Tag Archives: Denair High School

DHS Wrestler Luis Mendoza Qualifies for Masters Meet

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Luis Mendoza

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Flashing what his coach described as a “brute strength kind of move,” Luis Mendoza got the ultimate payback against a tough wrestling opponent – a pin.

The result was a third-place finish Saturday for the Denair High School senior at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Championships and a trip to this week’s Masters Meet. It also touched off an enthusiastic celebration by his Coyotes teammates at the Sonora High gym.

Mendoza, competing at 197 pounds, was the only Denair wrestler to survive the rugged two-day tournament. The top four in each weight class advanced to the Masters. The next closest Coyote was Richard Richards, who finished sixth at 140 pounds.

Mendoza put himself in a difficult spot Friday when he was pinned by Anthony Howard of Bret Harte in his first match. He rallied to win two consolation bracket matches Friday to stay alive, then pinned his first opponent Saturday.

That set up a rematch with Howard, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the top four and a berth in the Masters Meet.

“It was back and forth, like the first match,” said Denair Coach Don Helnore. “This time, Luis caught the kid and pinned him. … Luis escaped a bear hug move and got his arms around him and just put him down on the mat.

“It was a real brute strength kind of move.”

With that, the Coyotes celebrated and Mendoza moved to the third-place match, where he used a pair of two-point reversals in the second and third periods to defeat Riverbank’s Jose Ariza.

“Luis almost pinned him at the end of the first round, but time expired,” said Helnore. Continue reading “DHS Wrestler Luis Mendoza Qualifies for Masters Meet” »

PSE Hosts First Annual Denair High School Crab Feed

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DHS 2015 Crab Feed Flyer

Submitted by Parents Supporting Education

Parents Supporting Education is hosting their first annual crab feed on February 21, 2015, in the Denair Community Center. Doors open at 5:30 pm and dinner service starts at 6:30 pm. The cost is $45 per person and dinner includes salad, pasta, bread, crab and iced tea.  This is a non-alcohol event. You may purchase tickets at the Denair High School Office, or from any Denair High School student. The last day to purchase tickets is Tuesday, February 17, 2015.

All proceeds will benefit 2015 Denair High School graduating class, to offset the cost of the Grad Night senior trip to Disneyland.

DHS Teacher Inducted into CSU Stanislaus Athletic Hall of Fame

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CSUS Logo

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A decade before she became a popular first-year science teacher at Denair High School, Breanna Vaughan was a standout goalie on the California State University, Stanislaus women’s soccer team just a few miles west on Monte Vista Avenue.

From 2002 to 2005, Vaughan was a force in the net for the Warriors. She was a three-time California Collegiate Athletic Association all-conference choice and still holds four school career records – shutouts (27.5), saves (319), victories (45) and minutes played (nearly 7,300). She has 11 single-season records, including most shutouts (10).

In 2005, she led the Warriors to their first-ever CCAA tournament appearance.

Last weekend, Vaughan’s stellar career was recognized again when she became the first women’s soccer player to be enshrined in the CSU Stanislaus Athletic Hall of Fame.

In her induction speech, she described the experience as “awesome” and thanked her parents, coaches and teammates.

“I feel so lucky. … I said that I still have nightmares about running, but even though I had to work super hard it was worth it and I loved every minute of it,” Vaughan said. “My picture is and forever will be in the gym foyer at CSUS.”

Vaughan graduated from CSU Stanislaus in 2008 with a degree in biological sciences. She spent five years teaching biology, environmental chemistry and health in high schools in Fresno, Visalia and Roseville before joining the Denair High staff last August.

For more on Vaughan and the six other 2015 inductees in the Warriors Hall of Fame, go to www.warriorathletics.com/HOF.

DHS Academic Decathlon Team 1st Among Small Schools

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Andrew Knapp, Jennifer Calderon and Garrett Shults

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Jennifer Calderon said she didn’t feel comfortable as she began the interview portion of the 35th annual Stanislaus County Academic Decathlon on Friday.

You sure couldn’t tell from the results.

Calderon was one of three Denair High School students to win gold medals as the Coyotes finished an impressive third overall. Lewis Koehn and Noah Johnson also earned individual championships for Denair, which was the highest-performing small school for the fifth year in a row.

Oakdale and Ceres – schools with many times the enrollment of Denair – finished first and second, respectively, out of 12 high schools.

The event began Friday night with the speech and oral interview competitions at Enochs High School in Modesto. It finished Saturday afternoon when hundreds of the area’s brightest students converged on the Modesto High School gym for individual tests in math, language and literature, economics, science, social science, art and music.

Athletes are divided into three divisions based on grade-point average – honors, varsity and scholastic. Each school enters three students per division. There also is a category for alternates. Many of the tests revolve around a theme; this year’s was “New Alternatives in Energy: Ingenuity and Innovation.”

Calderon, a senior, has competed in three decathlons before, but said she wasn’t confident heading into Friday’s interview in the honors division. This year, there were two judges instead of three to conduct the one-on-one interviews.

“It’s nerve-wracking in the sense it’s very intimate. You’re only a few feet away from the judges,” she said. Continue reading “DHS Academic Decathlon Team 1st Among Small Schools” »

Three Denair High School Juniors to Attend RYLA

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rotary

Submitted by Sunrise Rotary of Turlock

Friday the 13th will be a lucky day for three Denair High School juniors.  Edwin Flores, Jordan Sandoval, and Eva Olivas have been selected to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) camp at Camp Oakhurst for Eva and Calvin Crest for Edwin and Jordan.  The camps begin on Friday, February 13 and conclude on Monday, February 16.  Students selected for their leadership skills from throughout the Central Valley have been invited to attend this leadership camp where they will provide the music, events, a newspaper, nightly campfires, and run the camp.  The camp features speakers who are motivational speakers, business leaders, and government leaders.

The Sunrise Rotary of Turlock sponsors the students of Pitman High School, Turlock Christian High School, and Denair High School in being honored by RYLA.  When Eric Julien, Youth Services Chair of the Sunrise Rotary Club, found out that Denair hadn’t sent delegates for a number of years and inspired by hearing daily for thirty-six years from his wife, Becky Julien, former DES and D2A teacher, that Denair has great students, he contacted his former student, Elise Domico, guidance counselor, and former Rotary Leadership Camp attendee and employee.  Mrs. Domino advertised the opportunity to the juniors of DHS, collected the biographies and recommendations for applicants, and participated in interviews of all applicants.  After the applicants were interviewed, one male and one female student were selected as delegates and one male and one female alternate were selected.  An unfilled opening from another school in the valley meant that a second male student from Denair would also be able to attend.

Denair Superintendent of Schools, Aaron Rosander, upon being informed that Denair High School students would be attending RYLA, remarked, “I’m very familiar with RYLA. My own son was a participant a couple years ago in another county and high school. RYLA is an honor and terrific experience for high school students.”   Mrs. Domico is to be lauded for her efforts on behalf of Denair students.  Edwin, Jordan and Eva will represent Denair as leaders among their peers from the Central Valley and will experience a fun, challenging, and educational extended weekend.