With the fall season well underway, student athletes and coaches have been working hard training and improving for final tournaments or conference matches in November and December. Some athletes may be in the spotlight more than others, and the Express hunted down some of these athletes to find out their performance achievements and goals for the season. Below is a star athlete roundup of some of the athletes from three sports.

Women’s Golf

Riley Sexton has been playing golf since her freshman year in high school. Women’s head golf coach Tim Kiernan said that Sexton has improved on her short game since she joined the team this season.

“She knows how to closeout in a tournament,” Kiernan said. “She’s very good at that.”

After trying several sports in high school, Sexton found golf enjoyable and said she sometimes spends entire days practicing at golf courses from sunup to sundown. Sexton said her inspiration to play golf comes from “my love for the game, I love the game and I want to take it to the next level.”

“I have to say my length on my drive sets me apart from other athletes,” Sexton said. “For my size (5-foot-4 inches) I hit the ball really long, but as far as technique goes, I am still working on that.” Kiernan said, “She is an outstanding athlete. She’s got good skills physically [and] mentally.”

Wrestling

Bret Schumann, 19, psychology major, has been wrestling since the fourth grade and said he is looking forward to getting into the state finals in December for the wrestling weight class of 165 pounds.

“I am motivated to do well, to represent my family and friends,” Schumann said. “As part of the team I want to do my best and be a leader.”

Head wrestling coach Dave Pacheco said that Schumann uses unique techniques during a match.

“He has what we call a funky style. He doesn’t do a lot of basic moves that we normally would use,” Pacheco said. “What he does, he does well.”

“I believe I probably scramble and end up on top of scrambled situations,” Schumann said about his techniques during a match.

“He is strong, but you don’t see it in his build. He is more of a lean build compared to most wrestlers, but he uses his techniques well,” Pacheco said.

Schumann says one of his long-term goals is to get a scholarship to a four-year university.

“He is a fun-loving guy. He’s taking care of business on the mat,” Pacheco said. “We just got our grade-checks back [and] he is doing well in school. He does well in everything he does.”

Men’s Cross-Country

Chris Rios, 23, kinesiology major, is in his second season running for the cross-country team.

“I’m involved every day and practice my hardest. I never take it easy [or] take days off,” Rios said.

“He leads by example,” said head men’s and women’s cross-country coach Marisa Avendano. “He works very hard and is dedicated and committed to getting better. He is a leader on the team. It is a pleasure coaching him.”
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Avendano said that last season Rios improved dramatically over three months by getting faster.

“When he showed up last year, he was last-guy to middle-of-row-guy. Then he moved all the way up to be out first-second-guy,” Avendano said.

Avendano said that Rios understands what it is to run and race cross-country and added that he will be one of the top runners at the conference.

Keeping in good shape and working hard at practice are the ingredients to reaching the state conferences in November, Rios said.

“I want to make it to state as a team. That is pretty much the goal right now,” Rios said.

A long-term goal for Rios after graduation is becoming a coach, he said, who pushes his athletes not only to win but also to become better in sports such as basketball, track and fi eld or cross-country.

Women’s Cross-Country

Shelby Vollmer, 18, undecided major, has been running cross-country since her freshman year in high school and is now in her first season running for City College.

“It is easier to have girls who are closer to your speed so you can push each other in work-outs,” Vollmer said. “By competing with each other we will make each other better and help the team out.”

Another training technique is called the mile-repeat, according to Avendano, athletes run a mile at race pace, rest for three minutes, and run a mile again at race pace.

Avendano said that Rios is running five mile-repeats and Vollmer is at four.

Vollmer comes from a good high school cross-country team, St. Francis Catholic High School, Avendano said, and always shows up to practice on time ready to train.

“Shelby is new to the team, so I have to spend a lot of time asking her how she is feeling,” to get to know her as an athlete, Avendano said.

Vollmer’s short-term goals for the season are to familiarize herself with the courses and decrease her 5K time to between 18 and 19 minutes.

“She knows pace, so she helps out the other runners,” Avendano said. “She is a very smart runner and works very hard.”

Vollmer said a big part of improving on the team is using preventative habits, such as taking ice baths, stretching often and eating balanced meals.“[You need to put] a maximum amount of work into every workout because you race like you train, so if you train hard then you are going to race even better,” Vollmer said.

Team members prepare for meets by performing weekend long runs on either the American River trail or in Auburn on a shorter run on tougher terrain, according to Avendano. Rios is hitting 14 miles for the weekend run, and Vollmer is up to 11 miles for the training, Avendano said.

Another training technique is called the mile-repeat, according to Avendano, athletes run a mile at race pace, rest for three minutes, and run a mile again at race pace.

Avendano said that Rios is running five mile-repeats and Vollmer is at four.