Tag: Long Beach Polytechnic High School Sports

  • Softball Takes Easy Win

    Softball Takes Easy Win

    The Long Beach Poly softball team made a comeback with a 3-4 record after facing Cabrillo last Thursday March 16, resulting in a win for the jackrabbits. the score was 11-0 which is a mercy, a mercy rule is when a team is up by 10 before the 5th inning.

    The team played well and were working together, on the defense and the offense. The jackrabbits bats were starting to come alive, when 3 year varsity player, Evelyn Sablan hit a game changing 3 run Homerun. Which sparked a hitting streak Evelyn states after hitting the home run, “I had to work on my swing this game and as soon as I saw that pitch I knew I had to take the best hack I could at it.”

    After the home run the jackrabbits began to hit the ball like crazy to bring the game to 8-0. When senior Jaclyn Pangelinan got up to bat eager to hit, she states, “ After being hit by a pitch my first two at bats, I was eager to do more for my team. So when she gave me my pitch I swung with a purpose and it worked.” This resulted in an inside the park solo home run, bringing the jackrabbits even more alive than they already were.

    Cabrillo wasn’t ready for the jackrabbits. Although it was a good game, they still have to face Jordan on Tuesday March 21 in preparation for their rival Wilson on Thursday March 23. As Wilson being the rivals it will be an exciting game. In past years both teams have shared their share of wins and loses, with two good teams facing each other on the field it will be a good game, but the jackrabbits are ready to face their rivals with no problem.

    Devin Linares
    Senior Jaclyn Pangelinan preparing for a hit before she scores another home run for her team.

  • WAS IT THE REFS?

    On Wednesday, March 18, Poly’s girls basketball team lost the CIF State SoCal Regional Open Division Championship game against Clovis West. Although the scoreboard at the end of the game said 53-44, there were many things to be said about the game itself.

    In an interview with Gazette Sports, Coach Carl Buggs commented he “would never blame refs for a loss, but they shot 35 free throws, we shot 11.” Clovis West received 23 fouls in comparison to Poly’s 15, and though the difference may seem insignificant, the free throws added up to make a big difference. Of Poly’s 11 free throws they were only able to score three, while Clovis made 28 free throws to account for over half of their final score.

    Stephen Dachman
    After taking a dissapointing loss, the lady jackrabbits line up to shake hands with Clovis West.

    It may be downgrading to blame the refs for a game, but this just might be the case for this one. Oddly enough, the refs seemed to make the worst calls at the most clutch and momentous occasions. The crowd reacted with boos, and Poly was never able to catch fire.

    In the beginning of the game, the Lady Jackrabbits started off with a turnover and were not able to pick up their energy for the rest of the game. However, the team had a difficult time regaining momentum. Senior forward Kathryn Headspeth commented, “Nobody had energy from the start. The bench didn’t have energy. The people on the court didn’t. Sometimes there was, but it died off.”

    Similar moments have happened in sports, such as the Conference Finals in 2002 with the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers. With an astounding lineup in both teams, the series seemed to be a playoff series for the ages. In the 4th quarter of game six, the Lakers shot 27 free throws while the Kings shot nine. The Lakers took the victory and ended up with the NBA championship, but many people today still believe that the series was rigged.

    Much like the Sacramento Kings, the Lady Jackrabbits may have took a loss that they did not deserve. Due to these calls, the fans for Poly’s team can no longer witness history. Although the Lady Jackrabbits were not able to leave it all on the floor, it can be easily said that everyone knows their potential and that they deserved a fair game.

  • Badminton Defeats Major Competitors

    On March 2 Poly’s Badminton team defeated Cabrillo High School in close contest advancing to 2-0 on the season. The final score of the game was 12-9. The Jackrabbits are off to a incredible start this year winning against the two best teams in Moore league, Lakewood and Cabrillo. “Lakewood and Cabrillo are the schools to reckon with, the beginning of our season is a quick baptism by fire,” said Coach Steven Meckna.

    There was an intense nailbiter at Cabrillo for the Poly squad. In one of the first matches of the night,senior Eric Shu, the team captain, suffered a leg cramp. Even with this injury, he “managed to win three out of his four matches, even though being partly disabled, a very heroic effort that night from Eric,” said Coach Meckna.

    Shu described what helped him overcome the injury, “My teammates, they motivate me, so I really wanted to motive them back.” It was a group effort win against such a tough Cabrillo squad.

    Junior Fei Law said, “We’re more determined to fight and win and improve each other.”

    As senior Cassandra Mullen put it. “There isn’t one person who’s like picking everyone up, we all pick each other up.” The Jackrabbits next game is against Compton High School, then they have a bye week, and then are off to face Jordan at Jordan High School.

  • Girls Basketball Wins 120th CIF Championship

    Girls Basketball Wins 120th CIF Championship

    On Saturday March 4, Poly’s girl basketball team once again won the CIF Southern Section Open Division girls basketball championship.

    This marked the 120th CIF title for the School. The girls hadn’t won the CIF crown since

    2010. This was also the first Open Division title that the program has won.

    This was not a typical game for the Jackrabbits as they headed into halftime down 36-32. Most of the season the Jackrabbits steamrolled their opponents, but were ready to make adjustments when

    necessary. “When it’s money time, it’s money time, and that’s when you need your big three.”

    said coach Buggs.

    Ayanna Clark, Jasmine Jones, and Danae Miller lead the Jackrabbits in scoring on the

    night. Clark had 20 points, Jones had 14 and Miller had 12.

    For years, the girls basketball team has maintained a strong reputation. With countless CIF Championships, it seems that the program will only go on up from this point.

  • Baseball Takes Tough Loss

    Poly baseball played an away tournament March 3 hosted by Los Alamitos. They lost 8-7, but it was an overall good game.
    Junior Mike Mauai was selected Player of the Game. When asked about his thoughts on the game, junior outfielder Nolan Brown said, “It’s a good game to see where we are as a team.”
    Players were prepared for the game but did not come out with the win. Junior center fielder EJ Andrews said he prepared for the game by, “taking practice very seriously, working on my defense, and hitting.”
    The coach was preparing the team by working a lot on defense.
    Brown said coach was preparing them by “working on a lot of drills, and defense. Defense has been a big emphasis throughout the season.”
    Their defensive practice is showing in the games but their offense is not quite good enough.
    Andrews’ thoughts on the coach are that “he brings a lot of enthusiasm to the sport, he gets us pumped up for the game. His favorite saying is ‘practice makes perfect.’”
    All of the players practice every day. Senior catcher AJ Renteria said he prepares for games by “hitting every day, working out everyday, practicing hard everyday, [and] no days off.”
    The Poly Jackrabbits also played a home neutral tournament game against the Loara Saxons. Unfortunately, the Jackrabbits lost by a score of 2-1, but their good defense showed. Senior Jake Creamer was selected Player of the Game. The Jackrabbits have only played a few games, and now hold a 2-2 record. Poly is now third in the Moore League.

  • Basketball’s Journey through CIF

    Basketball’s Journey through CIF

    Game of the Year: Long Beach Poly vs. Chino Hills

     

    After defeating Bishop Alemany on Friday, February 17, the Long Beach Poly Boy’s Basketball team was scheduled to play the popular Chino Hills.

    The Chino Hills Huskies are the number one ranked high school basketball team in MaxPreps, and are also even more famous for members of the team called the Ball Brothers. These are three actual brothers: Lonzo, Liangelo, and LaMelo Ball. Senior Liangelo Ball and sophomore Lamelo Ball are famous on Youtube channels such as Ballislife or BallerVisions which features basketball mixtapes for the best high school phenomenons in the nation.

    The team also features three other less known yet still great players, such as sophomore

    Onyeka Okongwu and senior Elizjah Scott who are cousins with the ball brothers. The key players on the Chino Hills team all stand over 6 foot, with Okongwu being the tallest at 6’9”. This puts Poly at a height disadvantage, and the rest of the factors also make them the underdog in the matchup.

    Poly certainly knew they came in as the underdog, and certainly had an immeasurable pressure coming in. With over 2,500 tickets sold, fans sitting in the stairways of the stands and even standing on the rails, it could be seen that people expected a lot from both of the teams.

    Starting from the tip-off, Poly fought their way through the whole game. For most of the first quarter, they stayed in the lead, capped off by a near half-court shot by junior Darryl Polk at the end of the first.

    Senior Zafir Williams’s layup is denied by Chino Hills sophomore Onyeka Okongwu.

    However, Chino Hills slowly started to pull away with the victory after the first quarter ended. Although sophomore Lamelo Ball was held scoreless, big men Scott and Okongwu always found a way to get the

    rebounds to either push the ball up court or put the ball back in the hoop. The two bigs combined for 17 offensive rebounds and combined for 51 points.

    Senior Zafir Williams continued to fight, and ended with 31 points and 16 rebounds. This didn’t prove to be enough, and with Poly missing easy layups and rebounds, they ended the night with a loss of 98-74. Poly will continue on to play Corona Centennial in the consolation bracket, and Chino Hills will go on to play Mater Dei in the CIF semifinals.

    Boys vs. Alemany

    Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits played a non-league playoff game hosted by the Alemany Warriors on Friday, February 17, at 7 P.M. This game was part of the CIF Southern Section 2017 Boys Basketball Championship – Open Division. The Jackrabbits defeated the Warriors with a score of 66-48. Poly dominated most of the game.

    In the first quarter they scored 17-6, in the second quarter they scored 18-7, in the third quarter they scored 18-21, and in the fourth quarter they scored 13-14. This upgraded the Jackrabbits overall record to 22-6 and the Warriors 24-4, and both teams still have 12-0 league records. Long Beach Poly ranks 83 Nationally, 19 in California, 11 in the Southern Section, 17 in Division 1, and 11 in Division 1AA.

    Girls vs. Alemany

    On Saturday, February 18, the girls basketball team defeated the visiting Brea Olinda, 61-33. It was a closely contested contest, until the second quarter where the Jackrabbits went on a 15-4 run.

    The scoring for the Jackrabbits was lead by senior Ayanna Clark who scored 15 points and also snagged 13 rebounds on the night. This win marks number 500 for Coach Carl Buggs. Coach Buggs was as cool as a cucumber the whole game, even when Poly entered the 2nd quarter tied. “There was no adjust- ments to make, you work all year so that in that moment you know who you are, just play Poly basketball,” said Coach Buggs.

  • Spring Sports 2017 Preview

    Track:

    As track season is rapidly approaching, the Trackrabbits are getting ready to dominate. In order to prepare for the season they are “training for two to three hours after school and on Saturdays,” said senior Lauren Fillipow who is committed to Southern Oregon. This is a tight-knit team whose goal is to “just push each other to do our best, so that we can all improve together and since a lot of the team is seniors, we want to have a great last high school season,” said senior Melissa Tanaka.
    Nate Cooper, a junior who recently participated in a cross country race in Oregon, stated, “My personal goals for the season are similar to everyone else’s goals on the team. I hope to make my times as fast as I personally can, and to help my team as much as possible.” Hopes are high for the Trackrabbits, and we can be positive that they will live up to their expectations.

    Swim:

    The next sport for the Poly Jackrabbits in the upcoming spring season is swim. Last season for girls swim, junior Tevykah Pouv coined the Varsity group as the “dream team.” Looking back on last year, junior Priscilla Long said, “Last season for Moore League we won and it was such an amazing feeling” and for this coming season Long wants to “work towards the same goal we had last year. I’d like our team to continue to work together and stay united no matter what the outcome is.”
    For boys swim, Poly came in second with Wilson in first. Junior Ethan McCarthy stated, “This year I think we have high hopes for beating Wilson at Moore League and that’s the goal, too.” Both girls and boys swim are looking towards a bright, ambitious season.