With 2021 wrapping up for Delta College athletics, there are several things to recap for Delta’s athletics programs. From winning a conference title for the first time in two decades to battling with losing players due to COVID-19 protocols, results for each program have varied this season with some teams fighting for first while others had trouble with depth on their squad.
Football
The Mustangs football team ended the season with a 1-9 record and finished in fifth place of the Bay 6 Conference with a 1-4 record. Competition within the conference was a monumental challenge as Delta competed with a predominantly freshman squad. The Mustangs also faced two of the state’s top teams in City College of San Francisco and 2019 state champions San Mateo, coming away scoreless against both opponents.
Cornerback Jaylyn Surrell, wide receiver Alvin Howard and offensive lineman Jose Serrano were among the team’s greatest players this season with all three of them named First Team Bay 6 All-Conference selections.
Women’s Soccer
If there was a discipline in which the expectations for this year were high it was in soccer, especially for the women’s team.
After reaching the CCCAA State Championship tournament and winning the Big 8 Conference title undefeated in 2019, the Lady Mustangs were aiming to repeat these accomplishments and even conquer the state title.
Returning sophomores accounted for nine of the team’s returning players from the 2019 season, who decided to stay for an extra year at Delta after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the cancellation of all CCCAA sporting events in 2020.
Finishing the season with a 20-0-2 record, the Mustangs once again conquered the Big 8 Conference title unbeaten.
However, the women’s team was unable to fully enjoy the privilege of being the only undefeated team in California as its hopes of competing for the state championship were crushed after falling to Fresno City in a penalty shootout following a 3-3 tie at home on Nov. 23 in Round 2 of the NorCal Regional playoffs.
Among those players who had an outstanding 2021 season were goalkeeper Callie Crain and forwards Alexis Brewah and Sabrina Cabrera.
Crain conceded only nine goals this season (including playoffs) as the Mustangs shutout their opponents on 15 occasions, not including the 3-0 win against Diablo Valley on Oct. 1 due to a covid forfeit.
Brewah scored 22 goals and is tied with Lake Tahoe’s Alexandra Trinidad as the player with the most assists in the state with 22, while Cabrera was the lead scorer of the Mustangs with 27 goals this season.
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team had high expectations as well after finishing in the Elite 8 in the 2019 season.
This year, however, the team faced a turbulent season on and off the field.
Unlike its counterpart, roster depth wasn’t on the side of the men’s team.
Several players were ineligible to play the first games at the start of the season as they were still in the process of filling out eligibility forms.
The team would still have few players available as the season progressed with many out due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols.
The Mustangs finished 2021 with a 5-12-5 and finished fifth place in the Big 8 with a conference record of 2-6-2.
Freshman forward Angel Lopez led the team on offense scoring seven goals, while sophomore midfielder Ignacio Flores ended the season leading the team in assists with eight.
Women’s Water Polo
The women’s water polo team culminated its season with a 23-6 record, conquering the Big 8 title with an undefeated 8-0 conference record and finishing in fourth place at the CCCAA State Championship tournament.
This team had many options on its roster when it came to scoring goals, with four players scoring more than 30 goals each.
With many players returning from the 2019 season, the women’s water polo team faced the season with a predominately sophomore squad.
Many of them demonstrated their capabilities as all-around players, giving the team an edge against many opponents both defensively and on the attack.
Seven players registered double figures in goals, assists and steals.
Center Olivia Taylor led the way on the offense with 58 goals, attacker Hannah Wilson was in charge of helping her teammates score with 54 assists and attacker Natalie Johnston won the ball for her team the most with 62 steals.
Men’s Water Polo
Just like men’s soccer, the men’s water polo team struggled immensely through the season dealing with a thin roster.
As opposed to other teams who still had third-year sophomores on their squad, men’s water polo saw its sophomores commit to four-year schools.
Acquiring new recruits was also a dilemma for the team.
With COVID-19 still a concern, Delta College still hadn’t guaranteed there would be in-person classes several months before the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester.
This academic uncertainty prompted several players to attend other colleges where on-campus courses were sure to be offered, making men’s water polo among the programs most deeply impacted by the pandemic.
The short roster didn’t help with the team’s performance in the pool as players saw themselves playing full back-to-back matches with little substitute options on the bench, leaving little room for injuries and fatigue.
The team only picked up six non-conference wins throughout the season, and placed last in the Big 8 Conference with a winless 0-4 record.
Among the few players that had noteworthy performances this season were freshman Jacob Von Grouw and sophomore Max Beutel.
Von Grouw scored 16 goals, gave five assists and had 15 steals.
Beutel registered 11 goals, provided nine assists and got eight steals for the team.
Cross Country
The men and women’s cross country teams had a noteworthy performance on the conference level, especially the women who captured the program’s first Big 8 Conference title in 20 years at the Big 8 Conference Championships on Oct. 29.
Freshman Yasmin Melendriz led the women with a time of 18:58 in the Women’s 3 Mile Run.
The men’s team finished in second place with a total time of 1:46:59, nearly five seconds behind first place American River in the Men’s 4 Mile Run.
Freshman Marco Perez finished first to win his conference title and carry the team into the runner-up spot.
Volleyball
Volleyball finished the season with a 17-10 record and finished third in the Big 8 with a 12-4 conference record.
The Mustangs made it past the first round of the NorCal Regional playoffs after beating College of the Sequoias in three sets on Nov. 23 before having its season ended after losing in three to 2019 state champion Feather River in the second round on Nov. 27.
Outside hitter Savannah LeBarre and libero Angela Biazon were among the team’s key players throughout the season.
LeBarre finished the season leading the team on offense with 338 kills and even proved herself as an all-around player on the court, assisting her teammates on defense with 361 digs.
Biazon took a huge load of the team’s defending, placing herself among the players with the most digs in the state with 530.