Two Denair High wrestlers – Christian Vrioni at 157 pounds and Evan Coronol at 190 – walked away with championships at the Southern League Meet on Saturday. The victories earned both a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section Meet this weekend in Sacramento.

Vrioni, a junior, raised his season record to 14-10 by dominating his three opponents in Mariposa. He won by major decision (more than eight points) in the first round, then pinned his final two foes.

Coronol (14-7) is a sophomore who began the year on the junior varsity team and joined the varsity before Christmas. He had an impressive run through the SL dual-meet season, winning all seven of his matches to earn the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye Saturday. He turned heads again by pinning both opponents in less than 2 minutes.

Vrioni’s and Coronol’s performances thrilled Denair Coach Bryan Herrington, who has rebuilt the wrestling program this season despite not having any seniors.

“This area is a hotbed of wrestling and we competed in some of the toughest tournaments this year,” Herrington said. “Our guys learned from the competition they faced.”

Vrioni’s story epitomizes the Denair program, which finished last season with just two wrestlers on the team.

“Christian came out as a freshman, then quit by Christmas,” Herrington said. “I didn’t see him at all his sophomore year, but he came back this year and was named co-captain with Jesse (Ruelas Jr.).”

Ruelas Jr. (21-13) – who finished fourth at 150 pounds Saturday and is an alternate for the Sub-Section Meet – was Vrioni’s workout partner all year.

“That’s really upped Christian’s game very fast,” Herrington said. “It’s night and day difference between what Christian was at the beginning of the season and now. … At the beginning, he didn’t turn any heads and nobody paid much attention. By the end, coaches were coming up to me and saying, ‘Your 157 is pretty good.’

“I told Christian that if he kept putting in the work, it would pay off. The biggest thing now is he just looks confident.”

Coronol’s ascendance is equally impressive. He’s a first-year wrestler who had never been on a mat until October. He started at the JV level, but was so dominant that Herrington promoted him to varsity despite having a glut of wrestlers at the heaviest weights.

“He’s one of those kids that at the very beginning, Coach (Jesse) Ruelas (Sr.) and I looked at each other and said, ‘We might have something here.’ He won every JV tournament we put him in. He was way, way stronger than those kids,” Herrington said. “He just has the right mentality to get good fast.”

Coronol flexed his strength Saturday with two quick pins. In the finals against a Waterford wrestler, he again showed why his coaches are so high on him.

“They got locked up and if you’re going to go muscle-to-muscle with him, that’s a bad idea,” Herrington said. “Evan just threw him down and pinned him.”

The next step for Vrioni and Coronol is the Sub-Section Meet on Friday and Saturday at Rosemont High School in Sacramento. That’s where the top wrestlers from all the small schools from Merced to north of Sacramento will come together. The top four in each weight class will move on to the Masters Meet next week in Stockton, the final competition before the State Meet in Bakersfield.

“I don’t really know what to expect because they’re getting so good so fast. It just depends on the draw,” Herrington said of Vrioni and Coronol. 

Herrington had hoped to have more athletes competing this week, but disappointing performances, health and not making weight conspired against the Coyotes.

“I really thought we might get five or six kids into the Sub-Sections, but things don’t always happen the way you want,” he said. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad. There are a lot of things to be excited about. I have zero seniors this year, so I have everyone coming back.”

Wednesday was a special time for Karina Arellano and members of Denair High School’s Project Life team. That was the day that Arellano earned her diploma from special education program, marking a significant milestone on her journey toward independent living.

Arellano is not a typical high school student. She is 22 years old. She has been part of the Project Life program since its inception at Denair High in 2018. Project Life is a focused effort to teach important skills to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities who often are dismissed as unemployable. 

“We want to teach them to be as independent as possible,” said lead teacher Renee Hall.

Currently, there are 21 special education students enrolled in the Project Life program, which spans grades 6-12. Another seven students ages 18 to 22 are part of the adult transition program. That’s the phase Arellano just completed.

Her next move will be to attend Continuum College in Turlock, which serves developmentally disabled adults in Stanislaus and Merced counties. One of the ongoing goals for Arellano is to be able to confidently access public transportation from Denair – where she lives with her parents – to Turlock.

Getting on a bus, being able to order and pay for food at a restaurant or holding down a job are exactly the kind of independent living skills Project Life was created to teach. Arellano, for instance, has worked at the Denair Market, Pet Supply, Turlock Feed and the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds as well as the Coffee Cart at Denair High.

The chance to hone their job skills across various settings at local businesses is one of the practical benefits of Project Life, said DHS Principal Breanne Aguiar.

“These on-the-job experiences provide students with real-life lessons and job skills training that promote independence, responsibility and employability,” she said.

Arellano’s graduation ceremony was held in the district’s board room and attended by her family, friends, teachers and other school district officials. There were plenty of smiles – and even a few tears – as she was awarded her diploma.

“I have been Karina’s teacher for five years,” Hall said. “I have had the privilege of watching her grow into the young lady she is today. My staff and I are so proud of how far she has come in our program. … We will miss Karina as she moves on to the next chapter of her life, but she will always be a part of the Project Life family.”

The Denair High boys soccer team – the two-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI champions – are in prime position to hang another banner this season.

The Coyotes are 17-5-2 overall and 8-1-2 in the Southern League after Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Gustine on Tuesday. With three games left in the regular season, Denair is one point behind Delhi (17-3-3, 9-0-3) in the SL standings and, perhaps more importantly, is far and away the presumptive No. 1 seed among Division VI schools with the playoffs beginning Feb. 9.

“They’re playing very good,” said Denair Coach Antonio Padilla. “I’m very happy. They’re having fun. We’re looking forward to the playoffs.”

The win over Gustine was Denair’s sixth in its past eight matches since a 3-2 non-league loss to Turlock before Christmas. The only times the Coyotes didn’t win they played to 1-1 ties against Gustine and Delhi.

The Jan. 19 match against Delhi could have gone either way. The Hawks led 1-0 at halftime before Denair’s Goliath Padilla tied the score with a goal midway through the second half. The Coyotes threatened again later in the game, but Diego Padilla hit the post with a shot.

“We controlled most of the game,” Antonio Padilla said. “We just ran out of time.”

Goliath Padilla, a sophomore, leads the team with 31 goals and 15 assists. His older brother Diego, a senior, has 13 goals. Another senior, Justin Hernandez, has six goals, including two in Tuesday’s win over Gustine. Senior goalie Sergio Torres also has had a strong year, highlighted by stopping three penalty kicks and posting five shutouts.

Denair’s latest victory did come with a cost, however. Diego Padilla strained his right hip flexor and could be sidelined until the playoffs. 

“At the end of the day, we are a team. I told the boys that we could still do it,” said Antonio Padilla. “I need Diego to rest and be ready for the playoffs.”

Denair finishes the regular season with three away matches – Friday at Waterford (11-9-1, 6-5-1), Monday at Ripon Christian (6-12-3, 3-6-2) and Tuesday at Orestimba (13-8-4, 7-1-3). The Orestimba game was postponed from Jan. 23 because of a wet field.

Playing on back-to-back days the same week the playoffs begin isn’t Padilla’s preference, but it “doesn’t always go the way you want.”

The playoff pairings will be announced Wednesday and, unless they stumble, the Coyotes appear to be in line for the No. 1 seed. In the current rankings on MaxPreps, Denair is first, followed by Esparto (9-6-1), Bradshaw Christian (9-8) of Sacramento and Delta Charter (6-3-1) of Tracy. Ripon Christian  — Denair’s opponent Monday – is ranked fifth. The other top SL schools – Delhi, Orestimba and Gustine – all are in Division V.

“The next three games mean something for league and playoff seeding,” Padilla said. “We’re only one point behind Delhi in league; if they tie or lose, we could win league. We’ll see how it goes.”

The application period has begun for parents who would like to enroll their children into kindergarten and transitional kindergarten for the next school year at Denair Elementary Charter Academy.

Interested parents can pick up a registration packet for the 2024-25 school year at the DECA office at 3773 Madera Ave. between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Families do not need to live in Denair to enroll their children at DECA.

Transitional kindergarten/kindergarten registration day is on Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Parents must fully complete the registration packet and return it with the proper documentation on that day.

Here is the key information:

• Completed registration packets must include a copy of the child’s birth certificate, updated immunization records and proof of residency (such as a utility bill). 
• Parents registering children for the dual language immersion program also must attend an orientation meeting on the DECA campus, then complete a form denoting their understanding of and commitment to the program. The meeting dates and times are Feb. 21 at 8:30 a.m. and Feb. 28 at 4:30 p.m.

Students whose fifth birthday occurs by Sept. 1 are eligible to enroll in kindergarten. For the 2024-25 school year, students whose fifth birthday occurs between Sept. 2 and June 2 are eligible to enroll in transitional kindergarten.

Parents with questions are encouraged to call the DECA office at (209) 632-8887.

DECA features traditional as well as Dual Language Immersion (DLI) instructional tracks for kindergarten through fifth grade, plus a traditional transitional kindergarten program.

At DECA, students are exposed early on to the importance of attending college. There is a wide range of fun and important electives and after school activities, and an emphasis is placed on being safe, responsible, respectful and kind.

All this occurs on a pretty and well-maintained campus under the direction of an experienced staff who are passionate about educating students.

The dual immersion program will be heading into its 10th year next fall and is available at every grade through Denair Middle School.

Immersion means just that. In kindergarten, 90% of the instruction is in Spanish, in first grade it drops to 80%, then 70% in second grade, 60% in third grade, and 50% in fourth and fifth grades.

Dual immersion teachers in kindergarten through second grade only speak Spanish in front of their students. English instruction takes place with other teachers.

It’s not just DLI students who learn a second language. Students on the traditional track also receive Spanish instruction one to three times a week in the language lab.

In addition, DECA provides a variety of fun and challenging Academic Adventure electives, such as:

• Drama/Performing Arts
• Technology
• Engineering design
• Health and nutrition
• Art
• Horticulture
• Music
• Science

Denair Charter Academy has a unique dual mission within the Denair Unified School District. It works with home-school parents and their children in grades K-8 while also providing an independent study option for high school students for whom a traditional setting just isn’t the right fit. DCA fills an important niche within the district, offering a quality education option for students and their families.

At Thursday night’s meeting of the district’s Board of Trustees, first-year Principal Jamie Pecot gave a presentation about a “Day in the Life” at DCA. She was accompanied by six of her staff members and one student.

Pecot knows the DCA campus and culture well. She taught math at the school for nine years before becoming principal, and still teaches courses in Algebra and geometry.

Many outsiders may assume that most of the learning at DCA takes place remotely – at students’ residences for the 40 involved with home-schooling or also away from campus for the 129 high school students on independent study. That is true to a point, but as Pecot told trustees, there also are plenty of face-to-face interactions.

Home-school youngsters come to DCA once a week to meet with teachers. Some independent study students are on campus as many as three times a week. In addition to regularly scheduled meetings with instructors, there are classes in math, science, arts, music, history, careers, economics and physical education that are only offered on campus. Class sizes are small, with no more than a dozen students in any of them. Plus, there are two clubs that students may belong to that meet at school – Love in Action, which focuses on community service like feeding the homeless, and ROX (Ruling Our Experiences), which is about empowering girls and young women.

Freshman Maddie Veillon, who spoke Thursday night, belongs to both clubs. She estimates she’s on campus three days a week. She said she chose DCA based on the recommendation of her older brother. She said the DCA method allows her to balance her studies with her duties working at a local daycare center.

“It’s easier to focus,” Veillon said. “I have less stress in a small environment.”

Senior Mareli Calderon transferred to DCA this year and has thrived in the new setting.

“I really like my teachers, my classes and classmates,” she said via prepared remarks that Pecot shared with the audience. “Moving schools was the right choice. Thanks to this decision, I’m really enjoying my senior year.”

Pecot is proud of the work done by her 24-person staff as well as the academic achievement of her students. There are 52 seniors this year; many are on track to earn their diplomas despite stumbles earlier in their high school careers. DCA has allowed them to find a path to success that otherwise might not have been available.

That is a message Pecot would like to share with more families and students.

“DCA is a great place to work and go to school,” she said.

In other action Thursday, trustees:

•  Heard a report from Superintendent Terry Metzger about Denair’s performance as measured by the State Dashboard. Like many districts across the state, Denair is still grappling with chronic absenteeism and student achievement in English language arts and mathematics that has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Metzger said that the dashboard results will inform the next three-year Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), which will be written this spring.

•  Listened as the principals at Denair High, Denair Middle School and DCA gave an update on first-semester grades and the impact of a new grading policy. In 2020-21, the number of students who earned one or more Fs during the distance learning year was a staggering 61%. The district has worked with Creative Leadership Solutions for the last three years to improve grading practices by clearly communicating success criteria and giving feedback that helps students progress toward standards mastery. As a result, the number of students receiving one or more Fs has fallen dramatically with only 13% in that category this fall.

• Listened as the principals at Denair High, Denair Middle School and DCA gave an update on first-semester grades and the impact of a new grading policy. The number of students who earned one or more Fs during the distance learning year was a staggering 61%. The district has worked with Creative Leadership Solutions for the last three years to improve grading practices by clearly communicating success criteria and giving feedback that helps students progress toward standards mastery. As a result, the number of students receiving one or more Fs has fallen dramatically with only 13% in that category this fall.
• Approved $2,000 bonuses for employees who notify the district by the end of January of their intent to retire at the end of this school year. The bonuses would be added to their final paychecks. The early notifications help the district plan for staffing and budgeting needs.
• Voted to hire KFI Engineers/LifeWings Peak Performance to begin work on ventilation and HVAC systems at the district’s campuses. The district will use two state grants worth a combined $172,000 to pay for the work. Bottom Line Utility Solutions also was hired for plumbing systems upgrades at Denair Middle School. A $125,000 state grant will be used to pay for that work.
• Approved a property easement that would allow the Turlock Irrigation District to reroute a water main to a new subdivision being built west of the Denair High baseball field. Work will start soon and be completed by the end of February. One of the side benefits is that the sidewalk on the northside of Monte Vista Avenue will be extended to Waring Road.
• OK’d an overnight trip to Sacramento on Feb. 9-10 for the high school wrestling team.
• Approved an agreement with Turlock Sports Park, whose staff will engage students in organized activities two Wednesdays per month to promote sportsmanship, social skills, self-regulation and guidance and enhancement of healthy choices and behaviors. The cost is not to exceed $48,380 and will be paid for from Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) funding the district receives.