Category: Sports

  • 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.

  • Party Like It’s 99-9

    First Quarter 

         In a historic homecoming football me, the Poly Jackrabbits outmatched the Compton Tarbabes, winning by a huge
    margin of 99-9. Here is a recap of the game, reported by quarter.
         All Poly fans and teammates were surprised when Compton had the early upper lead. On the opening kickoff, the
    Tarbabes returned the ball for 90 yards, putting them in a great scoring position. Aided by two Poly penalties, Compton
    scored an easy touchdown. In less than 30 seconds, Compton was up 6-0. After this, however, the rest of the game would be in Poly’s
    favor. 2 minutes after Compton scored, Poly answered back, when senior Justin Calhoun caught a pass and ran 23 yards. This put
    the Jackrabbits up 7-6. The team would score four more times this quarter, making the score 35-6.

    Second Quarter

         The second quarter still featured Poly’s starter players, who were effective at scoring. James Brooks had ten rushes for 136 yards.
    Even Poly’s defense scored, when junior linebacker Jason Nettles had a touchdown from a pick-six interception. However, penalties
    continued to affect Poly. A punt return by senior Iman “Biggie” Marshall was called back, because of roughing the kicker.

    Third Quarter

    The Poly coaches were not satisfied with Poly’s performance in the first half. Compton’s 9 points scored is more than the
    entire Moore League scored on Poly last season. As punishment, the team performed wind sprints. During the entire second half, a

    running clock was in place, to prevent an even larger blowout. The Poly Jackrabbits could not be stopped, however. Junior

    Dae’John Logan started the third quarter with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Additionally, the team put in secondary players, who
    continued to score on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Cameron McDonald received play time. McDonald showed off his quick
    feet by running a touchdown in himself. In total, three touchdowns were scored in the third quarter, putting Poly up 84-9.

    Fourth Quarter

    Contrary to other blowout games, the fans stayed until the end, curious if the Jackrabbits could score over 100 points. Junior
    Jackie Jones had an interception, which he ran in for a touchdown. This put the score at 91-9. The team came close, placing the
    score 99 points on a two-point conversion. On the point after attempt, junior backup quarterback Tavaka Salanoa mishandled the
    ball, and out of instinct ran in for two points. There are many interesting statistics that resulted during the game. Kicker Chile
    Gomez was 13/13 on points after touchdowns. In addition, all 75 Poly players suited up competed for Poly. A score of 99-9 is the
    most Poly has put up, since 1925 when they scored 105 points. Reflecting on the game, Poly realized they committed too many
    penalties. During Moore League games, these penalties won’t determine a win or loss. But during the postseason games, penalties
    are critical, and could eliminate the team from the playoffs. “We need to stop getting penalties. No more penalties. No more stupid stuff,” said
    senior Quarterback Josh Love.

  • Lady Jackrabbits Race to Prenationals

    The girls cross country team took a flight to Portland, Oregon to compete in the Nike Pre Nationals race. The team returned with heavier suitcases, loaded with a Varsity Championship plaque.

    The athletes ran the Nike Cross National course, where the nation’s top cross country teams compete for a national championship every December. The 5000 meter course (3.1 miles) is not known for producing especially fast times, since runners must traverse through mud, small hills, and hurdle hay bales during the race.

    “The course is a good transition from 100 percent flat courses and was extremely fun.,” said junior Mandy Wainfan.

    Poly placed first as a team. Sophomore Melissa Tanaka finished third overall in the Varsity race, and first for Poly with a time of 18:52. Tanaka led a relatively young team, with fellow sophomores Brenda Rosales ( 11th, 19:27), Olivia Gleason (16th 19:39), and Lauren Fillipow (17th, 19:45) finishing after her. Junior Mandy Wainfan (21st 19:51) followed after, with senior Pamela Tran (22nd,19:55) and freshman Leslie Diaz (30th, 20:04).

    While in Oregon, the team visited the Nike Sports Field: all-weather track, with trees surrounding it on all sides. At the field, they met professional runners including Mary Cain, Jordan Hassay, and legendary running coach Alberto Salazar.

    The team will use this experience for future races in the season, and try for a strong postseason, making it to the state meet.

  • XC Time Recap

    Rosemead Invitation Top 7 Times (Boys Only) 

    Conor Ragland – 15:22
    Aiden Kenny – 15:52 Chris Swartz- 16: 29
    Alejandro Loera – 16:38 Jacob Dorch- 16:46
    Jermaine Canody – 16:27 Jordan Peacock- 16:13

    Woodbridge Invitational

    Boys
    Colby Penn – 14:54
    Hugo Novoa – 15:06
    Gian Delfin – 15:11
    Conor Ragland -15: 32
    Matt Oca – 15:32
    Jose Long – 15:56
    Carl Hatch – 15:57
    Girls
    Melissa Tanaka – 17:47
    Lauren Fillipow – 18:03
    Pamela Tran – 18:05
    Leslie Diaz -18:06
    Brenda Rosales – 18:25
    Juliane Douds – 18: 25
    Mandy Wainfan – 18:34

     

                                                                

  • 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.

  • Waterpolo Struggles to Stay Afloat

    Boys water polo has gotten off to a rough start, losing all three games since their first game on September 3 against Corona Santiago.

    Monday, September 22, the team traveled to Irvine for their game against the Vaqs. Yet again the boys start off the game already trailing by two at the end of the first quarter. During the second quarter, the boys add two goals to the scoreboard, but are not able to hold back the Vaqs who scored three goals on the Jackrabbits. The boys are able to score four more goals in the remaining 16 minutes but still are not able to catch up, losing to Irvine with a final score of 10-6.

    On September 15 the boys had a game against Fountain Valley. Right off the bat the boys were off to a rough start, ending the first quarter with a three point deficit, 6-3. Unable to push through Fountain Valley’s defense, the boys were only able to add one more goal to the scoreboard, making it 8-4 at halftime. As the game closed the boys picked up their game, scoring 6 goals in the last 16 minutes of the game, but still were unable to catch up to their opponents, losing with a close score of 13-10.

    The boys visited Corona Santiago for their first official pre-season game on Wednesday September 3. The boys were able to keep up with Corona for the first 8 minutes of the game, finishing the first quarter with a tied score of 3-3. At half time, the boys were only behind 3-2, but by the end of the third quarter were trailing behind 14-8. Unfortunately the boys were not able to bounce back during the fourth quarter only scoring one more goal, and eventually losing to Corona with a final score of 16-9.

    For the last three games, senior team caption Justin Jarvis has leads the scoreboard with a total of seven goals, followed by sophomore Mathias Pettersson with four, and junior Brody Wells with three.

  • 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.

  • A New Tradition, A New Dynasty

    A New Tradition, A New Dynasty

    The Poly football team had a strong performance in their season opener against Crenshaw, winning 54-14, at Mission Viejo High School, led by first year head coach Antonio Pierce. The Jackrabbits debuted their new Adidas uniforms. A notable addition is the word “TRADITION” on the back of the jersey, with “Scholar” and “Champion” on the arm sleeves.

    Senior quarterback Josh Love showed accuracy with short passes, going 15-18 for 235 yards. Love also displayed his mobility, running two touchdowns in himself. Junior receiver Jackie Jones showed off his nimble feet, dodging opponents and creating first downs.

    Senior running back Jeremy Calhoun was the top rusher on the ground, accumulating 90 yards on the ground in the first half.

    The team played strong in the first half, having all scores generated by the offense. All six drives by Poly in the first half turned into touchdowns. Entering halftime, the team led 34-7.

    “We wanted to finish the game as a team and a family,” said Coach Love at halftime. “The coaches wanted the team to finish strong, and continue to play aggressively.”

    The coaches were very satisfied with the offensive production in the first half.

    “The rotation was great, and play calling was great,” said Coach Love. “The offensive coordinator made great adjustments

    “Biggie” Marshall said the key to Poly’s defense during the game was continuously attacking the ball.

    “The D line had precision, and the linebackers filled the holes,” said Marshall.

    Many players experimented with different positions throughout the game. This included Omari Lyles at running back, Iman “Biggie” Marshall at receiver, Joseph Wicker at defensive tackle, and Gabe Rivera at left tackle.

    Because of the seniors that left last year, new players are filling them. 4 of the five starters on the offensive line are having their first starts on varsity. Additionally, John “Juju” Smith’s positions at receiver and safety are being replaced. Jackie Jones should fill the receiver position this year. Kitu Humphrey is projected to fill the safety position.

    Throughout the second half, the second string players received significant play time, including senior quarterback

    Additionally, the defense was relentless, having nine sacks throughout the game. Joseph Wicker, who had six of the nine sacks, put constant pressure on the Crenshaw quarterback, Dalton Anderson. In all, the Jackrabbits won 54-14, with 402 all-purpose yards.

    “We were playing really fast. We executed and dominated,” said Jeremy Calhoun.

    The next game in Poly’s preseason is against Narbonne tonight at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium. These two teams last met in the 2012 preseason, when the Gauchos beat Poly 56-0, one of the worst losses in Poly history. The Narbonne game is a “blackout” (a game in which everyone is encouraged to wear black). Black t-shirts will be sold at the game for $10.

  • Jackrabbits Run Their Buns Off

    The Poly cross country team capped off the summer with another wildly successful Bun Run fundraiser on Saturday, August 30 at Los Cerritos Park.

    Both the boys and girls cross country team use the Bun Run as their only fundraising event for the year. The event consisted of a team time trial, a community 5K run/walk, a pancake breakfast, and a prize raffle. This year, the team was able to raise over $14,000 for the upcoming season.

    “The last few years, the parents have really pitched in the make it a great event,” said Mike Fillipow, the boys head coach. “But, it was really about the runners.”

    The event’s success was highly based on the support and generosity of the athlete’s parents who donated both time and supplies. Many were at the park before sunrise to help the coaches set up. Others came later to help work the booths and serve the food.

    The Bun Run was originally named for the cinnamon buns the team would bring to share at their final time trial for the summer before the start of the official racing season. It has grown and evolved greatly from that point to a massive community event that, this year, saw over 650 people come out and support the team Saturday morning while many more supported by buying raffle tickets.

    “It was cool doing the Bun Run for the sixth time and being part of the supportive and expansive community that surrounds the cross country team! The pancakes were a plus too,” said alumni Lan Nguyen.

    The Poly cross country program has been holding the Bun Run for over 20 years now and it has seen its fair share of familiar faces. Alumni and former cross country parents enjoy coming back each year to catch up over fitness and food.

    “It was fun running this course for the past 4 years. This is one of the courses that I can count on because it hasn’t changed,” said senior captain Matt Oca.

    The boys will be racing again tomorrow, Saturday, September 6, at the Fastback Shootout held on the Mt. SAC cross country course while the girls will be in Cerritos at the Great Cow Run.

  • Girls Tennis Gets Slammed in Season Opener

    The Lady Jackrabbits not only had their first day of classes this Wednesday September 3, but also had their first game to kick off their season. The girls visited Mira Costa to face the Mustangs in their first pre-season game, but unfortunately the girls fell behind on the scoreboard, losing 16-2. Winning two out of the 18 possible matches were the doubles team of juniors Megan Guttieri and Ariana Crockett, and the senior captain singles player, Shannon Dow.

    “It was a lot of pressure to get the win since there was only one win on our side,” said Crockett. “I am proud of how we played , it was nice to win one against a solid tennis team like Mira Costa,” added partner Guttieri.

    The girls also played North Torrance yesterday, Thursday September 4, but could not be reported on due to press time constraints.

    The girls are now practicing for their next pre-season game next Tuesday, September 9 against Glen A. Wilson, and leading up to their first Moore League on Tuesday September 16, against one of their fiercest competitors, the Wilson Bruins. “We need to give our 100 percent,”said Dow regarding their future game against Wilson. “I’m confident in our abilities.”

  • Trackrabbits Race to the Finish

    On Friday May 9, the boys and girls track and field team competed in the 58th Moore League finals competition, placing first in both divisions. Poly won 16 out of the 20 running races with a noteworthy performance by the girls, who topped the podium for all twenty races.

    Starting off the day was the 4x100m relay, which Poly won in both the boys and girls division.

    The 1600m was won by freshman Melissa Tanaka and junior Anthony Palazzo, who won with times of 5:17.05 and 4:27.42, respectively.

    Junior Mar’yea Harris and freshman Kaelin Roberts won the 400m race. Harris edged out Wilson’s Kemonie Briggs by .05 seconds, finishing in 47.68 seconds. Roberts finished in 55.25 seconds.

    The girls hurdles was led by seniors Ebony Crear and Kymber Payne. Crear finished ahead of Payne in both the 100m and 300m hurdles. Both have been neck-and-neck throughout the entire season, placing first and second in many tournaments. On the boys side, senior Juan Ward finished third in the 110m hurdles and second in the 300m hurdles.

    The 800m run was won by senior Janice Lane and junior Chris Polk. Polk was behind for most of the race, but had a strong final lap and won in 1:54.56.

    Senior Ariana Washington swept her premier sprinting races, the 100m and 200m, having been Moore League champion in these races since 2012. Washington finished the 100m in 11.50 seconds and the 200m in 24.20 seconds. Washington is one of the fastest sprinters nationwide, having competed in the Youth World Track Championships last summer.

    In addition, Poly had strong performances in the field events. Seniors Tierney Russell and Niki Withers finished second and third in high jump. Senior Vincent Calhoun won the high jump and placed second in the long jump.  Junior Onyx Gaston won both the girls long jump and triple jump, while senior George Sayles won the triple jump.

    These victories marked the 19th and 14th league championship for the boys and girls, respectively. They were also a fitting farewell to esteemed track coach Don Norford, who is retiring this year.

    The track team hopes to advance to the CIF state meet on June 6-7, where the girls aspire to earn another title. The girls are some of the fastest in the nation, posting leading times in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay, and hurdles events. The boys have the potential to perform strongly in the post-season as well, with one of the fastest 4×400 teams in the state and a strong 4×100 relay as well.

    The team competed at CIF prelims on May 17, but could not be covered due to press constraints. CIF Southern Section finals will be held the following Saturday on May 24.

  • Boys Tennis Swings to Co-Championship with Bruins

    The Poly boys tennis team lost to Oaks Christian last Friday during their second round of CIF (14-4), after finishing their league season successfully, clinching a Moore League co-championship with the Wilson Bruins.

    “[The co-championship] feels deserved. We play really hard,” said junior Orion Sundstrom.

    The last time the Jackrabbits won Moore League was in another co-championship with the Bruins in 2012. Last year and in 2011, Poly came in second in the Moore League to the Bruins.

    Senior co-captain Alex Nagourney won two sets in the singles matches at Oaks Christian on Friday, May 16, but it was not enough to help out the Jackrabbits. They lost to the Lions with a score of 14-4. This loss marked the first loss after a ten game winning streak for Poly, in addition to their season’s conclusion.     

    “I think we did really well this season. Everyone improved a lot. Shout out to junior Diego Satkofsky, who kept improving every match!” said Nagourney.

    The Jackrabbits’ won their first round of CIF against Quartz Hill on Wednesday, May 14, with a score of 15-3. Nagourney and senior co-captain John Huson swept in their singles matches to keep Poly in the lead. Other performances by the team helped contribute to the overall Jackrabbit victory.

    “[The heat] made it pretty hard to play that day, but we were able to pull through with a win [against Quartz Hill]. There was really no pressure at all. It felt like a regular game,” said junior McKrey Stribich.

    Wrapping up their season with an 18-0 sweep against Cabrillo at the Jaguars’ home courts, the boys proceeded to Moore League tournaments the week of May 5. Monday and Tuesday consisted of the individual tournaments. Nagourney and Huson took second and third, respectively. Nagourney and Huson have been key assets to the team’s success because of their leadership skills and experience.

    During the doubles matches on Wednesday and Thursday, the Poly doubles team of Nagourney and Satkofsky came in second place in the doubles tournament.

    “I’m happy for my team,” said coach Ricardo Montecinos.

    The boys tennis team is done for the season, but many are returning next year for a chance to finally beat out the Bruins for the Moore League title. Season resumes again next spring.