Foothill wrestler, Shasta cheer team named Shasta Family YMCA Athletes of the Week (Feb. 13-19)

Ethan Hanson, Redding Record Searchlight

February 22, 2022 at 7:12 PM·1 min read

Ben Vega Sanchez

School: Foothill

Year: Junior

Sport: Wrestling

Comment: Vega Sanchez quickly made his way through five wrestlers to win the CIF Northern Section Masters Wrestling 195-pound tournament at Corning High School last Friday and Saturday. He won his first four matches by pinfall and won a technical over Tad Hervey of Chico to win his division title.

More: Meet the 6 Shasta County wrestlers who qualify for the CIF State meet

Vega Sanchez is the No. 3 ranked 195-pound wrestler in California by calgrapplers.com. The junior was voted CIF Northern Section Masters MVP by coaches at the tournament — the first underclassman to accomplish the feat. Vega Sanchez will battle senior Matt Porras Diamond of Temecula Valley in the first round of the CIF State Wrestling tournament in Bakersfield. The state meet is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m., Thursday.

Shasta High School cheerleading placed ninth in the country at the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, Feb. 13. Listed in the top row from left to right is sophomore Delaney Wilkes, junior Lexie Sanders, freshman Aiyana Duckey, junior Kourtnie Hicks, junior Tayler Smith, junior Natalie Duckey, freshman Avery Vasquez, freshman Savannah Abreu, sophomore Kennedy Donaldson and sophomore Taylor Nunnelley. Bottom row from left to right is senior Jasmine Morris, senior Caitlyn Phillips, senior Ashlynn Tracy, senior Delaney Barkley, senior Lacee King, senior Cecilia Cruz, senior Mia Baxter and senior Marissa DeJesus.

Shasta High School cheerleading team

Seniors Jasmine Morris, Caitlyn Phillips, Ashlynn Tracy, Delaney Barkley, Lacee King, Cecilia Cruz, Mia Baxter and Marissa DeJesus; juniors Lexie Sanders, Kourtnie Hicks, Tayler Smith and Natalie Duckey; sophomores Delaney Wilkes, Kennedy Donaldson and Taylor Nunnelley; and freshmen Aiyana Duckey, Avery Vasquez and Savannah Abreu.

School: Shasta

Year: Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors

Sport: Cheerleading

Comment: The Shasta High School cheerleading squad formed one dynamic unit to place ninth at the National High School Cheerleading Championships on Feb. 13. Shasta competed in the medium varsity non-tumbling category. The Wolves used 18 athletes to form flips, stunts and execute cheers for judges. Shasta competed against 19 other teams from New York, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oregon.

Each week, the Record Searchlight selects the girl and boy athletes who stand out based on merits from their performance in the prior week. Profiles highlight their accomplishments on the field or inside the gym and provide a glimpse into who they are as students. To make suggestions for R-S Athletes of the Week, email sports reporter Ethan Hanson at ethan.hanson@redding.com or go to https://bit.ly/3HuxlfW.

Ethan Hanson started working for the Redding Record Searchlight after four years with the Los Angeles Daily News as a freelancer. His coverage includes working the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in South Bend, Indiana, and writing about the St. Louis Rams' move to Los Angeles with the Ventura County Star. He began his career as a play-by-play broadcaster for LA Pierce College from 2011-2017. Follow him on Twitter at @EthanAHanson_RS.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Foothill wrestler, Shasta cheer team named YMCA Athletes of the Week

NBC News
Harris goes to church, highlighting the absence of religion in the 2024 campaign
Religion is making a rare appearance on the campaign trail in a presidential election that has dwelled less on candidates’ personal faiths than any in recent memory.
AFP
Hurricane Oscar makes landfall in Cuba amid huge power outage
Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Sunday evening in Cuba, where residents were preparing for more chaos and misery as the country grapples with a nearly nationwide power outage that is in its third day. The Category 1 storm made landfall in eastern Cuba at 5:50 pm local time (2150 GMT) on Sunday, the US National Hurricane Center said.
AFP
Lebanon media says Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah-linked finance group
Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes Sunday on branches of a Hezbollah-linked financial association, including near the country's only airport, after the Israeli military warned it would attack Al-Qard Al-Hassan's branches.The US-sanctioned Al-Qard Al-Hassan is a financial association the US Treasury says has been used by Hezbollah as a cover to mask financial activities and to gain access to the international financial system.
AFP
Harris says Trump 'demeans' office of US president after use of expletive
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday said her election rival Donald Trump "demeans" the office of the president with his use of coarse language, a day after the Republican insulted her using an expletive.With just over two weeks to go until Election Day, polls show Harris and Trump are locked in a neck-and-neck race for the presidency, including in the key swing states that decide US elections.
CNN
At least 87 killed in Israeli strike on northern Gaza, health ministry says
At least 87 people were killed in an Israeli strike overnight Saturday on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry said.
CNN
Trump thrusts McDonald’s into the political arena in final days of campaign
Donald Trump is pulling one of the most iconic American companies – McDonald’s – into the political arena in the final days of his third White House bid.
CNN
At least 1 dead and hundreds rescued in severe New Mexico flash flooding
At least one person has died and hundreds have been rescued in Roswell, New Mexico, after extreme overnight rainfall brought severe flooding, stranding motorists and sweeping away cars.
Politico
Cubans struggle as power not fully restored days after blackout
To make matters worse, Hurricane Oscar made landfall in the Bahamas and was heading toward their country.
NBC News
Trump attempts to troll Harris by serving french fries at a Pennsylvania McDonald's
Donald Trump served up french fries Sunday at a Philadelphia-area McDonald’s, over-salting spuds and peppering in some jabs at Kamala Harris.
CNN
Ex-general Prabowo, once accused of rights abuses, takes up presidency of world’s third-largest democracy
The 73-year-old successor to Indonesia’s Joko Widodo has undergone a remarkable transformation to lead a country of 280 million people.
NBC News
'Catastrophic failure': Seven dead, six critically injured after gangway collapses in Georgia
Seven people are dead and half a dozen others were critically injured after a gangway that's part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island on Saturday.
AFP
Lula cancels trip to summit in Russia after injuring head
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled a trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after injuring his head, his office announced.Lula had been scheduled to leave Brasilia early Sunday evening for Russia.
The Conversation
Drug prices improved under Biden-Harris and Trump − but not for everyone, and not enough
Both Trump and Harris seek to lower drug costs for patients. What headway have they made on realizing this goal?
Associated Press
Expelled Indian high commissioner denies involvement in murder of Sikh leader in Canada
India’s high commissioner to Canada has denied any involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader who was killed in British Columbia last year even though the Canadian government has named him as a person of interest in the assassination. Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was expelled last Monday along with five other Indian diplomats, said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period Sunday that the allegations are politically motivated. “Nothing at all,” Verma said when asked if he had any role in in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023.
CNN
Two missing Navy aviators declared dead days after aircraft crash in Washington state
Two missing US Navy aviators have been declared dead, several days after their aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier, Washington, during a training flight, the Navy said Sunday.
Reuters
Perplexity AI in funding talks to more than double valuation to $8 billion, WSJ reports
Perplexity has told investors it is looking to raise around $500 million in the new funding round, the Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. The Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence (AI) company's estimated annualized revenue based on recent sales is currently about $50 million, the report added. Perplexity AI declined to comment.
Associated Press
Calmer weather helps contain Oakland, California, fire that forced evacuations
Firefighting crews took advantage of calmer weather Sunday to increase containment of a small wildfire in Oakland, California, that burned two homes and forced more than 500 people to evacuate. “We don’t want to assume that it’s out and come back and it’s sparked again,” Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington said during a Saturday evening briefing. Flames erupted Friday afternoon and were fed by a major “ diablo wind ” — notorious in autumn for its hot, dry gusts — that spiked the risk of wildfire across Northern California.
Reuters
Ukraine's Zelenskiy seeks strong reaction to North Korean involvement in war
Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said there was ample satellite and video evidence that North Korea was sending not only equipment to Russia, but also soldiers to be prepared for deployment. "We expect a normal, honest, strong reaction from our partners on this." Zelenskiy said greater North Korean involvement could only be harmful to everyone.
NBC News
Mark Cuban speaks out against piece of Harris' tax plan while campaigning for her
Mark Cuban said Saturday while campaigning for Kamala Harris that he would campaign against her if he thought she would tax wealthy people’s “unrealized gains,” which is part of the tax plan she has endorsed.
CNN
Black patients less likely to receive certain pain relief post-surgery, new research suggests
Although a combination of certain pain medications has been found to be more effective than opioids alone at managing discomfort after surgery, Black patients are less likely to receive this level of care while recovering from a major procedure, new research suggests.

Ben Vega Sanchez

Shasta High School cheerleading team

Latest Stories