Category: Sports Showcase

  • Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes

    Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes

    The Poly Jackrabbits kicked off their football season on August 27 with a road trip to Peoria, Arizona to face the Centennial Coyotes.

    The Jackrabbits managed to pull through a rough start with a 13-12 win, despite a plethora of penalties and a slow offense. “We’re a young team and a lot of our current starters are starting for the first time,” said senior linebacker Sergio Villaseñor.

    The Poly offense struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, coming up scoreless. With many new starters, the Poly offense had a rough start, racking up 16 penalties by the end of the game. Fortunately, the relentless Poly defense kept a manageable score for Poly to make a comeback. Junior linebacker Joshua Brown intercepted the Centennial quarterback early in the game and helped set the tone for the stout defense. At halftime, Centennial led 6-0.

    The second half for Poly featured a more explosive and organized offense, including a 60-yard touchdown pass from senior receiver Jack Jones, earning Poly a close 7-6 lead. Soon after, another Coyote touchdown put the Coyotes ahead 12-7.

    When the passing attack for Poly struggled, junior quarterback Nolan McDonald ran effectively to get first downs and keep the Jackrabbit offense on the field. Running back Michael Mauai had a strong varsity debut with a fourth quarter touchdown, putting Poly ahead 13-12 for the Jackrabbits’ eventual win.

    “Our offense started off slow and we obviously hurt ourselves with penalties, but our defense played strong the entire game,” said Villaseñor.

    The rest of the Jackrabbits’ schedule includes other difficult games, with road games to Las Vegas and Northern California to face nationally ranked Bishop Gorman and De La Salle. Today, the Jackrabbits will face Narbonne, an opponent sure to trouble the Jackrabbits.

    Luckily, the Jackrabbits know what needs improvement and plan to work even harder in practice. “We have one game under our belts so we’ve made our adjustments so that we’re ready for Narbonne,” said Villaseñor.

  • Title Dreams Swim Away

    Title Dreams Swim Away

    Neither the girls nor boy swim teams were able to claim the Moore League championship title this year at the Cabrillo Aquatic Center, both coming in second to the Wilson Bruins.

    Victory seemed to be in reach for the girls swim team going into Moore League finals on Friday, May 8, having gone undefeated for the entire season. However, suffering from an unfortante turn of events, the girls lost their chance to reclaim their Moore League title. One of their key swimmers, freshman Fion Quach, suffered from an i11074261_10206819585391890_8045429563950839043_nnjury where she twisted both her ankles, preventing her from particpating in finals.

    “We made a game plan for Friday, but when Fion told me about her injury one hour before start time, my        heart sank,” said head coach Kalani Caldwell. “She was a guarnteed forty points. However, the girls still swam according to the gameplan. For me, we did win.” Even though the girls entered with a higher score from consolation, and won seven out of eleven events, they were unable overcome the Bruins.

    The day before, May 7, the boys had their final meet were they were they were defeated by the 43 year reigning champions. “We have a very young team. Ninty percent of them are freshmans and sophomores,”

    said head coach Eddie Kim. Beside their loss, both the boys and girls had exceptional swims. sophomore, Jack Neaton was the first person in ten years to go under a minute for the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 59.93. In addition, the girls 200- Medly relay time broke the meet record at Moore Leaue finals with a time of 1:49.47.

  • Baseball Just Swangin’

    Baseball Just Swangin’

    This year our baseball had an okay season finishing a little under .500 overall. On Saturday May 9th, Poly played a very tough game against the Loyala Cubs. In the top of the first inning the Jackrabbits were able to put one run on the board but the Cubs responded quickly with 5 runs.

    Poly was only able to score one more run in the third inning but it was no match for the 4 more runs Loyala later scored. At the end of the game, the score was 9-2 Loyola. On Wednesday May 12th, they played Cabrillo in an easy win. Poly scored 9 runs in the first inning and from there the rest of the game came extremely easy. The final score was 14-6 and it was great win to boost the team’s confidence for the rival game against Wilson the next day.

    The following day they played the Wilson Bruins. Poly started off on top scoring 2 runs in the first inning, leading until the fourth inning where the Bruins scored 3 runs. From this point on Wilson led the rest of the game and it ended with a 5-2 loss to the Bruins. This was the last game of the Moore League and from the Jackrabbits were headed to the Division 1 CIF playoffs. The season was cut short with a 5-1 loss against the Edison Chargers, earlier last week.

    It was a pretty intense game as the Chargers took an early lead, scoring 5 straight in the second inning. The Jackrabbits were in a shut out until the fifth inning when they were able to score a run. This was the only run the Jackrabbits were able to score and they ended the game with a 5-1 loss.

    The Jackrabbits had a great season but unfortunately could not finish on top.

    “This team is really close. We were friends before high school and we have grown even closer three years later. ,” said juniot Deyvn Collado.

    “We hate to see the seniors go and we wish we could of finished the season better for them. Next season were losing a great pitcher so hopefully the team is ready to step up because we have a lot of talent coming up next year.” Poly says goodbye to seniors, Paul Estrada, Josh Fischer, Noah Belkin, Emiliano Estrada, Jacob Zinger, Josh Rios, Val Stammler, James Crabtree-Hannigan, and Eddie Oliver.

    “It was good experience to pitch for Poly. If I had got got into pitching, I would not have gotten a scholarship for baseball, specfically pitching at Cal State Fullerton,” said Rios.

    Though it was not the ideal way to end the season it is still time to say goodbye to the seniors and time for the returning team to go into offseason ready to prepare for next year.

    “ We’re preparing next season with team practice and conditioning,” said junior Taylor Gravey.“We’re getting started early with offseason work for next season so hopefully we’re able to get on top of the ball.”

  • Track Takes CIF

    Track Takes CIF

    The Poly boys and girls track and field team competed at CIF finals at Cerritos College. In a close finish for the team title, the girls won another CIF-Southern Section Championship. The girls track team won its eighth consecutive CIF title in the sport

    The girls started off the meet with the 4×100 meter relay. Poly holds the national record in this event, and has the second fastest time in California this year. The relay competed better than expected, and, aided by a strong third leg by Junior Maya Perkins, crossed the finish line in first place (46.22 seconds).

    The athletes competed for placing, which added valuable points.

    Senior Je’Neal Ainsworth was a vital part to the team’s success. Ainsworth grabbed valuable points, winning the triple jump with a new personal record of 36 feet 8 inches. She also scored points with her fourth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (14.68).

    “To help the team win a title, I felt valuable,” said Ainsworth.

    Trackrabbits also placed well in the 100 meter dash, with Perkins, freshman Ariyonna Augistine, and sophomore Kenyla Miles placing fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Sophomore Melissa Tanaka placed eighth in the 1600m (5:11.97), and many others scored points in high jump, long jump, and triple jump.

    Senior Chris Polk was the only Poly boy to qualify for CIF finals as an individual. Polk finished eight in the 800-meter race, with a time of 1:57.34. The 4×400-meter relay finished in fourth place with a time of 3:18.52. It consisted of senior Chris Donawa, sophomore Zion Bowens, junior Cameron Brown, and senior Chris Polk. Unfortunately the relay was disqualified for a lane violation.

    Despite the abrupt end to his track season, Chris Donawa remained positive.

    “My team always pushed me to do my best and be the best that I can be. It’s hard to be a ‘rabbit, so I always held my head up high and put my best foot forward, win or lose,” said Donawa.

    “[Winning] was very exciting for the team as a whole. We were doubted by others going in,” said head coach Crystal Irving

    The team will continue their path to the California State meet, and races next at the CIF Masters meet at Cerritos College on May 30. The girls are defending state champions, and have won the state championship 14 times in total.

  • Jackrabbits Not So Brave

    The Long Beach Poly football team ended their season on Friday, Nov. 28 when they lost to St. John Bosco 33-21. The team finished 11-2, with another undefeated Moore League record.
    After a nail-biting 34-33 win against Servite in the first round, the team prepared to face Crespi High School. The Celts favored running the ball the entire season. Their veer offense used three running backs, and seldom passing. While most teams had difficulty defending the veer, Poly solidly shut it down.
    Poly had difficulty adjusting to the veer in the first half. The Celts appeared to march down the ball with ease, scoring time-consuming touchdowns. Josh Love was getting pressured. Entering halftime, Crespi led 21-13.
    The second half of the game was all in favor of Poly. Poly outscored the Celts 31-6 in this half. The Jackrabbits took advantage of the Celts’ cover 0 defense, allowing for deep yardage plays. Poly bullied the Celts in the second half, both on the ground and in the air.
    After beating Crespi, the team upheld their tradition of practicing on Thanksgiving. This tradition signifies that the team is deep enough in the playoffs to compete afterwards. They prepared to face St. John Bosco High School, the defending national champions. However, the Braves were seeking redemption from losing to Poly two years ago. The “Fog Bowl” resulted with Poly winning 13-10.
    The two teams faced at Cerritos College on Friday, Nov. 28. With all the hype surrounding the game in front of a sellout crowd the Jackrabbits got off to a quick start. After some quick defensive stops, Josh Love completed a deep touchdown pass to senior receiver Johnnie Rucker, putting Poly up 7-0. After going back and forth, Bosco led at halftime 20-14. Mistakes hurt the Jackrabbits, with a pick-six and muffed punt.
    Poly’s second half was a struggle. With Love sidelined with injury, the team could not generate enough offense to win. With just a single touchdown in the second half, Bosco won 33-21.
    “It just didn’t go our way. I wish I had another shot,” said senior quarterback Josh Love.
    Currently, the football team is in off season practicing and conditioning. During the spring time, the team will have practices more focused to get ready for next season.

  • Water Polo Fails to Mater

    Water Polo Fails to Mater

    This year our Poly water polo team successfully advance from the Moore League to CIF playoffs, unfortunately we were eliminated in the first round by Mater Dei. On November 12, our water polo team played its last game of the 2014 season ending in a 19-2 loss against Monarchs. Coming into the game it was tough being that the opponent had a 16-3 overall record for the season. In the first half of the game it seemed the Jackrabbits couldn’t respond to anything the Monarchs threw at them, by allowing 7 goals in the first quarter and 3 in the second. In the third quarter the Jackrabbits created a spark when sophomore John Claridy scored a goal allowing the Jackrabbits to get on the board, even though the Monarchs scored 5 goals of their own. In the final quarter of the game hope was kept alive when sophomore Patrick Murray scored another goal for the Jackrabbits, but the Monarchs responded with 4 goals closing out the game 19-2. With this loss the Jackrabbits were eliminated from the playoffs and played their final game of the season.

  • Rabbits Run For the Hills

         Poly’s Cross Country Team had a “hard run” this past week, from October 10th-18th, with the Clovis Run, Moore League, and Dos Pueblos race all in the same week..
    The Clovis Invitational is an intensive 3 mile race that took place in Fresno’s Woodward Park on Friday and Saturday, October 10-11. This exclusive race only hosts the boys, and only takes the top seven runners from all levels. Varsity member, Colby Penn, junior, came first for Poly’s boys’ team, with a time of 15:55. He was followed by Sophomore Hugo Novoa, with16:13, and then Junior Gian Delfin, with 16:24. Penn ranked 68th place out of 1895 contestants. Novoa
    was placed 125th, followed by Delfin who finished 174th.
        The second half of the boys Moore League happened on October 15th on Signal Hill, a 3 mile course and said to be one of the more difficult ones.
         “It’s hilly, full of dirt, and generally a slow course,” said Senior Kai Filipow.
         Despite the challenging course, it was a sweeping victory for Poly, who won first place once more.
         Yet again it was Penn, who ran a 16:23 that took first place. In second place came Novoa, who ran a 16:26, followed by Delfin and Junior Conor Ragland, who  both tied for third with a run time of 16:27. All in all, the boys did well on all levels.

         On the girls side, the Jackrabbits were commanding. Sophomore Melissa Tanaka won the race, with a personal best of 19:31. The rest of the team followed right after her, taking the top seven spots.
         From Friday October 17th to Saturday the 18th , all levels of the boy’s team were in Santa Barbara for the Dos Pueblos race. The 3 mile race was held at Shoreline Park, a scenic course along the windy coastline. Despite the difficulty of the course, with its gradual climb and tall grass, Poly still won for the 11th year in a
    row.
         Finishing first was Penn with a time of 15:50, shortly followed by Delfin who finished with a time of 15:55. One second behind Delfin was Novoa, who placed third with a time of 15:56.
    This Saturday, October 25th, with is the Mt.SAC race, where Poly should stand out. The next Moore League meet will be on November 6 at Heartwell Park.
  • Water Polo Needs a Breather

    Water Polo Needs a Breather

    After losing two tough games to Wilson and St. John Bosco, our underwater Jackrabbits were able to break through with a victory over Long Beach Jordan. On the Thursday October 9, the boys hosted the Wilson Bruins in their first Moore League game. Despite losing 16-5, goalie Andrew Moskovitz played a great game with ten saves and a full length goal at the buzzer. Next up our Jackrabbits played St. John Bosco on October 14 and sadly lost to the Braves in an 18-6 upset. Upon a two game losing streak the Jackrabbits ambitiously in search for a win, were able to snap the streak with a 14-2 victory over Jordan. The boys will visit Millikan tomorrow, Thursday 22, and then go onto participate in the Canyon Tournament at Valenica High School this weekend.

  • Under Par but Under-appreciated

    Under Par but Under-appreciated

         Sports such as football and basketball attract thousands of fans, and play under intense pressure. Others require great physical strength, like wrestling and weightlifting. Though golfers do not need great strength or physical endurance,they require consistency and mental toughness. A consistent swing combines distance and accuracy For developing players, such as Poly’s team, finding the regularity from match to match is critical. Often times, players will have a great round of golf in one game, and flop in the next.As legendary golfer Arnold Palmer said, “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and
    maddening.” So while golf does not have the adrenaline-pumping action of other sports, it is still a sport of focus, and should not be underestimated as not demanding or easy.
  • Hopping for the Victory

    Hopping for the Victory

    After a tough loss to the Lakewood Lancers on September 23, the Lady Jackrabbits brought it back on September 30, 2014 at Milikan High School.
    The Poly Jackrabbits set it off with a quick start in the first set with the score of 25-14. The second set was an easy going for the Lady Jackrabbits when they scored 25-10 against the Rams. Millikan pushed to come back, but by the end of the third set, Poly’s well known outside hitters Leafa Yandall and Fiapaipai Iosia kept the team up to finish the game off with a score of 25-21.
    On Thursday October 2, the jackrabbits faced the Wilson Bruins, in one of their longest games yet. With knowledge of Milan Stokes, a highly valuable junior player for Wilson, Poly was able to push through the Bruin’s menacing defense. Even with Stokes on the court with 22 kills, Poly proved to be the better team in an overall 25-16, 31-29, 25-22 sweep. Poly’s outside hitter Yandall and Cassandra Lew had 11 kills, middle blocker Erin Williams had 8 kills and 4 blocks. Outside hitter Jayleen Lehenbauer chipped in 8 kills in her first varsity start.
    “I really like the multi-faceted approach on our offense,” said Lew after her first 2 kills during the first set.
    The heat and crowd were intense. The second set went on and on, and ended at 31 for the Jackrabbits and 29 for Wilson. Poly could have finished the game off in the third set at 25-19, but with a tired defense couldn’t quite pass the ball being served over. Their lack of communication and their of focus gave Wilson a chance to come up. But with the final pass from Pai Iosia, a set from setter Jessica Doukenick and the tip from Sammy-Jo Ah-Hong, the team finally woke up to the finish.
    “Spreading the offense out, is turning into our strength,” commented Coach Leland McGrath.
    The Jackrabbits and the Bruins are now tied for second place in the Moore League with one win and one loss each. However, the Bruins have yet to face the undefeated Lakewood Lancers. Poly will play Jordan on October 8, while the Bruins will play Lakewood at 4 pm on October 7.
  • Tennis Makes a Racquet

    Tennis Makes a Racquet

    With the girls tennis season just beginning, there have been a few bumps in the road, but a bright future ahead. The game against Glen A. Wilson on September 9 had to be cancelled, but the Poly girls did get a chance to play a few games, including West Torrance on September 11, Cerritos on the 12 and Lakewood on the 23.

    On Friday, September 12 the girls visited the number one school in the division, Cerritos High School. The girls started of strong leading 3-1 through the first round, but fell behind as Cerritos bounced back for the advantage during the second and third round. Unfortunately the girls were not able to recover and lost their game against the Dons, with a final score of 11-7.

    “They are the number one team in the division,” said head coach Montecinos. “With that in mind we had a great performance; we are a young team still trying to figure out how to close our matches.”

    The girls welcomed West Torrance on Thursday, September 11 as their 7th game of the season. Even though both senior captain Shannon Dow and junior Jasmine Roberts swept all of their single matches, the team fell behind a mere two games, losing with a final score of 10-8.

    “We all did our best. Two games seems like a lot but it’s actually a very close margin,” said Roberts.

    The girls were scheduled to play their first Moore League game against Wilson on Tuesday, September 16, but was cancelled and rescheduled for Wednesday, October 22. The game against Jordan was also cancelled due to an incomplete team on Jordan’s part.

    The girls took on Lakewood on Tuesday, September 23 winning their first Moore League match 11-7. The girls also play Fountain Valley today, Thursday September 24, but could not be reported on due to press time constraints.

    “I am excited to see how the season will go,” said Dow. “I’m ready to pull out these close matches that kept us from first place last year.”

    The girls have a scheduled game against Compton today, Thursday, September 25 at 3:00 here at Poly. The girls will also host Millikan on Monday, September 29, CAMS the next day Tuesday, September 30, and end their week at Cabrillo on Thursday, October 2.

  • Polyball Takes a Hit

    Polyball Takes a Hit

    The Poly girls volleyball team started off Moore League competition on Tuesday, September 23 against Lakewood High School. The home crowd in the Ron Palmer Pavillion was ready for an exciting rival game. Fans from both teams packed the gym.

    “It was one you didn’t want to miss,” said junior middle hitter Madi Hectus.

    The Jackrabbits were swept in three sets; however, they kept each set close, with scores of 23-25, 21-25, and 23-25. They held their own against the top ranked team in CIF and a consensus top 10 team in the country.

    Middle blockers Erin Williams and Nofo Keil had good blocking at the net for Poly. On the offense,the team was led by Labero Pai Iosia, who showed strong serving.
    Throughout the sets, Poly rallied from behind, showing determination. At one point, the team was down by 9 points, and rallied to lose the set by only 2 points.

    From September 12-15, the team made a preseason road trip to Vegas, to compete in the Durango Fall Classic. During this tournament, the Jackrabbits lost to Santa Margarita and Lakewood, but won against Dana Point. Not only is preseason focusing on better volleyball performance, but also helping to build the chemistry between teammates. This chemistry is crucial for a team-oriented sport, such as volleyball.

    “Although there are many new people on the team, we get along well,” said middle hitter Sofia Keil.

    Despite the team loss, they will use the experience of playing a top level Lancer team for the rest of the season.

    “We can only get better and move forward! Learn from our mistakes,” said Leafa Yandall.

    The Jackrabbits continue against Moore League teams, facing Millikan on September 30, and Wilson on October 2.