Empire notes: Calistoga volleyball reaches NorCal playoffs

With their four-set win over Jewish Community School of San Francisco Saturday night, the Calistoga Wildcats earned their way into the CIF NorCal Division 6 tournament.

The Wildcats, 13-9 overall and riding a five-game win streak, were given the No. 5 seed and will travel north to face No. 4 seed Redding Christian at 7 p.m. tonight. Redding Christian is 28-3 overall and 8-0 in the Five Star League.

But the road trip may be good news. Before the Wildcats’ win over St. Bernard’s in the North Coast Section Division 6 tournament, coach T’Anne Butcher said her squad seems to play better on the road - fewer distractions. Calistoga is 5-3 at home and 6-2 away.

Bronze for Schulz

El Molino grad Brian Schulz ran to a third-place finish Oct. 27 in the Big West cross country championships at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea. The finish gives Schulz All-Conference honors in his sophomore season for the U.C. Santa Barbara team, which finished in second place behind Cal Poly. Class of 2018 Petaluma grad Jack Dunbar is a freshman on the Gauchos’ roster as well.

Impact immediate by Bray sisters

The Bray sisters, both Ukiah High grads, made a significant impact on the Northern Colorado women’s soccer team this season. Sophomore Taylor, who graduated from Ukiah in 2017, started in all of the Bears’ 21 games on the season, tallying six goals and four assists. Freshman Kenzie Bray, who graduated from Ukiah last spring, started 20 out of 21 games and scored two goals. The Bears fell 1-0 to the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday to end their season with a 12-8-1 overall record. Side note: Grizzlies goalkeeper Claire Howard, a 2016 Maria Carrillo grad, recorded the shutout.

Panther suiting up for Vikings

After transferring to Portland State from University of Nevada at Reno, Santa Rosa High grad Delaney White is having a strong season for the Vikings. White, a four-time North Bay League cross country champion when she ran for Santa Rosa, finished 20th in her opening race for Portland State at Blue Lake Regional Park. She finished 26th overall at the Cougar Classic on Sept. 14. At the Big Sky Conference Championships on Oct. 27 in Sacramento, White finished 43 for the Vikings squad that finished fifth.

The NCAA West Regional race is Friday in Sacramento.

Trumbo services set

Services are scheduled for Bill Trumbo, the former coach of both the Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State men’s basketball teams. Trumbo died Oct. 28. He was 79. Trumbo coached SSU for two seasons, leading one of the more epic program turnarounds in NCAA history. His teams went 36-19 in two seasons before the school folded the squad for financial reasons. Trumbo then took the Bear Cubs to a 212-68 record in nine seasons. Services are scheduled for Nov. 18 in Santa Rosa. Those interested are asked to RSVP for location and time by emailing tracey@kbimagine.com.

Mazzanti, Black Knights champs

Santa Rosa High grad and West Point sophomore Luca Mazzanti finished in 23rd place at the Patriot League cross country championship in rainy, sloppy conditions at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 27. Mazzanti and the Black Knights captured their second straight league title.

Conley 4th at 5K championship

Class of 2004 Montgomery grad and two-time Olympian Kim Conley finished in fourth place at the USATF 5K championship in New York Saturday. She crossed the line in 16:01. The winner, Emily Sisson, finished in 15:38.