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The incredible start to the season for the Foothill girls’ basketball season kept rolling as the Falcons took the Cowboy Winter Classic title and then closed out 2023 with a third-place finish in the Newark Memorial Tournament.
In the third-place game in Newark, Foothill beat Aragon 48-37 behind 25 points from Beti Terpstra, who earned the MVP award for the game. Riley Young added 20 for the Falcons.
In the first game Foothill beat Newark 70-23 to advance to the semifinals. A tough 48-37 loss to Arroyo Grande in the semis sent the Falcons to the third-place game.
In the Cowboys Round-Up, Foothill beat Hayward 66-26, Campolindo 49-32 and McKinleyville 57-41 in the finals to win the title.
In the finals, Terpstra had 18, with Young adding 14 and Sophie Nguyen scoring 10.
In the huge semifinal win over Campo, Young had 23 and Terpstra added 11.
The tournaments ran the Foothill record to 13-2, the Falcons’ best season in some time as the last four years combined Foothill won just 22 games. Last year the Falcons were 9-15 — the best of the four years.
Amador boys’ soccer
The Amador Valley varsity team won its non-league finale in convincing fashion beating El Primero High from San Jose by a 9-1 final.
Three players scored a pair of goals with Henry Beatty, Riley Borges and Jonas Lyions each knocking in two. Colin Braga, Max Couper and Isaac Hilton each had a goal.
Player of the Game went to Lyions, just a sophomore, who was making his debut for the varsity after returning from an injury.
Amador’s junior varsity squad got a pair of wins during the holiday break.
On Dec. 18, the Dons beat Bethel of Vallejo 4-1. Reyansh Samanta got a pair of goals, with Ryan Smiley and Frankie McBain scoring one each. Mateo Eichler provided two assists.
On Dec. 23, the Dons beat Dublin 1-0 on a Smiley goal off an assist from Clayton Kahl. Santi Rodriguez-Torres controlled the match from midfield, and Anon Prathidi produced another shutout with six.
Also, on the 23rd, the Amador Valley freshmen beat Dublin 4-0.
Andrew Ku scored twice, Diogo Tempero and Cole Kikuchi each contributed a goal. Matthew Sun recorded an assist and helped create several opportunities.
The Dons freshman team wrapped up preseason play 4-0, with the opposing teams unable to score a single goal.
Foothill boys’ basketball
The Falcons’ great start continued with the team winning the Tim Cole Memorial Tournament.
In the finals, Foothill beat Mt. Eden 44-35 behind 13 points each from Siddharth Swarup and Gurshan Sall. Nathan Bodensteiner added 10 points.
Swarup was named MVP for the tournament with Sall and Bodensteiner earning All-Tournament selections.
The Falcons advanced to the finals with a 70-40 win over San Lorenzo. Saahas Khrisnamsetty had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the scoring. Swarup added 18 and Sall 10.
In the first game of the tournament, Foothill beat American 45-43. Swarup had 15 points and Vedant Mehta added 11 points.
Amador boys’ basketball
The Dons, a top-5 team in the Tri-Valley Preps Playbook EBAL Basketball rankings, kept their early season run intact winning the title of the Lamond Murray Invitational in Fremont.
Amador beat Carlmont 59-51 in the finals. Jaylen Smith had 26 points and Kason Kruger added 22 to pace the Dons.
In the semifinals, the Dons overcame Pittsburg by a 59-56 thriller to advance to the championship game. Cade Kruger scored 21, with Smith adding 17. Kason Kruger tallied 16 points.
In the first game of the tournament the Dons beat Churchill County 71-25. Smith, just a freshman, was picked as the MVP of the tournament. With the tournament win, the Dons ran their record to 13-2 on the season.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
