At their final home meet on April 10th, the Poly swim team’s hard work throughout the course of the season has been showcased in their spectacular performance against Wilson. The girls won the varsity and frosh/soph levels, with varsity crushing their competition 112 to 58. The frosh/soph team made Poly history as the second frosh/soph team to ever claim victory over Wilson. The boys team put up a fight, but unfortunately suffered a loss on all levels. The pressure is on as the long awaited Moore League finals draw closer and these two rivals face off once again.
Captain of the girls team, Allison DeYoung, expressed her triumph and hope about their victory. “Being part of such an amazing team and beating Wilson on such a large scale has us all pumped and ready to continue our winning streak at finals”, she said.
There were many stunning swims by the girls including Josie Liebzeit’s 1:57.00 200 freetsyle and 5:13.79 freestyle, Victoria Quach’s 1:00.92 100 butterfly and 101.94 backstroke, and Georgia Buffington’s 54.97 100 freestyle- just to name a few highlights. Overall, the varsity girls placed first in 10 out of 11 events- a clean sweep. They hope to retain their title as Moore League champions by continuing last year’s “threepeat” into “4 Moore”.
Captain of the boys team, Garrett Lundeen said “It’s sad that it was my last home meet, but I don’t think I would’ve wanted to spend it with any other team”, the loss clearly not diminishing the pride he has for his team. Garrett won the 100 freestyle sprint with a 50.11 and tied with Poly junior Chase McPherson in the 50 freestyle for second place with a 22.56. Chase had an impressive meet, beating his personal record in three events by swimming a 22.56 in the aforementioned 50 freestyle, 58.08 in the 100 butterfly, and 50.90 in the 100 freestyle. Another big contributor to Poly’s points was junior Casey Lait who placed first in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke with a 53.82 and 53.36 respectively.
Coach Kalani Caldwell has primed her girls to their peak performance level and she is ready to dominate the competition. On April 16th , the girls will compete at Moore League prelims at Cabrillo High School and hopefully qualify for finals on the 18th. “So proud of the girls!” she exclaimed. They have worked extremely hard this season and have stayed focus on their number one goal- to win Moore League!”.
The boys will have their prelims April 15th and their finals on the 17th.
After Moore League, swimmers who qualified will compete in CIF, an invitational meet determined by meeting a certain time at any point in the season.
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Swim time for the last time!
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Helping HotLines
Dating Abuse & Domestic Violence love is respect: 1-(866)-331-9474
Depression & Suicide The Trevor Project:
1-(866)-488-7386
Child Abuse Childhelp National:
1-(800)-422-4453
NEDA Anxiety:
1-(800)-931-2237
National Alliance on Mental Illness:
1-(800)-950-6264
National Domestic Violence:
1-(800)-799-7233
National Hotline Network:
1-(800)-SUICIDE
National Runaway Safeline:
1-800-786-2929
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-(800)-273-8255
National Youth Crisis:
1-(800)-448-4663
Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network:
1-(800)-656-4673
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
1-(800)-662- 4357
Retrieved from DoSomething.org and MentalHelp.net
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Girls Soccer Looks Ahead After Loss To Mustangs
On February 27, 2019, the Poly Girl’s Varsity Soccer Team played the Mira Costa Mustangs away and lost 4-2. Despite starting off with a convincing 1-0 lead in the first half, the Jackrabbits were unable to maintain their lead and allowed the opposition to score twice.
Senior Allanah Cutler defended well, preventing the Mustangs from scoring a third goal. Fellow senior forward Ella Hiveley said that Cutler “was on fire, you could tell that her heart was in it.” Cutler stopped the potential goal with her head.
She was not alone in her strong performance. Freshman Olivia D’Anna scored the final goal of the game in an attempt to bring back the game to a tie. With only two minutes left in the game, however, there was no time to tie it up.
The Mustangs were a strong team, beating out an ambitious team looking to climb the ladder in California soccer. They pulled ahead at the 63rd minute despite a fiery effort by Poly. Forward Brittney Watkins said that they had become “too comfortable” during the first half and let the game slide out of control.
The Jackrabbits have several strong underclassmen players that could potentially create a leading team years down the line. Even though Poly was unable to win, they’ve succeeded built a progressively better team each year.
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Girls Swim Anticipating A strong Season
Girls swim has started its season and just had its first meet on February 21. Our varsity team won 132 to 31.
The team qualified for CIF for their Medley Relay and the 4 By 50. Their big meet will be on April 10 against Wilson “everything depends on Wilson” said coach Kalani Caldwell.
Swimmers that are expected to stand out this season are Josie Liebzeit and Kate Cassiano. Liebzeit is a junior this year and has already qualified in CIF for the 200 Free and 100 Back.
Cassiano is a sophomore who qualifies in CIF for the 100 Breast Strike. Both have said that they’re “really hoping to win Moore League and hope to become better swimmers overall.”
The end goals for the team are to “become Moore League champions and to make individuals qualified for CIF and state team “ said Caldwell. They’ve already gotten players qualified for CIF so next up the state team. Here’s wishing good luck to all of them.
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Rebelling Against Valentine’s day
Thinking about staying home alone in the dark on Valentines? Then this is a perfect guide for you! While your friends are out having fun with their “boo” you could be having fun too! So instead of sulking by yourself, treat yourself to a nice warm bath with a Big Blue Bath Bomb and a Mask of Magnaminty from Lush. Or, be basic and order fast food from Postmates while watching your favorite Netflix show for the “12th” time.
Thinking about going out? How about a romantic three-course dinner by yourself at your favorite restaurant, plus you only have to pay for yourself. And if you’ve already watched everything on Netflix, go to the movie theater and buy an extra-large bucket of popcorn for yourself, not before stopping at the Dollar Tree and smuggling candy into the movie theater. Just in case you haven’t spoiled yourself enough, go on a huge shopping spree and take advantage of all the Valentine’s sales, you might even get a chance to help a lost boy buy a gift for his girlfriend.
Lastly, if all else fails, make a mental note to buy all the discounted Valentine’s day candy on the following day, then while your parents are out on their 397th cringy Valentine’s date, you can enjoy a large glass of wine.
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Timothy Gomez
There is so much joy to be found in playing on the Poly High School football team. The tension building while waiting for the kickoff. The roar of the crowd cheering you on. The sense of accomplishment when the last quarter has ended, and knowing your team has won. The sound of the band pronouncing your victory. And Timothy Gomez has enjoyed this life for almost a decade.
Gomez is one of the senior captains for Poly High School’s football team. He is one of their anchors for defense, coach Stephen Barbee said.
Barbee said that Gomez is a laid-back, carefree person that cares a lot for both his family and his friends. He is very involved in his religion as well.
Barbee has also said that Gomez is in one of his classes as a teacher’s assistant. Gomez has high character and efficiently helps out the students in the class. He is a high-achieving student, and with a 3.5 GPA, his hard work has put him in an excellent position, Barbee said.
Gomez first started playing football when he was nine years old. His father was a big inspiration for him, as he used to play, as well.
One of Gomez’s teammates, Mase Suaava, calls Gomez a leader and a great player on the team that other players look up to because of his disciplined playing style. Gomez is goofy, knows how to have fun and make people laugh, while also being hard-working and dedicated, Suaava said.
While he thinks he is a good player, Gomez considers all of his teammates to be equally as valuable. “You know… in football, there’s 11 people on the field, so everybody has to do their job,” he said. “So if one person isn’t…holding up their part of the deal, it can go wrong for everybody.”
Besides sports, Gomez is a part of a Christian club at Poly High School called Cru Club where he participates in Bible studies. He also enjoys working out, going to see movies, and hanging out with his friends.
Gomez has talked to a few schools about playing football in college, but he is not yet sure where he will end up. He hopes he will know within the next few weeks, and if not, he plans to attend a junior college in the area. He is considering studying either law or business.
With a new team and new coaches, Gomez said that while this past season didn’t turn out how they would have liked it to, it did go well. “It was good that we, well, just came together and… made it work.”
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Kira Ybarra
Kira Ybarra is a student-athlete at Long Beach Poly High School. She is the goalie on the girl’s varsity soccer team. She shows great potential and is seen as a strong leader of the team.
Ybarra has been playing soccer since she was five years old. Her parents were both athletes in their day so it was an easy decision for them to make to have Ybarra play a sport. She then grew to love and appreciate the sport of soccer. Ybarra began playing for club at the age of seven. They “threw [her] in the goal” and she hated it because she got scored on fourteen times in her first game.
With proper training, she eventually became good at it and loved it. Now Ybarra currently plays for SoCal Blues ECNL club team, in addition to Poly’s team. Ybarra is able to juggle school work and training, but does not have much free time to herself. When she does find time, she enjoys writing “fictional stories about previous dreams [she’s] had before.”
Ybarra has made an impact on her teammates and coach this school year. Her coach describes her as a “block wall” for the team and that she is very encouraging to her teammates. She always gives one hundred percent and has a great work ethic. Kelsey Adams is a teammate of Ybarra’s on the Poly team. Adams has been playing soccer with Ybarra for a long time and claims that Ybarra works really well with everyone.
Ybarra is very “energetic, hardworking, and competitive” in her everyday life outside of practice. She acts like a leader of the team in the eyes of Adams and the other players. Ybarra’s main concern this season would be not getting hurt because after the season at school, she has her regular season with her club, so she’s trying her best to stay fit and healthy.
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Shooting at Torrance
On January 5 at Gable Bowl House, three people were shot dead and four were left injured. The victims of the shooting were all in their twenties. One allegedly was trying to stop the fight that caused the commotion. This all broke out because of a fight between fathers at a family gathering. At the bowling alley, the day had been “crowded” according to eyewitnesses.
As far as the victims, the 20-year-old who had been the youngest among the victims, had tried to stop the fight between the shooter’s group and the other men. People inside the bowling alley said, “There were 15 shots fired” and the commotion caused countless amounts of panic and chaos. Many families fled for cover as the rounds were fired.
In a video released on social media, a woman held one of the victims as blood soaked the floor. As the video circulated, the more people were able to identify the shooter.
An arrest took place two days later. The shooter was a man who was 47-years-old named Reginald Wallace. Wallace was a man who had been sentenced 17 years for assault with a deadly weapon and was released in 2017. He had been on parole at the time of the shooting. Now he is being sentence 25 to life for manslaughter and violating probation. Some might say, this incident remains as a horrible way to start off 2019.
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Sailing Doesn’t Go so Smooth For The Jackrabbits
On January 5-6, 2019, the Long Beach Poly sailing team competed again at the famed Rose Bowl Regatta, a race where over a hundred high school and college teams compete separately to win the inaugural race of 2019. Ironically, the regatta takes place in Long Beach, not at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.
The Jackrabbits have competed in the race for nearly ten years as an unofficial team. They haven’t yet reached recognition from the high school administration, but have a growing history of successful seasons.
As a sailing team, they are given race courses with a start line and compete in their boat against thirty teams, similar to cross country. Multiple races are completed daily, constituting a regatta. The teams are scored in order of finish, and the team with the lowest average of race scores wins the event. The race committee changes the race course to keep the competitors attentive.
In typical winter sailing, the event was forecasted to have light wind and few waves, conditions that are against Poly, who practices in the heavier afternoon breeze. Coach Mark Ryan has said that he has “been working with the team to help control the boat, even in light air.” This light air favors teams further south that are able to practice in very little wind. However, Ryan has been coaching the team for two years now and has seen them finish in the top five at many sailing events. He says that “for a team as small as Poly’s, they are doing fantastic.”
He’s not wrong. The Jackrabbits have remained competitive against top sailing schools like Newport Harbor and Point Loma, often coming within striking distance and even emerging victorious.
Poly and Wilson practice together, and Poly team captain Cameron Feves said that “the rivalry keeps everyone on their toes at practice and at regattas.” Feves is the team’s MVP and is “largely responsible for his frequent wins over the Bruin’s captain Trent Turigliatto,” according to Feves’ crew member, Julia Golison.
Feves has already committed to sailing at George Washington University next year and is a fearsome opponent on the water. The regatta, however, didn’t pan out like Feves intended. He was defeated by Turigliatto by a slim 3 points. Turigliatto attributed this to “seeing the wind shifts” and not overall superior skill. Even so, a victory is a victory.
The Jackrabbits are currently in 12th place, holding a one point lead over the Bruins. While each member is unsatisfied with the current results, they have said that they will continue to practice hard and end the season well in March.
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A Good Year For Movies – Marvel, Dumbo, The Lion King
On March 8th, 2019, Captain Marvel will be released in theaters. After Avengers: Infinity War, more heroes are needed, which is where Captain Marvel enters… This movie is set in 1995 and Carol Danvers gets introduced as a U.S. Air Force Officer who becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes. Carol Danvers ends up in space and joins Starforce, an elite military force of the Kree empire (they make their first appearance in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy). While in the process of joining the Starforce, Davers DNA ends up mixing up with Kree DNA, turning her into a hybrid. She ends up losing her memory, so the movie will also be about her rediscovering her human heritage.
Marvel’s second movie being released this year is Avengers: Endgame. The movie will be released on April 26, 2019. *Spoiler alert!* Since Thanos successfully collected all the infinity stones, he snapped his fingers and made most of the superheroes in Avengers: Infinity War turn into ash and disappear… Now, in this movie, Tony Stark is stranded in space with limited oxygen, food, and water, putting his life in danger. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers must figure out a way to bring back all of the other superheroes that were “killed” in Avengers: Infinity War.
Marvel fans have been very lucky this year. Marvel is releasing a third movie, Spider-Man: Far from Home it’s set to hit theatres on July 5, 2019. In this movie, Peter Parker goes to Europe for summer vacation with his friends, where Parker finds himself trying to protect his friends from a new villain, Mysterio, one of Spider-man’s common enemies in the Marvel Comics.
Another classic Disney movie that will be released as a live action reboot is “Dumbo.” The release date for this movie is on March 29, 2019. In this movie, a flying elephant, Dumbo, helps save a struggling circus, and later on, as the circus takes on a new adventure, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath the joyful circus.
This year on July 19 the classic Disney movie “The Lion King” will hit theatres, but this time as a live action reboot. Taking place in the African savanna, Simba is born, becoming the future king, but not everyone in the kingdom is happy for his arrival. Scar, Mufasa’s brother, was next in line for the throne, but now isn’t. In a later battle, Simba loses and is banished, but with the help of new friends, he will have to figure out a way to take back what belongs to him.
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Senior Wrestler Andres De Los Santos
Andres De Los Santos has been a part of Poly’s wrestling team since his freshman year and has devoted his more and more of his time into the sport each year. Now in the middle of his senior year, De Los Santos has accumulated numerous awards and levels and has a 17-2 record. “I don’t have a real reason why I started wrestling, I just started, it was cool, still is.” he said when asked why he chose the sport.
De Los Santos feels as if the sport has taught him many important life lessons that he could not have learned elsewhere, “I’ve learned a lot in leadership, confidence, trust, being able to do things that I didn’t think I was able to do.” he explains his battle with low self esteem and his personal growth into a man of confidence.
The wrestling team prides itself as being a strong family-like bond. De Los Santos agrees, seeing as the sport calls for their closeness, “It’s a bit of a personal sport as well as a team effort. Although you are fighting for your team, at the end of the day, it’s all you. If you do something wrong in a match, it’s on you, not on your team.” he and his team members feed off each other’s mistakes and encouragement.
When asked about what he will miss most about high school wrestling, he answer was simple, practice. “I like practice because it’s fun. It’s pretty much the only reason I come to school. And the coaches, I like them a lot. “ said De Los Santos.
Being a part of a sport comes with a lot of stress, “There are times where you wanna give up and want to quit, but if you keep grinding, it gets easier. You get better, stronger, it pays off in the long road. “
Through all the hardships, De Los Santos is never shy to express his gratitude for his team, “I’m proud of my team, and those who have been with me all 4 years. It’s been very tough, I don’t know how I haven’t quit, but I’m glad I haven’t. I’ve had some pretty memorable years.”
Although his future isn’t completely set in stone, there may be a place for wrestling in his post high school life, “I’m going to college for sure, but wrestling in college, I’m not sure. I’m a bit hesitant because it’s a whole different ball game.”
At times, he questions whether or not all the work is worth it,“It’s pretty normal for every sport, there’s time when I wonder why I’m doing this, I’m a senior, I could be home already, I could be doing stuff! My love for the sport keeps increasing, so that’s why I can’t quit.” De Los Santos continues to work hard and enjoy his senior year.
