Ron Gross has had a highly-decorated athletic career.

The Manteca High P.E. teacher and coach was a four-sport athlete at Colusa High, earning all-area honors in both football and baseball. He was a top sprinter in the Northern Section, anchoring the 4 by 100 relay team to a Northern Section championship and was also starter on the basketball team.

But it’s was his time at Yuba College that Ron Gross received his biggest recognition. He was on the 1984 team that not only won Bay Valley Conference championship, finishing as runner-up in the California State Baseball Championships, but did so with by posting school-records in batting average and double plays – both marks still stand today.

Gross and the 1984 Yuba College teammates will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 30.

“This is a big honor,” he said Monday right before heading out to practice to coach his Buffaloes’ track and field athletes.

It was supposed to take place two years ago. But because of restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yuba College Hall of Fame Class of 2019 had to sit this one out until now.

Ron Gross has been with the Manteca Unified School District for the past four years. He joined his late wife Amy Gross, teaching at Manteca High – he even picked her freshmen-required Success 101 classes in 2019 as she battled cancer.

Gross had quite the resume at Modesto Junior College. He was an assistant football coach and head men’s golf coach for the better part of 13 years.

In fact, he’s one of the most respected and honored coaches in the California Junior College ranks.

At MJC, Gross coached the offensive line, running backs, and defensive backs, producing many outstanding players, including one all-American offense lineman, seven all-state and an all-state defensive back, not to mention several players who went on to play Division 1 football.

His teams produced three conference titles (2006, 2007 and 2016) and captured six bowl championships (2006, 2008-2010, 2013 and 2017).

In addition, his MJC golf teams were tops in Northern California – the Pirates reached the Final Four and Elite-8.

Along the way, his teams earned California Community College Athletic Association Team of the Year honors three times and were nominated six times.

Gross, who also played football at Yuba College before transferring to Chico State, later went back to his alma mater, where he was head football, basketball and girls’ softball coach Colusa High. His teams won league crowns in football and basketball.

At MHS, Ron Gross has enjoyed coaching again at the prep level. Besides track and field, he also heads the girls golf team and, as an assistant for the Buffaloes football program, coached the running backs on the 2019 Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 championship team.

He’s looking forward to his reunion with his 1984 Yuba College teammate as they gear up for their upcoming Hall of Fame enshrinement.