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“Our friendship and Memories Live Forever.”
This is the motto that has inspired the Matilda Torres boy tennis team as they strive for history in the 2026 season. The slogan is dedicated to Rafael Barragan Donan, a beloved Matilda Torres student-athlete who died in a crash in September. Fueled by the spirit of Donan, the Toros finished second in league this season and earned the No.1 seed in the playoffs. Now, they’re looking to add a section championship to their memorable season.
This is what head coach Mark Melchor said about his team’s performance this year and how they have overcome adversity.
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1) You guys finished second in league and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. How proud are you of what you guys have been able to accomplish and what do you think has been the key to your success?
Words cannot describe how proud I am of my boys. Their perseverance and dedication has gotten us to where we are now. I think the key to our success is our chemistry/brotherhood. Our tennis program is not just about being a team and having each other backs on the court, but having a brotherhood outside of all of that. All my boys get together on their own time and hang out and enjoy making memories with one another. That speaks volumes and shows when we are out there fighting for one another. Another key to our success is accountability, where a lot of my boys have stepped up in being a leader on and off the courts and being able to hold each other to a higher standard.
2) Do you have any particular moments that stand out for you from the season so far?
This may sound crazy, but the stand out moment would be when we lost to Madera High. Because after that loss, the boys held their head high and weren’t dwelling on it, but ready to find ways to improve in what they messed up in. They were just ready to get back to work and try to improve. Taking a loss is hard, but having your head high and being able to want to learn from, it is what has stood out for me as a coach.
Another stand out moment is when we played Lemoore yesterday. I saw a fire in all of my boys that I have never seen. I have seniors that do not really be yelling on the court when they are playing and yesterday I heard alot of COME ONs and LETS GO. At one point, one of my seniors got really nervous and didn’t play well and lost, he tried leaving the court sad and all my boys were there to pick his head up and let him know that we still got it. Seeing that made me tear up, because they’re not letting anyone dwell on a loss, but to support one another through it all.
We had our number 4 sit because he was sick, so we had one of our JV boys step up and have a few of the boys move up on the ladder and did not disappoint. Despite playing up, the boys made it happen and showed that it does not matter where you are at the ladder. Just work hard every point and you will get the results.
3) Looks like you guys are inspired by a special motto this year: “Our friendship and memories will live forever.” Can you tell us what that is all about and why it’s special for you guys?
The quote, “Our friendship and Memories Live Forever” is about one of our boys that passed away in October. His name was Rafeal Barragan Donan. This was a very tough time for our tennis family, the boys took this really hard, as well as myself. We couldn’t believe it, and were unsure of what to do about this situation.
One thing we did was be there for one another and make sure that we were there for his family as well. His parents would always be at our games, so we made sure to comfort them, as well as one another during this tough time. The boys and I wanted to show that he was just more than a brother and player to us. He was family and we wanted to keep his story going, so we all came together with this quote and put it on the back of our jerseys.
This quote shows everyone that he is always with us and we always pray before every game and talk about Rafa in it, so hopefully he can hear us in heaven and know that we are fighting, not just for our school, but for him as well. We printed out his photo for matches to stay motivated and to remind us of him during the game, because he would have been here with us and even playing in the varsity ladder, so we believe he deserves this as much as we do.
4) Looks like you guys have a special group of seniors this year. What can you say about the character they have shown on and off the court?
My seniors are amazing individuals on and off the court. They managed to carry themselves very highly with a lot of integrity and grace. You’ll see them on the court supporting one another trying to keep one another motivated but to hold them accountable, they are jokesters and have a great balance and understanding of when it’s time to goof off and have fun, but also when we need to lock in and push ourselves. I love these boys and knowing they’re about to leave and move on makes me sad every time I think about it.
Off the court, they are all brothers. They hangout on their own and enjoy each other’s company. One time I caught them riding their bikes in town, seeing them creating a friendship and memories is what to me coaching is all about, getting kiddos that probably wouldn’t have talked about if it was not for tennis. Off the courts my senior boys are really involved in other extracurricular activities such as the chruch, FBLA, HOSA and sports outside of school. They are really involved in their community and try their best to give back.
Sierra Pacific‘s Ayden Bernat is in the midst of a sensational sophomore season on the track. Bernat set a school record in the 100-meter race at the TCC Tri Meet on April 15, finishing with a time of 11.16. He then broke his own record a week later at the TCC 3-WAY Meet, posting a time of 11.10.
The sophomore set another school record at the Sanger Metric Classic on April 24 when he finished the 200-meter race with a time of 22.55.
This is what Bernat said about the recent performances of himself and the team.
1) You’re only a sophomore, but you’re already breaking multiple school records. Have you surprised yourself with how you have performed or is this what you expected from yourself going into your sophomore year?
Yes, I’ve surprised myself a lot, but I also kind of hoped to take a big step this year. Putting in the work year-round and going in with a more confident mindset and stronger both physically and mentally, so I came into the season ready to improve. Breaking records this early is definitely unexpected and what I’ve been working towards , but I know I can do more in the next few years.
2) You also set a school record in the 200-meter race. How proud are you of that achievement?
I’m really proud of that. The 200 is tough because it’s not just straight speed, you’ve got to finish strong too. So seeing all the work come together in that race felt really good. It just makes me want to keep dropping my time.
3) What were some of the goals you set for yourself going into the season and how do you feel about how you’re meeting your goals so far?
My goals were to improve my times, help my team in the relays and hoping to break some records along the way. I also wanted to stay consistent throughout the season. I feel like I’m doing an amazing job so far, but I’ve still got a lot more I’m aiming for, so I’m just trying to stay focused and humble.
4) You guys have set several records as a team. Why do you think you guys have been able to have so much success so far this season and what do you hope to see from your team for the rest of the season?
I think our success comes from how we push each other every day. Everyone’s locked in, and we’ve built good chemistry, especially in the relays. That trust makes a big difference. For the rest of the season, I just want us to keep improving, stay focused, and see how far we can go.
Dogs get second straight win.
Two undefeated teams are set to square off on Friday night as TRAC play officially begins. The two 5-0 teams, Clovis and Buchanan High, are seeing each other after dominating the preseason. Clovis High started the season with a 27-12 win against Central Valley Christian, then demolished Edison 53-0. The Cougars followed up with a 57-27 win against Frontier, 41-14 against Salinas and 53-0 vs Bullard.
Junior Deagan Rose completed 12/17 passes with two touchdown passes in the win against Bullard. Cougars’ junior Maddox Merrill also added two rushing touchdowns in the shutout victory.
Buchanan started the season with a 38-0 shutout against St. Pius X-St. Matthias, then won 34-20 vs Kennedy, 61-6 against Edison, 14-10 vs Liberty and 33-13 against Paso Robles.
Buchanan’s rushing game carried the load in the win against Paso Robles. Carvell Wafer, Joshua Madrigal, Wyatt Aviles and Gannon Sever each scored a rushing touchdown in the victory.
Friday’s match-anticipated matchup between Clovis and Buchanan is set to kickoff at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Here is what the players had to say about the excitement leading up to the game.
Clovis High Quarterback Deagan Rose:
This game is super exciting. I’m pretty sure our whole entire team is super pumped to play our first TRAC game against a good team like Buchanan so it should be a fun one.
It’s always good to get off to a good start in our league, especially with what it looks like this year, so if we win this game it will set us up really nice going into next week when we play against North.
Buchanan is a really physical team with great young running backs and secondary. We just have to all do our jobs and not do too much and we should be good.
Clovis High running back Maddox Merrill:
It’s pretty exciting knowing the hype coming into this game. All we have to do is go out there and take care of business. We are fired up and ready to go.
This game is a statement game. The goal is to go out there and show the rest of the TRAC that we aren’t messing around. It’s super important to dominate this game and get rolling.
I would say Buchanan’s best strength is their run game, but based off the pre TRAC games we have one of the best run defenses in the Valley, so I would say we match up pretty good.
Buchanan running back Carvell Wafer Jr:
As a team we are super stoked. It’s our homecoming game against a school we’ve been competing with for the past few years. This is a game that means a lot to us and we’ve been looking forward to this game all year. All I can say is that I’m fired up for this Friday.
This game is most definitely a statement game and we have something to prove. It would be huge to start the TRAC with a win. Clovis High has a solid group, so it would be big for us to get this win and would set the stage for the league.
They have a good passing game, but our defense has been putting in the work everyday to be prepared for Friday night.
New Fresno Pro-Am Season Set To Start.