Fresno City College athletics fall roundup: A state title, bowl win and a milestone
Fresno City College was dominating in fall sports with five outright or shared conference championships, a football bowl victory and another state wrestling championship.
Wrestling
Twelve Rams went to the podium at the state championships Dec. 9-10 at West Hills-Lemoore, doubling up in two of the 10 weight classes, for a dominating team victory.
Fresno City totaled 214 points; runner-up Mt. San Antonio had 154.5.
Devin Murphy (133-pound weight limit), Jackson Morgan (157), Jake Prudek (174), Luke Meyer (184) and Rudy Garcia (197) won state titles, guiding the Rams to their fifth state title since 2016 and 18th in school history.
Under coach Paul Keysaw, the Rams have won 10 state titles.
That’s not all for Fresno City.
On Nov. 20, the Rams defeated Cerritos 26-15 to win their 14th state dual-meet championship.
Women’s soccer
The Rams went to their eighth state final four but lost to Chaffey 1-0 at American River College on Dec. 2.
Fresno City had a 3-1 shots on goal advantage but gave up a goal in the 62nd minute. Chaffey outshot the Rams 11-5.
Fresno City was looking for its first state title since the 2017 season. The Rams finished the season 17-3-4 overall and 12-1-1 in the Central Valley Conference.
In 21 seasons, coach Oliver Germond is 365-77-56.
Football
Under bad conditions because of the weather, the Rams found a way to pull out a 13-10 victory over Butte in the Northern California Bowl in Oroville on Dec. 3.
Steady rain from the season’s first major storm left the field muddy.
Fresno City took the lead in the fourth quarter when Aaron Blancas had a 26-yard reception from Isaiah Robles for a touchdown with 12:07 remaining.
Ah’Marion Gaines-Smith was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player for the Rams, while JoNation Dejohnette was the game’s most valuable player.
Dejohnette finished the game with 14 carries for 103 yards. Gaines-Smith had 13 carries for 76 yards.
The Rams started the season 1-3 before winning the next five games to finish 7-4 with a co-Valley Conference title at 4-1.
Rams coach Tony Caviglia picked up his 200th career win after a victory over Sacramento City earlier in the season.
He is a combined 203-82. He coached at Chabot for three seasons going 22-10.
Men’s soccer
The Rams finished as co-champions in the CVC with a 7-1-2 record.
Fresno City was aiming for a state title for the first time since 2019 as a top seed, but lost to Clovis in the second round to finish the season 15-3-4. Clovis, the 17th seed, reached a regional final before losing to No. 5 Merced.
Eric Solberg completed his 24th year as the Rams soccer coach and Fresno City was named the NorCal Staff of the Year by the California Community College Athletic Association.
Volleyball
Fresno City won its 15th straight CVC title and has 17 conference titles overall, 15 times as undefeated champions.
The Rams have not lost a CVC match since Oct. 19, 2011.
Fresno City was trying for back-to-back state titles, but lost to Cabrillo in straight sets in a regional semifinal. The Rams were the hosts of the state final eight tournament won by Feather River.
