Oakdale High soccer, volleyball, water polo and cross country athletes have their respective postseason lives within their own control, all in need of November success to advance deeper into the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

Following is a recap of recent action for Mustang athletes and the postseason obstacles ahead of them.

Soccer

Oakdale closed the season with a 4-1 win over Sonora after two scores from Antonio Munoz and once each by Davis Harper and Robert Gilbert. Goalkeepers Scotty McNeill and Sam Paboojian managed seven total saves in a game that saw Oakdale close Valley Oak League play at 9-3-2.

The record is good enough for third in the VOL standings, which propels Oakdale to a first round SJS Division IV playoff match with host Union Mine on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.

The Diamondbacks were third (6-5-1) in the Sierra Valley Conference this season and sport a 13-6-1 overall record. The team is led by senior forward Cesar Rodriguez, who has 23 scores on the current season.

If Oakdale tops Union Mine, they will advance to face Western Athletic Conference champion, Central Valley, on Nov. 9.

Volleyball

Oakdale’s varsity (12-1) won their fourth straight VOL match by a 3-0 margin after 25-9, 25-12, 25-7 scores over Weston Ranch on Thursday.

Kelsey Clark came through with seven kills and 12 service points while Jackee Lee chipped in 17 assists, 10 points and five kills. Justina Keith landed five kills as well.

The Lady Mustangs were at Sonora on Tuesday, though results were not available at press time. Oakdale is waiting on the final release of the SJS Division III power ratings, which will decide each of the 16 seeds into the postseason.

Oakdale’s nearly spotless league performance should guarantee a top-eight seed and host match in the postseason’s opening round on Nov. 9.

Oakdale’s junior varsity volleyball team had already clinched the league title heading into the finale at Sonora, with consecutive wins in the first 13 games of the regular season.

The freshman program ousted East Union in 25-18, 25-14 scores, but fell to Weston Ranch after a pair of 15-25 games in recent play. Hannah Butler and Kyla Lewis sent home two aces each while Rylie Pena and Lewis smashed kills each and Sabrina Franciosa popped up eight digs.

Water Polo

Oakdale High varsity boys and girls water polo teams landed sole rights to the Valley Foothill League title with wins over Los Banos this past week. The boys kick off Division II SJS playoffs on Friday and girls on Saturday, all contests to be played at Woodcreek High.

Oakdale’s girls snared a close 7-4 win over Los Banos in overtime after three Savannah Stender goals and two from Carly Kendig. Jessica Myers and Cassie Lee also scored while goalkeeper Morgan Kinyon made nine saves.

Oakdale’s varsity boys won with a 13-5 score after four goals from both Neal Cadra and Brandon Terwilliger. Braden Lee scored twice while Adam Lahey, Casey Whitley and Jeremy Neathery each found a score. Mike Tripp made eight stops at the net for Oakdale.

The boys take on the Capital Athletic Conference No. 3 seed on Friday at 9:15 a.m. The winner moves on to face either host Woodcreek or Christian Brothers on Nov. 9.

Oakdale’s girls have a 9 a.m. postseason opener against the CAL three seed on Saturday, and should see either host Woodcreek or Capital Valley Conference champ, Del Campo, on Nov. 9.

Cross Country

Oakdale High’s varsity girls finished second at the league championship to finish in the same position in the VOL standings on Saturday at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds.

Haily Macedo earned All League honors with a seventh place overall finish, and saw Liz Erwin finish 10th overall. Marieke Delzer and Sara Aguayo finished soon after.

Oakdale’s boys had their best overall finish as a team to take fourth in the league standings. Erick Padilla was 15th overall while Andrew Markel finished in 17th. Mario Jimenez was the team’s third finisher.

“I was very pleased with today’s performance,” Oakdale coach Guy Fowler said. “I am confident in saying that we have the second best cross country program (all divisions combined) in the league, and we still have a lot of room for improvement in the future. This is very exciting.”

Oakdale runners take on the Sac-Joaquin Subsection Meet at Frogtown in Angels Camp on Saturday. The top 10 teams move on to Sections.

Oakdale’s frosh-soph boys were second at the league meet after an eighth place overall finish from Cameron Elswick. The frosh-soph girls finished in the top four after second, third and fourth place runs by Katlyn Gillies, Tatiana Barrera and Joselyn Garcia, respectively.

The JV girls saw a huge personal best from Ashley Jayne (four minute improvement), while Juan Gonzales led all JV boys at sixth overall.