The 2023 Gary von Raesfeld Memorial Tournament tips off Thursday at St. Vincent de Paul College Prep’s DeCarli Gymnasium. The field includes solid small schools from D4-D6.
The tournament is named in honor of former Associate Athletic Director, Statistician, and Facilities Coordinator and Mustang Alumnus, Gary von Raesfeld.
von Raesfeld, known amicably as “GVon,” passed away suddenly in the very early morning hours of Saturday, December 17, 2022. GVon’s impact on St. Vincent de Paul High School was profound, doing so much for all who encountered him. His actions were always those of a very kind and gentle soul. He always greeted others with a smile and acknowledged everyone by name.
Over the last 40 years, he was always proactive and supportive of the SV athletes. von Raesfeld would keep every scorebook, scrapbook, anything statistical in his office to keep a record of all things SV Athletics going back to the 1980s.
St. Vincent will host a dedication ceremony tonight at 4:45pm to formally name the tournament after von Raesfeld.
Of the 8 teams participating, 7 of them come into the tournament with a winning record. There are two undefeated teams left, St. Vincent (6-0) and Point Arena (4-0).
St. Vincent is led by the dynamic duo of Cole Williams (15.7 PPG) and Sebastian Andrade (14.2 PPG). Tom Bonfigli, in his final season as head coach, will look to add a 60th regular season tournament championship to his resume this weekend.
Their opponent, Drew, comes in on a three-game winning streak. They’re led by Teo Kimball-Directo who is averaging 17.6 points per game. The Dragons are most recently off a dominant win over Wallenberg.
Clear Lake enters the tournament 2-1, with a big three senior trio that is playing at a high level. Cody Hayes leads the team averaging 21.3 points per game. Jason Soderquist and Graden Greer also have performed, averaging 17 and 12 points per game respectively.
Point Arena has dominated to start the season and are led by 25-point-per-game scorer Fernando Lopez. The Pirates steamrolled through their Jolly Roger tournament, winning all three games by scores of 79-18, 81-26, and 86-35.
The Thursday schedule is below:
1. 3:30 PM – Elite vs International
○ Elite comes into the tournament 4-2, and finished in 4th place in last year’s tournament.
○ International is 2-1 on the season, with wins over Credo and Terra Nova.
2. 5:00 PM – Drew vs St. Vincent de Paul
○ There will be a brief dedication ceremony at 4:45pm to formally dedicate the tournament to Gary von Raesfeld, a beloved member in our SV Community. More info on von Raesfeld here.
○ Drew is 4-1 on the season. Drew and SV have 2 common opponents, Bentley and Redwood Christian. Drew defeated Bentley 62-28, while SV won 53-22 over Bentley. Drew defeated Redwood Christian 70-38. SV will face Redwood Christian next Tuesday.
○ St. Vincent de Paul is 6-0 on the season. SV’s wins have been by an average of 63 points per game. 3 of SV’s 5 wins — Cloverdale, Lower Lake and Bentley — are against teams that defeated St. Vincent de Paul last year.
3. 6:30 PM – Point Arena vs Roseland University Prep
○ Point Arena comes into the tournament 4-0 after a dominant showing at their own Jolly Roger Classic. Point Arena is averaging 78.7 points per game to start the season. Point Arena finished 4th in last year’s tournament, the St. Vincent Winter Showdown.
○ Roseland University Prep is 1-4 on the season, just finishing the Sutter Home Classic at St. Helena High School.
4. 8:00 PM – Contra Costa Christian vs Clear Lake
○ The final game of the night should be a good one. Contra Costa Christian is 6-1 on the season CCC is averaging 65 points per game, and has won every game by double digits.
○ Clear Lake just won the Consolation bracket at the Durham tournament. The Cardinals fell to Corning 61-54 on Day 1, but rebounded to beat Los Molinos 64-42 and Andersen, 47-45. Clear Lake won the Consolation bracket in last year’s St. Vincent Winter Showdown.
