Tickets for 51st Chico Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet on sale through May 14

CHICO - Tickets for the 51st Chico Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet, held May 18 at Manzanita Place at the Chico Elks Lodge, are on sale through Thursday, May 14. Tickets can be purchased at the Chico Enterprise-Record office, located at 3881 Benatar Way, Suite G, Chico, CA 95928. Tickets sales are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., with extended hours on Tuesday until 6 p.m. Ticket sales are also available on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Doors open for the banquet at 6 p.m. and ceremonies and dinner will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $70 and include dinner. Payment is cash or check only. Tickets will not be sold at the door or online.

Honored athletes and Hall of Fame inductees attend as our guests and do not need to purchase a ticket. Seating is general seating, however if athletes, or family or friends would like to purchase tickets together, tables may be reserved in a group of 8. This can include presenters for senior athletes, Hall of Fame inductees or senior athletes. This year's Hall of Fame class includes Chico High School track and field record holder Kami Smith, Chico State men's soccer alumnus Chris Wondolowski, longtime Northern Section coach and commissioner Scott Johnson, and former Chico State baseball coach Lindsay Meggs.

Senior athletes from Pleasant Valley High School, Chico High School, CORE Butte High School, Paradise High School, Durham High School, Oroville High School, Las Plumas High School, Biggs High School, Orland High School, Hamilton High School, Gridley High School, Willows High School, Corning High School, Chico State, as well as sophomores from Butte College will be honored. The night will be capped with the presentation of the Chico Enterprise-Record Sportsperson of the Year award. The Enterprise-Record looks forward to another special night of honoring our area's top athletes, as well as our newest Hall of Fame class. Senior athlete nominees Chico High School's senior athlete nominees include Davis Parent, Jorden Neugebauer, EJ Park, Henry Heckathorn and Kenton Girt for boys; and Sifiah Francis, Liani Linares Villalba, Addison Hosier, Taylor Wellersdick and Kylie Vaughn for girls.

Pleasant Valley High School nominees include Justin Plummer, Titus Andrus, Grayson Drake, Drew Van Nuys and Scott Mckeown for boys; and Amarianna Sims, Kate Marinello, Katelynn Enos, Madeleine Barteau and Abbi Guichard for girls. CORE Butte finalists include Brian Patton, Adrik Dyer and AJ Taylor for boys; and Apple Bolton, Karisa Walborn and Brianna Hayes for girls. Paradise finalists include Davis Limbaugh, Louis Gomez and Jayden Bunch for boys; and Tru Herr, Grace Meldrum and Layla Toomey for girls. Durham finalists include Carter Schmid, Josh Harding and Landon Lynch for boys; and Hayden Poyner, Clare Osbon and Payton Santos for girls.

Oroville finalists include Donovan Walsh, Ayden Morales and Camren Williams for boys; and Jahzara Gasaway, Jenessa Igot and Ellianna McDonald for girls. Wyatt Denton and Leila Younger will represent Las Plumas. Orland finalists include Dominic Pacheco, Luke Schager and Nicholas Jaime-Nava for boys; and Lillianna Rowe, Caydance Kremer and Dottie Davis for girls. Hamilton finalists include Kaden Strong, Case Porter, Cesar Leal for boys; and Hannah Bonesio, Ally Odom, Jordyn Rodgers for girls.

Gridley finalists include Valentin Sanchez, Billy Routon and Eli Punzo for boys; and Evelina LaBuff, Sophia Moran and Avery Mendenhall for girls. Willows finalists include Aaron Garcia,Issac McDonald and Blake Lerstang for boys; and Jayden Collins, Annalise Figueroa and Ximena Reyes for girls. Biggs finalists include Ryan Flowers, Russell Cote III and Skyler Long for boys; and Gracie Sheppard, Marcella Solis-Lopez and Emma Bermudez for girls. Kaleb Flournoy and Margarita Leal will represent Corning.

Naomi Easterday and Hannah Pieri will represent Chico State. Stephan Chapdelaine and Regan Salado will represent Butte College. Chico Sportsperson of the Year Nominees The banquet is capped by the presentation of the Sportsperson of the Year award, which honors an athlete who either attends school in the Chico Enterprise-Record's coverage area or honors an athlete with roots in the Chico Enterprise-Record's coverage area. The award focuses solely on athletic achievements.

This year's nominees are Pleasant Valley High School alumnus and current University of Nevada, Reno cross country/track runner Tryon Jardin, Chico High School tennis player Kylie Vaughn, and Chico High School alumna and current cross country/track runner Iresh Molina. Jardin, who graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in spring 2022, is in his fourth year at UNR. In his time at Nevada he has been chasing school records. He ran a 13 minute, 58.12 second 5k at the Aztec Coastal Classic on March 13.

Jardin ran a 4:30 mile at the Aztec Coastal Classic, and ran a 4:03 indoor mile at altitude, which converts to a 3:58.25 mile at sea level. Jardin has a time of 3:46 in the 1,500 in track, which is currently two seconds away from breaking the UNR school record in the 1,500. He is currently four seconds away from the UNR record in the 800-meter race. Jardin's goal is to finish with the 1,500-meter record.

Vaughn, a two-sport athlete at Chico High School who competed in both tennis and basketball, finished her senior season going undefeated in Eastern Athletic League play as well as Northern Section play for a fourth straight season her senior year. She was the EAL and Northern Section Most Valuable Player in tennis, and was the EAL and Northern Section singles and doubles champion. Vaughn also was a part of the Northern Section Division III champion Chico High School women's basketball team, which finished 27-5 and 10-0 in EAL play. Molina started the 2025-26 school year by winning the California Collegiate Athletic Association championships in the park she grew up training up.

Chico State hosted the CCAA cross-country championships at Hooker Oak Park and in parts of Bidwell Park, and Molina crossed the finish line surrounded by family, friends and teammates with a "C" shape in both hands. Molina was All-CCAA for a fourth straight season in cross country in 2025, was named CCAA Runner of the Year, and received both All-West Region and All-American honors for a third season. She led her cross-country team to its best finish in the NCAA D-II championship, marking the Wildcats' first top-10 performance since 2019 and the 19th time in program history. Molina finished 21st in the NCAA D-II championship.

In track and field she picked up just where she left off in cross country. She is currently in the top-10 nationally in the 5,000 meter race and is two seconds behind the Chico State record. Molina is looking to defend her CCAA Track and Field Championship first place finish in the 5,000 meter race. Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency.

All Rights Reserved. This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 6:13 AM.