Latest news with #ElCerrito
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Fogerty on the stories behind 5 of his turning-est, burning-est hits
In a time of exploding success and creativity in rock music, Creedence Clearwater Revival was quite possibly the finest singles band of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in suburban El Cerrito in Northern California by frontman John Fogerty, his brother Tom on guitar, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford, CCR put up an absurd number of all-timers in the space of about 2 1/2 years, including most of the 20 collected on 'Chronicle,' the 1976 greatest-hits LP that still sits on the Billboard 200 album chart today, nearly half a century later. The band's instantly identifiable sound — which the members began developing first as the Blue Velvets and then as the Golliwogs — combined blues, rock, psychedelia and R&B John Fogerty's voice, preternaturally scratchy and soulful for a guy in his early 20s, gave the music a feeling of sex and grit even as he flexed his commercial pop smarts as a producer and hook-meister. For all their popularity, Fogerty refused to play Creedence's biggest hits for decades due to a prolonged legal battle with his old label, Fantasy Records, over the rights to his songs — a feud that reached a kind of apex when Fantasy's head honcho, Saul Zaentz, sued Fogerty for plagiarizing himself with his solo song 'The Old Man Down the Road,' which Zaentz said sounded too much like CCR's 'Run Through the Jungle.' (Fogerty eventually won; Zaentz died in 2014.) Yet two years ago, Fogerty regained control of his publishing, and now he's made an album of Taylor Swift-style rerecorded versions of the band's songs called 'Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years,' due Aug. 22. Ahead of a concert Sunday night at the Hollywood Bowl, where he'll be accompanied by a band that includes his sons Shane and Tyler, Fogerty, 80, called from the road to tell the stories behind five of his signature tunes. After charting in 1968 with covers of Dale Hawkins' 'Susie Q' and Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 'I Put a Spell on You,' Fogerty scored his first hit as a songwriter with this funky and propulsive country-soul jam. 'Proud Mary' came as a bolt of lightning and inspiration from heaven. I'd received my honorable discharge from the Army in the middle of 1968, and I was overjoyed — I mean, absolutely euphoric. It meant that I could now pursue music full-time. So I went in the house with my Rickenbacker guitar and started strumming some chords, and the first line I wrote was 'Left a good job in the city / Working for the man every night and day.' That's how I felt getting out of the Army. But what is this song about? I really didn't know. I went to my little song book that I'd only started writing in a few months before — it was a conscious decision to get more professional — and, lo and behold, the very first thing I'd ever written in that book was the phrase 'Proud Mary.' I didn't know what it meant — I just wrote it down because that was gonna be my job. I've got this little book, and I'm gonna collect my thoughts. At the very bottom of the same page was the word 'riverboat.' I remember saying to myself, 'Oh, this song's about a riverboat named Proud Mary.' How strange is that? Who writes a song about a boat? But after that I was off and running — finished the song within the hour, and for the first time in my life, I was looking at the page and I said, 'My God, I've written a classic.' I knew it was a great song, like the people I admired so much: Hoagy Carmichael or Leiber & Stoller or Lennon & McCartney. I felt it in my bones. Where did the narrator's accent come from? 'Big wheel keep on toinin'' and all that?Howlin' Wolf was a huge inspiration to me when I was 10, 11, 12 years old. He said things like that a lot, and I guess it went into my brain. I didn't do it consciously — it just seemed right to me when I was writing the song. CCR had five singles that got to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, including 'Proud Mary.' Do you recall what was at No. 1 when 'Proud Mary' reached No. 2?Let's see, this was early 1969 — I'd love to think that it was [Otis Redding's] 'Dock of the Bay.' 'Everyday People' by Sly and the Family kidding. How cool. Read more: Bruce Springsteen's 'Tracks II' is an epic act of rock-star lore Did you know Sly?I never met Sly Stone. I really loved the records. I was at Woodstock, and he was a couple acts after me. I watched Janis [Joplin] and then some of Sly, and then we retired to our Holiday Inn — must have been 4 in the morning by then. Ike and Tina Turner remade 'Proud Mary' for almost a different song. First time I heard it, I was driving in my car — was one of those times you pump your first and go, 'Yeah!' This twangy account of a musician fallen on hard times first appeared on the B-side of the 'Bad Moon Rising' single. My mom and dad loved traveling from our little town of El Cerrito. We would drive up San Pablo Avenue — I don't think there was a freeway back then — and cross the Carquinez Bridge into Vallejo and keep going up into the northern-central part of California and all those wonderful places like Stockton and Tracy and Modesto. I got to know all these towns like Dixon and Davis, and I heard my parents talk about Lodi. As a youngster, that was one of the words I saved in my book, like I was talking about earlier. I told myself, 'That's important, John — you need to save that and remember it.' As I started to get a little older, I remember playing on campus at Cal Berkeley with a ragtag group of guys — a local dance kind of thing for the students. The guy from Quicksilver Messenger Service with the afro [David Freiberg], he was there too playing with his band, and they did a song where it sounded like he was saying 'Lodi.' I was heartbroken. When he got done with his set, I went over and asked the gentleman, 'What was that song you were doing? Was it called 'Lodi'?' He said, 'Oh, you mean 'Codeine.'' Boy, did I crack up. Here I am, the farmer boy thinking about Lodi, and he's the downtown guy talking about drugs. Anyway, all that meandering my family did through the Central Valley was very important to me. There came a time when I was inspired to write a song framed in a place that was kind of out of the way. I was 23 or so, but I was picturing a much older person than myself — maybe Merle Haggard when he gets older. There he is, stuck in this little town because he'd drifted in and he doesn't have the money to get out. Immediately adopted as an anthem among those opposed to the Vietnam War, Fogerty's searing protest song was later inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. You said in 2014 that you weren't entirely satisfied by your lead vocal.I still feel the same way. The basic tracks for 'Down on the Corner' and 'Fortunate Son' were both recorded, and one afternoon I went over to Wally Heider's studio to finish the songs. For 'Down on the Corner,' I did the maracas and the middle solo part, then sang all the background vocals, then sang the lead. So I'd been singing at the top of my lungs for probably an hour and a half, then I had to go back and finish 'Fortunate Son.' I was screaming my heart out, doing the best I could, but later I felt that some of the notes were a little flat — that I hadn't quite hit the mark. I always sort of cringed about that. There's an argument to be made that the raggedness in your voice is what gives the song its urgency.I know that in the case of the Beatles, John would just sit in the studio screaming and screaming until his voice got raw enough, then he'd record some takes. Perhaps the fact that it was a little out of tune made it — what's the word? — more pop-worthy. I don't know. 'Fortunate Son' was heard at President Trump's recent military parade, despite your asking him not to use it during his 2020 campaign.I didn't watch other than a few seconds. I was trying to find the Yankee game and came across the parade. I was expecting it would be like the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year's morning, but it seemed really kind of sleepy. Somebody emailed me later that night and told me. I thought it was strange — thought it would be something that someone would be wary of. Because of the cease-and-desist — and because the song is literally about a person of privilege avoiding military service.I thought to myself: Do you think somebody did it on purpose? Are they doing it as some weird kind of performance art? I might be giving too much credit to the thought that went into it. Read more: The 25 best songs of 2025 so far 'Fortunate Son' is one of the great rock songs about class, which is a concept that Trump has deeply reshaped in his time. He's a rich guy but he manages to make himself look like the underdog and the victim. I'm from the '60s — the hippie era — when young people were much more unified in the sense that everybody should be equal and everyone should be tolerant and respectful of each other. It's a little different now, even though I'm very happy that people are protesting and making noise and pointing out injustice — I'm thrilled that's going on instead of just standing by and watching somebody get lit on fire. But we're so polarized in America now. I'm hopeful, though. You didn't ask me the question, but I am. I think we're all starting to get tired of that. It doesn't work very well — what we're doing right now is certainly not working. If we fire everybody and quit all knowledge and science and education and manners and morality and ethics and kick out all the immigrants — well, I guess you and me are probably gone along with everybody else. I mean, it's just such complete negativity. As Americans, that's not us — that's not how we roll. With worries about the spread of gun ownership in his head, Fogerty devised one of his eeriest productions for this swampy psych-rock number. I was trying to do a lot with a little — certainly got the band cooking and got a good groove going. For the intro, I wanted to create maybe a Stanley Kubrick movie soundscape, but of course I didn't have a symphony orchestra or synthesizers or any of that kind of stuff. I had to imagine: How do I use these rock 'n' roll instruments — basically guitar and piano and a little bit of percussion and some backward tape — and create that ominous, rolling vibe? Along with the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, you were one of the few rock and pop musicians of that era who produced your own records. To me, it was natural. I remember a time in the little shed that Fantasy had built outside the back of their warehouse to use as a recording studio — I was working there one day, had the earphones on and I was at the mic. This was Golliwogs time, probably '65 or '66, and I was trying to get something accomplished that was not getting accomplished. I said out loud, 'Well, I guess Phil Spector's not gonna come down here and produce us, so I'm gonna have to learn how to be a producer myself.' Saul Zaentz famously took you to court for self-plagiarism. Is there anything at all in your mind that connects "Run Through the Jungle" and "The Old Man Down the Road"?Other than both of them having a very deep footprint within the blues, which is what has influenced me greatly in my life, I never thought they were even similar. The whole thing was preposterous. After CCR's 'Pendulum' LP — which included this tender ballad that now boasts more than 2 billion streams on Spotify — Tom Fogerty quit the group; the remaining three members went their separate ways less than two years later. I loved my band — I thought it was the culmination of everything I'd been working for — and to watch it sort of disintegrating, I just felt powerless. That's why I use the strange metaphor of rain coming down on a sunny day: We had finally found our sunny day, and yet everybody seemed to be more and more unhappy. I just felt completely befuddled by what was going on — I didn't know what to say or do that was gonna fix it. Up to that time, I'd thought the way to fix it was: Well, I'll just write more songs and we'll have more success — that'll take care of all our problems. That's how I felt — pathetically so — even as far as my relationship with Saul Zaentz and the horrible contract. I thought if I just showed that I was a great songwriter and could make these records that perhaps he would have some empathy and go, 'I should treat John better because I want to have more of these songs.' When I say that now, it sounds utterly foolish. In spite of the pain you were in at the time, this song is one of your true. It's like an atom bomb going off in your backyard — it's so horrible that you just sort of cling to your positive human emotion. Even if it's painful, you try to feel rather than be numb. 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain' has been covered widely: Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, the Ramones, Rod Stewart. You have a favorite rendition besides yours?I really liked Bonnie Tyler's version. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
San Francisco Chronicle
29-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Metro top qualifying marks for CIF track and field state championships
Five metro athletes are among the top qualifiers based on section championship events heading into this weekend's 105th CIF State Track and Field Championships at Buchanan High School in Clovis (Fresno County). De La Salle-Concord junior Jaden Jefferson is the leader in the 100 meters after setting a North Coast Section record with a winning 10.30 seconds time on Saturday at Dublin High. He hopes to lead the Spartans to a first state title for the program and the team has extra incentive, competing for their late head coach John Harvey who died suddenly April 28 from a respiratory condition. Other top qualifiers from the Metro region are Menlo School-Atherton senior Landon Pretre (in the boys 3200 (8:48.57), Pittsburg senior boys pole vaulter Khaliq Muhammad (17-1), San Ramon Valley-Danville sophomore girls high jumper Riley McMullen (5-6) and St. Mary's-Berkeley girls triple jumper Kira Gant Hatcher (40-10.50), who also ranks second in the long jump (19-4.75). State trials scheduled starts are 3 p.m. Friday with field events and running events beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday's finals are scheduled at 4:30 p.m. (field events) and running events (5:45 p.m.). Note that meet directors previously have pushed back start times due to extremely warm weather and with temperature forecasts both days in the 100s, that is a distinct possibility again. Below are all the top qualifiers in each event, along with all Metro athlete who qualified and qualifying teams. BOYS (Top qualifier, with local metro qualifying marks from section meets.) 100 meters: 1. Jaden Jefferson (De La Salle) 10.30 Other Metro qualifiers: Chad Works-Wright (El Cerrito) 10.43, Khairee Baker (American Canyon) 10.68, Prince Babalola Buchango (St. Ignatius) 10.78, Rahsjon Duncan (McClymonds) 10.79, O'Bryan Flanigan (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 10.95, Syd Villegas (Lincoln) 10.95 200 meters: 1. RJ Sermons (Rancho Cucamonga) 20.97 Metro qualifiers: Jefferson (De La Salle) 21.11, Works-Wright (El Cerrito) 21.28, Babalola Buchango (St. Ignatius) 21.43, Jaylyn Smallwood (El Cerrito) 21.69, Duncan (McClymonds) 22.31, Villegas (Lincoln) 22.40 400 meters: 1. Jaelen Hunter (Servite) 46.91 Metro qualifiers: Mattheo LaCasia (Woodside) 46.92, Tim Edwards (Pittsburg) 47.71, Sean Walsh (St. Francis) 47.94, Chase McMullen (San Ramon Valley) 48.90, Ian Sweeney (Bishop O'Dowd) 49.19, Phinehas Browne (Oakland Tech) 49.31, Ikembuchukwu Udeh (De La Salle) 49.88 800 meters: 1. Lucas Alberts (Jesuit) 1:51.27 Metro qualifiers: Caeden Gardner (Tamalpais) 1:54.62, Sebastien Swain (Piedmont) 1:54.67, Thomas Hekl (Amador Valley) 1:54.74, Shrey Chettiar (Bellarmine) 1:54.81, Tristan Kippes (Palo Alto) 1:55.95, Henry Witt (Lowell) 1:57.88 1,600 meters: 1. Conor Lott (Clovis North) 4:05.80 Metro qualifiers: Benjamin Bouie (Crystal Springs Uplands) 4:06.02, Aydon Stefanopoulos (Los Gatos) 4:08.80, Miles Cook (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 4:10.09, Arrin Sagiraju (Dougherty Valley) 4:10.46, Will Hauser (Menlo School) 4:10.37, Will Mulliken (Archie Williams) 4:12.20, Stephen Sziebert (Bellarmine) 4:12.65, Stefan Langridge (International) 4:13.44, Nicolas Rivas (Galileo) 4:22.88 3,200 meters: 1. Landon Pretre (Menlo School) 8:48.57 Other Metro qualifiers: Trey Caldwell (De La Salle) 9:08.91, Tadhg Murray (De La Salle) 9:09.75, Djali de Chalus (St. Mary's) 9:14.43, Gus Schafer (Oakland Tech) 9:46.28, Rivas (Galileo) 10:45.55 110 high hurdles: Jasir Fontenot (San Diego) 13.40 Metro qualifiers: Chase Young (De La Salle) 14.04, Babaloa Buchango (St. Ignatius) 14.32, Nathaniel Maddox (Dublin) 14.49, Aaron Adamos (Dublin) 14.50, Antonio Bayon (Redwood) 14.60, Joshua Haven (Bellarmine) 14.72, Ryan Gray (Oakland Tech) 15.33 300 hurdles: 1. Kingston Waring (Culver City) 36.91 Other Metro qualifiers: Haven (Bellarmine) 37.93, Luke Kazee (St. Ignatius) 38.79, Young (De La Salle) 39.20, Krish Sandhu (Moreau Catholic) 39.53, River Lockwood (Acalanes) 39.68 4x100 relay: 1. Servite 40.40 Metro qualifiers: El Cerrito 41.02, De La Salle 41.20, Serra 41.44, Hillsdale 41.81, Mountain View 42.18, American Canyon 42.38, Lincoln 43.79 4x400 relay: 1. Long Beach Poly 3:10.83 Metro qualifiers: Mountain View 3:18.68, St. Francis 3:19.68, De La Salle 3:29.78, Tamalpais 3:31.92, Acalanes 3:24.75 4x800 relay: 1. Mira Costa 7:37.84 Metro qualifiers: Crystal Springs Upland 7:51.87, Las Lomas 7:53.64, Bellarmine 7:54.48, Analy 7:57.04, Lowell 8:07.67 High Jump: 1T. Joshua Harel (Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks), Matthew Browner (Chaminade-West Hills), 6-10 Metro qualifiers: Grady Wachob (Benicia) 6-6, Ben Stout (Amador Valley) 6-6, Ryan Shen (Monta Vista) 6-6, Haven (Bellarmine) 6-6, Bayon (Redwood) 6-4 Pole Vault: 1. Khaliq Muhammad (Pittsburg) 17-1 Other Metro qualifiers: William Freas (Tamalpais) 15-6, Ethan Radford (Bellarmine) 14-8, Bayon (Redwood) 14-2 Long Jump: 1. Kayden Lewis-Burnley (Clovis) 24-8¾ Metro qualifiers: Shen (Monta Vista) 23-7¾, Ernest Okere (Clayton Valley) 23-4¾, Levi Harte (Encinal) 23-0¾, Oskar Herlitz (Sacred Heart Prep) 22-11¾, Noah Gonzalez (St. Ignatius) 22-7½, Kaleb Pleis (San Ramon Valley) 22-6, Kaleb Banh (Lincoln) 21-3½ Triple Jump: 1. Keith Cotlage (Cajon) 48-10 Metro qualifiers: Anthony Dean (De La Salle) 47-11, Cameron P. Jones (Bishop O'Dowd) 46-10½, Gonzalez (St. Ignatius) 46-7¾, Benicio Labuguen (Westmoor) 46-5, Jasaun Mabrey (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 46-1½, Maddox (Dublin) 45-11½, Alex Martin (Valley Christian) 45-11, Banh (Lincoln) 42-0¾ Shot Put: 1. McKay Madsen (Clovis North) 67-4½ Metro qualifiers: Joshua Taylor (King's Academy) 59-4, Evan Usher (Woodside) 57-9½, Case Jacobson (St. Francis) 57-5, Maxime Morelle (Sacred Heart Prep) 57-4½, Chibuike Ihe (Pittsburg) 55-10¼, Emmanuel Fitzgerald (San Mateo) 55-6, Alexander Gorobets (Washington-San Francisco) 45-4¼ Discus: Madsen (Clovis North) 204-9 Metro qualifiers: Isaac Duren (Mitty) 164-0, Usher (Woodside) 162-8, Fitzgerald (San Mateo) 162-4, Deonte Littlejohn (Acalanes) 156-3, Zach Bruce (California) 154-0, Bryant Angel (Mission) 139-11 GIRLS 100 meters: 1. Journey Cole (Redondo) 11.36 Metro qualifiers: Ellie McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius) 11.78; Amirat Temi Aganju (Pittsburg) 11.78; London Shedd (Liberty) 11.90, Julia Bayon (Redwood) 11.98, Avery Hui-Bytof (St. Ignatius) 12.36, Alicia Choy (Lowell) 12.56 200 meters: 1. Keelan Wright (Chaparral) 23.21 Metro qualifiers: McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius) 24.06, Bayon (Redwood) 24.63, Hannah Rutherford (Mountain View) 24.72, Shedd (Liberty) 24.78, Isabella Moriyama (Monte Vista) 24.90 400 meters: 1. Clara Adams (North Salinas) 53.23 Metro qualifiers: Rutherford (Mountain View) 53.99, Madison Kohli (Los Gatos) 55.35, Eden Enoru (Heritage) 57.19, Moriyama (Monte Vista) 57.54 800 meters: 1. Makenna Herbst (Carlsbad) 2:03.30 Metro qualifiers: Sabrina Zanetto (St. Francis) 2:09.79, Josie Hill (Technology) 2:10.16, Lily Symon (Los Altos) 2:10.29, Hailey Sellers (Branson) 2:12.25, Ava Padilla (Monte Vista) 2:12.80, Chloe Leduc (Oakland Tech) 2:20.14 1,600 meters: 1. Chiara Dailey (La Jolla) 4:43.57 Metro qualifiers: Hanne Thomsen (Montgomery) 4:47.26, Kinga Czajkowska (Palo Alto) 4:47.75, Amaya Bharadwaj (Palo Alto) 4:49.63, Farah Allen (Branson) 4:50.49, Ani Stieg (Archie Williams) 4:51.12, Anna Salter (Crystal Springs Uplands) 4:56.63, Leduc (Oakland Tech) 5:13.63 3,200 meters: 1. Rylee Blade (Santiago) 10:11.38 Metro qualifiers: Thomsen (Montgomery) 10:19.56, Amrie Lacefield (Montgomery) 10:25.52, Lily Montilla (Las Lomas) 10:29.01, Veronica Taira (Menlo School) 10:48.53, Brooke Oliveira (Castilleja) 10:48.96, Maya Eisenberg (Mountain View) 10:52.01, Leduc (Oakland Tech) 11:59.55. 110 high hurdles: 1. Anisa Bowen-Fontenot (San Diego) 13.38 Metro qualifiers: Emma San (Dublin) 14.59, Hughes (Los Altos) 14.64, Tatum Trucks (Carondelet) 14.73, Hope Diekmann (San Ramon Valley) 14.76, Shiloh Haliburton-Rudy (Mitty) 15.04, Sara Nordlund (Menlo-Atherton) 15.19 300 hurdles: 1. Morgan Herbst (Carlsbad) 39.95 Metro qualifiers: Janelle Wanliss (Santa Rosa) 43.74, Haliburton-Rudy (Mitty) 44.23, Nordlund (Menlo-Atherton) 44.57, Soleil Warner (Bay School) 45.11, Kiana Chen (Carlmont) 45.17, Savannah Sawyer (Ygnacio Valley) 45.36 4x100 relay: 1. Long Beach Poly 45.94 Metro qualifiers: Pittsburg 46.98, Mitty 47.51, Valley Christian 47.56, St. Mary's 47.62, Los Gatos 47.81, Redwood 48.50, Lowell 50.45 4x400 relay: Long Beach Wilson 3:43.71 Metro qualifiers: Los Gatos 3:51.74, Pittsburg 3:53.33, St. Francis 3:53.80, Dublin 3:55.54, Sacred Heart Cathedral 3:56.12, Clayton Valley 3:57.59 4x800 relay: 1. Claremont 8:59.39 Metro qualifiers: Palo Alto 9:11.71, Monte Vista 9:13.96, Branson 9:14.07, St. Francis 9:16.64 High Jump: 1T. Riley McMullen (San Ramon Valley), Jasleen Gandhoke (St. Francis-Sacramento), all 5-6 Other metro qualifiers: Rachael Osicka (California) 5-5, Kaitlyn Schuh (San Mateo) 5-4, Lelani Laruelle (Monta Vista) 5-4 Pole Vault: 1. Paige Echsner (Del Norte-San Diego) 13-5 Metro qualifiers: Olivia Miles (University) 12-0, Avery Boyse (Burlingame) 11-9, Katherine Cueva (Menlo-Atherton) 11-3, Kaitlyn Hancock (Washington-Fremont) 10-11, Miranda Howeth (Dublin) 10-11, Alexa Bernard (Lowell) 10-0 Long Jump: 1. Amaya Estes (Canyon Crest Academy) 19-6. Metro qualifiers: Kira Gant Hatcher (St. Mary's) 19-4¾, Annalise Horn (Redwood) 19-0, McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius) 18-6, Clara Fan (Monta Vista) 18-5½, Idara Essien (Castro Valley) 18-2, Jolee Chan (Lincoln) 16-7¼ Other metro qualifiers: Santia Ali (Clayton Valley) 39-11, Corinne Jones (St. Mary's) 39-5½, Hughes (Los Altos) 39-0, Amaya DeFlorimonte (Bishop O'Dowd) 38-7, Sophie Schwarz (Westmont) 38-1½, Fan (Monta Vista) 38-1½, Daia Sanders (Bishop O'Dowd) 37-11, Horn (Redwood) 37-9¾, Lanai Mitchell (Bishop O'Dowd) 37-7½, Brooklyn Pitigoi-Aron (Valley Christian) 37-6¾
San Francisco Chronicle
19-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Resurgent El Cerrito softball steamrolls its way into NCS postseason
As the seventh seed in Division 4, El Cerrito's softball team doesn't figure to win a North Coast Section championship this season. But the Gauchos are definitely playing with house money. Buoyed by a top slugging freshman and mainstay senior on the mound, El Cerrito (19-3) has already set a school record for wins while winning the Tri-County Athletic League's Stone Division with a 14-0 record. It's the Gauchos' first winning season since 2021. Arlie Tatum, a freshman shortstop and catcher, is hitting .746 with North Coast Section bests of 53 hits and 52 RBIs in 71 at-bats to go along with 10 home runs, 23 doubles and 30 stolen bases, helping the Gauchos outscore league opponents 276-25. Tatum hasn't struck out once. 'One of the most dominating hitters I've seen in high school softball over the last five years,' said El Cerrito assistant coach Ken Miles. Senior captain and Occidental College commit Courtney Miles is 11-0 on the mound with 119 strikeouts in 53 innings. She's also batting .500 with 32 hits, 24 RBIs, 41 runs, 13 doubles and 28 stolen bases, earning her first-team All-TCAL for a third straight year. Natalie Gawlikowski (7-2, 0.63 ERA) is the other mainstay on the mound and one of five freshmen on the 17-person squad. Other top hitters are freshmen, Mia Martinez-Rojas (.510, 27 RBIs), Olive Calvin (.450) and Leah Sundstrom (.413). 'Admittedly our league wasn't as tough as some of the others in the Bay Area, but the team took care of business at hand and in nonleague beat NCS playoff teams Albany (14-0) and Piedmont (15-2),' coach Miles said. The Gauchos open NCS play at home Wednesday against No. 10 seed Las Lomas (13-8), with the winner traveling to second seed Berean Christian-Walnut Creek (16-3) in the quarterfinals Friday or Saturday. Top seeds in each division are Liberty-Brentwood (D1), Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (D2), Del Norte (D3), Northgate-Walnut Creek (D4), McKinleyville (D5) and Kelseyville (D6). Top NCS baseball seeds are: Granada-Livermore (D1), Cardinal Newman (D2), California-San Ramon (D3), Arroyo-San Lorenzo (D4), Pinole Valley (D5) and John Swett-Crockett (D6). State swimming: While the Metro stars were many at the CIF State Swim Championships in Clovis on Saturday, Foothill-Pleasanton sophomore Luke Mijatovic stood out by setting a national 500-yard freestyle record (4 minutes, 11.91 seconds) and breaking the state meet 200 free record in 1:33.52. The previous national record was 4:12.70 set in 2023 by Rex Maurer of Loyola-Los Angeles, and the state meet 200 record was 1:33.84, also by Maurer. Valley Christian junior Yury Kuzmenko was a double winner, taking the 50 and 100 freestyles, breaking the 50 meet record in Friday's prelims at 19.55 (the previous mark was 19.57 set by Palo Alto's Ethan Harrington). The Princeton commit also anchored the winning 200 medley relay team and was part of the third-place 200 free relay squad. Dougherty Valley-San Ramon's Songrui Wu also took two boys events, winning the 100 backstroke (47.20) and 200 IM (1:44.55). Other Metro winners were Mitty sophomore Shareef Elaydi (boys 100 breaststroke, 53.18), Gunnar Grubbs (boys diving, 611.80), Campolindo-Moraga freshman Stella Canoles (girls 100 free, 49.26) and Granada's Brooke Bennett (girls 500 free, 4:49.15). In the team competition, San Ramon Valley-Danville's girls (170.5) placed second behind Santa Margarita-Rancho Santa Margarita (Orange County) (229.5). Monte Vista-Danville (144.5) was third, Campolindo (139) fourth and Mitty (106) fifth.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Police investigate sexual assault on El Cerrito 'BART Path'
EL CERRITO, Calif. - Police are on the lookout for a suspect involved in a sexual assault incident in El Cerrito that occurred on the Ohlone Greenway, commonly known as the "BART Path," Sunday morning. What we know El Cerrito police said the suspect had interacted with the victim at the Del Norte BART Station Saturday night. The suspect allegedly abducted the victim and assaulted her between Hill and Blake Streets on the pathway, police said. The suspect was described as a Black man in his mid to late 20s, skinny and close to 6 feet tall, according to police. He was wearing a black beanie hat, black hoodie, black sweatpants, and a gold chain. What you can do Anyone who may have seen or heard anything or may have additional information is asked to contact Det. Michael Olivieri at (510) 820-3061 or email molivieri@ The Source El Cerrito Police Department
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Authorities investigating Sunday morning Ohlone Greenway sexual assault
(KRON) – The El Cerrito Police Department is investigating a sexual assault that happened on the Ohlone Greenway early Sunday morning, which is called the BART pedestrian and bicycle path. The assault occurred from around midnight to 1:30 am. According to El Cerrito PD, the male suspect abducted and sexually assaulted a female suspect on the Ohlone Greenway between Hill Street and Blake Street. The suspect initially contacted the victim the day prior at Del Norte BART. Stolen Glock, weed found in probationer's car: Livermore PD The suspect, according to police, is a Black man in his mid-to-late 20s, skinny and about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a black beanie, black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants and a gold chain. Anyone with information regarding this assault or who may have additional information is asked to contact Detective Michael Olivieri at 510-820-3061 or email at molivieri@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
