2022 Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame
A championship girls basketball team, a standout bowler and a trio of Cordova Lancer football stars are among the athletic legends who will be inducted into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
The inductees will be honored during the 2022 Induction Ceremony slated for 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022 at Rancho Cordova City Hall. The class includes athletes, coaches, and Rancho Cordova sports advocates who have exhibited the “Heart of a Champion.” CLICK HERE for online tickets when they will go on sale July 1. The event is organized by the Rancho Cordova Athletic Association in partnership with the Cordova Community Council.
“Rancho Cordova has a uniquely powerful history of youth sports achievement,” said David Sander, Rancho Cordova City Councilman and president of the Rancho Cordova Athletic Association (RCAA). “Our Hall of Fame memorializes that incredible history and should inspire our current youth athletes as well.”
Honorees elected to the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame were judged to have attained significant achievements in or have made notable contributions to athletics, as well as exhibiting high standards of character and sportsmanship.
Rancho Cordova Sports luminaries to be inducted during the Seventh Annual Sports Hall of Fame Ceremony include:
1984 Cordova High Girls Basketball Team
Led by All City players Yvette Collins and Mickie Weekly, the 1984 Lady Lancers racked up a 32-1 record on their way to the Section Championship and is considered the best girls basketball team in Cordova High history. The team dominated during a magical year when Rancho Cordova was truly “Title Town,” piling up six league championships, with three, including the girls basketball team, advancing to the Section Championships. Along the way, the Lady Lancers became the first girls basketball team to notch an undefeated regular season. The late John McCants coached both the girls basketball and softball teams to league championships that year to earn Coach of the Year honors. The team is responsible for adding to the luster of this enchanted year for Cordova basketball during which both the girls and boys teams cruised to Section crowns.
Team members include: Yvette Collins, Theresa Tillman, Misako Hill, Mickie Weekly, Stacy Hom Loftus, Catherine Hart, Lolita Stokes, Theresa Hill, Carol Bender Williams, Daneen Johnson, Sharon Williams, Tina Nichols Starks, Corinne Waller, Vivian Chambers Ware, and Anna Reddick Howard.
Steve Abrams (Cordova High ’81)
Abrams converted an exemplary three-sport high school athletic record into a successful coaching career spanning two decades at the college and high school level in football, soccer and baseball. Along the way he was honored as Elk Grove Volunteer of the Year and founder of the Handing Out HOPE Foundation, which ships donated baseball gear to children around the world. He will be honored in the “Heart of a Champion” category.
Rick Anderson (Cordova High ’82)
Honored in the Coaching category, Anderson was a three-letter cross country runner at Cordova High who went on to become a successful men’s cross country coach at American River College. With degrees in Physical Education and Kinesiology, Anderson has been a leader of the sport at the college level. Under his coaching leadership, the Beavers cross country teams have won 18 Conference Championships, 11 Northern California Championships and 5 State Championships.
Terry Behrens (Cordova High ’73)
A Mills Jr. High and Cordova High varsity cheerleader, Behrens went on to become a model and worked in the motion picture and television industry. She worked on the production of three motion pictures with Max Baer Productions and at 20th Century Fox Film Studios in the Executive Office and as Set Lighting Auditor. In 2008, she developed the Cordova High School Alumni Facebook pages into an information powerhouse that connects over 15,000 alumni. Behrens’ wide-ranging connections have been integral in the early development of the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame, where she has been a leader in locating and connecting with long lost Lancers. She will be honored in the Heart of Champion category
Zach Crouch (Cordova High ’84)
Athlete Crouch was a Cordova High baseball standout who compiled one of the best senior seasons in CHS history. On the mound, Crouch compiled a 13-1 record with a dazzling 1.04 ERA. At the dish, Crouch bashed 10 homers and batted .360, enroute to winning Player of the Year honors by the Sacramento Bee. Also successful on the gridiron, Crouch was an All-Delta League defensive end as a Senior. In 1984, Crouch was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the MLB Amateur Draft and spent five seasons in the Red Sox minor league system.
Jose De La Cruz
Jose De La Cruz, a Rancho Cordova police officer, will be honored in the Heart of a Champion category in recognition for outstanding service to youth sports through his leadership of the Rancho Cordova Police Activities League (PAL). In 2018, PAL was awarded rare “Diamond” status by the San Francisco Giants for program excellence in recruiting and maintaining a league of more than 300 at-risk youth players each year. De La Cruz’ unwavering efforts to reach youth through sports was instrumental in a multi-million dollar facility donation to PAL and the City of Rancho Cordova in 2020, which will come to fruition this summer with the opening of the Rancho Cordova Youth Center.
Coye Francies, (Cordova High ‘04)
A football and track phenom, Francies went on to college football acclaim as a Community College All American before moving on to play for Oregon State and later San Jose State, where he was named All-WAC in 2008. Drafted by the Cleveland Browns, Francies played for the Browns in 2009-2010 and the Oakland Raiders in 2012. Francies is best remembered for hauling in a 25-yard TD pass on the last play of the game that upset Oak Ridge for the 2003 Sierra Valley Conference title, 29-28.
Dianne Yost Goldman (Cordova High, ‘71)
Athlete Goldman, descendant of a Rancho Cordova pioneer family, established herself as a fleet-footed track star prior to Title IX laws which expanded high school sports for female athletes. Running on behalf of the Cordova Dusters at AAU Track Meets, she set and broke several records, eventually running for California State University, Hayward (now CSU East Bay), UC Davis and in the Junior Olympics.
Frank Griffin (Cordova High, ’87)
Considered one of the Lancer football greats, Griffin was a starter for teams which went 25-1 over two years. A two-time All-City and All-League selection, Griffin earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California where he was a starting tight end for three seasons. For the past 10 years Griffin has been considered a top Sacramento area high school football official earning the coveted A+ rating.
Fallon Johnson (Cordova High ’03)
A softball athlete, Johnson was a four-year varsity starter winning All City and All Star honors, Coaches and Chico Tournament honors. This all-around athlete also played Lancer volleyball and basketball and went on to play softball for Iowa State University from 2004-2007. Johnson will be honored posthumously as she died tragically from injuries sustained in a 2007 car crash in Ames.
Dennis Lamantia
No person has had greater impact on the health of modern day Rancho Cordova youth sports than Dennis Lamantia, who died unexpectedly in July 2022. The longtime president of Rancho Cordova Little League, he is also credited with rescuing Jr. Lancers Football and Cheer from the brink of extinction, founding the RC Track Club, and stabilizing Rancho Cordova Youth Basketball, running four leagues simultaneously in an era marked by special challenges created by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. He was a founding member of the Rancho Cordova Athletic Association. Though his own children were long past their playing years, Lamantia continued to share his skills with new generations, was instrumental in bringing large track competitions to Rancho Cordova and pioneered improvements to RC Little League and Cordova High sports facilities.
Tim McCandless (San Rafael High ’75)
Honored in the Coaching category, McCandless was a stalwart assistant football coach at Cordova High and other Sacramento area high schools for more than four decades. During his tenure, this beloved coach was part of multiple championships and state titles earned during 49 post season games, 16 league championships, and two Optimist All Star games.
James Montgomery (Cordova High ’06)
Montgomery is one of only three Rancho Cordova athletes to become a football All American. After wrapping up all available honors in high school football, including the Sacramento Bee’s 2005 Offensive Player of the Year, and bragging rights for scoring nine touchdowns in a single game, Montgomery also earned accolades for All State track accomplishments. His athleticism earned him scholarships to the University of California, Berkeley and Washington State. After an injury ended his athletic career, Montgomery went on to coaching assignments at Sacramento State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Fresno State University.
CK Moore (Cordova High ’76)
An outstanding youth bowler and Cordova High baseball player, an injury ended his baseball dreams early on. But Moore turned to bowling, and in 1996 rolled a perfect 300 on National Television to win the Columbia Open. He followed that up with a 2nd place finish at the Hartford Open, and by season’s end – at age 39 – Moore at that time became the oldest rookie to win the Professional Bowlers Association Rookie of the Year Award. Previously a youth pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Chehalis, WA, Moore bowled professionally for three seasons, and went on to coach bowling at Hastings College in 2020-21.
Deborah Green Swain (Cordova High ’68)
Honored in the Heart of a Champion category, Swain was an outstanding athlete before Title IX transformed opportunities for female athletes. Active in intramural sports, swimming and an accomplished marathoner her entire life, Swain focused her competitive spirit on career, becoming an internationally and nationally recognized expert and author in the area of speech, language and hearing issues. She is the creator and owner of the The Swain Center for Listening, Communicating and Learning in Santa Rosa, helping people to overcome speech and hearing challenges to develop their own “Hearts of a Champion.”
Sheena Sapaula (Cordova High ’03)
A CHS softball standout for both the Cordova Lancers and California Breeze, Sapaula gathered an armload of high school honors before heading to the University of Pittsburgh where she continued her winning ways. A four-year starter and Dean’s List regular, Sapaula had an extraordinary college softball career while earning a degree in Marketing and Finance. Her amazing play fills the Pitt record books, including her record-breaking 53 stolen bases as a senior, including four in one game.
