PROMISE: With the start of the new school year, seven Poly sports kick off their fall season.
By Abby Burke and Levi Murtaugh, Staff Writers
As the leaves change, many students concern themselves with swapping shorts for jeans and flip flops for boots. But for the athletes of Poly High School’s fall sports teams, it’s time to swap t-shirts for jerseys and sneakers for cleats. Boys’ water polo, cross country and football, along with girls’ golf, tennis, cross country and volleyball began their preseasons and league matches. Whether they are shooting to finish at the top of their league or become California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) champions, these teams are determined to accomplish their goals for the 2016 fall season.
With three consecutive CIF finals appearances, girls’ tennis has much to live up to this season. Adding to the pressure, due to their recent run of dominance, the team was moved up from division four to division two this year and will face a much higher level of competition. But the team remains undaunted. “It will be a huge change playing in a higher division, but the competition motivates me and I am excited to work harder and compete at a much higher level,” Jalyn Kornblum (11) said. To prepare for the drastic shift in competition, Coach Nick Mateljan scheduled preseason matches against higher level teams. Poly fared well even against these more competitive teams, starting their season with a 6-1 record. The team expects to go far this year with a star-studded roster including Daniela Baum (12) and Dyala Harb (12), who return this season after taking a year off from Poly tennis. “Our goals are to win league, which we are favored to do, and then once we go into the playoffs, we will just compete the best we can and see how far we can go,” Mateljan said.
Boys’ water polo made a splash to start their season. Like the girls’ tennis team, they were moved to a higher division this year, from division five to division three. Despite losing three starters, including their goalie, they have an impressive early season record of 10-2. Recently, they won the Dave Almquist tournament for the first time in ten years. A big factor contributing to the team’s early success is their rigorous practice and conditioning schedule. “They are more conditioned than any team I know,” Coach Mike Cardey said, and it is looking to pay off. For the past two years, the Bears have made it to the quarter-finals of the CIF tournament, but they have set their sights on a much higher goal: to become CIF champions.
Football has had a rough start to their season with no wins and four losses. They most recently suffered a lopsided defeat, 14-79, to Norco High School on September 23. But this poor start to the season is no reason to give up hope on the team. Their preseason competition was very tough, but they hope to have an easier time with their league opponents. Additionally, the team’s growing pains can be partially attributed to their inexperience with their new head coach, Derick Dewitt, their third in many years. “Anything is possible as the season goes on, and I am a firm believer that the gutsy little Bears will pull through,” Quarterback Alec Quintero (12) said.
After a great season last year, Poly girls’ golf is off to a similarly promising 2016 season, with an overall record of 4-3 (2-1 in league) thus far. These girls love their sport, too. “Golf takes a lot of work but when you’re out on the course and hit a solid ball, it’s all worth it,” Jocelyn Rausten (11) said. With no seniors on the team and four sophomores, they are a young squad, who are hopeful for the future ahead of them. Led by Rausten, this young team is looking to win league and progress as far as they can in CIF.
Although the girls’ volleyball team is off to a rough start, with 11 losses and 3 wins overall , Coach Mike MacNeil is very hopeful for the season ahead. “We have four strong leaders this year: Michelle Simmons, Patricia White, Brianna Milligan, and Mana Acosta. They add a good deal of experience and leadership to our team” MacNeil said. “If we keep working hard like we are, I think we can go far into CIF,” Captain Brianna Milligan (11) said. With the positivity and hard work of this team, they can go a long way into CIF Finals.
Finishing fourth in their league last year, the boy’s cross country team was unable to achieve the high expectations they set for themselves. But after finishing third in the first league meet this year, Coach Alfonso Ibarra is hopeful for the rest of the season. “We are much better than we were last year,” Ibarra said. “We are looking to get better and continue improving, so that we can finish in the top three by the end of the season to go back to CIF.”
Girls’ cross country has ran off with a great start to their season. Strong performances from Julia Valdez (12), Marina Kaye (12) and Natalie Skaggs (12) helped the team finish second at the Cool Breeze and Woodbridge invitational and win their first league meet. Coach Ibarra is very optimistic about the girl’s season this year. “We are going to continue to get better, so we are looking to extend our league title from last year and are looking to repeat for the fourth year in a row,” Ibarra said. And with a strong group of girls, they can easily achieve that and other future goals.