Top 10 Sports Stories: Rousey rises, falls in 2015
It was a year of super individual efforts, team championships and great bounce back efforts that made 2015 truly memorable.
Although many of stories deserve recognition, a select few stood out among the others.
Chosen by the News-Press, here is a list of the top 10 sports stories of 2015.
1 Ronda Rousey rises even higher before fall
Forty-eight seconds of brutal brilliance and implausible dominance summed up “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey’s first two title defenses of 2015 — a 14-second armbar submission of Cat Zingano and a 34-second knockout of Bethe Correia. Meanwhile, Rousey’s star shined brighter than any Ultimate Fighting Championship combatant before her as she crossed over into the mainstream with roles in major motion pictures, myriad media appearances on talk shows, ESPN SportsCenter, magazine covers and the release of her autobiography.
But on Nov. 14 at UFC 193 in front of a UFC-record live attendance at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and one of the largest pay-per-view audiences watching from homes across the globe, Holly Holm’s perfect left high kick shocked the world as it took Rousey’s UFC women’s bantamweight championship and her consciousness in one of the greatest upsets in mixed martial arts and combat sports history.
The end came 59 seconds into the second round after Holm, a former boxing world champion, had used her stand-up skills to dominate the first round. With the loss came a seemingly unprecedented social media backlash of scorn for Rousey, who had previously been deemed as invincible, but was now being lambasted as she was perceived as being brash, unsportsmanlike and overconfident.
For days, the Internet was abuzz with talk about her movie career and media obligations being distractions along with her personal life as her relationship with fellow Glendale Fighting Club trainee Travis Browne had become public. GFC trainer Edmond Tarverdyan was spared no criticism as pundits called for Rousey to leave the trainer that has been in her corner for everyone of her MMA fights.
Days after, as the world wondered what was next, Rousey went to Instagram to make her first postfight comments.
“I just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support,” she wrote. “I appreciate the concerns about my health, but I’m fine. As I had mentioned before, I’m going to take a little bit of time, but I’ll be back.”
In a span of roughly nine months, Rousey put her title on the line three times on three continents against three undefeated opponents.
On Feb. 28, Rousey and Zingano (9-1) clashed in a long-awaited battle of the 135-pound class’ top two fighters in front of a star-studded crowd at the Staples Center. Zingano, a notoriously slow starter, charged forward with a flying knee. Rousey slipped to the side and grappled Zingano to the ground, brilliantly cinching in a modified armbar. It took all of 14 seconds, establishing a new record for the fastest UFC title defense (it still stands as the fastest submission after Conor McGregor’s 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo for the featherweight title in December) and going down as the submission of the year on many MMA sites.
“Actually, we were expecting she would come out and do something flying,” Rousey told Joe Rogan after the fight.
Five months later on Aug. 1, Rousey, who appeared at Wrestlemania in the spring, invaded Brazil, where she was greeted with overwhelming appreciation and mania from the local fans.
Facing an undefeated foe in Correia, most believed Correia was greatly overmatched, but her prefight comments that she hoped after defeating Rousey that the champion would not kill herself struck a chord as Rousey’s father had taken his life when she was a child. The feud proved to be a catalyst for a surprisingly huge pay-per-view that was truly a hallmark of just how high Rousey’s star had risen. As she promised, Rousey didn’t try to take Correia down and, instead, walked through Correia’s punches while landing her own, knocking Correia (9-1) cold in a face-down heap.
“I hope that nobody really brings up my family anymore when it comes to fights,” said Rousey, who dedicated the fight to the memory of the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who gave Rousey permission to use her nickname and who had died the day prior to her bout. “And I hope this is the last time.”
Rousey was supposed to initially fight Holm on Saturday, but the bout was moved up nearly two months due to the loss of a previous main event. With Rousey’s mainstream appeal, she became an even larger favorite as Holm had fought just twice in the UFC with two rather pedestrian decision victories.
But Holm (10-0), whose style was a nightmare for Rousey (12-1), was perfect on that day.
Multiple reports are pointing to Rousey returning in the summer for UFC 200 to take on Holm in a rematch. Some believe it’s too soon for Rousey, who’s reportedly filming two movies in the time before then. And Holm has gone on record saying she would like to fight another opponent sooner. So, of course, the future of Rousey is up in the air.
Of course, not even five minutes and 59 seconds of disaster can change the history penned by the woman who brought female fighting into the UFC and then became its grandest cross-over star ever.
Thus, the majority of the year for Rousey was one of superstardom and a combined 48 seconds of sheer supremacy. Alas, it will be remembered most for a shocking knockout defeat that will either be chronicled as the end of Rousey’s dominance or the beginning of her comeback.
2 Marco Estrada turns in finest MLB season, plays pivotal roll in Blue Jays’ postseason run
On a squad bursting with all-stars, the Glendale Community College product turned in a stellar season and unexpectedly played a huge role in Toronto’s run to its first American League Championship Series visit since 1993.
Estrada posted a 13-8 record and a stout 3.13 earned-run average (fifth in the American League) totaled in 34 appearances with 28 starts. Estrada also struck out 121 batters, walked 55 in 181 innings and was the best in the American League in a couple of stats.
He was No. 1 both in opponent’s batting average (.203) and hits (6.7) allowed per nine innings in the American League.
As for the postseason, Estrada was a gem.
The right-hander was 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA and surrendered 14 hits, five runs and fanned 15 batters while walking only one in 19 1/3 innings.
“All you can do is go out and do your job and trust your stuff,” Estrada said. “That’s all I’ve basically done and, luckily, it’s paid off for me out here. It’s about putting in the hard work and not giving up.”
But it was more than just statistics for Estrada in the playoffs.
With his American League East Champion Blue Jays facing elimination down, 2-0, to the Texas Rangers in the division series, Estrada rescued his team on Oct. 11.
Estrada allowed one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out four and walked none in a 5-1 victory for Toronto in Texas. The win helped buoy the Blue Jays, who won three straight to take the series, 3-2.
Estrada pitched the opening game of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 16 and allowed three runs on six hits in a 5-0 victory for eventual World Series champion Kansas City.
The last work for Estrada came in the fifth game with Toronto down, 3-1, in the series. Estrada allowed one run on three hits in 7 1/3 innings with five strikeouts as the Blue Jays won, 7-1.
In the offseason, Estrada opted not to go the free agency route and instead signed a two-year deal with the Blue Jays valued at $26 million.
3 Gadsby-led Crescenta Valley baseball makes CIF semifinal run
When Crescenta Valley High’s baseball team made a CIF quarterfinal run in 2014, the Falcons’ postseason success was a bit of a surprise as they hadn’t advanced to the second round since 2008 or the quarters since 2007.
Thus, when 2015 rolled around and the Falcons’ title run in the Pacific League had been stopped at three straight by Burroughs, another deep playoff trek seemed doubtful.
But, behind the magical right arm of Brian Gadsby, coupled with staunch defense and timely hitting, the Falcons advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1998 before falling at Mission Viejo, 4-2.
“It’s been crazy, it’s been fun,” said Gadsby, who led the Crescenta Valley football team to a 2014 CIF championship and was a part of three total league titles and nine postseason wins across both sports while twice being voted All-Area Baseball Player of the Year and once the All-Area Football Player of the Year. “This is a team you wish for. Coming to the semis is something special and I wouldn’t want to do it with any other team.”
Gadsby threw complete games in a 4-0 win over Ventura in the first round and a 5-1 victory at Trabuco Hills before going the distance in defeat at Mission Viejo. In all, Gadsby threw 20 playoff innings, three complete games and allowed just one earned run.
Of all the playoff performances, though, perhaps Eric Ma’s was the most special and surprising. Playing for the first time in the postseason, Ma spun a two-hit shutout to defeat Carter, 1-0, in the quarterfinals when Ryan Lynch singled home Dakota Cummins for the walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh.
“It’s just been a roller coaster,” Crescenta Valley Coach Phil Torres said following the team’s semifinal loss. “They’re a good group of kids. Their community should be real proud of them. They represented their school well.”
Bolstered by a roster with 11 seniors that included Gadsby, Weston Walker, Jimmy Smiley and Chase Walker, among others, it was certainly a season to remember.
4 Flintridge Prep baseball wins program’s first CIF title
Maybe no area team showed more gumption throughout the season than the Rebels, who defeated St. Anthony, 3-2, in eight innings for the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship at UC Riverside on June 6.
The championship was the program’s first in the first visit to a CIF title game since 1951. The title was also the first for the area in baseball since 1998.
The crown seemed like a pipe dream when Flintridge Prep opened the season with an 0-7 record, losing to upper-division playoff teams.
Yet, the Rebels rallied to finish 17-12 overall and took second in the Prep League behind archrival Pasadena Poly.
In the postseason, Flintridge Prep rallied for victories in four of five contests, with the Rebels scoring game-winning runs in the final at-bat in three of those games.
Unranked Flintridge Prep defeated Foothill Tech (4-3), No. 3 Desert Christian (10-0), No. 10 Oxford Academy (4-3) and No. 7 Salesian (10-9) in successive rounds to reach the finals.
The Rebels fell behind, 1-0, against St. Anthony before rallying to tie and then scoring two runs in the top of the eighth inning.
St. Anthony pulled within a run while loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth with one out. On the brink of losing, Rebels pitcher Robbie Leslie picked up his fourth postseason victory by inducing two infield pop outs to claim the title.
“It’s been a fun ride,” Flintridge Prep Coach Guillermo Gonzalez said. “We’ve battled all year with injuries and knowing what type of team we have, it’s been great. I think the thing that’s really helped this team is that they’ve realized just how long a baseball game is. There are 21 outs and when you fall behind or go ahead, you know you still have a lot of work to go.”
5 Flintridge Prep boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams taste success at CIF and state
Both the Flintridge Prep boys’ and girls’ cross-country programs have combined for plenty of success, including 11 Southern Section championships and seven state titles.
One of the few things the programs hadn’t accomplished was both winning Southern Section and state crowns in the same year. That was until this past season.
At the CIF Southern Section Division V championships at Mt. San Antonio College on Nov. 21, both teams won in convincing fashion.
The girls demolished Pacifica Christian, 24-123, with six Rebels finishing in the top 10. The championship was the third straight for the girls.
The boys, led by individual champion Jack Van Scoter (15 minutes, 12.6 seconds), captured their second title in three years with a 37-68 win over Desert Christian.
At the following weekend’s CIF State Championships at Fresno’s Woodward Park, the Rebels made history.
The girls rolled to a 67-143 victory over St. Joseph Notre Dame to claim the squad’s second consecutive state crown. The boys then followed suit in breaking an 11-year drought with an impressive 43-168 triumph over Marin Academy. Van Scoter finished second in the competition in 15:07.28.
Both teams also set Division V course records at Woodward Park, as the boys ran to a mark of 79:40.8 and the girls tallied a time of 95:58.9.
“I’m just so happy for these guys, especially our seniors, to be rewarded for all their hard work and focus,” Flintridge Prep boys’ Coach Ingrid Herskind said. “It’s been a long journey to get here and it hasn’t always been easy, but this group has been so committed to winning this title and I couldn’t be prouder of what they accomplished.”
6 David Olmedo-Barrera has year to remember
Simply put, it was a great 2015 for St. Francis High alumnus David Olmedo-Barrera.
The designated hitter was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 12th round with the 358th pick on the third and final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Draft on June 10 and signed with the club shortly after.
The signing came after a college baseball season to remember for the Cal State Fullerton junior.
Olmedo-Barrera put together a great season for the Titans (39-25), finishing second on the team in batting average at .325, while hitting 10 of his squad’s 20 home runs along with 46 runs batted in, 45 runs, nine doubles, six triples and stealing 14 bases.
Olmedo-Barrera was named the Big West co-Player of the Year. Olmedo-Barrera was the 13th Titan to claim the honor and later was placed on the American Baseball Coaches Assn./Rawlings All-West Region team.
Perhaps Olmedo-Barrera’s biggest regular season effort came April 4, when he went two for two with a grand slam and tied a school record with eight RBI in the Titans’ 13-2 conference victory versus Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
While Olmedo-Barrera helped Fullerton to a 20th Big West Conference crown, his biggest heroics came in the postseason.
In eight playoff games, Olmedo-Barrera was 13 for 32 (.406) with two homers, eight runs, seven RBI, three doubles, one triple, five walks and two stolen bases
The La Cañada Flintridge resident was named to the Fullerton All-Regional Team and was the hero of the Titans’ 4-3 series-clinching victory over third-seeded host Louisville when he cracked a game-winning homer in the 11th inning to send Fullerton to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time since 2009.
“Besides the crazy environment of Omaha, I had plenty of people asking about the home run,” Olmedo-Barrera said. “I had people coming up and asking for my autograph and others who said they were so much happier to see us in the World Series than Louisville. It was a special feeling.”
Fullerton’s run ended with a rain-delayed 4-3 defeat to Vanderbilt on June 15 followed by a 5-3 setback to LSU the following day.
Olmedo-Barrera made his minor league debut July 5 with the Princeton Rays, the rookie league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Olmedo-Barrera batted .288 in 44 rookie league games with four homers, 10 doubles, 21 RBI and 25 runs scored.
7 St. Francis football goes to semifinals despite three-game losing skid
At the start of the St. Francis High football season, nobody knew what to expect. Midway, through, it seemed as if disaster had arrived. Yet, when it all ended, the Golden Knights enjoyed a turnaround to remember.
Following the graduations of a slew of talented players and then the transfers of two All-Area returners, just how successful St. Francis would be was clearly in question. Certainly, the expectations paled in comparison to the season before when the Golden Knights were the odds-on favorites to win the Angelus League and the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division championship.
After St. Francis started the season at 4-0, all seemed well. But then came an agonizing three-game losing streak in which returning to the playoffs even seemed in jeopardy.
A 34-0 loss to Calabasas — the worst in years for St. Francis — ended nonleague play and an overtime defeat against Salesian followed by a Hail Mary loss to Harvard-Westlake began league.
With a matchup against league rival and then-top-ranked Cathedral looming, the season was on the line. But the Golden Knights prevailed, 31-14, to start a five-game winning streak that carried them into the semifinals.
“I told these guys [after the game,] the last five weeks, the way they responded and they came back from adversity from losing those three games, that’s gonna be with them forever,” Golden Knights Coach Jim Bonds said after the La Serna game. “That’s gonna make them better men; better husbands and better fathers.”
Led by standouts such as defensive end Sean Davitt, running back Areg Nazarian, linebacker Maxx Jakeway and cornerback Jacob De La Hoya, the Golden Knights downed San Gabriel Valley League tri-champion Warren, 21-19, and Pacific League champion Burroughs, 21-7, before concluding their season in the semifinals, losing to top-seeded La Serna, 24-10.
8 Kirsten Vose saves best for last
In a four-year high school career that included three straight Mission League titles, consistent improvement at the CIF Southern Section Division I championship and tons of team and individual accolades, it didn’t seem there was much more Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimmer Kirsten Vose could deliver in her final year.
Yet, the USC-bound senior, fresh off claiming four Mission League titles to conclude an amazing undefeated league career, had one last encore performance that included a twist.
At the Division I championships at Riverside City College on May 16, Vose’s swan song was magical.
The Tologs standout not only proved once again that she was one of the best swimmers at the meet and inside Southern California, but also one of her school’s best ever.
Vose set the Division I record in the 200-yard individual medley with a winning mark of 1 minute, 56.07 seconds, which was then the third-fastest high school time and fifth-best in the nation.
Vose also took second in the 100 breaststroke in a school record of 1:00.57 and was a valuable member of the Tologs’ eighth-place 200 medley (1:46.49) relay squad.
In taking first in the 200 IM and second in the 100 breaststroke, Vose overtook the school records of Andrea Kropp, who just graduated from the same USC that Vose enrolled in this past fall.
For a third straight year, Vose was the All-Area Girls’ Swimmer of the Year and the La Cañada Valley Sun Girls’ Athlete of the Year.
9 Trenton Julian wins CIF title for Glendale
Maybe no area athlete made more of a splash in his or her respective sophomore season than did Glendale High swimmer Trenton Julian.
The Rose Bowl Aquatics product set three school records, was named an All-American in two events and captured the program’s first CIF Southern Section individual swimming championship in 44 years.
Julian’s first record came somewhat casually as the youngster won the 500-yard freestyle race in 4 minutes, 45 seconds at the Glendale-Hoover crosstown rivalry meet on April 22. Julian later improved that record to 4:36.57.
Julian’s big day, however, came at the CIF Southern Section Division II championships at Riverside City College on May 16.
There, Julian began by finishing third in the 200 individual medley, blasting his prelims time of 1:52.44 with a mark of 1:50.64.
The time was good enough to earn All-American status and distance Julian from the school’s previous record of 1:54.5, set by Mark Chatfield in 1971.
Julian would best Chatfield again, somewhat unexpectedly in the 100-yard butterfly.
Julian entered with a seeded time of 50.83 and then placed sixth in a time of 50.67 in the event’s preliminary run, which took place the day prior.
The leader heading into Saturday morning was Julian’s club swimming friend Javier Lopez, who posted a blistering time of 49.29.
“Right before the race he came over and said, ‘Let’s go one-two.’ I was like, ‘Let’s do it,’” Lopez said. “I think he expected to go two and I would be first, but that’s not how it worked out.”
Julian pulled away late from his two top competitors in the 100 butterfly in setting a new school record of 49.39, while earning All-American status again and claiming the program’s first title since 1971.
10 (Tie) In first year moving to Montrose, St. Monica Academy wins girls’ volleyball championship
Almost since the St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball team’s inception in 2008, the program has been dominant.
Yet, 2015 was a year of change for the Crusaders, as the school moved its address and locale up the freeway from Pasadena to Montrose.
Despite a new zip code, St. Monica continued its usual dominance.
The Crusaders rolled through the International League and finished undefeated at 7-0 to clinch a seventh consecutive crown and extend a league winning streak dating back to 2010 to 56 matches.
While such success has come to be expected, what was unknown at the start of the postseason was whether or not the Crusaders would capture the school’s first-ever CIF Southern Section championship.
In the postseason, St. Monica started off well enough by dropping only one game through the first four rounds.
Yet, even that success was highlighted by comebacks from the Crusaders, who rallied from deep holes in two of three sets in a 25-23, 25-23, 25-10 win at Avalon on Nov. 17 in the Division V-A semifinals.
St. Monica’s best rally, though, was reserved for the Division V-A championship against top-seeded Tarbut V’Torah.
The Crusaders fell behind, 2-0, before rallying for a gigantic 16-25, 22-25, 25-13, 25-18, 15-11 victory at Rio Hondo College on Nov. 21 that clinched the program’s inaugural championship.
“It’s special, if not unbelievable,” said St. Monica Coach Darren Bradley, who also serves as the school’s athletic director. “It’s like a dream. I was telling a couple of players, it’s unreal. I can’t believe this is happening. The girls worked so hard and it’s just amazing.”
With the victory, St. Monica advanced to the CIF State Division V playoffs and secured only the program’s second-ever state win with a 25-12, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 15-8 victory over Verdugo Hills on Nov. 24.
St. Monica’s 25-5-2 run officially ended in the state second round as the squad was defeated by Upland Christian, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16.
St. Monica’s Therese Boles was named the Division V-A Player of the Year, Bradley the coach of the year and Molly Hagan and Rose Goodwin were also named to the All-CIF squad.
10 (Tie) Glendale Community College’s women’s cross-country team wins state title
From start to finish, the Glendale Community College women’s cross-country team was unstoppable in 2015.
The Vaqueros won seven of their nine meets this season, including the final six in a row.
Glendale’s first big postseason victory took place at South El Monte’s Legg Lake course Oct. 23 at the Western State Conference Championships.
There, Glendale defeated runner-up College of the Canyons, 19-38, to clinch the program’s 11th consecutive conference title. Sophomore Crystal Morales led the charge, capturing the individual conference championship in 18 minutes, 12.29 seconds.
With the victory, Glendale enjoyed a bye before heading to the Southern California Championships at Mission Bay Park in San Diego on Nov. 6.
Even with a bigger field of competition, Glendale blew away College of the Canyons, this time by a score of 35-115 to repeat as Southern California champions.
It was former Glendale High and Clark Magnet standout Leana Setian who paced her squad as the freshman was fourth overall in 19:01.13. The title was the seventh for the program over the last 10 years.
The pièce de résistance, however, came at the California Community College Athletic Assn. Championships at Fresno’s Woodward Park.
After the Vaqueros stumbled to third place in 2014, there would be no such fall in 2015 as Glendale crushed second-place Hartnell, 37-117, to take the program’s first state title and first triple crown since 2011.
Morales was again up front for the Vaqueros, earning fourth place in 18:14.
“It’s 11 years in a row that’ve we’ve finished in the top three [at state],” Glendale Community College Coach Eddie Lopez said. “That’s four titles in the last [nine] years, four times they’ve taken first place. The main thing is to be consistent.
“We are the No. 1 program in the state, we can say that officially. Nobody has been better than us over the last 11 years.”
Honorable mention: Versos help Stanford to first NCAA men’s soccer title; Crescenta Valley boys’ water polo advances to CIF final; Glendale High boys’ basketball coach Steve Snodgress retires after 19 seasons and likely his best season; Hoover wrestler Edmen Shahbazyan makes a surprise run to the CIF State Meet; Glendale baseball rallies to defeat Brian Gadsby and Crescenta Valley for the first time in over a decade; Hoover football knocks off Glendale for first time since 2009; Glendale Fighting Club’s Travis Browne loses to Andrei Arlovski in one-round UFC slugfest for the ages; Glendale High softball’s Sammy Fabian’s hitting streak reaches 45 games; Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball team advances to the CIF semifinals and makes its state debut; Barrett Weiss gets second chance at state, takes third in pole vault; Flintridge Prep football chooses to go back to eight-man; Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy softball has memorable playoff run to quarterfinals.