Category: Sports Showcase

Poly faced their biggest Moore League contenders last week, playing Lakewood, Wilson and Millikan.

During their last encounter, Lakewood’s Storm Faagata gave Poly a hard time.  But Poly was able to grab the win in a close 3-2 set game.

From the first serve, the game was tense and the pressure was felt throughout the whole gym.  The Jackrabbits were able to grab the first set with a two point lead, 25-23.  The boys would also get the second set and looked to get a three set sweep.  But Faagata would lead the Lancers to get the third set with 27-25 as the score.  In the fourth set, Poly would come to end the game.

This game was slightly different from Poly’s 3-1 win back in March.  Unlike the first game, the Jackrabbits found more success in controlling the game. With new strategies and an improved defense, the Jackrabbits were able to combat the Lancers and their top player Faagata.

“We’ve been practicing the whole week under conditions where Storm would get the ball,” said Senior Ricky Ah-Hong.  “It seems it paid off because we won the game with the same play. It seemed as though it was fate.”

Two days before Lakewood, the Jacrabbits vistied Wilson on April 8. This was also Senior Appreciation Night where seniors Ricky Ah-Hong, Adrian Carillo, Daniel Deng and Jacob Moore were honored for their final season as a Poly Jackrabbit.

After the ceremony and the Star-Spangled Banner sang by Poly’s Charles Aoga, the match began.

Facing another tough opponent  in the Bruins, the Jackrabbits were determined to pursue their goals of winning Moore League. The boys ended the match fairly quick in a 3 set win.  In all three sets, the Jackrabbits won with ten point advantage.

On Thursday, April 3, Poly played dominated over Millikan just as they dominated Wilson.  The boys came out with a 3 set win over the Rams.

On April 1, the boys got a 3 set win over Jordan, adding to their Moore League victories.                     

“We’ve already beaten these teams before but we still need to play them again,” said coach Keli Pula. “Afterwards we’ll just focus on CIF.”

Countless hours of practice have paid off for the Jackrabbits, for they are currently first in the Moore League.

The Jackrabbits then played Cabrillo on April 15 and Jordan on April 17 for their final Moore League games.  These games were unable to be reported on due to press time constraints.  Although the boys have already beaten both teams before, they are still humble about their achievements.

February 13 went down in history as the first time where all three levels of girl’s soccer won the title of Moore League Champions. Varsity went on to play in Division-2 CIF playoffs, advancing two rounds before being defeated by Westlake on Wednesday 26.

For their second round of CIF, the girls visited Westlake High School on Wednesday, February 26. Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, their CIF advances came to a halt as they were defeated by Westlake 2-0.

“We had a team with little playoff experience,” said head coach Theresa Collins. “We had more opportunities on goal than they did. They just made the most of the few opportunities that they had.”

On February 21, Poly hosted the Centennial Huskies for their first round of CIF. At the 23rd minute, Sophomore Tavia Leachman found Junior Cke’lana Caesar who was able to easily net in the Jackrabbits’ first goal. In the second half, Centennial’s ball was rejected by Caesar and played out to sophomore Tori Gonzales who made a long run for the Jackrabbits’ 2-0 final score.

“Centennial was a good passing team and played good soccer. Coming back from an injury, I wasn’t expecting to make the winning goal and assist,” said Caesar.

On February 13, it was yet another nail biting Poly-Wilson game as the Jackrabbits dashed it out against the Bruins for the Moore League Title. It was a tie for the title, and right off the bat the girls got physical with strong defense from both sides, especially from junior goalkeeper Imani McDonald. Coming from a physical yet dry first half, in the 63rd minute sophomore Lana Hudson came with the long throw that found senior Andrea Ramirez by the net for the game- winning header. Poly not only took the 1-0 win, but the Moore League Champion Title.

“When I saw the ball, I knew exactly what to do,” said Ramirez. “It’s the same play we practice all the time and it was the same way I was able to score against Lakewood.”

It was a great season for the girls who ended season with an overall (13-7-5) standing, (10-1-1) league standing, and the Moore League Championship title.

On February 22 and 23 Poly’s sailing team led by junior captain Emily Golison won 1st place in the Silver Division of the Golden Bear Regatta in San Francisco, beating 31 other teams. A total of 64 teams competed, split into groups of 32 for the Gold and Silver Division.

The Golden Bear Regatta, which took place in San Francisco’s Treasure Island, is hosted by UC Berkley for high school sailing teams to come and compete.

Poly’s delegation consisted of skippers Emily Golison and Luke Van Lant and crew members Beth Golison and Meredith Dobson. While on the water, the team sails in rotations with one sailboat that contains one crew member, who mans the jib (the smaller sail), and one skipper who makes the tactical decisions and controls the main sail. In the Golden Bear Regatta each two-member team raced in two race rotations.

The win was especially exciting, as Poly’s small sailing team of four members won against schools such as Newport that brought 20 or more sailors.

“Although our team is smaller than most, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities to compete and now beat the bigger schools. One of the best advantages of having such a small team is the fact that we bonded so well and became such great friends. We get to sail every race, and learn key skills such as teamwork,” said Emily Golison, about the team.

Boys’ soccer has had a rough season, losing all but three games this season. They were able to secure a tie against the Lakewood Lancers and two wins over Compton.

On Friday, February 7, the boys visited Jordan for their second confrontation against the Panthers.  This time around, the Poly boys were able to put up a better fight, scoring a goal in the second quarter. Unfortunately, for the Jackrabbits, they were still not able to get the win losing 3-1.

The boys then hosted Lakewood on January in their second encounter of the season, but were not as lucky as they were before with the tie, losing to the Lancers 1-0.

“We have a great team relationship. We communicate well, but the other teams are just stronger than we are,” said sophomore Zach Moran.

On January 29, the Jackrabbits were able to secure one of their wins of the season against Compton. Juniors Brian Rodriguez and Edgar Portillo each scored a goal; and the Jackrabbits able to secure a 2-1 win.

“It was a last minute goal. The game was coming to a close, and I wanted to do it for my team,” said Rodriguez.

On January 27, the boys visited Millikan to play the number one ranked team in league. Just as their last game against the Rams on January 8 where they lost 3-1, the boys were just not able to compete, losing yet again with a final score of 3-0.

On January 22, Wilson visited Poly for the teams’ first encounter. It was a fighting battle for the Jackrabbits, especially after the Bruins shot their winning goal in the first five minutes of the game. The Jackrabbits lost to the Bruins 1-0.     

On January 24, the boys hosted Cabrillo in their second match against the Jaguars. The Jackrabbits where able to put up a good fight but unfortunately were not able to get the win over the Jaguars, losing 3-1.

“We don’t have the best record, but I know we give our best effort at each game. We are learning from our mistakes,” said senior team captain Grant Lewis.

The boys are currently sixth (2-8-1) in league, trailing right after Wilson. The boys played Wilson yesterday, January 12, but could not be covered due to press time constraints.

The Poly girls water polo team played very strongly against Millikan High School, beating them 13-12. Before the game, the team knew they were playing a tough opponent. The girls came out strong, but the Rams took the lead, and entered halftime with an 8-6 lead. The Jackrabbits played a stronger second half, and outscored the Rams 7-4. This close game ended with Poly on top, 13-12.

“It was a great game. I know we played the best we could, they were just better than I expected them to be,” said sophomore Carina Monaco.

Boys soccer hosted Compton on January 10, and were able to come out with a 2-1 victory. Both goals were scored by junior Cole McCarthy in the first and second half. Unfortunately, the boys let a goal get past their defense when Compton scored their only goal at the last minute. The boys are fifth in Moore League (1-2-1) right behind the Wilson Bruins.

Poly’s girls Frosh/Soph water polo team won the Canyon Water Polo Tournament hosted by Canyon High School in Anaheim, California.  The competition pitted 18 schools against each other through six three-team brackets.  The girls blasted their way through the primary bracket on Friday, January 3 against Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Santiago, and Rosary.  They continued their winning streak on to Saturday, January 4 to win in a 8-3 match against Esparanza High School.