Prep notes: Buchanan’s Gambrell selected for Area Code Games

Buchanan High’s Grant Gambrell was the only player from the Fresno area selected for the Area Code Baseball Games, a premier weeklong showcase tournament for the nation’s top standouts.

Gambrell, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed pitcher and lefty-hitting first baseman, is on the 30-member roster for the Oakland A’s.

He helped the Bears capture the Central Section Division I championship in May.

The Area Code Games, featuring eight regional teams from around the nation, are set for Aug. 4-11 at Blair Field in Long Beach.

▪ The CBS MaxPreps Small Schools All-State team featured six first-team selections from the section: Sierra Pacific senior pitcher Jacob Evangelo, Exeter junior pitcher Tyler Rumbaugh, Firebaugh senior first baseman Jason Allen, Chowchilla senior infielder Kelby Grissom, Dos Palos senior utility Efrain Del Rio and Farmersville senior utility Sam Metcalf.

Firebaugh senior pitcher Sal Alaniz, Cesar Chavez senior outfielder Will Ruiz and Bakersfield Christian senior utility Wes Bradford were named second-team Small Schools All-State.

Making the Medium Schools second-team were Kerman sophomore pitcher Thomas Camargo, Garces junior catcher Reese Males, Ridgeview junior infielder Aaron Charles and Garces senior infielder Hudson Hartley.

All-State soccer

Bee Player of the Year Ryan Arkelian of Buchanan, Outstanding Offensive Performer Chris Amaro of Dinuba and Outstanding Defensive Player Peter Larsen of Bullard were among nine section boys soccer players named All-State by TopDrawer Soccer.

Arkelian and Amaro were senior forwards while Larsen was a senior goalkeeper.

Four other players from section D-I champion Buchanan made the list — senior midfielder Diego Banda, senior defender Jonah Biechler, senior midfielder Viktor Dolberg and junior defender Oliver Dolberg — as did Clovis senior forward Nick Sabbatini and Clovis North senior midfielder Estevan Salgado.

Arkelian and Biechler were also named All-Region for California-South.

One area girls player was honored, Buchanan senior forward Caitlyn Kreutz, the two-time Bee Player of the Year who was named All-State.

Top honor for Buchanan

Buchanan was named one of 10 “Schools of Distinction” across the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

The Bears were lauded for having section Division I champions in baseball and girls tennis, a state fourth-place wrestling team, a state fifth-place girls track and field team, CIF Southern California regional runners-up finishes in boys and girls soccer and a successful girls cross country team.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Prep notes: Buchanan’s Gambrell selected for Area Code Games."