Author: Mario Martinez

  • Comics

    Brie Lao
    Josiah Rivera

     

  • Hydroflasks… necessity or accessory?

    The sight of these vibrant, seemingly “indestructible” water bottles isn’t unfamiliar among our student body. However, with all of the dents that eventually adorn their bodies, are Hydroflasks truly worth the investment? Demand for these bottles have exploded among youth — particularly “Generation Z” — due to 2019’s VSCO girls. Not only did these figures popularize Hydroflasks, but also scrunchies, Fjällräven backpacks, and Birkenstock sandals. And a common similarity between these products is their diverse color selection, which was seemingly endless.

    With an average rating of 4.9/5 stars on Amazon (from 30,000+ reviews), consumers praise Hydroflask bottles for their non-rusting stainless steel and their insulative technology. “This water bottle is great. I’ve lost a few and replaced them every time,” writes buyer Lauren Hunt, who gave the product 5 stars. While the few negative reviews only advised against purchasing the bottles from Amazon, it is undeniable among the majority of the buyers — including Poly students — that they easily receive dents and scratches. Despite the countless list of alternate brands for consumers to consider (some being Contigo and ThermoFlask), the popularity of these bottles don’t seem to falter.

    However, one of the top competitors to Hydroflask is Yeti. Upon searching “Hydroflasks vs Yeti’’, countless articles would appear with the simple click of a button. The two brands offer similar prices, yet the quantity of reviews between them differ by over 20,000. Unsurprisingly, Hydroflask had more reviews. But was it truly because of Hydroflask’s greater number of color selections? Or was it due to the recognizability of their logo? With the lack of a powder-coating exterior, Yeti bottles outperformed Hydroflasks in terms of durability, according to The World Pursuit. And yet, that “smiling jumping person” logo has become a staple among Poly students.

    PACE freshman Soriya Pouv describes an underlying sense of “peer pressure” that she experienced due to the fact that “all [of her] friends had one.” However, despite initially wanting it for the brand, she argues they are worth their $25+ price point. “They are convenient for daily-use,” says Pouv, “and since my first purchase, I bought a second one.”

    CIC senior Sebastion Lebario also purchased a Hydroflask bottle due to its popularity, though this time among his baseball teammates. An owner of three of them, he believes them to not just be hyped for the brand, but the trend of it. “People think it looks cool since you can customize it with stickers or different colors,” Lebario says.

    For some students, these bottles were originally bought as a fashion statement, only to seemingly evolve into an item of daily-convenience.

  • Boys Soccer Starts Season Strong Against Lakewood

    Long Beach Poly, the “Home of Scholars and Champions,” opened their boys soccer season against Lakewood High School with a whopping score of 5-0 on Monday Night

    The Jackrabbits defended Burcham Field in their Moore League season opener Monday night against the Lancers with intentions to start the season off strong, and Poly wasted no time doing so.

    Junior winger Kevin Herejon  scored within the first 45 seconds of the match off the through ball from junior center-back Roque Alvarez,  who also wore the captain’s armband for Monday night’s game. Alvarez also shares the center-back position with senior tank Christian Mendoza, who is currently out on a minor injury, Poly is hoping to see Mendoza back on the pitch for Wednesday nights rivalry match against Wilson High School.

    Shortly after the goal, junior right-back Victor Kagurabadza served a throw-in to superstar senior, David “Guerro” Huerta, where he dribbled the ball into the 18-yard box and drew a foul for a Poly penalty kick.

    Ultimately, Huerta converted from the penalty spot to extend Poly’s lead to 2-0.

    Senior striker, Luke Brown, concluded the game with an amazing performance, scoring a hat trick with help from last year’s Moore League MVP and senior, Omar Juarez, alongside assists from senior wing-back Jesus Villagomez, and junior winger Anner Aguilar.

    “I think it’s a huge statement against a very talented Lakewood team,” said Brown. “Despite being outplayed during some parts in the second half  we managed to stick through it and keep a clean sheet against a very talented team and personally, scoring a hat trick is a huge motivation because we have a very tuff schedule ahead of us and I think being able to put goals past very good teams like Lakewood will help motivate myself and my teammates to keep scoring and keeping clean sheets.”

    Goalkeeper Amir Diaz Espinoza also had an exceptional game keeping the shoutout with a total of 7 saves throughout the match with help of the defense as well to close the game out.

    The Jackrabbits quest for three-peat Moore League title retainment continues with two games next week against El Rancho and Warren High School.

  • Rugby Club Open to New Members

    This year will be the first year that Long Beach Poly has ever had a rugby team, thanks to the head coach of Poly’s football team, Stephen Barbee, who is the on-campus sponsor for the Rugby Club. Coach Barbee has been an important pillar in starting this club along with Poly alumni Tina Taunanu’u who will be the manager of the rugby team. Another important role which is head coach will be filled by coach Gavin Lauvao Lutali who is a Belmont Shore Rugby Club coach and former professional rugby player. The student president of this club is Gianna Diaz and vice-president is Ikenasio Mikaele.

    Although rugby sign-ups started Wednesday, November 10, they are still open. Since rugby is a spring sport you still have time to register. Rugby is open to everyone, with or without any experience. Be prepared because it is a contact sport but there is a place for everyone.

    “Rugby is a family sport,” said Taunanu’u. You are not only a part of a team but you are also a part of a family when it comes to rugby. In the rugby world, rugby is considered a “gentleman’s sport” due to the code of ethics, sportsmanship, and player to player respect.

    Although rugby has been around for quite some time and is well-known world wide it is just now emerging in the United States. With multiple youth organizations having launched in the U.S., many high schools now have rugby teams. There are approximately 700 universities in the United States that offer rugby, many of these schools offer scholarships.

    Rugby originated in England, it dates back to the 1700’s and was originally known as “Rugby football’’. Oxford and Cambridge were the first universities to incorporate rugby into their athletic programs. Today hundreds of universities all over the world offer rugby. Rugby is an Olympic sport and like soccer, rugby has a World Cup that is played every four years.