Category: Sports

  • Lady Jackrabbits Humble L

    “We might of lost but that was one of the best games and some of the best competition I’ve ever played,” Allanah Cutler said after the close CIF game on October 25th.

    Poly Girls volleyball lost to Mater Dei in a close three sets: 25-18, 25-23, 25-22.

    Captains Allanah Cutler and Liz Schuster knew that their team needed to give it their all to beat the top ranked team in CIF and the number 2 ranked team in the nation.

    Each set was extremely close and every point was well deserved. The Ron Palmer Pavillion was packed with tons of Poly fans and athletes cheering for them to go to Division 1 CIF finals.

    During the first round of CIF on October 18, Poly was favored to lose but this athletic and talented team swept Mira Costa in three sets: 25-20, 25-20, 25-18.

    You could see the fire in the Lady Jackrabbits during both of these matches. Junior Aniah Cutler said “I loved the unification and team love,” after beating Mira Costa.

    The defense and serve receive led by senior libero Sofia Skukan was spectacular. The crowd could feel the front and back rows giving it their all.

    This talented Poly team is not done yet. They qualified for  the Division 1 State t\Tournament beginning the first week of November.

  • XC Impresses at Mt. SAC

    On October 20, both boys and girls cross country teams competed in the famous Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational.

    The annual meet at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA features many of the best teams from California and around the country. The course is three miles with several loops around a central area, accompanied by several steep inclines and sharp down hills testing the runners hill skills.

    Because of the quality of the competition, the race is one of the few races looked at by college cross country scouts to really see how good a runner is.

    Starting off with the boys varsity, Poly placed third overall in their division with their number one runner, senior Will Frankenfeld, also placing 3rd in a finish time of 14:47.

    Girls varsity also performed well with an 8th place finish altogether with their premiere runner, Laura Yontz, placing 21st and finishing with a phenomenal 20:48.

    Boys and girls junior varsity also raced above the standard placing 3rd overall with runners, Coco Sanabria with an astounding  21:21 and Ethan Dwinell running 16:12. Moving along, boys sophomores placed 10th with the lead runner Pablo Lopez-Garcia running 18:54. Girls sophomores played conservative as Moore League Finals is just around the corner, running only two athletes, Vanessa Garcia running a 25:15 and Chloe Bricker with a 25:43.

    The freshmen boys placed 9th in their heat with Joshua Zuniga leading the pack in 18:04. Freshmen girls came in 6th with Bella Ungar racing a 22:40.

    Both boys and girls will compete next at Moore League Finals, the threshold for Poly’s cross country team to qualify for the state competition.

    Concerning this meet, Danny Nguyen a sophomore cross country athlete said, “Moore League finals is the time where everything is on the line. Where you’ll see the most personal records and improvements stemming from all the hard work we’ve done.”

    New runner Kellan Lim added, “After Moore League 2 with all the hills, I’m just about ready to run on flat ground with the subtle incline and declines Heartwell holds. I have great confidence that we can take over the stage and win this final Moore League race.”

    The Moore League Cross Country Finals takes place at Heartwell Park on October 31, with junior varsity starting at 2:30, frosh/soph at 3:30PM, and varsity at 4:30.

  • Senior Katherine Grubbs

    Senior Katherine Grubbs

    Katherine Grubbs is on the Girls Varsity Golf team. Grubbs joined the golf team in her freshman year because she played golf with her dad as a little girl.

    Grubbs quit volleyball and joined golf. She struggled in her junior year, and had to relearn how to swing due to the fact she did not play league for two years.

    But last season was her  most successful season. Grubbs qualified for Moore League finals and made 8th place.

    Grubbs is extremely proud of her teammate, senior Azraa Adamjee. Grubbs said that Adamjee was courageous becase she “did awesome because she had an injury, but still helped out the team and coached the new freshmen on the sidelines of their games.”

    Grubbs said that her dad  was supportive of her quitting volleyball to join golf and has been to every single one of her matches.

    Grubbs  practices  five days a week, but  she still maintains a healthy relationship with her friends. Grubbs said she also  does  babysitting, she does a lot of traveling and she works in the Care  Center during 4th period.

  • Senior Tajahnai Clemons

    Senior Tajahnai Clemons

    Tajahnai Clemons, a senior at Poly, says that at her first initial thought was to join the golf team to avoid taking PE, but after playing for a while she found herself enjoying the sport. Clemons’ season ended in mid-October and she said, “Compared to last year, I’ve improved a lot. But I feel like I could have done a lot better if I practiced more and stayed with my personal coach.”

    Clemons came to love golf so much that she is even thinnking about pursuing it in college.

    Clemons says that her dream is to go to college and major in business.

    Clemens major support system is her family. They are supportive of her choice to join golf and they all go to her games to cheer her on.  She said they help her with a lot of things, from practicing her swings to helping her with her studies.

    Even though she’s busy being a student athlete, she still has time to do all the things that she enjoys such as reading, singing and watching movies on Netflix.

  • Senior Captain Christian Corrales

    Senior Captain Christian Corrales

    Senior and JV captain Christian Corrales has spent his life playing all kinds of sports before finally settling on Water Polo, “I wanted to try something new. My freshman year I was in wrestling.”

    Every sport and activity Corrales played, has helped him grow as a person in many different ways. “Water polo has really helped me socialize more with people, manage my time better, and challenge myself.”

    One big Challenge he has had to face this year was becoming JV captain, and although he has no intentions of playing after high school, Corrales encourages any underclassmen to at least give the sport a try. But it shouldn’t be taken lightly: “Water polo is a hard sport and there will be many challenges, but as long as you work hard and never quit, you’ll get through it.”

    Although Water Polo is a big part of Corrales’ life, it isn’t the only thing he enjoys. “I’m an outdoor person, so I like biking, hiking, and pretty much just going outside and hangout with friends.”

  • Winning Streak Continues

    Winning Streak Continues

    Friday September, 28th was Poly’s football away game against Cabrillo. The game was held at Cabrillo. The score was 48-0, and yet another winning streak against Cabrillo.

    Timothy Gomez said that the game was good but could have overall been better, “I think the team could have done better.” said Gomez “The team worked really well together, though I still think that we need to work on some things.”

    Already within the first quarter at about 7:23 pm a pass was made resulting in our first touchdown of the game. The second touchdown was also a pass made into the goal, and by the end of the first quarter our score was 20-0. Starting off in the second quarter at around 7:52 pm yet another passing, resulting in a touchdown. A rushing touchdown was made at about 8:01 pm, and by the end of the second quarter the score was 41-0.

    As the game came onto it’s halftime show Guadalupe Bonilla from Colorguard said as they performed “It was okay,” and especially fun “when the Cabrillo marching unit/drill team” also did their performance. Bonilla stated that they “started talking to each other” and even took a photo together.

    Returning back into the zone and the third quarter of the game it was intense but yet no one from either team seemed to make any advances. In the final quarter the last touchdown of the game was made at approximately 9:01 pm and the game ending with the score of 48-0. In previous games, such as our Millikan game we won 46-15 and in Wilson 42-6. So far in the season it seems Poly’s football team has been racking up wins and will continue to do so, if they keep playing as good as they have so far or even better.

  • Boys Xc Moore League at El Dorado Park

    On Wednesday, September 26, cross country boys competed  in their first Moore League race against Wilson, Millikan, Cabrillo, and Lakewood.

    Three divisions raced at the El Dorado Park consisting of varsity, junior varsity, and freshman/sophomore. The race course was made up of  flat ground, with two one-and-a-half-mile loops to complete the three mile course. Starting with the varsity boys, a never before seen five man pack (consisting of Bautista, Daniel, Alexander Matos, Ronan McMahon, Zane Whittier, and Christopher Yontz) lead the way to the finish line with an average 15:48 finishing time.

    The remaining varsity runners  (Aldo Khiev and Devin Koval) tagging along with an average 16:10 finishing time. As the dust settled, varsity boys had crushed the competition, winning first place.

    Junior Varsity as well won first in their division, with the top seven runners (Ezequiel Barraza, Travis Bryson, Ethan Dwinell, Clark Boyce, Andrew Huerta, Marcello Murillo, and Adam Traut) averaging a finishing  time of 16:27.

    To end it off with a bang, freshmen/sophomore competitors cut the race close, but pulled ahead with the top seven runners (Nicholas Mejia, Nathan Jimenez, Daniel Garcia, Dominic Bakly, Adan Garcia, Jay Kumar, Pablo Lopez, Adrian Scancich) averaging a 17:40 finishing time.

    Poly’s own cross country boys team won all three divisions and are gearing up for the rest of the Moore League races as well as a number of invitationals, with the varsity traveling to Portland and Santa Barbara.

  • “SLAM”! Lady Jackrabbits Take A W

    “SLAM”! Lady Jackrabbits Take A W

    On Tuesday, October 2, the varsity girls volleyball team,  played against Cabrillo High School.

    The Lady Jackrabbits won all their games: varsity,  junior varsity and frosh/soph. When the varsity team won, the crowd went wild. Although it was an easy win for Poly, the parents in the Cabrillo section tried their best to root on their girls and boost their morale.

    Alexis Duran, varsity player, was excited before the game shouting to her teammates,  “Let’s get this win!”

    Although there was not a huge turnout for the game, the crowd was very energetic, giving off positive vibes and supporting their friends and family who were playing.

    As the game began, the Poly supporters  chanted but not as loudly as they could have so as to be respectful to the Cabrillo players.

    The JV and frosh/soph teams when easily and the Varsity team dominates with a 4-0 win.

    Every round the girls gave no mercy as they spiked the ball repeatedly, giving in to their enemies’ blind; the Cabrillo girls, sadly, had no chance against our powerful team.

    With a powerful strike  from Samoana Poyer, the ball violently hit the floor and the Jaguars frantically try to hit the ball back over the net but fail, bringing lady jackrabbits to their  ultimate victory. “Great Job Ladies!” yelled Billy Heak.“Well done ladies!” the volleyball fathers yelled in unison as the Jackrabbits honored each other’s success.

    The junior varsity girls volleyball team have an away game Saturday, October 13,  at South High School against South High School and  frosh/soph also has a game on October 13, at Lakewood High school against Lakewood.

  • Senior Looks Forward to Final Year of Water Polo

    Senior, Armia Adel Fawzi Kheir Metyas is enthusiastic when talking about his final year at Poly, “I have been playing 4 years. My goal this season is to go positive for win loss ratio.”

    For Armia, the sport is more enjoyable when you enjoy the company of your teammates. “It helps in physiotherapy, for my knees, also I just like the social aspect of it.” The time his spends with his friends on the team is what makes the sport fun. “The social aspect is great. Everyone is constantly pushing each other to get better. I get along with everyone.” Armia puts all his time effort into playing Water Polo because he finds it fun and challenging. “It makes me a better athlete both physically and mentally.”

    He goes on about his hopes for this season and his concern for the freshmen. He feels it’s understandable for them to struggle at first, it takes time to learn how work well as a team. His best advice for someone starting off in a new sport is persistence. “ I think persistence is very important. Being at practice everyday, working as hard as you can everyday. Whether it’s for the team for for yourself.” The first few games have proven to be difficult for both the new guys coming in and those ready to leave. Poly’s Varsity team lost against Edison [22-11]

    The next boys water polo game is tuesday, sep. 25. Vs. Pacifica (Garden Grove ) at 3:15pm at poly.

  • Water Polo Pictures

    Water Polo Pictures

  • Football Pictures: Serra & Millikan

    Football Pictures: Serra & Millikan

  • Lady Jackrabbits Demolish Panthers!

    Jordan vs. Poly’s varsity volleyball match was held in the big gymnasium at Poly High School.

    The match took place on September 11, 2018. Before the game started junior varsity played a game against Jordan’s junior varsity team. After junior varsity’s game was over, varsity began to run different exercises including stretching, running, and doing a preliminary round with just the team itself consisting of serving up the ball and hitting it back a forth to each teammate.

    It was very hot inside the gym so I’m sure that players on both sides were extremely exhausted during both games. Majority of the people in the stands were just sitting and they were sweating.

    In the first match in the varsity game Poly scored the first couple of points until Jordan actually scored. During the majority of the match Jordan was getting dominated the entire time. Poly easily tripled their score within the span of five minutes. At the end of the first match, Poly had a score of 25 and Jordan had a score of 5. Jordan got destroyed. After, there was a brief intermission for about 10 minutes. The second match went exactly the same as the first match. Poly dominated Jordan in the second game as well. With a similar score, Poly has scored 25 and Jordan 6. Varsity team member Victoria Verceles said, “This was not one of our most competitive games. Each team was working hard and we go the job done. Our chemistry was strong that’s why I think we have won the game”. The team was happy with the outcome of the game and is excited for the next game. The Varsity team’s next game is on September 20 for senior night at Poly against Milikan.