The 2025-26 Central Section high school sports season is underway.
Coaches, please submit your results/stats after each game or match to sports reporter Vongni Yang at vyang2@gannett.com to have players highlighted in our local roundup (team records are as of Feb. 19).
Feb. 19
Boys basketball
Central Valley Christian 60, Justin Garza 50: The No. 2 Cavaliers (27-4) punched their ticket to the 2026 Central Section Division III championship game, beating the third-ranked Guardians in the semifinal.
With the contest tied at 37-all after three quarters, CVC drained five 3-pointers in the final period to pull away. Jaaron Dodson knocked down two triples, and Jayden Bergman, Grant Hyde, and Carter Heimstra each converted a shot from 3-point range.
Dodson led the Cavaliers, scoring a team-high 16 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter. He sank all six of his free throws in the final 8 minutes. Bergman added 14 points. Heimstra had 12 points, and Hyde chipped in 10.
The Cavaliers trailed 13-8 after the opening quarter, but outscored Justin Garza 23-13 in the final stanza to seal their third straight postseason victory.
The Guardians entered the game scoring 65 and 62 points, respectively, in playoff wins over Tulare Western and South Bakersfield, but CVC, which switched to a zone defense midway through the semifinal, held them to just 50 points.
CVC will now play Tulare Union (27-4) for the Central Section Division III title on Feb. 28 at Selland Arena. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.
“I can’t say enough about these kids, but they just have heart,” CVC head coach Josh Bergman said. “They never quit. Up, down, they don’t show the emotions. The highs, and the lows. They stay so even. You can’t even tell if we’ve had 10 in a row, or missed 10 in a row. It’s the same, and the defensive pressure, it never stops. A lot of times, teams when they’re not shooting well, the defense struggles. They lose energy. But this team, they play with energy, whether they make shots or not. I couldn’t be more proud of them. Every single one of these kids contributed tonight.”
Tulare Union 54, Kingsburg 50: The No. 1-seeded Tribe beat fifth-ranked Kingsburg (23-8) for the third time this season to advance to the Central Section Division III championship game against CVC.
Tulare Union defeated the Vikings 77-65 on Dec. 13 and followed that with a 54-49 victory on Dec. 27 to win the 74th annual Polly Wilhelmsen Invitational championship.
Brayden Stevenson led the way in the rubber match, scoring a team-high 15 points. Jose Romero finished with 14 points and Melvin Lopez had 11 points. Demaje Riley added seven points.
Tulare Union connected on eight 3-pointers, receiving three each from Stevenson and Romero.
Kingsburg’s Jensen Hirschkorn, who is also one of the top pitchers in the state at 6-foot-7, dropped a game-high 26 points.
Tulare Union and CVC met earlier this season on Dec. 12. The Tribe won that game 66-43. Riley had 15 points in that victory; Stevenson scored 13 points.
Feb. 18
Girls basketball
Tulare Union 38, Templeton 31: The No. 3 Tribe (22-7) knocked off the sixth-seeded Eagles (15-10) in a Central Section Division IV quarterfinal playoff game.
Kaiden Valdez led Tulare Union with 12 points. Kayloni Cox registered eight points, and DeAwnee Akins had seven points. Nevaeh Avina finished with five points, and Jazzy Miller connected for four points. Karla Gomez had two points.
Feb. 17
Boys basketball
Tulare Union 77, Fresno 66: Brayden Stevenson broke the all-time career school scoring record, dropping 20 points to surpass Keonta Vernon’s previous mark of 1,839 points.
Stevenson capped off the Central Section Division III quarterfinal playoff victory with 1,849 career points. Demaje Riley and Jose Romero netted 17 points, and Keanu Kennedy added 16 points. Melvin Lopez had 15 points.
CVC 69, North Bakersfield 65: The Cavaliers outlasted the Stars in an overtime quarterfinal win.
CVC had strong performances from Grant Hyde (23 points), Carter Hiemstra (14 points), Jayden Bergman (12 points), and Jaxon Myers (10 points). Hiemstra nailed four 3-pointers, and Hyde knocked down three triples.
Feb. 14
Boys wrestling
Mission Oak’s Shawn Price wins section title: Mission Oak’s Shawn Price placed first in his respective weight class to bring home a Central Section Division II individual championship. He was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Lowerweight Wrestler.
Girls wrestling
Redwood’s Emily Carvalho captures section crown: Emily Carvalho, a Redwood junior, won the Central Section Division I individual championship at 192 pounds, and was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Upperweight Wrestler.
Carvalho owns a 34-1 record this season and also registered the 100th win of her career this winter.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Central Section hoops playoffs see CVC, Tulare Union advance to finals
Reporting by Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
