All Mesa League teams competed at Saturday’s Mt. Carmel/Asics Sundevil Invitational at Balboa Park’s Morley Field. It was a great day across the board for the Otay Ranch varsity boys team in particular, according to coach Julian Valdez.
“We had a 15-second spread between top five boys — all top seven were under 17:48,” Valdez said. “We’re very excited for these young men to continue to blossom and compete with one another to be the best team they can be. This group has heart and is a whole heck of a lot of fun to coach. We have 135 kids on the team and days like Saturday make it worth it. We had kids at 5 a.m. helping set up the picnic loop of the course and clean up afterward.”
Top Otay Ranch performers included senior Andre Sison (17:05), junior Grant Bice (17:09), sophomore Ruben Baza (17:12), senior Colby Parise (17:14), sophomore Aydan Wohlford (17:20), junior Dominic Garcia (17:27) and senior Chris Schafer (17:48).
The overall team standings among Metro Conference boys teams featured Otay Ranch in the lead with 46 points, followed by Sweetwater (98), Hilltop (99), Olympian (99) and Eastlake (113).
Team standings among local girls teams featured Olympian on top with 50 points, followed by Eastlake (54), Bonita Vista (92), Otay Ranch (104) and Sweetwater (118).
Olympian’s Carter Stuhlmacher won the boys freshman race in 16:43. Other local place-finishers, in order, included Trevor Santiago (Eastlake) 18:37, Jacob Juden (Olympian) 18:40, Jake Shorey (Otay Ranch) 18:52, Neil Griffin (Otay Ranch) 19:09 and Carlos Aldrete (Otay Ranch) 19:18.
No team had five girls to score in the girls freshman race, though Eastlake’s Amanda Challburg recorded the top Metro time of 17:08. Other local top finishers included 2) Victoria Ames (Olympian) 18:17, Cameron Cruz (Eastlake) 18:21, Tamara Cornejo (Hilltop) 18:51 and Rei Fulinara (Bonita Vista) 20:20.
Hilltop, Otay Ranch and Bonita Vista were the top placing conference teams in the boys sophomore race. Hilltop’s Jimmy Byland led the group with a time of 16:34, followed by Otay Ranch’s Ruben Baza (17:12) and Aydan Wohlford (17:20), Hilltop’s Miguel Tisnado (17:21) and Eastlake’s Anthony Martinez (17:48).
Hilltop, Olympian and Bonita Vista were the top placing conference teams in the girls sophomore race. Hilltop’s Nicole Byland paced the contingent with a time of 18:30, followed by Hilltop’s Ana Zamitiz (18:47), Olympian’s Maya Galvan (19:01), Bonita Vista’s Savanna Sierra (19:05) and Otay Ranch’s Lauren Medina (19:18).
Eastlake, Otay Ranch and Olympian were the top placing conference teams in the junior boys race. San Ysidro’s Missael Felix crossed the finish line in 17:02, followed by Otay Ranch’s Bice (17:09), Castle Park’s Anthony Halbert (17:22), Otay Ranch’s Dominic Garcia (17:27) and Eastlake’s Justin Hoban (17:34).
Otay Ranch was the top placing conference team in the junior girls race. Top local individuals included Bonita Vista’s Sequoia Kriss (17:57), Chula Vista’s Clarissa Hoffas (18:16), Otay Ranch’s Autumn Filson (18:37), Sweetwater’s Lizette Cervantes (19:01) and Otay Ranch’s Sage Lee (19:09).
Sweetwater, Otay Ranch and Eastlake were the top placing conference teams in the senior boys race. Sweetwater’s Jose Galvan was the top local finisher with a time of 16:31, followed by Hilltop’s Antonio Quintana (16:52), Sweetwater’s Alberto Barraza (17:04) and Otay Ranch’s Sison (17:05) and Parise (17:14).
Olympian’s Rosanna Javier was the top placing individual from the conference in the senior girls race with a time of 17:38, followed by Eastlake’s Patricia Miessner (17:43), Olympian’s Virginia Javier (17:57), Sweetwater’s Gabriela Rodriguez (18:30) and Bonita Vista’s Andrea Garcia (18:53).
Boys water polo:
Eagles fly past Aztecs to pick up first win of season
The Olympian High School boys water polo team was staring at a 0-10 start entering last Friday’s non-league game against the Montgomery Aztecs at the Southwestern College pool.
The Eagles emerged winless no more after topping the Aztecs, 16-3, to record their first win of the season.
“It was good for morale,” Olympian head coach Craig Collins said. “I made sure our team knew it was their first season. We wanted to respect them and not be too overconfident. We still have work to do.”
Sophomore Diego Vazquez led the Eagles in scoring against Montgomery with five points on two goals and three assists while senior Nathan Gabriel collected three goals and one assist.
The Olympian scoring was spread between nine players, eight of whom scored at least one goal.
Senior Chris Salang (three goals), junior Gavin Baldo (two goals, one assist) and freshman Caeleb Collins (one goal, two assists) all recorded three points in the game.
Freshman Garren Julian and senior Alec Delgado both notched one goal and one assist. Junior Jaden Walz scored one goal while senior Hans Zimmer was credited with one assist.
Olympian led 11-1 at halftime.
The Eagles followed up their first win with their 11th loss of the season after being sunk, 20-4, by Mission Bay in a non-league game Tuesday (Sept. 24) at the Clairemont Rec pool.
Zimmer led Olympian with two goals in the loss to the Bucs (5-0) while Collins and Delgado both scored one goal.
The Eagles host Mira Mesa in a non-league game on Friday (Sept. 27) at 5:45 p.m. at Southwestern College.
Montgomery lost, 10-5, to Chula Vista on Monday (Sept. 23) in its most competitive game so far this season. The Aztecs lost, 19-0, to Bonita Vista in a non-league game Thursday (Sept. 26) at Southwestern College to drop to 0-6 on the season.
The Aztecs previously lost to Castle Park (19-6 on Aug. 14), Monte Vista (14-2 on Aug. 21) and Castle Park again (16-4 on Sept. 6).
Bonita Vista (4-3) won both of its non-league games this week while piling up a 35-0 goal-differential. The Barons defeated Chula Vista by a score of 16-0 on Tuesday (Sept. 24) before engaging the Aztecs to finish the week.
Sami Metta and Felix Ikeda both scored three goals to lead Bonita Vista in Tuesday’s win while Isaiah Ceballos, Adam DePratti, Mario Edrozo and Antonio Marquez each scored two goals.
“We’ve played only seven games … we’re improving every game,” BVHS coach Betty Alexander said. “The fact that we have so many games over the next six weeks will continue to help us get better.”
The Barons, who dropped a 10-6 non-league decision to visiting San Marcos last Friday, will compete next week in the East County Invitational.
Montgomery next plays Southwest on Oct. 2.
Matta led Bonita Vista with two goals in the loss to San Marcos, which rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and later snapped deadlocks of 5-5 and 6-6.
In another game on Thursday (Sept. 26):
Mater Dei Catholic 14, Otay Ranch 3
Dave Dare led the host Crusaders (6-7) with six goals, one assist and two steals while David Brown scored four goals, two assists and three steals. Caleb Robinson had one goal, two assists and one steal.
Armando Gonzalez had six goalie saves, two goals and three assists while Patrick Turner had one goal, one assist, two steals and six goalie saves.
Mater Dei Catholic led 7-0 after the first quarter. Overall, the Crusaders recorded 15 defensive steals.
In a non-league game on Tuesday (Sept. 24):
Mater Dei Catholic 10, Francis Parker 4
David Brown led the host Crusaders with four goals, two assists and two steals while David Dare had two goals, two assists, one steal and one field block.
Patrick Turner had two goals, one assist and one field block while Caleb Robinson had one goal, two assists, 2 steals and one field block.
Kyler Mamou had one goal, one assist, two steals and four field blocks while Armando Gonzalez recorded 11 goalie saves, one assist and three steals.
In a Mesa League game on Friday (Sept. 20):
Mar Vista 12, Mater Dei Catholic 8
The visiting Mariners improved to 2-0 in league play (7-5 overall) after building early leads of 3-1 (first quarter) and 8-4 (halftime) over the Crusaders.
Mater Dei Catholic scoring:
Kyler Mamou: 4 goals, 1 assist, 3 steals
David Brown: 2 goals, 3 assists, 7 steals
Caleb Robinson: 2 goals, 1 assist
Armando Gonzalez: 9 goalie saves, 3 steals
In a non-league game on Sept. 19:
Mission Hills 14, Mater Dei Catholic 9
Mater Dei Catholic scoring:
David Brown: 4 goals, 2 assists, 1 steal
David Dare: 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 steals
Kyler Mamou: 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 steals
Caleb Robinson: 1 goal, 2 steals, 1 field block
Patrick Turner: 1 goal, 1 steal
Armando Gonzalez: 13 goalie saves
In a previous non-league game against El Capitan, Mater Dei Catholic dropped a 10-4 contest. Crusader scoring included David Brown with three goals, one assist and three steals, David Dare with one goal, one assist and two steals, and Armando Gonzalez with eight saves and two steals.
Girls field hockey:
Eastlake 7, Castle Park 1 (Wednesday, Sept. 25)
Visiting Eastlake improved to 3-0 in league play after recording a 7-1 win over Castle Park in seven-on-seven play.
Eastlake goals: Taryn Jones 2, Tatum Sherard 1, Sophia Valencia 1, Tori Innumerable 1, Ashley Harvey 1, Gianna Picone 1
Castle Park goal: Anissa Diaz
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
Girls volleyball:
Hilltop rallies with 3 straight to tip Castle Park
(Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Castle Park High School)
•Castle Park 26, Hilltop 24
•Castle Park 25, Hilltop 20
•Hilltop 25, Castle Park 22
•Hilltop 25, Castle Park 16
•Hilltop 15, Castle Park 7
Hilltop rallied from the brink of defeat to outlast host Castle Park in five games, 3-2, in a South Bay League match-up Wednesday. With the win, Hilltop improved to 2-0 in league play, 4-14 overall.
Hilltop will attempt to remain undefeated in league play when it hosts Sweetwater Friday, Sept. 27, at 4:30 p.m.
Hilltop swept host Chula Vista in three games on Sept. 18 to start its current league winning streak.
South Bay League Standings
Hilltop 2-0, 4-14
Sweetwater 1-0, 12-8
San Ysidro 1-0, 6-6
Southwest 0-1, 5-13
Castle Park 0-1, 3-18
Chula Vista 0-2, 2-14
Mesa League Standings
Eastlake 4-0, 21-5
Otay Ranch 3-1, 12-10
Mater Dei Catholic 2-2, 11-4
Bonita Vista 2-2, 8-6
Olympian 2-2, 3-8
Montgomery 1-3, 3-8
Mar Vista 0-4, 4-5
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
