Category: Sports

  • Jackrabbits Level Lady Lancers of Lakewood

    The Poly vs. Lakewood girls volleyball  game took place on

    September 12, 2018 in the big gym. Tons of people turned out to the game. It was a highly anticipated game against Poly’s own rival.

    According to multiple players this game was way more intense compared to the Jordan game. The team chemistry improved a lot and helped them strive through the game.

    The first round of the game poly and lakewood were going back and forth returning one point to point to each other. A very close first round but of course poly won the first round. The second round was sort of the same as the first. They both were exchanging points one by one but lakewood began to get a lead by four so it started to get more intense.

    But at the last seconds poly had lost the second round. The third round the seats started to become more crowded and more people from both sides were cheering each of their teams on.

    Poly had won the third round by four points. The biggest gap we had all game so the crowd was ecstatic. The rest of the rounds were the same were the same each of the teams only winning by no more than three.

    But in the final round it got way more intense. More intense then it has been the entire game because both sides were even and this was the making point or the breaking point of the game. Both teams were neck and neck the entire time.

    Then poly started to fall behind a little and lakewood had a small lead. When lakewood was five points away from winning poly began to start coming back. Then one final hit decided the fate of the game. And poly won!

  • The “Dedicated to You” Dance Show a Success!

    The Dedicated to You spring dance show took place on both the 19th and 20th of April 2018. The show was in the Poly High School Auditorium and lasted for two hours. This spring show consisted of all dance levels and classes.

     

    “The Dedicated to You spring dance show was a really fun experience.” Said proud PACE junior and dance team member, Sandra Rosas “Each dance was choreographed in a special way for a special someone. Before certain dances, the choreographers explained to the audience who their dance was dedicated to,” Sandra, personally took part in several of the choreographed dances.

     

    “I’m in tech, which is dance 7-8 and we performed about 4 songs. We also  performed Snap your fingers, which is a jazz song. It was a lot of fun, it took all of us about a month and two weeks to practice and perfect it.” Said junior Jessica Perez ”It was my first time ever performing so I was a little nervous, but practice makes perfect! I was a little sad when it was over, because it was a lot of fun performing with the other girls. Since I’m taking more AP classes, I unfortunately, won’t take dance again next year, but it was super fun,” She broke down the process of the dance and show as a whole as well as sharing her thoughts on dance class in general.

     

    “By the end, everyone was happy the show was such a success! I was so happy to dance alongside my friends, especially my senior friends. It was sort of a way to say goodbye before they graduate. It was also a great way to end off the year before the senior show,” said Sandra for the end of the dance show. The next upcoming show will be the Senior show with open auditions in about six weeks.

  • Is A Rivalry Blooming?

     

    Long Beach Poly’s softball team faces the Millikan Ram on May 3. Poly’s team lost against the Millikan Rams by a score of 15-3 on April 10. Last year, the Jackrabbits were able to defeat the Rams once and the Rams were also able to take a victory as well. These back and forth victories have created a potential rivalry between both teams, making this upcoming game very interesting for the Jackrabbits.

    This season has been very tumultuous for Jackrabbits, but Coach Elizabeth Sanches is both proud of and thankful for all of her athletes. Coach Sanches says, “I have a great group of girls, they have an accumulative GPA of over 3.5, they get their job done both in the classroom and on the field, and work very hard.” Coach Sanches is also very cognizant of her team’s needs. With 19 players of the roster she makes sure to, “manipulate the line up to get as many girls in as I can each game.”

    Coach Sanches is also bringing a new culture to the team. She wants to team to have a strong “fellowship”. “To celebrate the seniors on the team and the sport they all love to play.”

  • Moore League More Streaks

    On Friday, April 20th our girls swim team won against one of our biggest rivals; Wilson High School. Fernanda Garcia said, “Going into the meet it was super intense. Me being a freshman and all you hear the stories of the rival between Poly and Wilson.” Fernanda explains that she was scared but overcame her fears because her team’s goal was to do their best.

    They started off the meet with an amazing fr/soph medley relay. Freshman Aaron P. started the meet off with an impressive time of 26 seconds on the first event (Medley Relay).

    Anja Oca said, “I was so happy for our fr/soph team, I want all our girls to do great, but there was this one freshman, they call her ‘Aaron P.’ she really pulled ahead at the last second and was able to out touch the Wilson girl.” She explains that this was a great start and it really helped pump all the girls up and “raise the hype” of the crowd.

    Poly ended up taking the lead and won 105-51. Georgia Buffington said, “I was really proud of us, our girls for having an awesome meet. We put our all into it, won by a lot, and we kept our sportsmanship, so did Wilson.” This was the first year Poly’s girls JV team has ever beat Wilson making it another memorable meet.

    Moore League will be on Thursday, May 3 and our scholars and champions seemed to be ready. “I’m really excited for Moore League, I think we are going to do really great with our strong team. The good thing is we have wiggle room for the different events. Hopefully I reach my goal of winning the 100 free.”

    Tides are running high as Poly Swim approaches the Moore League Championship. Yesterday the girls held their own in prelims against a “very determined Wilson team,” said Kalani Caldwell, head coach of girls swim. They are “sitting in a good spot to win Moore League,” which would make it the “first time in history that Poly has won 3 years in a row.” All-star swimmers like senior Anja Oca are hoping to break Moore League records this year. Yesterday she broke the meet record with a 100 Fly time of 56.42. For non-swimmers, that means that she swam 100 meters in well under a minute. She is hoping to cut that time by more than a second for the finals. Other swimmers, like sophomore Erin Babbit, have shown amazing improvement on the road to Moore League. In prelims she dropped a whopping 7 seconds in her 200 IM and 5 seconds in the 500 Free to place in finals for both events. Quoting Kalani, “Those are the hardest events to swim!”. Boys Swim is not doing too shabby either. Swimmers like Christopher Correa, with a 50 Free time on a mere 21.91 seconds, show that there is a lot of potential for Poly to reel in a historic Moore League victory. Last year Poly Swim was the first Moore League boys team to beat Wilson in a dual meet since 1972, but were unable to secure the Moore League victory. WIth the progress our boys team has been making over the past few years, it is a definite possibility that they will be able to defeat Wilson and end their 44 year winning streak!Isabel 

  • Help Wanted: Poly Football Looking for Pierce Replacement

    After four years football head coach Antonio Pierce is leaving Poly. One of his main reasons for coaching here at Poly was his son DeAndre Pierce, who attended Poly and graduated in 2016.

    During his four years as coach he went 35-11, and made the playoffs three out of the four years.

    Before coaching, Pierce was a harding-hitting linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants, where he eventually won a Super Bowl. During his playing career he was known for his philanthropic activities with urban youth.

    “It was a great four years,” said Pierce, according to the Press-Telegram “I learned more about myself and how to coach and I created bonds with young men that I think will carry on for the rest of my life.”

    He now starts a new journey as linebackers coach at Arizona State University.

    “Antonio Pierce made a huge impact on us, he left us on good terms, he’s now the assistant coach and some will say it’s like a promotion,” said athletic director Robert Shock.

    Freshman Jake Garcia said, “He’s probably the best coach I’ve had up to this point. Not only is he super knowledgeable about the game, he’s also the type of coach that will push his players to become the best they can be off the field.” Coach Pierce made a huge impact on his players as some of them explain that he treated his players the same, no matter what their ranking was. Junior Elijah Juarez said, “I don’t mind him leaving because I know he’ll always have my back and the rest of the teams’. It’s not personal, it’s business.”

    Poly is currently in the process of picking a new head coach, “We are in the application stage, then we’ll put together a committee to review the candidates and set up the interviews,” said Shock.

  • Raw Preparation and Practice Leads to SmackDown for Wrestling

    Poly’s wrestling season recently started and the teams are coming out strong. Recent encounter was with Lakewood, in which Poly brought home the W with senior Jerry Luna in fourth place, junior Chang Lou in sixth and senior Tomas Lou in ninth.

    Senior varsity captain Tomas Lou, explained that the team “started out a little rusty but as we worked together to improve in our matches.” Lou also he added that the “connection between our team we all share our blood and tears – I know it sounds cliché but when we’re in that room we all share those feelings where we work hard to improve as a team and a family.”

    With the support of their captain, the team has built up confidence. Freshmen wrestler Karin Lopez explained her experience in her first year on the Poly wrestling team: “They have been very supportive and showed me many new moves apart from the ones I knew before coming to Poly, and my coaches are always there cheering us on and being very supportive.”

    As shown the team has such a strong bond and them having a lot of confidence with each other gives them a positive vibe on the rest of the season and make them work to come out stronger.

  • It’s a Hard-Wood Life

    Long Beach Poly’s boys basketball team suffered a devastating loss to the Lakewood Lancers in overtime by 3 points ending with a score of 90-87.

    When talking to the senior Darryl Polk Jr about the loss he said, “I was so lost for words because we haven’t lost to Lakewood in 13 years and we lose to them by 3 points.”

    “We need to play as a team more because, when the momentum is lost we start losing sight of winning and start doing our own thing.” said Polk.

    Their next game they played was against Wilson. Poly was up by 15 points the whole game, until they started playing selfish and Sloppy. The game came down to the last quarter and Wilson started playing like the better team. After a buzzer beater by Wilson guard Jayden Woodard the contest went into overtime . Through an overtime rally Poly was able to win the game with a final score of 74-70, barely pulling through.

    On the other hand Long Beach Poly’s girl basketball team has been steamrolling through every Moore league team this season. They beat Milikan 67-47, and Wilson 72-30. Their next game is January 19 against Cabrillo.

    Even though they blew out Wilson the Lady Jackrabbits always fell like they can improve, “We didn’t play with as much energy as we did against Millikan,” said freshman Kalaya Buggs.

  • Girls Water Polo’s Many Goals and Aspirations This Season

    On January 10, 2018, Long Beach Poly’s girls varsity water polo won its first Moore League game of the season against Lakewood with a score of 18-1 .

    “It was our first Moore League game, so it’s exciting to see how well we are doing so early in the season. Our hard work and ability to work well together as a team is definitely going to pay off this season. We had a strong preseason with intense practices and scrimmages against competitive teams,” said senior Sidney Balle, a utility player.

    The Poly team has played schools such as Canyon (9-7 W), Mission Viejo (14-6 W), Agoura (12-9 L), Yorba Linda (18-3 W), Santa Monica (9-4 W), El Toro (8-3 L), Villa Park (14-7 W), Cerritos (23-1 W), Palos Verdes (7-3 W), Redondo Union (14-9 L), and Peninsula (8-5 W) during their preseason in December.

    “During the preseason we worked really hard. We had the future in mind and we knew it wasn’t time to rest, but time to prepare. We had practices and tournaments and those preseason games were our time to make mistakes and correct them in time for the season. My position on the team is a utility player which means I do a bit of everything,” said senior Amanda Horton, “Headed into the game, I was focused but I knew as a team we should just aim to have fun and play good water polo. We started out a bit slow offensively, but our defense shut them out.”

    In the first quarter, Poly was in the lead with four points against Lakewood’s zero. In the second quarter, Poly stretched the lead to seven points. During the third quarter, Lakewood scored their one and only goal, with Poly scoring another five.

    “We had an amazing defense against Lakewood. They often had only one or two passes before we stole the ball. We came out slow in the first quarter but stepped it up in the second, scoring most our goals off counterattacks,” said senior Darby Huff, a set guard on the team. “But, I can’t stress enough that the relationship shared between all the girls, a bond created out of blood, sweat, and tears is going to make us successful this year. I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls, especially our five amazing seniors who lead the way for all the younger girls.”

    “For the Lakewood game, I played as a setter. I felt that this game went great and was a great win for us to start Moore League an opportunity for us to fix any mistakes before facing tougher teams in Moore League and CIF playoffs,” said senior Sidney Brightenburg.

    “The Lakewood game started out slowly, but as the game progressed we had more intensity. Our great team defense paid off, allowing only two or three passes before we stole the ball from them. Our quick offense and good ball handling gave us the opportunity to make a lot of goals,” said senior Sidney Balle.

    The girls’ water polo team’s success did not come without hardship. For about five weeks, one of the heaters in the Poly pool was broken. They spent a week practicing in cold water before switching their practices to Cabrillo’s pool. Practices were also held at CSULB, LBCC, and Belmont. Shortly after, the girls returned to their own pool on January 8.

    Huff described how the team overcome adversity: “I feel very confident going into the season despite our setbacks involving sickness and our pool being out of commission for four weeks. We all have worked really hard this year, and our amazing coaching staff has pushed us not only physically but mentally as well.”

    Since the Lakewood game, the Jackrabbits have played five matches, including wins against Brea Olinda High School on January 12 and Warren High School on January 13. Poly’s girls water polo team now has an overall season record of 12 wins and six losses.

  • Cross Country: The Last Ride

    Cross Country: The Last Ride

    On November 1, a number of Poly seniors run the last cross country race of their high school career. Many of these seniors are looking forward to Moore League finals and are hoping to achieve their personal goals of improving  with faster finishing times.

    When asked how the cross country team prepares for the race, senior Brian Espinoza said, “We train really hard to get where we want to be and would like to achieve…being fully committed is a number one priority to achieving our goal.”

    Senior Leslie Diaz said she likes to stay hydrated and keep a positive attitude before she races. Diaz also stated that one of her personal goals is to be patient during the race and try to enjoy the race as much as she can.

    One of the highlights from this season, explained senior Lanae Caldwell, is having the opportunity to run in the Mount Sac race.

    “Thinking of all the other amazing athletes that have ran this race before me, made me proud to have ran this race,” Caldwell said.

    Senior Nate Cooper said his goal for the race is to achieve his best time for this season.

    “I am excited to see all the hard work we’ve put in over the past few years,” Cooper said.

    It is obvious that these student athletes put in a lot of work, time and dedication into their sport and academics. In the end, their hard work should pay off and hopefully they will feel content with their achievements.

  • Eric Wilson, #20

    Eric Wilson, #20

    Senior year means the end of an era for most students, but for Poly’s linebacker, Eric Wilson, this year is only the beginning.

    Wilson has been playing football for his entire high school career at Poly. He has met “incredible people from coaches and players to staff members” during his time at Poly. These people became his support system and his family. He said that the type of environment Poly has created for him is the reason it has kept him here the past four years.

    Being at Poly has allowed Wilson to “take on more of a leadership role on the team and form bonds that no one will be able to take from [him].” He has also has been given the extra confidence boost towards extraordinary goals with the help of being on varsity football for the past three years.

    Wilson said, “One of my long term goals is to play in the NFL.” But unlike his other teammates he also hopes to become “a professional saxophonist and win a Grammy award.”

    After high school, he plans to continue his football career and plans to double major in business sports management and music.

    The football star is notably popular among the Poly community. Wilson’s optimistic quality outshines the students around him. It is a characteristic that is necessary for playing on a team with such a great reputation.

    At the start of this year’s football season, Wilson said he “expected us [Poly] to go undefeated.” Even with our loss to Mission Viejo, he said, “our team can win the CIF Southern section championship and state title.”

    Wilson never loses sight of what he wants. When Wilson puts his mind to something, nothing will stand in his way.

    Poly football has played an important factor in who Wilson is today. He said, “through our football program, I’ve learned how to be a better young man, son and brother.” A teammate on and off the field, Poly’s football team is more than lucky to have the number 20.

  • Even Moore League Titles

    Even Moore League Titles

    On October 20th Poly’s Girl’s Tennis defeated Wilson High School 13 to 5. And more recently the Poly’s Girl’s Tennis Team dominated the Moore Leagues, finishing the regular season with an outstanding 19-0, ranking them third in the division 3 playoffs

    As of October 30th Poly’s Girl’s Tennis won the Moore League girls doubles finals, at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. It was no ordinary game, with much adrenaline pumping and the crowd cheering.

    The game was came down to Poly juniors Mey Phy and Sarah Soderburg vs Poly freshman Ava Deguzman and sophomore Kate Johnson, the match was fierce yet a good display of sportsmanship and friendship. The match was won by the youngins Deguzman and Johnson, with the score being 6-3 and 7-6.

    So what’s next in store for the Girls Tennis Team? With the Moore League out of the way the team can focus on the CIF playoffs, whilst keeping the grind centered on winning a  championship.

  • Golf N’ Stuff

    The Long Beach Poly girls golf team had two matches in the past week. The first match took place on Tuesday, September 26 which Poly lost with a score of 213 – 264. The second match was Thursday, September 28 against Lakewood and Poly won with a score of 256 – 269. Both matches took place at Recreation Park.

    The girls prepared for their matches by practicing four days a week. During practice, they use the driving range to learn how to use all the clubs and when to use them. The girls also work on what is called their short game at the pitching green, and finally they go to the putting green to work on their putting. Besides that the girls have also had additional help this year.

    According to co-captain and junior Ellie Andrews, “For practices we also have a professional golfer helping us during our practices. His name is Dave Heinan.” Heinan has been helping the team since the season has started which is about a month ago.

    “Wilson has always been hard for us to beat because they are pretty much the best, but we have been getting better and Dave has really been a big help for becoming better and improving as a team,” Andrews stated.

    When asked about her opinion on how the team could improve other co-captain of the team and sophomore Hannah Vanwagner stated, “It is hard for everyone to have a good day all on the same day, so I think that consistency would help us to improve.”

    When asked about the disparity between their matches this week, Andrews said, “Wilson is the best in Moore league which makes them our toughest competition, but Lakewood we usually tend to beat every year.”