September 11, 2007

HIGH SCHOOLS
East Union pitcher picks Georgia

By Michael Sudhalter
Record Staff Writer

Erin Arevalo will have something else to celebrate on her birthday.

The East Union High senior pitcher verbally committed to the University of Georgia on Sunday and will sign her letter of intent on Nov. 9, her 17th birthday.

"I thought it'd be cool if I'm able to do that on the same day," said Arevalo, The Record's Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

She went on an official visit to Athens, Ga., last weekend and chose the school over Cal, Memphis and Illinois State.

"The school is beautiful, and it's in a great area," Arevalo said. "I want to go into sports medicine, and they have one of the best programs there. The facilities are amazing, and I just liked everything about it."

Arevalo led the Lancers to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV title game and finished with 430 strikeouts, two perfect games, seven no-hitters and a 0.31 ERA.

Washington shines

The Stagg football team had a difficult second half Friday, losing to Chavez 42-13.

But senior receiver/defensive back L.J. Washington had an impressive showing. He caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown and finished with six tackles and a quarterback sack.

Delta Kings coach Don Norton said Washington has received written scholarship offers from Arizona State, Cal, Fresno State and Nevada.

"He's a heck of an athlete," Norton said, "and I put his name out as much as I could."

Garcia joins Cougars

Benny Garcia, Delta College's first state wrestling champion, joined the Weston Ranch wrestling staff as a paid assistant.

"It's just a good fit because he's there to help the kids' learning," Weston Ranch athletic director Pat King said. "He's a qualified coach because he's such a quality wrestler."

Garcia, a Manteca graduate, wrestled last winter at Cal State Fullerton, but he decided not to return to school this fall. During his time at Delta, he volunteered with the Weston Ranch program.