Breaking two of the three State Archery Records he set in 2007, 17-year-old Forest Charter High School senior and Nevada County Gold Archery Team member Colin Winter successfully defended his State Indoor Junior Recurve Archery Championship title in Tulare, CA.

This was the third straight state indoor championship title for Winter, who began competing in 2003.

The State Archers of California Indoor Championships took place over three days, beginning with the JOAD (Junior Olympic Archery Development) events on Friday afternoon.

In the 16-and-under Cadet Compound Division, Gold team member Paige Pearce continued her record breaking streak winning both the JOAD and State Championship events. A 12-year-old from Red Bluff, Pearce has won every local, state and national competition she has entered since 2006, setting multiple state and national records along the way. Pearce hopes to be one of the youngest members ever to make the Junior US Archery Team in 2009.

Sixteen-year-old Christopher Zumwalt from Alta Sierra took second place in the 18 and under Junior Compound Division and third place in the JOAD Championship. A sophomore at Bitney Springs College Prep, Zumwalt was the 2007 State Indoor Cadet Recurve Champion.

Big Oak Valley archer Gemma Goepel, 17 was a bronze medal finisher in the women's Junior Recurve Division. Gemma is also a senior at Forest Charter High School and placed 10th in last year's Junior US Archery Team rankings.

Nelson Harris, 17, from Auburn placed fourth in the JOAD event and fifth in the men's Junior Recurve Division. Gold team members D'Arce Hess and Sierra College freshman Sarah Sanford placed fourth and ninth respectively in the women's Senior Recurve Division.

The JOAD of Nevada County won the JOAD team event on Friday. Facing some strong competition from around California, Paige Pearce and Colin Winter joined fellow JOAD club members Kaden Pearce (9) and Anthony Segars (14) to produce the high score of the competition.

The Gold Team will travel to Tulare again in February for the USA Archery National Indoor Championships.

For more information about The Nevada County Gold Archery Team please visit our Web site at www.nevadacountygoldteam.org or contact head coach Charley Washburn at (530) 273-7031 or by e-mail at linsue7@juno.com.



McAtee named All-American

One hundred and fifty volleyball players from 37 states, including Nevada Union High School senior Sarah McAtee, have been named 2007 PrepVolleyball.com All Americans.

"How was the All American list developed?," John Tawa, PrepVolleyball.com founder, wrote in an e-mail announcing the selection. "I started formulating the list back in October and November as I was working on the Gatorade Player of the Year awards for the 49 states that play volleyball (sorry, Vermont) plus the District of Columbia.

"To be a High School All-American, you must have made a massive impact on your high school team. 'Massive' is subjective, but at a minimum requires that you be the best player on your team and one of the top three to five players in your state regardless of class, except for volleyball hotbeds like California, Texas, Indiana and Illinois, where you must be among the 10 best high school players regardless of class."

Thirteen players from California, including McAtee, an outside hitter who is headed to San Jose State to play next fall, along with senior teammate Kylie Miraldi.

McAtee and her Miner teammates won NU's sixth-straight Sac-Joaquin Section title and the program's third Northern California crown before falling to Lakewood in the Division Istate championship match.



Power ratings released

The Sac-Joaquin Section released its latest power ratings for boys and girls basketball on Feb. 2. All five local teams eligible for postseason play either maintained their standing from the Jan. 29 ratings or moved up the ladder.

Nevada Union's girls team (16-7 overall, 6-2 Sierra Foothill League) made up the most ground among the local squads, rising from 10th place in the Division I ratings to seventh.

Forest Lake Christian's boys and girls teams each climbed one spot in their respective Division V ratings. The FLC boys (13-8, 6-1 Central Valley Christian League) moved into the fourth-place rating, up from fifth last week, while the Lady Falcons (10-8, 6-1 CVCL) advanced to seventh from eighth.

Bear River's boys (17-6, 7-2 Pioneer Valley League) remained the third rated team in Division IV, while Nevada Union's boys (14-9, 5-4) remained on the playoff bubble, currently rated No. 17 in Division I.

The top 16 teams in each division qualify for the postseason.