MORGAN HILL — Playing on Sobrato’s basketball and baseball teams this year, Ryan Williams was a star among stars.
The 6-foot-3 junior forward helped lead the Bulldogs back to the CIF-Central Coast Section playoffs on the hardwood, averaging a team-best 17.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, then played a major role in Sobrato’s run to the Division II championship game in baseball. Switching between pitcher and third baseman, Williams (9-2) posted 43 strikeouts with a 3.02 ERA, .383 batting average and a team-best 21 RBIs during the regular season. He was first-team all league in basketball and division Co-Junior of the Year in baseball.
Williams also set the basketball team’s single-game record for points (38) and 3-pointers made (7) during a 71-59 win over Evergreen Valley.
“The leadership he brought in basketball he brought it here, too,” Sobrato baseball coach Ulises “Shorty” Gutierrez said. “He comes up in key situations in the field and at the plate. He’s a guy you can rely on.”
Steven Fernandez’s look says it all: don’t mess with him.
Few wrestlers in the CIF-Central Coast Section challenged him this year, as the Live Oak junior composed a sterling resume that included a 24-6 record and five top-three tournament finishes. The Acorns’ team captain was undefeated in West Valley Division dual matches and placed second in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Finals at 140 pounds. At the CCS Tournament, he finished three wins short of qualifying for state.
“That will definitely be his goal next year,” Fernandez’s father and coach, Robert Fernandez, said. “He’s working hard right now to get there.”
