Striving for Excellence, Together
Victory With Honor
Participation by students, families and all Rams fans is highly encouraged. We stress competition consistent with the CIF standards of pursuing “Victory with Honor" and we are guided by the greater mission of our school, to develop students spiritually, academically and socially.
Additionally, we encourage all athletes, coaches and fans to “PICKUP” our athletic core values.
- Passion... choices, why we are here, and our love of sports.
- Integrity... words, actions, and soul are worthy of leadership.
- Courage... be fearless, act and work when times are hard.
- Knowledge... consume information and think critically, to maximize efficiency.
- Unity... brotherhood/sisterhood, family, and faith, are greater than our individual desires.
- Prayer... we don’t have all the answers, give thanks, ask for guidance, and forgiveness.
We’re proud to have Garces Memorial student-athletes on our teams—and so are some of the best college athletic programs in the country.
Garces Memorial teams are some of the most competitive in California. Our student-athletes work smart, play hard, and achieve greatly, contributing to the strong tradition of Garces Athletics, since 1947.
Scholars & Champions since 1947
Garces is ranked fourth all-time in the history of the CIF Central Section with 136 team championships, most recently with four section titles in girls tennis (Division I), girls water polo (D-II), boys swim and dive (D-II) and girls swim and dive (D-II) during the 2022-23 school year.
The girls tennis team repeated as Division I champions with a 6-0 win at home against Clovis North. (The Rams also swept the individual section championships with Kelsey Abraham winning the singles title and Kylee Limpias and Jocie Sala winning their third consecutive doubles section championship).
The girls water polo team also won the section D-II title, the second in the last four years for the Rams.
Both swim and dive programs won D-II section titles in May. Most schools wait years, even decades to win a section championship, Garces Memorial has won 10 in the past five years.
An additional more than 65 teams have finished section runners-up and dozens of Ram athletes have won individual Central Section titles. Garces has also won more than 500 league championships over the past 75 years.
The boys and girls programs have shared near equally in the school’s success, even though the girls’ programs weren’t started until the 1970s. Cal-Hi Sports chose Garces as the state medium school of the year in 1988 and 2003. In 1987 they honored the football team and John Fanucchi as state team and coach of the year. Softball was also chosen state team of the year in 2004.
Most recently, Alex Halevy became the first Garces Memorial athlete named 2020-21 Gatorade California State Player of the Year after his record-setting performance in boys soccer.
The boys soccer team has won two CIF State SoCal Regional championships in a span of four years from 2019-22, most recently defeating San Diego-Francis Parker 1-0 in the Division III state championships in 2022.
The Mayor's Trophy, awarded annually to the top student-athlete in Kern County, has gone to a Garces student. In 2020, Alexsia Drulias won the prestigious award and in 2021, Zach Buckey was honored.
Alumni have played professionally in eight sports and competed on U.S. national teams in men’s rugby and swimming, women’s track and volleyball. Some have participated in the Summer Olympics, Super Bowl, Wimbledon, the College World Series and numerous college bowl games.
Nearly two-thirds of the student body has participated in athletics over the decades, making it possible for a school of hundreds to compete successfully against schools with thousands. It’s not hyperbole when we call ourselves ‘school of scholars & champions.’
Are You Ram Strong?
Athletics is a vital part of the educational experience.