Kirstin Morgado-Holtberg
Athlete: Volleyball – Basketball – Softball

Kirstin Morgado-Holtberg attended Linden High school from 1980 to 1984. During her time
at Linden High, Kirstin earned nine varsity letters in Volleyball, Basketball and Softball. In
Volleyball, Kirstin earned two varsity letters and helped lead the Lady Lions to a second
place finish and a playoff berth in 1982 and a Mother Lode League Championship in 1983.

On the basketball court, Kirstin earned three varsity letters. As a sophomore, she was part
of a Lady Lion team that finished second in MLL play to Bret Harte High School. In the CIF
Section Playoffs, however, they would gain the ultimate measure of revenge by defeating
Bret Harte in the Section Championship game to bring a section championship home to
Linden, which is still, to date, the only section championship won by a Linden High School
Basketball team, boys or girls. By winning the section championship, the Lady Lions moved
on to compete in the Nor-Cal championships but lost in the first round to Willows High.
During both her junior and senior seasons, Kirstin earned All-MLL first team honors and
helped the Lady Lions win the MLL championship each year. Also, following her junior
season, she was chosen to The Record’s All-Area second team. Near the end of her senior
season, Kirstin suffered a serious knee injury that put a damper on the Lady Lions playoffs
chances that season.

It was on the softball diamond that Kirstin enjoyed her greatest success. She earned four
varsity letters and helped the Lady Lions win both the MLL and Section championships in
her freshman and sophomore seasons. As a center fielder, Kirstin earned All-MLL first team
honors following her sophomore season in which she batted .467. Moving to catcher as a
junior and batting .520, Kirstin helped lead the team to a second place finish and another
playoff berth. She once again earned All-MLL first team honors and was also voted league
Co-MVP. Kirstin was also selected on The Record’s All-Area first team as a catcher.
Unfortunately, her senior season was limited to only 3 games due to the knee injury
suffered at the end on the basketball season.

In addition to playing softball at Linden High, Kirstin was recruited to play softball for the
premier club team in the area, the Tremors. She was the starting catcher for the Tremors
for two summers, which included a second place finish at Nationals during the summer
before her senior year. During her time with the Tremors, Kirstin enjoyed the experiences
of playing tournaments that included trips to Taiwan, Holland and Japan

Based on Kirstin’s athletic success and her 3.75 GPA, she received the Eugene Short Award
given to the senior student/athlete who has demonstrated the most outstanding athletic
and academic accomplishments during their time at Linden High. Recruited by both
Creighton University and the University of the Pacific to play softball, and by the Air Force
Academy to play basketball, Kirstin chose to play softball at UOP near family and friends.
However, complications from her knee injury forced her to transfer to Fresno State
University. During her time at Fresno State, she played the 1986 and 1987 softball seasons
for the Lady Bulldogs as a utility player. Following the 1987 season, Kirstin’s teammates
voted her the Most Inspirational Player on a team that went 53-15 and earned a trip to the
College World Series, finishing fifth.

Following the 1987 season, Kirstin chose to focus the remainder of her time at Fresno State
on the emphasis of athletic training in her Physical Education major. She served as the
Head Student Athletic Trainer for the Volleyball, Track and Football teams. In 1989, Kirstin
was voted the Dean’s Medal Winner from the School of Health and Science as the top
graduating senior. She also was selected the Most Outstanding Fresno State Physical
Education Major student and earned a post -graduate Athletic Training scholarship. She
earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Athletic
Training and Teaching. Kirstin went on to earn a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy at the
University of the Pacific in 1992.

Kirstin spent 16 years as a physical therapist at outpatient clinics and San Joaquin General
Hospital. Married to her high school sweetheart, Gary Holtberg, Kirstin today is the office
manager for the family’s construction and property management business. Gary and
Kirsten have two children, Kevin and Madelynn. Kirstin somehow still finds time to be
involved in Kevin and Madelynn’s numerous activities, to be an active member in a number
of community organizations in and around Linden, to be a volunteer athletic trainer for the
Linden High School football team and to play slow-pitch softball in the Linden/Stockton
area.

The Linden Athletic Hall of Fame is proud and honored to induct Kirstin Morgado-Holtberg
into its athletic Hall of Fame for her outstanding athletic careers at Linden High School and
Fresno State University.