CLOVIS -- Brena Andrews knows all too well what a near miss feels like. Friday night at the CIF State Track and Field Championships, she felt the other side of that equation.

She likes this feeling much better.

CLOVIS -- Brena Andrews knows all too well what a near miss feels like. Friday night at the CIF State Track and Field Championships, she felt the other side of that equation.

She likes this feeling much better.

SAN JOSE -- James Ewing went 3-for-5 with five RBIs to lead the Bakersfield Blaze to a 10-4 victory Friday over the first-place San Jose Giants.

The victory improved Bakersfield to 31-23, a half game behind the Giants (31-23).

SAN JOSE -- James Ewing went 3-for-5 with five RBIs to lead the Bakersfield Blaze to a 10-4 victory Friday over the first-place San Jose Giants.

The victory improved Bakersfield to 31-23, a half game behind the Giants (31-23).

The California Coaches Association will honor longtime Centennial High volleyball coach Brooke Roberts as its Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year award June 9.

Roberts will be honored at the CCA's Hall of Fame Banquet in San Diego next weekend after a season in which her Golden Hawks advanced to the Central Section championship match for the second consecutive year before losing in five games to Clovis West.

The California Coaches Association will honor longtime Centennial High volleyball coach Brooke Roberts as its Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year award June 9.

Roberts will be honored at the CCA's Hall of Fame Banquet in San Diego next weekend after a season in which her Golden Hawks advanced to the Central Section championship match for the second consecutive year before losing in five games to Clovis West.

Stephen Neal, an outstanding wrestler at Cal State Bakersfield who became a starting offensive guard on three New England Patriots Super Bowl champion teams, will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this weekend in Stillwater, Okla.

Neal, a native of San Diego, compiled a 156-10 record at CSUB and was the Division I national champion at heavyweight his junior and senior years in 1998 and 1999, when his records were 39-0 and 44-0, respectively.

Stephen Neal, an outstanding wrestler at Cal State Bakersfield who became a starting offensive guard on three New England Patriots Super Bowl champion teams, will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this weekend in Stillwater, Okla.

Neal, a native of San Diego, compiled a 156-10 record at CSUB and was the Division I national champion at heavyweight his junior and senior years in 1998 and 1999, when his records were 39-0 and 44-0, respectively.

SAN JOSE -- Danny Vicioso hit a go-ahead two-run single in the 12th inning as the Bakersfield Blaze defeated the San Jose Giants 7-4 on Thursday at Municipal Stadium.

Vicioso tied the game in the top of the ninth with an RBI double. Travis Mattair then gave Bakersfield a 4-3 lead on a fielder's choice RBI groundout. San Jose tied it in the ninth inning on a Dan Burkhart home run to right field.

SAN JOSE -- Danny Vicioso hit a go-ahead two-run single in the 12th inning as the Bakersfield Blaze defeated the San Jose Giants 7-4 on Thursday at Municipal Stadium.

Vicioso tied the game in the top of the ninth with an RBI double. Travis Mattair then gave Bakersfield a 4-3 lead on a fielder's choice RBI groundout. San Jose tied it in the ninth inning on a Dan Burkhart home run to right field.

It's been close to a decade, but Bakersfield High track and field coach Kim Jenkins still remembers well how he cut his coaching teeth.

"(Stockdale coach) Dave Lonsinger gave me an opportunity," Jenkins said Thursday, the eve of the CIF State Track and Field Championships in Clovis. "I coached Desirae Gonder to a state title in the high jump (for Stockdale in 2005). As a coach, you just don't want to mess that up."

It's been close to a decade, but Bakersfield High track and field coach Kim Jenkins still remembers well how he cut his coaching teeth.

"(Stockdale coach) Dave Lonsinger gave me an opportunity," Jenkins said Thursday, the eve of the CIF State Track and Field Championships in Clovis. "I coached Desirae Gonder to a state title in the high jump (for Stockdale in 2005). As a coach, you just don't want to mess that up."

Kern County, southern San Joaquin Valley

STRIPER DERBY: The annual Bob's Bait Bucket month-long striper derby kicks off today. The entry fee is $1 per angler and you must register before you weigh in a fish. Only fresh fish can be weighed in and no weighing in of fish the same day as entering derby. The biggest striper weighed in during June will take the $100 prize, plus all the entry fee money from everyone entered. Last year's winner took home almost $500.

Kern County, southern San Joaquin Valley

STRIPER DERBY: The annual Bob's Bait Bucket month-long striper derby kicks off today. The entry fee is $1 per angler and you must register before you weigh in a fish. Only fresh fish can be weighed in and no weighing in of fish the same day as entering derby. The biggest striper weighed in during June will take the $100 prize, plus all the entry fee money from everyone entered. Last year's winner took home almost $500.

PASADENA -- Thursday's CIF Southern California Boys Golf Regional marked the end of the season for the final four Kern County golfers and the end of a prep career for three.

Though none will advance to next week's state championships at San Gabriel Country Club, they were able to pause and reflect on the season.

PASADENA -- Thursday's CIF Southern California Boys Golf Regional marked the end of the season for the final four Kern County golfers and the end of a prep career for three.

Though none will advance to next week's state championships at San Gabriel Country Club, they were able to pause and reflect on the season.

Four drivers will seek their first repeat win during IMCA Modified competition Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway.

Four races on the third-mile clay oval have produced four winners, with Brad Pounds, Gary Dutton, Justin Schweitzer and Michael Johnson each having one victory.

Four drivers will seek their first repeat win during IMCA Modified competition Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway.

Four races on the third-mile clay oval have produced four winners, with Brad Pounds, Gary Dutton, Justin Schweitzer and Michael Johnson each having one victory.

The Kern County contingent at the CIF Southern California Boys Golf Regional today in Pasadena has a distinct underdog feel.

None of the four -- Centennial's P.J. Carmichael, Bakersfield's Tyler Whitehead, Liberty's Brett Kettler and Garces' Rito Guzman -- has ever qualified as an individual to the regional before, though Carmichael played in Pasadena last year when the Golden Hawks qualified as a team. The others will play in the cutthroat tournament for the first time.

The Kern County contingent at the CIF Southern California Boys Golf Regional today in Pasadena has a distinct underdog feel.

None of the four -- Centennial's P.J. Carmichael, Bakersfield's Tyler Whitehead, Liberty's Brett Kettler and Garces' Rito Guzman -- has ever qualified as an individual to the regional before, though Carmichael played in Pasadena last year when the Golden Hawks qualified as a team. The others will play in the cutthroat tournament for the first time.