Special to The Californian

Colby Lewis walked around the Elks Lodge banquet room chatting with longtime friends and signing autographs for fans. Meanwhile, Dee Gordon quietly sat at a nearby table.

SEA ISLAND, Ga. -- Centennial High School graduate Manav Shah shot his second straight 1-under-par 71 on Saturday to take the lead at the Jones Cup Invitational.

Shah, who played last spring at the University of San Diego and has transferred to UCLA, where he is redshirting this season, has a 3-stroke lead over Curtis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., the first-day leader who shot 75 on Saturday.

Bakersfield College baseball coach Tim Painton promises the Renegades will have some offensive prowess this season.

There wasn't much hitting in Friday's season-opener, but the pitching didn't need much help, and the Renegades posted a 2-0 win over Golden West College at blustery Gerry Collis Field.

Taft College baseball has had three straight winning seasons, and coach Vince Maiocco said it's been a special achievement.

The Cougars have had back-to-back 22-14 seasons and went 24-19 in 2009. "You have to go back to the 1985-87 window the last time we had three straight winning seasons," Maiocco said.

Statistics can tell you a lot about a baseball team. But a few things they can’t measure — attitude, effort and team chemistry — are what Bakersfield College coach Tim Painton believes will propel his team to a successful 2012 season.

The Renegades begin that quest with their season opener  at 7 tonight against Golden West at Gerry Collis Field.

A match against 2011 College Cup participant UCLA highlights this spring's men's soccer games for CSU Bakersfield.

The Roadrunners, who earned CSUB's first NCAA Division I Tournament berth for a team sport last fall, will host UCLA at 7 p.m. April 21, one of three home games in the five-game spring season.

Special to The Californian

The Bakersfield College softball team won't have a problem getting to the state playoffs this year.

GLENDALE -- Jausecca Cockerel had 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals to lead Bakersfield College to a 72-58 women's basketball victory Wednesday at Glendale College.

Haley Huntington scored a team-high 18 points and Brittany Smith added 15 points and 9 rebounds for the Renegades (13-7, 6-2 Western States Conference), who trailed 32-29 at halftime.

The Bakersfield College men's golf team finished third at the season-opening Double-Eagle Invitational after Tuesday's second round at Rio Bravo Country Club.

Freshmen Jack Henneberry and Neil Bautista shot 76 and 78, respectively, to lead the Renegades. The former Centennial High pair each shot 76s Monday at Seven Oaks.

Bakersfield's first football recruiting drama since Cody Kessler put on a USC hat two summers ago leads right into today's National Signing Day.

It's a national holiday for college football junkies and a day that changes the life for high school athletes everywhere.

Bakersfield's Jake Varner won a bronze medal in the 211.5-pound division Sunday at the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Varner was one of two United States freestyle wrestlers to earn a medal, joining Tervel Dlagnev, who won silver at 264.5.

NORTHRIDGE — Cal State Northridge held off a late chance by CSUB to post a 54-52 women’s basketball win.

CSUB’s Amber Williams had a chance to tie it with 10 seconds left but missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation. A foul and missed free throw by the Matadors gave CSUB a chance to win it, but Lauren Carter’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was short.

Bakersfield College's women's basketball team pulled into a first-place tie in the Western State Conference South Division by beating West L.A. College 58-55 Wednesday in the Gil Bishop Sports Center.

West L.A. came into the game with a one-game lead.

VALLEY GLEN -- Haley Huntington scored 15 points before fouling out late in the second half, but Bakersfield College fell to L.A. Valley 62-55 in Western State Conference women's basketball action Saturday.

The Renegades (10-6, 3-1 WSC) rallied from a 33-21 halftime deficit and took a one-point lead with 3:30 remaining. But the 'Gades were unable to close out the win after Huntington exited.

Emilee Parks had 20 points, eight steals and four assists as Bakersfield College improved to 3-0 in Western State Conference women's basketball play Wednesday with a 60-50 win over College of the Canyons at the Gil Bishop Sports Center.

Jausecca Cockerel had nine points and seven assists and Brittany Smith had 11 points for the Renegades (10-5 overall).

Jausecca Cockerel had 14 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six steals to lead Bakersfield College to a 76-58 victory Saturday over Glendale at the Gil Bishop Sports Center.

Madison Tarver also had a big game for the Renegades (9-5, 2-0 Western State Conference), finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.

SANTA MONICA -- Madison Tarver finished with 21 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Bakersfield College women's basketball team to a 80-58 victory over Santa Monica College in the Western State Conference opener.

Jausecca Cockerel had another great all-around game for the Renegades with 10 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and two blocks.

SANTA MARIA -- Antonio Johnson had a game-high 17 points, including the go-ahead layup with four seconds left, to lift the Bakersfield College men's basketball team to 65-64 victory Wednesday over Fresno City College in the opening round of the Hancock Holiday Classic.

The Renegades (6-7) led 30-19 at the half and had to withstand a furious second-half rally by Fresno, ranked No. 3 in the state.

RENO, Nev. -- Bakersfield High junior wrestler Coleman Hammond won the 152-pound championship Saturday at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Hammond, the No. 2 seed, defeated top seed Kyle Ash of Tulsa (Okla.) Union 10-4 in the final.

Seven Bakersfield High wrestlers advanced Friday to today's quarterfinals at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions in Nevada.

The list includes five seeded wrestlers: No. 4 Natrelle Demison and No. 8 Micah Cruz at 138 pounds (Cruz is wrestling for Bakersfield's B team); No. 12 Maxx Ramirez at 145; No. 2 Cole Hammond at 152 and No. 4 Kyle Pope at 182.