The Antioch Sports Legends Hall of Fame who are celebrating its 17th year of distinguished athletes, will induct its Class of 2024 on October 5th at Lone Tree Golf Course & Event Center in Antioch. The Hall of Fame Gala starting at 5pm will honor 13 talented individual athletes, one former coach, one community leader and one outstanding team.
This year’s inductees (including the high school they attended and their graduating year) are Bob Garrison, All-Around Male Athlete (Antioch 1996); Jasmine Cox, All-Around Female Athlete (Deer Valley 2008); Jenna Carvajal, Individual Female Athlete, Cross Country (Deer Valley 2005); Sheena Wellman, Individual Female Athlete, Swimming (Deer Valley 2001); Kendra Rowland, Individual Female Athlete, Volleyball (Deer Valley 2007); Carrie Tucker, Individual Female Athlete, Swimming (Antioch 1993); Taiwan Jones, Individual Male Athlete, Football (Deer Valley 2007); John Murphy, Individual Male Athlete, Football (Antioch 1986); Trevor Graifman, Individual Male Athlete, Diving (Antioch 2008); Josh Winfield (posthumous), Individual Male Athlete, Track & Field (Deer Valley 2008); Jason Stephens, Individual Male Athlete, Swimming (Antioch 1994); Ben McCorriston, Individual Male Athlete, Wrestling (Antioch 2005); Gerald Circo, Individual Male Athlete, Special Recognition (Antioch 1962); Rich Woods, Outstanding Coach, Football (Deer Valley 2004-2015); Gordon Gravelle, Community Leader; 2004-2005 Antioch Boys Wrestling Team, Outstanding Team.
A limited number of tickets are now on sale to the public. The price for each ticket is $90. Tickets can be purchased on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1pm – 4pm in the museum office located at 1500 West 4th Street in Antioch. Or by calling (925) 238-0565 or email us at sportslegends@comcast.net. Visit us at www.antiochsportslegends.com
This dinner event sells out! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to support this year’s ‘Best of the Best’ athletes from Antioch and Deer Valley High School.
Complete bio’s and pictures will be unveiled on Saturday, October 5th along with the display cases inside our museum featuring our inductees’ sports history journeys.
CONGRATULATIONS to all of our Class of 2024 athletes!
Vega Stars Elite placed first and second at the Nfinity Champions League and earned bids to the Florida competition. All photos: Vega Stars Elite
Will hold garage sale fundraiser Sunday, Aug. 11
By Allen D. Payton
Publisher’s Note: This information was in an email that was misplaced earlier this year and was resent and received this week. Apologies for the delay in publishing it.
On April 6, 2024, Antioch’s Vega Stars Elite cheerleading teams attended the Nfinity Champions League in Las Vegas. The 4th Degree team, ages 9-14, won first place and received a bid to Florida. The Firestar team, ages 5-8, won second place and also received a bid to Florida.
“A bid to Florida is huge deal,” said gym owner and program Director Jazmine Vega Zanders. “It’s like making it to the Superbowl!”
“We have won national titles in Florida and Arizona,” she added.
The gym, located at 1211 Auto Center Drive in Antioch, offers competitive cheer and dance teams. They also offer recreational classes for cheer, dance and tumbling and are open to girls and boys ages 4-14!
The teams will hold a fundraiser tomorrow, Sunday, Aug. 11 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the gym.
The 2024 Olympic athletes from Contra Costa County competing in Paris (in last name alphabetical order). Top Row: Amit Elor, Megumi Field, Drew Holland, Sabrina Ionescu and Kara Kohler. Bottom Row: David Liebenberg, Daniella Moroz, CJ Nickolas, Jewell Roemer and Maggie Steffens.
Former Antioch resident trained two of the Olympians on Team USA’s four-member taekwondo squad
By Allen D. Payton
Contra Costa County is well represented at the 2024 Olympics in multiple sports. According to the Team USA website, there are nine athletes who qualified to compete in the quadrennial games in Paris. In addition, former Antioch resident and taekwondo training center owner, Ed Givans has two Olympians that he’s trained, who earned spots on the four-member Team USA taekwondo roster.
80Kg Gold Medalist Carl Nickolas at the Taekwondo competition at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games October 22, 2023, in Santiago, Chile. Photo by Mark Reis, USOPC.
CJ Nickolas – Brentwood – Taekwondo
As previously reported, Carl “CJ” Nickolas, Jr. of Brentwood is competing for gold in taekwondo in his first Olympics during the Paris 2024 Games. He was trained by Givans – his dad – until he was 18 and had heart surgery in 2020. As of last December, Nickolas was ranked number two in the world.
Learn more about Nickolas on the USA Taekwondo website and his experience and victories through the years, here, here, here and here. Watch video of CJ’s victory at the 2024 President’s Cup in Costa Rica, here.
Watch Nickolas represent Team USA and compete in the Men’s Welterweight 68-80kg division on August 9th.
Kara Kohler in the gym and rowing in Sept. 2023. Source: Facebook
Kara Kohler – Clayton – Rowing
Bronze medal winner, Kara Kohler from Clayton is competing in rowing in the Women’s Single Sculls. The three-time Olympian competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo where she placed 9th in Women’s Single Sculls, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London 2012, where she won bronze in Women’s Quadruple Sculls.
On Saturday, Kohler took first place in Heat 6. She competed again in Quarterfinal 1, Lane 3 on Tuesday, July 30 at 12:30 a.m. Pacific and took second place qualifying Kohler for the semifinals on Thursday, Aug. 1 at 12:30 a.m. Pacific. (See related article)
Maggie Steffens. Sources: (left) TeamUSA, (center) USA Water Polo and with her 2020 Gold medals. Source: Facebook.
Maggie Steffens – Danville – Women’s Water Polo
Three-time gold medal winner Maggie Steffens will compete at her fourth Olympic Games in Women’s Water Polo for her fourth gold medal in a row. She won her first gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, here second at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and her third in 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
According to USA Water Polo, The two-time MVP is also the Team USA captain and considered one of the best in the world” and Steffens “Hails from a massive water polo playing family and was joined on the 2012 team by older sister Jessica.” (See related article)
Jewel Roemer official photo and during competition. Source: USA Water Polo
Jewell Roemer – Martinez – Water Polo
Playing in her first Olympics, Martinez native Jewell “Roemer’s journey to the Olympics is marked by a series of impressive achievements. She has been a part of the Stanford University’s women’s water polo team, where she contributed to the team’s success as NCAA Champions in 2022 and 2023,” according to an iHeart Radio report.
According to USA Water Polo, Roemer “Attended Acalanes High School…Four-year letter winner and senior season team captain in water polo…Three-time first-team All-American (2018-20)…Two-time North Coast Section MVP (2019-20)…CIF Northern Division MVP (2020)…Three-time first-team All-Conference (2018-20)…Team went undefeated in back-to-back seasons, winning North Coast Section championships…Two-time Junior Olympics MVP with 680 Water Polo Club.
Won 1st place at the 2024 World Aquatics World Championships in DOHA, QATAR, 1st place at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile and 1st place at the World Aquatics World Cup in Long Beach.
During their second Group B match on Monday against Spain, Steffens and Roemer each added one goal apiece, but the Americans were handed a rare 13-11 loss. Team USA Women’s Water Polo next plays Italy on Wednesday.
Megumi Field. Sources: Team USA and Instagram
Megumi Field – Danville – Artistic Swimming
East Coast transplant Megumi Field, of Danville, will compete in her first Olympics on the Artistic Swimming team. She started synchronized swimming at five years old and earned among many other victories since 2018, Field won a bronze medal for Technical Team at the 2023 World Championships.
According to USA Artistic Swimming, as part of the official 2024 Olympics roster, Megumi and her teammates “made a statement in their debut” at the World Cup Super-Final hosted in Budapest, Hungary by winning three gold medals for Team Technical, Team Acrobatic and Team Free in the final competition before the Olympic Games.
In addition, “Jaime Czarkowski and Megumi Field made their second appearance as duet partners in Budapest, choosing to participate in the Technical Duet receiving 7th place overall with a score of 222.5134.”
Watch Artistic Swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics beginning Monday, Aug. 5th.
Danielle Moroz. Sources: TeamUSA, Facebook and US Sailing
Daniella Moroz – Lafayette – Kiteboarding
The first member of the U.S. Sailing team to qualify for the Paris 2024 Games, 23-year-old Daniella Moroz of Lafayette will compete in Olympic Kiteboarding for the first time in the sport’s history, after the sports’ athletes have been waiting for two decades.
According to a report on Paris2024.Sailing.org, Moroz has six consecutive Formula Kite World Championships titles to her name before the age of 22.
“Everything I do and have been doing the last several years is to give myself a shot at a medal,” she said. “At the Olympics I want to deliver my best possible performance and I know I’m capable of winning a gold medal if I do my best. It would mean everything to me and my family and to bring a gold home to the US after we’ve really struggled as a nation the last few Games’ would be really special.”
“I just want to keep enjoying it and keep racing for as long as possible. I am definitely thinking about LA 2028 since it will be a home Games,” Moroz added.
Women’s Kiteboarding will take place in the Marseille Marina in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea and begins Sunday, Aug. 4th with the medal round on Thursday, Aug. 8th.
Drew Holland and playing goalie. Source: Team USA
Drew Holland – Orinda – Men’s Water Polo
The 2013 graduate of Miramonte High School in Orinda, Drew Holland returns for his second Olympic Games. He played in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where the U.S. Men’s team placed sixth and he tallied 52 saves. According to his USA Water Polo profile, Holland accumulated 26 saves at the 2024 World Aquatics World Championships in Doha, Qatar; Racked up 33 saves at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile; Notched 12 saves at the 2023 World Aquatics World Championships in Fukuoka and named top goalkeeper at the 2021 FINA World League Super Final recording 41 saves.
Holland played at Stanford University where he holds the all-time save record with 925 and was a four-time All-American.
Team USA Men’s Water Polo lost to Italy on Sunday, 8-12 and was to play again Tuesday morning, July 30 against Romania at 7:30 a.m. Pacific. (See schedule)
David Liebenberg official photo and in competition with teammate Sarah Newberry Moore. Source: US Sailing
David Liebenberg – Richmond – Sailing
Competing in Sailing during the 2024 Paris Olympics, 32-year-old David Liebenberg of Richmond has three National Championship titles and three North American Championship titles. According to U.S. Sailing, as a member of the Tufts University Sailing Team he was a team captain during his senior year and led the team to their first Collegiate Match Racing National Championship in 2012. In the summer of 2013, Liebenberg was the tactician for the American Youth Sailing Force, which was selected to represent San Francisco in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.
Sailing a Nacra 17, he took first at the Oakcliff Sailing Triple Crown #3 (Oyster Bay, USA) in 2018 and second sailing a 49er at the Cork Olympic Classes Regatta (Kingston, CAN) in 2016.
He will be sailing the Nacra 17 with his teammate, Sarah Newberry Moore of Miami, FL. The pair qualified the U.S. as a country at the Pan American Games in Chile on November 3, 2023. They won athlete selection at the 2024 Nacra 17 World Championship in France in May and secured their spot to represent the U.S. at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Following that final step Liebenberg said, “It’s quite a relief. It has been nearly 10 years coming and to finally secure a spot feels amazing.”
See video of the team sailing out of the Richmond Yacht Club and watch Liebenberg and Newberry Moore compete in the Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull) sailing competition beginning Saturday, Aug. 3rd with the medal round Aug. 7th.
(Top Left) Amit Elor in her official uniform and with LeBron James (bottom left) and Steph Curry (bottom center) on the Team USA boat during the Opening Ceremony on July 26, 2024. (Top right) Wrestling in a match on Oct. 1, 2022. (Bottom right) Flexing with Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, Jr. during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Source: Facebook
Amit Elor – Walnut Creek – Wrestling
A 20-year-old female wrestler from Walnut Creek, Amit Elor, a New Year’s Day baby, attended College Park High School in Pleasant Hill and Diablo Valley College, and has been on Team USA since 2022. She is competing in her first Olympic Games. According to her Team USA profile, Elor is an eight-time gold medalist at World Championship events across the U17, U20, U23 and Senior age divisions, including the freestyle and beach wrestling disciplines.
Sabrina Ionescu in her #6 jersey. Source: USA Basketball. Goofing in her Team USA uniform. Source: Instagram
Sabrina Ionescu – Walnut Creek – Basketball
The 26-year-old Sabrina Ionescu is a Walnut Creek native, graduate of Miramonte High School and University of Oregon and is playing in her first Olympics during the Paris 2024 Games as a member of the Women’s Basketball Team. According to USA Basketball, “Ionescu will make her Olympics debut after helping the USA to gold at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup. She has extensive experience with USA Basketball at the junior level, winning gold with the 2013 U16 Women’s National Team, 2014 U17 Women’s National Team and 2017 U23 Women’s National Team, in addition to experience in 3×3.”
In high school, Ionescu was the 2016 USA Today and MaxPreps National Player of the Year; MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game. In college, she helped lead Oregon to a gold medal (6-1) at the 2019 Red Bull 3×3 Nationals in Las Vegas and was named MVP and as a junior in 2018-19, led the Ducks to their first NCAA Final Four.
Ionescu was selected No. 1 overall by New York in 2020, has played four WNBA seasons with New York and is a two-time WNBA All-Star (2022, 2023). In addition, according to her WNBA profile, she was the first player in WNBA history to record 500+ points, 200+ rebounds and 200+ assists in a single season and the first player to record a Triple-Double in less than three quarters in WNBA history, as well.
Ed Givans and CJ Nickolas in 2018. Source: Ed Givans. CJ, Ed and Faith Dillon in May 2024. Photo courtesy of Grandmaster Clint Robinson, Robinson’s Taekwondo. CJ and Faith. Source: Givans Taekwondo
Former Antioch Resident Ed Givans, Trainer, USA Taekwondo
As mentioned, Nickolas’ dad, former Antioch resident Ed Givans, who owned Givans Taekwondo in the city before relocating it to Las Vegas a few years ago, trained CJ until he was 18.
Givans is also on the Tournament Committee for USA Taekwondo and has another athlete he trained who made the four-person U.S. taekwondo team at the Olympics, Faith Dillon. According to the Team USA website, she earned her spot during the Pan Am qualification tournament in April.
Registration is now open for the free youth 4th Annual Kendall Smith Basketball Camp on Saturday, August 3, 2024.
Improve your basketball skills this summer. Co-ed basketball camp for youth 7-17 years old athletes and non-athletes. Doors open at 8:30 am, the camp starts at 9:00 am and ends at 2:00 pm.
The event will be held in the gym at Smith’s alma mater, Deer Valley High School, 4700 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, where he played hoops before heading on to play for the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, then into the pros, where he’s played for international teams and the Warriors G League team in Santa Cruz. (Learn more about his career).
Sponsored by Smith’s My Brothers Keeper 1K, to register visit Kendall Smith Basketball Camp. To be a sponsor, donate or volunteer email mybrotherskeepers925@gmail.com.
Ncal-Olympics-02 – Denise and CJ Nickolas in 2009. (Left) 80Kg Gold Medalist Carl CJ Nickolas’ first flag run after he won the Taekwondo competition at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games October 22, 2023, in Santiago, Chile. Photo by Mark Reis, USOPC. (Center) Ncal-Olympics and Ncal-Olympics-01 CJ Nickolas at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in October 2023. Photo credit by Mark Reis, USOPC (Right)
A nurse from Antioch has nurtured her 22-year-old son’s taekwondo ambitions since he was 3
Expected to compete for gold, CJ Nickolas, a former Heritage High student, was first trained by his father at Givans Taekwondo in Antioch
By Elizabeth Schainbaum, Manager, Regional Content, Corporation Communications, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Over the years, wound care nurse Denise Nickolas would talk with colleagues about her kids’ sports activities — just as others would talk about their own kids.
Most colleagues didn’t realize her kids were different. They didn’t know how seriously athletic they were after he won a medal in World Taekwondo Championship in May 2023 when her son, CJ, received publicity as he vied for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
CJ is competing in the Paris Olympics in taekwondo on August 9, 2024. The 22-year-old is ranked second in the world.
“She doesn’t go around telling just anyone how he ranked at tournaments,” said Daniella White, a colleague who has cheered Nickolas on through CJ’s injuries and other challenges. “If someone asks, she will humbly share how well he did. That’s not to say she wasn’t overly proud or excited for him, but she just continued to show humility in the process.”
Kaiser Permanente fan club
Nickolas is happy everyone knows now.
“Everyone is so excited, and they asked why I didn’t say anything,” said Nickolas, who was a gymnast in college and also achieved a taekwondo black belt during her son’s practices. “They’ve been so supportive and even started a Teams group to cheer us on and check the progress of his Olympic bid.”
Her boss, Darci Walker, is a big fan.
“I remember her sharing one of CJ’s competitions where he won first place, and he moved the entire crowd and audience by singing the national anthem. The whole stadium joined in and sang together,” Walker recalled. “This was a very proud moment that Denise shared with me. When I watched the video on her phone, it brought me to tears as well. We are all excited for CJ and their entire family.”
A ‘family-friendly’ organization
Nickolas has worked at Kaiser Permanente since 2001. Since then, as a single mom, she’s juggled full-time work with 2 kids who were competitive athletes.
Her older daughter, now 24, was an elite gymnast for a long time. She pivoted to diving, and that was the sport she did in college.
Her kids’ sports often required traveling to competitions. Nickolas said her managers and colleagues have been supportive and accommodating when she’s had to take time off, evenn last minute.
“Kaiser Permanente is absolutely a family-friendly organization,” she said. “I was able to have the life I wanted with my kids because of Kaiser Permanente.”
To make it work, she would essentially work two part-time jobs and lived just 10 minutes from the hospital.
She would start the morning at the Antioch Medical Center and then take the kids to their practices. Later, she would work another shift with Home Health Department.
“I was exhausted, but it was worth it, totally worth it,” Nickolas said. “I’m so grateful.”
Walker said Nickolas also worked hard to make it work. She coordinated well with colleagues before she would travel so there were no bumps with patient care. When she returned, she was ready to get back into the swing of work.
Going for gold
Nickolas followed this routine for years. She realized in 2007 that CJ, who had been doing taekwondo for three years at that point, had a future in competitive sports.
At the age of three, he said he wanted to do martial arts. She hesitated because she was against combat sports at the time.
She pushed that feeling aside because she could see how eager he was to do it. She steered him to taekwondo because it was included in Ivy League sports programs and was an Olympic sport.
When he was about six, she noticed he was intense and focused. She checked in with the coach.
“’Am I just proud or is he really good?’” she recalled saying. “The coach said, ‘No, he’s really as good as you think he is.’”
That coach, until CJ turned 18, was his father, Ed Givans, who previously owned and trained his son at Givans Taekwondo in Antioch which he relocated to Las Vegas in 2018.
Many injuries later, including a broken toe that she said Kaiser Permanente did an excellent job of repairing, he’s now going for Olympic gold.
Nickolas will be there watching, with her Kaiser Permanente colleagues rooting for her son.
“I can’t believe this day has come,” she said. “He’s worked so hard, but it still feels so surreal.”
(L-R) Kaira Nwamuo with her Top 3 medal, Jasmine Gonzales wins All Around, and Josette Walker and Jasmine celebrate their victories on the podium. Photo source: JGYC Facebook page.
Jasmine Gonzales wins All Around National Champion
Train at the Josephine Guzman Youth Center in Somersville Towne Center
By Ana Walker
Three girls from the Empower Gymnastics Academy team in Antioch recently placed first in two competitions, second in one and third in another at the National Gymnastics Association (NGA) National Championships in Anaheim, CA.
Academy owners Mike and Natalie Guzman run the competitive team at the Josephine Guzman Youth Center’s (JGYC) which offers a recreational gymnastics program for girls. It is named for Mike’s mother and located inside the Somersville Towne Center in Antioch.
The Academy’s Gold and Platinum levels compete throughout California to qualify for the Western Regional Zone Championships in Reno, last month and this year they qualified for Nationals. The team competes in four events – bars, beam, floor and vault.
Antioch gymnasts Josette Walker, Kaira Nwamuo and Jasmine Gonzales relax and ready to compete on the mat at the Nationals competition last weekend. Left photo: Ana Walker. Right photo: JGYC
Three girls from the Academy’s Gold level, Jasmine Gonzales, Josette Walker and Kaira Nwamuo, competed against girls from 27 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. They received first place on the floor routine, first place on beam routine with highest score of the meet, second place on bars and third place on vault.
A post on the JGYC Gymnastics Facebook page on June 11, 2024, reads, “This weekend was a success!!! Our Gold & Platinum competed in Anaheim at NGA Nationals & absolutely rocked it!!!
Jasmine – Beam National Champion & All-Around National Champion!
Josette – Floor National Champion!
Congrats to our champions.”
In gymnastics the athletes get individual and team scores. Beam Queen award was given to Josette and Jasmine for scoring 9.7 or higher on beam (out of 10). All three girls earned the Top Three spot as an Empower Team together. In the meet there was no placement but rather Top 3 or Top 5.
Josette received floor champ and Jasmine received all around champ
The two winners have been invited to the National team camp in Tennessee which is offered only to the top 30 girls.
To learn more, to try out for the team or visit the gym, call (925) 350-0215.
Antioch High football standout, National Collegiate Champion with the Alabama Crimson Tide and #22 Running Back for the Pittsburg Steelers, Najee Harris will return home, Saturday, June 22, 2024, to hold his Da’ Bigger Picture Foundation Youth Football Camp in Eells Stadium at Antioch High School. The free, one-day camp for all athletes ages 6-18, is being held in partnership with the Antioch Unified School District Elementary Sports Program.
Formed in 2021, according to greaterthanthegame.org, Da Bigger Picture foundation is “a non-profit that focuses on assisting underserved families in reaching their potential and goals. The foundation’s hope is to provide tools and assistance to families facing challenging times. Some of the key areas of focus will be education, homelessness, addressing hunger, and utilizing sports as a platform to develop life skills.”
It was a double victory for the Park Middle School Spartan Cheer Team this weekend. The girls achieved their first victory by winning 1st Place at the 2024 JAMZ Cheer & Dance NorCal Challenge Cup Championship in the Middle School Level 2 Division. This competition took place in Stockton, CA.
The second victory was via Virtual Submission to the Full Out Combat Cheerleading Competition which took place in Missoula, Montana. The Spartan Cheerleading Team won 1st Place in the Middle School Division for the Northwest Region.
The victories follow last month’s first place at the Rockstar-Justice League National Cheer and Dance Competition, last month. (See related article)
What an amazing weekend for our Spartan Cheerleaders! We are proud of YOU!
We have had an incredible competition season, bringing three Cheer Championship wins back to Park Middle School this year. We are so proud of all the time, energy, hard work and dedication our girls have put into making this team amazing.
If you know any local businesses that love supporting our schools and the youth in our community, please reach out to us. Go Spartans!
