Sports

Sonya Martinez, left, Kara Hahn, Melanie Gatie and Jodee Lewis line up to practice their serves.  Photo by Maddie Musante

April 17 — Lassen Club Volleyball is in full swing, teaching youth of all ages to play volleyball skillfully and competitively. The club is enjoying both high membership this year and a high level of skill that is placing them in the upper ranks at tournaments.

Lassen Club Volleyball works with volleyball players as young as sixth-graders all the way up to college-level players. According to coach Julie Schmidt, this is the first year the club has had so many participants with 63 total in the class. The club is broken into several age brackets that include two teams in the 18-year-old age division, one team in the 16-year-old division and a younger team of sixthth through eigth grade girls. As part of club volleyball, Schmidt works with players from the freshman, JV and varsity teams of Lassen High School, as well players from Lassen Community College and younger players who attend schools throughout Lassen County. This year she has three Lassen High School seniors who will go on to play volleyball under coach Glen Yonan at Lassen Community College next year.

Schmidt is thrilled to see players from so many different age groups and skill levels participating this year. “It’s nice seeing different levels … we’ve never had so many young girls, so we’re building them younger and getting them ready for the next level,” she said.

Schmidt is also excited to see Lassen Club Volleyball competing at a high level and believes the club and its players are improving every year. Last year was the first time the club won a league title.

The 16-year old age group team recently competed in a tournament and won the silver bracket for the first time. The two 18-year-old teams are also making their mark at tournaments. In its last tournament, one of the 18 age group teams made it the semi-finals of the gold bracket, while the other went to the finals in the silver bracket.

“It’s just exiting to see how far everyone’s come … we’re getting there. We’re improving every year,” Schmidt said about the club’s recent success at tournaments.

Lassen Club Volleyball teams compete against teams from all over California and Oregon at tournaments.

For more information on club volleyball, call Julie Schmidt at 257-5173.

Spectators lining the racetrack cheer on Jesse White as he competes in the 65cc Mini-Bike race Saturday, April 6. White took third place in the race.  Photo by Maddie Musante

April 16 — The Motorcycle Racing Association of Northern Nevada and the Lassen Diamondbacks Motorcycle Club of Susanville held the 46th annual Diamond Back Hare Scrambles Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 at the Fort Sage OHV area in Doyle.

Saturday’s races featured a six and under Pee Wee race over a two mile course, a seven and older Pee Wee race over a two mile course, a Mini’s race over a 17-mile course and a Women’s race over a 17-mile course. The Big Bike race took place on Sunday and had riders complete three 33-mile loops to finish.

Approximately 39 riders traveled to Doyle to participate in the races on Saturday and 124 on Sunday. According to KC Pasero of the Lassen Diamondbacks Motorcycle Club, participation was good with riders representing many of the clubs in northern Nevada.

The Diamond Back 100 was the third round of the Motorcycle Racing Association of Northern Nevada’s 2013 race series.

The racecourse at the Fort Sage OHV area is known for its sand, whoops, single-track, uphill sections and a notorious downhill section known as “the widow maker.”

In the six and under Pee Wee race, Payton Daughhetee came in first place. Ava Delaney got second and Jordan Mass took third.

In the seven to nine Pee Wee race, Camie Ingram won first place. Blair Rankin came in second. Lawson Williams got third and Tristan Morrice got fourth.

In the four-stroke Pee Wee race, Andrew Anderson won first. Anthony Braun got second. Miranda Schlefstein took third.

Ezra Belingeri took first place in the 65cc Mini-Bike race. Mikey Majors came in second. Jesse White came in third.

In the 100cc Mini-Bike race, Austin Serpa took first, Austin Wilson took second and Jonas Thissen came in third.

Katie Rosenquist won first place in the novice women’s race. Devynn Muhlenberg came in second and Jessica Machutta took third.

According to Jeff Fontana of the local BLM office there were no issues or injuries, making the event a success from the BLM’s standpoint.

The Lassen Diamondbacks Motorcycle Club was founded in the 1970s in Susanville and has sponsored many races throughout the years. The club originally sponsored Enduros, which were races between Wendel and Fort Sage, then began hosting races at the Fort Sage OHV and Dry Valley areas as Hare Scrambles. The local club as been affiliated with the Motorcycle Racing Association of Northern Nevada for the past 15 years.

According to Pasero, the club had a membership of about 20 riders for several years and frequently recruited young riders, but has seen membership decline as riders moved away or stopped riding. Pasero pointed out that current club president, Nick Alosi, has succeeded in recruiting members from the Reno area who want to belong to a smaller, more relaxed club. However, the Lassen Diamondbacks still boast some longtime local riders including Russell Hewitt, Steve Pasero, Justin Pasero, Della Alosi and Scott Maas.

For more information on the Diamond Back Hare Scrambles, visit racemrann.com.

Becky McConnell gets a runner out at first base.  Photo by Maddie Musante

April 8 — The Lassen Community College softball team faced the Shasta College Lady Knights in a doubleheader played at home Wednesday, April 3. Shasta managed to shut out the Lady Cougars in both games, winning the first with a final score of 10-0 and the second 9-0.

The game was originally scheduled to take place at Shasta College on Friday, April 5, but was changed due to the rainy weather forecast.

Fans and students filled the stands of the Lassen Community College softball field to watch the Lady Cougars take on Shasta and enjoy the sunny spring weather. Unfortunately for the Lady Cougars, the doubleheader resulted in two losses.

Ivette Garcia pitched five innings for the Lady Cougars in the first game. Garcia struck out six, walked two and allowed three hits and one earned run. Natasha McCullough came in for relief, pitching two innings with one walk and one earned run. Brittaney Bloom went one for one at bat. Valeria Talamantez stole a base.

In the second game, Erica Estrada and Bloom each went one for two at bat. Siera Barton stole a base. Garcia pitched four innings and got four strikeouts and one walk. She allowed eight hits and four earned runs. Talamantez pitched one inning and allowed three hits and three earned runs.

The Lady Cougars are scheduled to take on Feather River College in Quincy at 12 p.m. Saturday, April 13.