Another busy year came to an end, and for those affiliated with sports in southwest Riverside County, the Valley News Sports Department reflects back on the diverse enthusiasm for competition of all kinds. From youth sports to boxing, golfing, skydiving, supercross, college games and more, there were plenty of exciting local individuals, and teams, that made headlines in 2023.
As 2024 sets in, here is a look back at our Top 10 favorite sports stories from the past year, which includes local youth athletes that represented our country, a professional athlete that bought his childhood driving range, as well as a couple of local athletes that took their childhood dreams and made them realities by becoming professional athletes in their own perspective sport. In no particular order, here is what we came up with:
No. 1 – Former area standouts help Oregon rally past North Carolina in Holiday Bowl
Looking all the way back to the beginning of 2023, it would be Bo Nix’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Cota that helped catapult Oregon to a wild 28-27 victory against North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park. Of course, the crowd would go even more crazy when Camden Lewis’ PAT bounced off the left upright and went through to put the game away. Oregon’s roster also included two Temecula natives, Micah Roth (#35) and Steven Jones (#74).
Roth was a senior (inside linebacker) who transferred to Oregon in 2021 after playing his first three years at Division II Azusa Pacific University. In high school, Roth played at Calvary Murrieta (2017 graduate) where he was an All-CIF standout on both sides of the ball. Jones was a junior (offensive lineman) who graduated from Chaparral High School in 2018. He was a four-star recruit and top 300 prospect in the class. Also apart of all the action was another Chaparral High School graduate (2021), Mitchell Godfrey. The former football and track and field athlete for Pumas was a part of Oregon’s success as he took on the role of Equipment Manager.
No. 2 – Rancho Christian’s Barefield wins 200th game
In 2012 Rancho Christian hired Ray Barefield as the Director of Basketball Operations and Player Development. Barefield, a 1994 graduate of San Diego State University, where he played collegiate basketball before moving on to play professionally in Europe. More than ten years later, Rancho Christian has had nothing but success. Not only has the program won countless league titles, been to the CIF Southern Section and State playoffs year after year, they have also sent a number of players to the next level. Of course, two of the top basketball players to ever come from the valley, Evan, and Isaiah Mobley, who both currently play professionally in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, also played for Barefield. With a 76-62 win over Lynwood High School Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, the Eagles gave head coach Ray Barefield his 200th career win. Currently, as of Thursday, Dec. 21, Barefield sits at 221 wins.
No. 3 – Youth MMA fighters excel at USFL Nationals
Local youth MMA fighters from Hernandez Kickboxing in Murrieta headed for the 2023 IMMAF World Youth MMA Championships in Abu Dhabi, Aug 2-5. (World Championship divisions are only for ages 12-17.) The International tournament ranks among the most unique, unforgettable, and motivating events on the MMA calendar. The national title holders from our area were Lariah Gill, now a three-time USFL National Champion and two-time IMMAF World Champion, Uriel Cruz, who had two submission wins by armbars and Zadkiel Cruz, who also had two submission wins by armbars. With their wins, Campos, Lariah and Zadkiel punched their tickets to Abu Dhabi for a second consecutive year where Alyssa scored silver and the Cruz brothers each placed with bronze.
No. 4 – Temecula’s Quincee Lilio wins National Championship with Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma and Florida State best-of-three series started Wednesday, June 7, at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, which is widely regarded as the mecca of softball. Oklahoma softball won its third consecutive title, taking Game 2 of the 2023 Women’s College World Series championship series against Florida State, 3-1, Friday June 9. Although Stanford University was the sole representative from California, the Golden State dominated the tournament in terms of representation and Temecula had their own ties to the series finale as well. Quincee Lilio, a 2021 Great Oak graduate, got to ride the emotional roller coaster with Oklahoma every step of the way. Lilio, who was a redshirt freshman last year, hit .275 with eleven hits and one home run this season.
No. 5 – Murrieta’s Rickie Fowler returned to greatness with year to remember
Rickie Fowler, a former Murrieta native, now living in Florida, had a pretty remarkable year, not only on the PGA Tour, but here locally as well. When Fowler first participated in the Genesis Invitational this year, he placed in the Top 20, which was enough to keep his momentum going. Prior to that Fowler was last seen in Arizona where he hit a hole-in-one on the seventh hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale Sunday, Feb. 12, and before that, we saw Rickie at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, where he finished tied for eleventh place. Fowler hadn’t won a title since 2019’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. However, he began his new season by bringing back his former swing coach, Butch Harmon, and the improvements reflected in his game as well. Finally, in July, Fowler won the Rocket Mortgage Classic, ending a four-year drought. Rickie grew up as a fixture on the Temecula and Murrieta golf courses and is also the new owner of the Murrieta Driving Range, which is where he first learned the game as a boy. His grandfather, Yutaka, spent every Wednesday with his first grandchild and would take him to the range, which opened in 1992. Fowler spent more of his formative years forging a passion for the game in those natural grass bays in the shadows of the Santa Ana Mountains, and 30 years later, he completed a boyhood dream of his, becoming owner of the range.
No. 6 – Murrieta native, Autumn Pease, named Women’s Professional Fastpitch Pitcher of the Year
After completing her collegiate eligibility at the University of Minnesota, Murrieta’s Autumn Pease signed with the Texas Smoke as Women’s Professional Fastpitch’ 10th pick of their 2023 draft class and proceeded to shine, winning their Pitcher of the Year award. Pease led the Smoke with 90.2 regular season innings worked and was 7-3 in decisions with a 2.47 ERA as they won the regular season championship. She struck out 56 batters and allowed just 71 hits. She also led the postseason tournament in innings thrown with 15 while recording a 2.33 ERA with an additional 11 strikeouts. As a team the Smoke won the inaugural league tournament after defeating USSSA Pride 14-2 on Sunday, Aug. 13, in game two of the best of three championship series in Oxford, Alabama. In that start Pease held the Pride to two runs while striking out seven, allowing two hits and also walking a pair in a complete game. Pease, a 2018 graduate of Murrieta Mesa, had a collegiate stop at Idaho State before transferring to the University of Minnesota. She was the winning pitcher for Murrieta Mesa’s 2017 CIF-SS Division 3 championship team. Prior to her time at Minnesota, she also spent a season at Idaho State where she logged 121.2 innings of work with a 2.36 ERA earning co-freshman of the year honors in the Big Sky Conference along with second team All-Big Sky honors. In 105 career appearances for Minnesota, Pease has pitched a 2.59 ERA with 509 strikeouts in 475.1 innings. She’s posted a 44-25 record, including 16 wins this season placing her second in the Big Ten conference for victories.
No. 7 – Local players taken in the 2023 Amateur MLB Draft
The 2023 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft wrapped up Tuesday, July 11, where a total of 614 selections were made over a three-day process. While the Pittsburgh Pirates selected LSU’s Paul Skenes as the No. 1 overall pick, a slot worth $9.7 million, there were still plenty of dollar signs surrounding the other 613 draftees, including the local talent that was selected from Southwest Riverside County. Former Great Oak standout Zach Arnold, who was drafted out of high school in 2019 to the Baltimore Orioles in the 34th round (back when the draft was 40 rounds, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). Arnold chose to go to LSU, before transferring to Houston two years ago and was picked up this year in the 14th round by the Philadelphia Phillies. Arnold agreed to a $150,000 contract and after a short stint in the FCL, he was called up to Single-A on Aug. 4. Two Temecula Valley alumni in Cole Urman, and 2023 graduate, Adler Cecil, were the remaining local names cited from this year’s draft. Urman graduated in 2019 and was a junior on the Cal State Fullerton baseball team and was taken as the 481st overall pick in the 16th round by the Baltimore Orioles. Cecil, a lefty pitcher and 2023 graduate was taken in the 19th round by the San Diego Padres as overall pick No. 581. Urman signed for $150,000, while Cecil signed for $175,000.
No. 8 – Murrieta’s Sierra Romero selected for Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023
Sierra Romero grew up in the Murrieta/Menifee area and is a legend in the softball world. Forged from a family dynamic that produces stellar athletes. From her time on the softball fields at Vista Murrieta, to competing with the University of Michigan, Sierra has gone on to play for Team USA, and played professionally in the NPF, and currently with Athletes Unlimited. This past year the University of Michigan announced that Sierra, who played from 2013-16, was among the 10-person Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 that would be inducted at the Motor City Casino’s Sound Board. Romero, who was named the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, NFCA Division 1 Player of the Year and the Honda Award recipient for softball, also became the first four-time NFCA All-American in Michigan program history. A two-year Michigan team captain, Romero contributed to a senior class that posted a 210-43 record, won four Big Ten titles and a Big Ten Tournament title, and made three WCWS appearances over four seasons.
No. 9 – Temecula 12-year-old grabs baseball gold with Team USA
It was a summer to remember for Temecula’s Jacob Miller, a 12-year-old that stormed onto the scene recently, representing the United States on the baseball field. Miller was selected to join Team USA after attending a tryout through their National Team Identification System. In total, he attended three different tryouts before being selected for the USA 12u National Team. The first stop for Jacob and Team USA was the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, held in Aguascalientes, Mexico. After pool play and making their way through the winners bracket, it all came down to Team USA (9-0) where they overcame an 11-run deficit to win gold with a 29-28 win over Venezuela (6-3) in seven innings on Sunday, May 28. Team USA had five players earn honors at the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier with Jacob Miller earning the tournament’s Best Pitcher award, recording the most wins (3) and lowest ERA (0.50). With the top-four finish at the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, Team USA headed to the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan.
After returning home to Temecula, Miller, who started his playing days as a T-Baller with French Valley Pony, was invited back out to train in Cary, North Carolina in hopes of making the final 18-man roster. After an extremely competitive week of training, Miller’s name was called yet again. Team USA emerged victorious in the World Championship Final at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup, defeating Chinese Taipei by a final score of 10-4 on the strength of a seven-run sixth inning. With the win, the U.S. took home its fifth gold medal at the U-12 Baseball World Cup, and its second in a row after taking home the top prize in 2022. The others came in 2013, 2015, and 2017, when the team won the event on three consecutive occasions.
No. 10 – Area teams win CIF Southern Section Championship titles
This past year, in his first season back, Bryan Lynton, and the Murrieta Valley girls’ water polo team not only won another title in the Southwestern League, but swam their way through the postseason in February, posting a 20-14 overall record on their way to a CIF-SS Division 2 girls’ water polo title. The title gave the Nighthawks sixth CIF Southern Section title, and first since 2016. During his time with Murrieta Valley Lynton guided the boys’ water polo program to 19 consecutive league championships and seven appearances in CIF Southern Section title matches. Also, the same coach that led the girls’ water polo program to 15 league championships with six trips to the section finals. Lynton and his boys won Southern Section titles in 2006 and 2015, and captured titles in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2016 with the girls.
Also in February, the Rancho Christian Eagles girls’ basketball team has made two championship game appearances in the past five years. This past year they won their first-ever CIF-SS basketball championship, defeating Chino 91-29 in the CIF-SS Division 3A title game at Ontario’s Colony High School. The Rancho Christian boys’ followed their girls’ team, on the same court, winning a CIF Southern Section championship, on the same day. A first for the Eagles, putting them in an elite category in the CIF Southern Section history books. When the Rancho Christian boys’ basketball team found out they had fallen short of their goal of earning a CIF-SS Open Division bid, Eagles coach Ray Barefield asked his team what the next great thing they could do was. The answer was to bring home a CIF-SS Division 2A title. So, their focus was set on winning the program’s second championship in seven years. At Colony High School, the Eagles did just that by beating La Mirada, 63-55.
In November, The Temecula Prep girls’ volleyball team captured the program’s first-ever section championship when they swept Geffen Academy (17-6) in the CIF Southern Section Division 8 finals in Los Angeles. After going 12-0 to win the South Valley League title, Temecula Prep (27-5) was the No. 1 seed in Division 8. Heading into the finals, they brought a 13-match winning streak with them to Marymount High School, which is a scary stat line for any opponent. On top of that, behind the gameplay of junior middle blocker Abby Pekrul, the Patriots only dropped one set during the entirety of the playoffs. Along with Pekrul (averaging 5.4 kills per set in the quarters and semis), junior middle blocker Sidney Gray (10 kills in the semis) and junior setter Jane Bacani (five aces in the semis), Temecula Prep was unstoppable this past season.
*The full versions of these sports stories can also be found online at www.myvalleynews.com.
We had so many contributing writers this year, including many of our own readers, who helped with not only the stories in this issue, but so many more. As the sports editor, I want to send a heartfelt thank you out to Joe Naiman, Diane Rhodes, Derryl Trujillo, Tommy Thompson, Kim Harris, David Thomas, plus our awesome photographers David Canales, Scott Padgett, Andrez Imaging, Rob Davis, Action Captures Media Group, Tim Long Photography, Furubotten Photography, Morgan Ivy Photography, and the many others who contributed to the sports section. I can’t wait to see what stories are shared with us in 2024.
If you have a sports tip, Valley News Sports Editor, JP Raineri, can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
