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The Shafter High School track and field team is off to a quick start, with a strong showing at the Kern Invitational track meet last weekend. The highlight was sophomore Jocelyn Pierucci, who won the discus event, throwing a distance of over 122 feet, outdistancing her competition by 22 feet. Pierucci is continuing her high school athletic career after having an outstanding freshman season, advancing all the way to the Central Section Masters meet, just missing qualifying for...
Shafter High girls basketball Coach Shawn Pennell has retired after 20 seasons at the helm, completing a transformation that took the Lady Generals from the bottom of the SSL to Central Section supremacy. Pennell ended his career a few weeks ago when the Lady Generals made it to the Central Section Division III semifinals and lost a tough game to the eventual Regional Champions, the Bakersfield Christian Eagles. The team won their own basketball tournament and also finished...
While the Shafter High girls wrestling team has had unprecedented success this year, their feeder program has also shined this season. The Shafter Youth Wrestling team, the Shafter Spartans, has a young wrestler that is on his way to the State Tournament at Selland Arena in Fresno this weekend. Nehamiah Salcido, who is in just his third year of competitive wrestling, will be competing in the 2nd/3rd division in the 77 lbs. weight class. Salcido has already captured a Valley...
Julianna Gonzalez, who came into the State Wrestling tournament last weekend at Mechanics Bank Arena as the number three seed, fell short of making it to the medal rounds, falling in the quarterfinals, suffering her first pin of the season. Gonzalez won her first two matches by pins. Her first match she pinned her opponent just 45 seconds into the match. She had no more trouble in her second match, securing the pin to make it to day 2 of the season-ending event. After the...
The Shafter High girls basketball team saw their season and Head Coach Shawn Pennell's tenure end with a loss to the top-seeded Eagles of Bakersfield Christian on Wednesday night, 70-47, in the semifinals of the Central Section Division III playoffs. The Lady Generals, seeded number four in the tourney, came out firing in the first quarter, using a smothering defense to force a few Eagle turnovers and turning them into easy points. After leading after the first quarter, the te...
The Shafter High Lady Generals basketball team completed an undefeated SSL season on Thursday night, crushing their rival Wasco High by a score of 78-15, making the Lady Generals back-to-back SSL Champions. Led by Coach Shawn Pennell, Shafter used a smothering defense to force several turnovers, resulting in numerous points in the transition. Shafter had the lead 50-7 at the end of the first half, The second half was played with a running clock, preventing the score from...
The Wasco High School swim team is set for its first meet on March 1 at the Wasco pool. It is a South Sequoia League meet and Shafter, Taft and Delano will compete. It promises to be an opportunity for the team to showcase the talents they have been working hard to cultivate under the leadership of Head Coach Chris Gebhardt. "Chris has almost a decade of coaching experience. His coaching philosophy is unique. "I look at coaching swimming more than just the swimming. My goal is...
In another historic accomplishment for Wasco High School athletics, the varsity boys wrestling team made history by winning the Valley Championship. The girls team had standout performances, with Areli Solis securing the Valley Champion title in Division 1 and seven girls qualifying for the masters. Juan Gallardo, the head coach, described winning the prestigious championship as exciting. "It was something I never felt before that the kids did it. The kids were committed to...
The Wasco High School wrestling team, under the guidance of Head Coach Juan Gallardo, has emerged victorious from the South Sequoia League Championship. The team's achievements and the dedication of both players and coaches have led to a memorable season. About the win, Coach Gallardo said, "It's wonderful. Overall, with varsity boys, varsity girls and the JV boys, we had 20 champions." As the head coach, Gallardo oversees 48 wrestlers with the help of eight other coaches....
The BVarsity All Area football teams were announced, and the Shafter Generals were well represented in the group, giving the Generals the largest amount of players honored in the school's history. On the offensive side, the Generals' sophomore quarterback Ezekiel Osborn was named to the First Team All Area. Osborn had 2,677 yards passing on the season, with 35 touchdowns. Osborn also won the Most Valuable Player award for the entire South Sequoia League as well. Osborn led...
The Wasco High Tigers nearly swept the Shafter Generals on the mat on Thursday night, winning the boys varsity match 68-2 and edging out the Lady Generals in the girls varsity match, 48-32. The Tigers' boys squad continued their domination of the SSL and being one of the top teams in the county in their division. The Tigers, who qualified 12 wrestlers for the Central Section Masters tourney last year, are well on their way to at least equaling that feat. They are strong at...
The Wasco High School varsity girls soccer team is blazing a trail of success this season, emerging as the top leader in the South Sequoia League. With an impressive record of five wins and one loss, they have firmly secured the top spot and are poised for further triumphs. Jose Castro has been the head coach for the last four years. He said the team's success can be attributed to the girl's willingness to try and learn. "We have been working off-season for the last two years...
The Wasco High School varsity cheer team competed in the California Interscholastic Federation Valley Championship and won, making history by being the first in the school ever to earn this title. Cheer Advisor Hailey Coyle said, "I am extremely proud of the girls and coaches on this huge accomplishment. This team is so deserving of this title. It takes a lot of hard work, long practices, dedication and drive to achieve something like this. Cheer is not easy. It's not easy...
The Shafter High Generals boys basketball team got its first SSL win of the season by beating Kennedy High School, 56-47. The Shafter Generals's recent rough patch got a bit rougher last Monday after their fourth straight loss. They fell 74-64 to McFarland. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon. Shafter's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Shaun Maldonado, who scored 23 points, and Aidan Cardenas, who...
The Shafter High girls wrestling team made history last year when they had their first wrestler qualify for the State wrestling tournament. Only a freshman, Julissa Gonzalez went to the State tourney and came away with a seventh-place medal. This year, the squad is working to improve on that history, as they have several wrestlers that are able to make it to the Central Section Masters tournament and possibly at least two wrestlers to According to Head Coach Eli Espericueta, t...
The Shafter High Lady Generals basketball team has enjoyed some success the past few years, with this year's campaign no different, as they head into SSL play with an 11-5 record, 2-0 in the SSL. The squad, coached by Shawn Pennell and his staff, have been one of the best teams in the SSL for the past few seasons, with a co-championship last year, sharing the title with McFarland. One of the "benefits" of having such success, though, is the system that the CIF has in place...
The Wasco High School varsity girls cross country team has had an impressive season, most recently qualifying for the third straight year for the California State Championships. Omar Garcia is the head coach. "This set of girls have been working hard since their freshman year, with many of them staying active during the COVID years." "We competed during their first year, but it wasn't a whole season. Once we were allowed to compete fully, we had an opportunity to showcase...
The Wasco Tigers punched their ticket to the Valley Title game with a 13-7 win over the Liberty Hawks of Madera Friday night. The game was a bone-crunching contest that was won on the line of scrimmage. The Tigers' double-wing offense kept the Hawks' defense off balance and on the field for the majority of the game. A star of the game was the Tiger defense, who kept Liberty's powerful running attack in check. The Tigers scored first with a touchdown run by Nomi Lopez. The...
The Shafter Generals saw their football season come to an end on Friday night with a heartbreaking 43-42 loss to the Torres Toros. This was a rematch of the semifinal game last year, in which Shafter traveled up to Madera and beat the Toros in overtime, 42-41. The upsetting point in this game is that the game was given to the Toros on a blown call. The Toros tied the game with a little over a minute to go in the game. In overtime, the Generals' quarterback Ezekiel Osborn hit A...
The Wasco High School girls golf team has once again proven their dominance on the green, securing their third consecutive South Sequoia League Championship title. Following this win, they took runner-up place at the Valley Championship. Under the guidance of Coach Ed Moreno, the Lady Tigers have continued to set the bar high for their competitors. Moreno has instilled in his players not just the skills to succeed on the course but the values of teamwork and resilience. This s...
The Shafter High Generals football team played one of their best games of the season on Friday night, pounding their rivals, the Wasco Tigers, by a score of 49-6 In a standing room only crowd at SHS stadium, the Generals gave their fans a lot to cheer about. Wasco managed to take the lead on their first drive of the game, making the score 6-0. Then they threw a scare into the Shafter fans when they recovered an onside kick that gave the Tigers the ball with great field...
The Wasco Tigers kept their SSL title hopes alive with a 26-21 victory over the Taft Wildcats on Friday night. The win gives the Tigers a chance to share the title with a win over Shafter in the annual rivalry game this Friday night. The Tigers used a powerful running game for the win, outgaining Taft by over 150 yards. Wasco amassed over 300 yards on the ground, including a 67-yard touchdown run by Nomi Lopez. Michael Dominguez also had a big game for the Tigers, with a...
The Shafter High Lady Generals volleyball team ended their best season in over a decade on Tuesday night as they dropped a heartbreaker to Camarillo, 3-2. The team came into the playoffs as the fifth seed, going up against Camarillo, which was seeded number 12. Shafter ran out to a lead late in the first set of the match, capturing the set by 6 points. In the second set, Camarillo came back and tied the match at 1-1. The Lady Generals, who had closed out their SSL season with...
The Shafter Generals clinched at least a share of the SSL title with a 28-21 win over host Kennedy High School last week. The win gives the Generals a perfect 9-0 record heading into its rivalry game with Wasco High on Friday night. The game was a title fight between two heavyweights, trading blows. Kennedy struck in the first quarter, breaking out on a long touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. The Generals answered back with a touchdown late in the first quarter, tying the...
Every year for the past 90 years, the Shafter Generals and Wasco Tigers have faced off on the gridiron, battling for bragging rights for the next year, with a victory over their oldest rival. This year, there is even more on the line than bragging rights and a great story to tell children and grandchildren. This year, Shafter comes into the game undefeated and ranked #1 in the Central Section in Division IV. The Wasco Tigers, after a couple of hiccups early in the season, are...