SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Softball catcher/outfielder Grace Jenkins and cross country/distance runner Cate Joaquin snared the two Booster Club awards during St. Francis High School's year-end student awards ceremony Tuesday afternoon. Jenkins claimed the Leadership Award while Joaquin was bestowed with the Scholar-Athlete Award.
Jenkins, who will join her twin sister Hope at the University of Connecticut, currently leads the varsity softball team to one of its best seasons in history. The Troubies rank fourth in the Sac-Joaquin Section by the website MaxPreps with a 21-3 record, with Grace providing .507/.570/.986 statistics at the plate. A 4.0-plus student and a nationally ranked prospect prior to her signing with UConn, Jenkins also serves as the vice president for St. Francis' student-athlete advisory committee, and interned for former athletics director Mark McGreevy.
Joaquin, who signed her National Letter of Intent to Georgetown last fall, wraps up one of the most outstanding track and distance careers in program history this spring. For track & field, she captured Delta League championships in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter races during the previous two weekends, and set school records on two of the largest stages: a 4:48.58 in the 1,600 at the Sacramento Meet of Champions and a 10:20.97 at the Arcadia Invitational. Joaquin also made history in the cross country season, with her fourth-place finish at the 2019 state championships – the highest every by a Troubie. The 4.00-plus student also became the school's first qualifier to the Foot Locker National Championships.
The two Booster Club honors were the two athletics-oriented accolades among dozens of awards presented during the ceremony, ranging from scholarships, honors for the SFHS pillars (faith, excellence, leadership, service), salutatorian and valedictorian, plus merit awards for all SFHS academic subjects.
Jenkins and Joaquin each continue their respective seasons this week: Jenkins is one of five seniors being recognized in the regular-season home finale against Pleasant Grove later on Tuesday, while Joaquin will compete in both distance events at the Sac-Joaquin Section finals on Thursday. The softball team will begin SJS tournament play on May 17, while track & field vies for berths at the SJS Masters Meet (May 20-21) and CIF state championships (May 27-28).
