After four years as Tigers, they’re now Banana Slugs and Beacons.
Inderkum High School sports standouts Mateo Ramirez, Michael Charbonneau and Sabrina Guerra were honored by classmates, coaches and staff April 20 in lunchtime signing ceremonies to commit themselves to colleges next year.
Track and cross country stars Mateo and Michael will strap on their running shoes next year for the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz, while Guerra, a top softball player, will wear a Beacons jersey representing Northwest Christian University in Oregon.
All three excelled as Inderkum students, too. Mateo has a 4.0 grade point average in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program. Michael has a 3.7 gpa and participated in the California Early College Academy program. Sabrina earned college admission with a 3.0 gpa.
“I’ve always wanted to play in college,” said Guerra, who will play softball next year on a scholarship. “I just can’t wait to see what will happen.”
At Inderkum, Sabrina was named all-league three times and last year was selected to the Sacramento All-Metro Softball Team as an honorable mention. As a pitcher, she cumulatively has a 2.54 earned run average while striking out 254 batters in 210 innings. She also has starred as a hitter, compiling a .400 batting average in three seasons, according to MaxPreps, a high school sports tracking service.
Mateo ran four years of track and three years of cross country for Inderkum. He holds seven Inderkum school records and six individual varsity or junior varsity league championships. He has been selected all-league three times and was Tri-County Conference’s Most Valuable Player for cross country in 2016.
Mateo plans to major in Mathematics at UCSC, which awarded him an academic scholarship to continue pursuing his dreams in sports and career. “UC Santa Cruz is the perfect school for me as it allows me to continue both my academic and athletic career in an environment that I love and have wanted to be a part of for a couple of years now.”
Even as a freshman, Mateo said, he hopes to make an impact as a Banana Slug runner. “I have the work ethic for it, I have the heart, and I’m definitely going to go in there and do my best,” he said.
Michael said that teaming with Mateo at UC Santa Cruz will give them both an opportunity to “finish what we started” at Inderkum.
Like Mateo, Michael is an Inderkum school record holder. He has two individual varsity or junior varsity league championships. Twice he has been selected all-league.
“I believe UCSC is the best option for me because it offers great academics and their running program is amazing,” he said. “They have one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve ever seen and probably will ever see. Their cross country and track programs are growing at an incredible rate and I can’t wait to be a part of it next year.”
Mateo and Michael have helped lead the Tigers to Tri-County Conference cross country titles in 2015 and 2016, and one in track and field in 2016. They will attempt to add another track title May 12, when they compete in this year’s TCC championship.
(Note: Information for this article was compiled by Chad Worthen, Inderkum coach for cross country and track and field.)
