Empire notes: Windsor's Lucas Chung to run for Gaels

Windsor High senior Lucas Chung will continue his running career at St. Mary's College in Moraga. The distance specialist signed a national letter of intent to run for the Gaels. Chung finished second to Stanford-bound (and California state champ) Liam Anderson in the Division 3 race at the North Coast Section cross country finals last fall. Chung ran to a 12th-place finish at the CIF state cross country championship in Fresno. Chung ran the fastest 1,600-meter race in the Empire last spring in track, with a 4:20. He was fifth fastest in the 3,200 with a time of 9:40.

Healdsburg, SRJC grad to play pro soccer

Class of 2012 Healdsburg High grad and former Santa Rosa Junior College soccer standout Omar Nuno has signed to play soccer with FC Arizona in the Southwest Conference of the National Professional Soccer League. Nuno scored 20 goals in the Golden Gate Conference last year with the Sonoma County Sol to win the Golden Boot award. Nuno was a standout at Healdsburg High before earning conference MVP honors for the Bear Cubs. He transferred to Chico State, where he was a first-team All-Western Region pick as a forward. The FC Arizona season opener is Feb. 23.

Santa Rosa grad part of West Point track win

Santa Rosa High grad and West Point sophomore Luca Mazzanti finished sixth in the 3,000-meter race at the Patriot League Championship Sunday. Mazzanti, who graduated from Santa Rosa in 2017, finished in 8:23. The West Point men's team won their first indoor track and field championship since 2010, narrowly besting the Navy squad.

Klunis leading Tigers against Miramonte

The Analy girls soccer team plays Miramonte on the road Wednesday in the North Coast Section Division 3 semifinal game. The Tigers earned the No. 4 seed after going 11-8 overall and 5-7 in the North Bay League-Oak Division to finish in fifth place. The team has been paced by senior Tannin Klunis's 10 goals and two assists on the season. Senior Isabel Housman has scored four times and provided seven assists. The Miramonte Matadors are the No. 1 seed.

Bear Cubs baseball off to hot start

The Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team is off to a hot start, running off to a 9-1 record heading into Tuesday's home game against Contra Costa College. On Feb. 12, the Bear Cubs rallied from a three-run deficit against Canada to beat the Colts 10-4 after scoring twice in the sixth, once in the seventh, three times in the eighth and four times in the ninth. The Bear Cubs took a double header from Solano College 11-6 and 7-1 Saturday, followed by an 18-7 win over Marin Community College on Monday. Freshman Hayden Klemenok, who prepped at Casa Grande, went four for five at the plate with three doubles, a triple and six RBIs in that game. “We have a good test this weekend with Fresno and Cabrillo,” interim head coach Ben Buechner said. The Bear Cubs travel to Fresno Friday to take on Cabrillo College at 2 p.m. and Fresno at 6 p.m. Their next home game is at 2 p.m. Tuesday when they host the defending state champions, San Joaquin Delta, in the Big 8 Conference opener.

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield. Podcasting on iTunes and SoundCloud, “Overtime with Kerry Benefield.”