntyre went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs to lead Cal State Bakersfield to a 7-2 victory at Santa Clara.
McIntyre hit .563 (9-of-16) in the three-game series against the Broncos (12-13) as the Roadrunners improved to 20-7.
Andrew Letourneau was 3-for-5 as CSUB finished with 15 hits. DC Legg was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Kevin Younger went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Tommy Hoenshell recorded his second complete game of the season in picking up his fifth win.
College softball
Sammy Rodriguez pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks as Cal State Bakersfield defeated South Dakota 9-1 in the first game of a doubleheader at CSUB. The Roadrunners beat the Coyotes 4-1 in the second game.
Amy Ricciardi went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Karissa Veiga was 3-for-4 and Stefanie Friel finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead CSUB in the opener. The game was called after six innings because of the eight-run mercy rule. Ryan Petersen added a three-run home run. In game two, Emily Bliss hit her first home. Rodriguez earned her second save and Ricciardi was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
JC track and field
Darien Moore won three throwing events to lead the Bakersfield College men to a second-place finish Saturday at a Western State Conference mini-meet at L.A. Valley College. Moore recorded a mark of 51 feet, 3 inches in the shot put. He also placed first in the discus (150-0) and hammer (165-0).
Other BC men's winners were Chad Barlow in the long jump (21-9), Mike Wood in the javelin (156-0) and Robby Harris in the high jump (6-4). The BC women placed fifth, led by Breanne Goodman's win in the javelin (102-3).
