SAN DIEGO -- It was a week full of momentous occasions for former Aztecs in professional sports.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there were a pair of former Aztecs competing. Xander Schauffele (2013-15) represented the USA in golf while Shanieka (Thomas) Ricketts (2011-14) represented Jamaica in the triple jump. Schauffele was leading after two rounds, but Slovakia's Rory Sabbatini fired a 10-under 61 in the final round to make a charge. Leading by one stroke entering the final hole, Schauffele hit his third shot to within three feet before sinking the par for the victory. Competing in his first Olympics, Schauffele became just the fourth men's golf player to capture a gold medal in Olympic history and the second American, joining Charlie Sands in 1900. The other gold medal winners in the event include George Lyon (Canada) in 1904 and Justin Rose (Great Britain) in 2016.
In the triple jump, Ricketts posted a best mark of 14.84 meters (48-08.25), just three centimeters short of Spain's Ana Peleteiro (14.87m) for a bronze medal. Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas won the gold medal with a world-record leap of 15.67m, while Portugal's Patricia Mamona took the silver (15.01m). Despite missing the podium, Ricketts improved on her T13 at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Back home in America, a pair of former Aztecs excelled on the baseball diamond. Chicago White Sox callup Seby Zavala (2012-14) started in four games behind the plate while also appearing once off the bench. On Saturday night, Zavala had a historic performance. In the third inning, he led off with his first career home run off Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie. He came up the next inning with two outs and the bases juiced and hit a grand slam to left field to give Chicago a 6-1 lead. Cleveland brought in reliever Bryan Shaw to face Zavala leading off the seventh inning, but Zavala would not be stopped, launching a solo homer to right field. In his final at bat, he singled and scored in the eighth inning, meaning he drove in or scored seven of Chicago's 11 runs, while also becoming the first player in MLB history to hit his first three career homers in the same game. On the season, Zavala is batting .235 with a .316 on-base percentage, three homers, seven RBIs and seven runs scored. The White Sox lead Cleveland by 8.5 games in the AL Central. Ty France (2013-15), meanwhile, started all six of Seattle's games this week at first base, batting .286 with a .333 on-base percentage, two home runs, four RBIs and seven runs scored. On Saturday, he led off the ninth inning with a solo homer off Texas' Spencer Patton to tie the game at 3-3 and force it into extra innings before the Rangers' Jonah Heim hit a walkoff homer off new Mariners closer Diego Castillo. On Monday night, France hit an RBI single and scored in the third inning and followed it up with an RBI double in the fourth off former All-Star and NLCS MVP Michael Wacha. France led off the seventh inning with a deep home run off Tampa Bay's Chris Mazza. This season, France is batting .277 with a .354 on-base percentage, 11 home runs, 48 RBIs and 54 runs scored. The Mariners are in third place and trail Houston by 7.5 games, but are only three games back of Oakland for the second wild card.
On the PGA Tour, Schauffele will play in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tenn., this weekend while Scott Piercy (1999-01) and J.J. Spaun (2009-12) will compete in the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, Calif. Schauffele is ranked fourth in the world and 10th in the FedEx Cup.