Jensen a catch at tight end for Bulldogs

Marcel Jensen was a big man in the middle for some of the best boys basketball teams in Rodriguez High history and played football for the Mustangs the same way, batting down passes as if he were blocking shots.

As starting tight end for the Fresno State football team, Jensen is now hauling in passes and still making an impact.

The senior caught three passes for the 42 yards for the Bulldogs (8-3, 6-1 Mountain West) in a 52-36 win over Nevada (6-4, 3-3 MWC). That included a season-long 32-yarder for a touchdown that tied the score at 21 with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the first half.

On the season, Jensen has caught 16 passes for 264 yards, a team-best 16.5 yards per catch for anyone with more than two receptions, and two touchdowns.

Brock Hekking (Vacaville) led the Wolf Pack with 12 tackles, 10 of them solo, including one for loss.

Pacific University closed out its season with a 51-17 loss to Linfield as Craig Bailey (Fairfield) had three tackles and broke up a pass for the Boxers (3-6, 2-4 Northwest Conference). He finished with 30 tackles, 19 of them solo, broke up six passes, defensed six others, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

Fort Hays State (5-6) wound up its season on a winning note by topping Nebraska-Kearney 30-23. Basil Bandy (Rodriguez) had four tackles and ended the year with 38 tackles, 16 of them solo, with a team-best three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

Tra’Mayne Bondurant (Fairfield) helped Arizona (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) celebrate a 56-31 homecoming win over Colorado by returning an interception, his second of the year, 19 yards, and making six tackles, four of them solo.

Also in the Pac-12, Washington State’s comeback against UCLA fell short in a 44-36 loss. Deone Bucannon (Vanden) had two tackles for the Cougars (2-8, 0-7).

Myles Burton (Rodriguez) had one of his best games in Dixie State’s season-ending 51-19 loss to Central Washington. The former Mustang ran nine times for 50 yards for the Red Storm (3-8, 3-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) and caught a team-high five passes for 30 yards. He finished with 244 yards on 40 carries (a 6.1 average) and one touchdown, and caught 12 passes for 82 yards.

Justin Collins (Fairfield) had another solid game for Western Michigan (3-7, 2-4 Mid-American Conference), catching six passes for 122 yards in a 29-24 loss to Buffalo.

Tristen Devers (Armijo, Solano) played in West Liberty’s season-ending 23-22 win over North Carolina-Pembroke. On the season, he caught 16 passes for 261 yards, a team-best 16.3 yards per reception for those with more than two catches, and one TD for the Hilltoppers (6-5, 4-4 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).

In Eastern Washington’s 31-28 win over UC Davis, Quincy Forte (Vacaville) ran three times for 14 yards for the Eagles (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky).

Lewis and Clark’s season came to a disappointing end as the Pioneers (4-5, 1-5 NWC) dropped their fifth straight game after opening 4-0 with a 37-20 loss to Whitworth. Keith Welch Jr. completed 24 of 37 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, adding 79 yards rushing and one TD on 16 attempts. The former Falcon finished his standout junior season by completing 191 of 335 passes for 2,334 yards and 18 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He also ran 121 times for 358 yards and nine TDs.

Greg Goodenough (Vacaville Christian) had one tackle for the Pioneers against Whitworth and had eight on the season as well as a fumble recovery.

Former crosstown rivals squared off when Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ripped Idaho State 70-14. Alex Hubbard (Fairfield) returned an interception 15 yards for a third-quarter touchdown with 21 seconds left to give the Mustangs (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky) a 56-14 lead. He also had seven tackles, five of them solo with one sack, and broke up a pass.

Cameron Richmond (Rodriguez) caught three passes for 36 yards for the Bengals (1-9, 0-7 Big Sky).

Richmond’s former Solano County Athletic Conference rival Chad Hurst (Vanden) finished his career at Redlands with a bang, completing 15 of 28 passes for 224 yard and four touchdowns as well as a rushing TD in a 63-40 win over Whittier. On the year, he hit on 114 of 230 passes for 1,589 yard and 16 TDs with eight interceptions, adding 240 yards and three scores rushing for the Bulldogs (6-3, 6-1 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).

Hurst’s former Vanden teammate Damon Treat returned three kickoffs a total of 91 yards with a long of 50 as St. Cloud State (7-4, 5-2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) finished its season with a 39-37 win over Minnesota State-Moorhead. Treat wound up with 48 yards rushing on 10 attempts, caught 24 passes for 239 yards, and ran back 15 kickoffs for 345 yards, averaging 23.0 yards per return.

Kyler Martin (Vacaville) played for Army (2-8) in a 28-7 loss to Rutgers.

In Murray State’s 55-24 loss to Eastern Kentucky, Jordan Morrow (Rodriguez) caught five passes for 12 yards, returned two kickoffs for 33 yards and had a tackle for the Racers (4-6, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference).

Jason Verrett (Rodriguez) recored four tackles, three of them solo, as Texas Christian (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) fell 23-10 to No. 3 Kansas State.

Women’s soccer

Anna Nisperos (Solano) earned all-Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference second team honors in helping lead Kansas Wesleyan (19-1) to the KCAC regular season and conference tourney titles. She had three shots, one on goal, in a 4-0 semifinal win over Sterling and had four shots, all on goal, in a 3-0 title game win over Southwestern.

The Coyotes, ranked 10th in the final rankings and seeded 11th in the NAIA tournament, host Benedictine in the first round on Saturday.

Nyack saw its season end with a 2-1 loss to Houghton in the Eastern Regional of the National Christian College Athletic Association tournament. Sandy Garcia (Solano) assisted on the only goal for the Warriors (9-9-2), while Alexsa Gonzalez (Solano) and Sabrina Caires (Solano) also saw action.

Nyack opened with a shootout win over Roberts Wesleyan in a game that was tied 1-1 before the penalty kicks. Caires found the net in the shootout, which was won by the Warriors 5-4. Gonzalez had a shot during the game, while Garcia also played.

Caires finished the season with four goals and five assists, taking 21 shots, 14 on goal. Garcia netted two goals with two assists, taking 33 shots, 14 on goal. Gonzalez had one assist with six shots, two on goal.

Columbia College finished its highly successful inaugural season with a 2-1 loss to top-seeded Park in the title game of the American Midwest Conference tournament. Erica Ramirez (Armijo, Solano) played goalkeeper for the Cougars (10-10), recording five saves. She finished with a 6-3 record with 27 saves.

Making its first Golden State Athletic Conference tourney title game appearance, Biola fell 2-1 to top-seeded Vanguard. Natalie Guerrieri (Solano) saw time for the Eagles and started all 20 matches, finishing second on the squad with 1,763 minutes played.

Missouri Valley 2-0 lost to Graceland in the Heart of America Athletic Conference tourney semifinals. Cecilee Kidd (Fairfield, Solano) had a shot for the Vikings (11-8-1) and finished the year with three goals on 12 shots, nine on goal.

Volleyball

Holy Names fell 3-1 to Point Loma, and 3-0 to Azusa Pacific and California Baptist to finish the season at 11-16, 8-8 in the California Pacific Conference. Mariah Christensen (Rodriguez) amassed 52 assists, four kills and 20 digs in the three matches, while Tatum Bales (Wood, Solano) had three assists, six aces and 17 digs in the first two matches.

Christensen played in all 27 matches, starting 25, leading the Hawks with 513 assists and finishing with 166 digs and 23 kills. Bales saw action in 26 matches, topping the team with 368 digs and 455 serves received, ending up 38 assists and 18 aces.

UC Davis swept Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara with Devon Damelio (Rodriguez) getting 18 kills, four assists and 17 digs for the Aggies (15-13, 9-6 Big West).

Women’s swimming

Laura Turpen (Vacaville) was fourth in the 400-yard individual medley (4:42.52) and 10th in the 200 butterfly (2:15.13) as Tulane fell to Western Kentucky 189-107 and defeated Vanderbilt 148-139 in a dual meet in Nashville, Tenn.

Men’s basketball

John Dickson (Fairfield) had a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds to power Sacramento State (1-0) to a 96-62 thumping of UC Merced.

In Menlo’s 97-76 exhibition loss to UC Davis, Malik Dunbar (Fairfield resident) had a team-high 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Dante Miller (Fairfield, Solano) had five points in six minutes.

Robbie Herndon (Fairfield resident) had three points and three rebounds for San Francisco State in an 89-80 exhibition loss to California.

Former Solano County standouts squared off as Chaminade outlasted Saint Martin’s 87-84. Bennie Murray (Wood) had 10 points and four rebounds for the victorious Silverswords, while Tyler Idowu (Rodriguez) had six points and four rebounds for the Saints.

Murray then poured in 19 points and had two steals in an 84-76 win over Western Oregon, while Idowu had 10 points and four boards in a 76-67 win over Hawaii-Hilo.

Mike McChristian (Wood) scored eight points and had two assists in Idaho’s 80-70 loss to Wright State.

Women’s basketball

Erimma Amarikwa (Vanden) netted a team-high 14 points and had six rebounds, while Khristina Hunter (Rodriguez) had four points and three boards as San Diego State opened with a 66-52 loss to UCLA.

Nebraska-Kearney, coached by former Solano assistant Kevin Chaney, fell 68-60 to South Dakota School of Mines. Ivy Jones (Solano) had seven points and three steals in a losing cause.

Denisha Lundy (Vanden) had five points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in Cal State Dominguez Hills’ 57-52 exhibition loss to San Diego Christian.

Goli Tavassoli (Vanden, Solano) had a team-high 17 points in a 58-55 win over Clarke and a 79-64 loss to Saint Ambrose for Waldorf (3-2). She also had 13 in a 70-60 win over Mount Mercy, going 9 for 10 from the line.

Lourdes, coached for former Fairfield standout Zareth Gray, opened it season season with a 62-56 win over Indiana-South Bend and lost 70-56 to Spring Arbor.

Reach Paul Farmer at 425-4646, ext. 264, or pfarmer@dailyrepublic.net. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pfarmerdr.