Winter sports wrap up and athletes compete for CCS

With the winter season ending, a few choice teams received the opportunity to compete in the Central Coast Section (CCS). Others, due to several contributing factors in their season, were not able to make it.

After pushing forward to CCS Quarterfinals last year, this season was the first time the Varsity Girls Basketball Team did not go to CCS since 2001.

The Varsity Girls Basketball Team capped off their season with a league record of 1-8-0 and an overall record of 4-16-0.

Girls Basketball Coach Annette Gennaro explains, “A big part of the reason why we didn’t do as well as previous years is because we started the season with a lot of injuries. Also, I knew this season would be especially hard because I had graduated four starting players last year. So, while this has been the hardest working team I’ve ever had, they are just too inexperienced.”

As for the Varsity Boys Basketball Team, they concluded their season with a league record of 2-8-0 and an overall record of 7-18-0, making them ineligible to compete in CCS this year.

A main factor that contributed heavily to their unsuccessful season was the fact that their starting guard, senior Aaron Eder, tore his ACL.

Manning-Laisne states, “I let the guys make their mistakes because you have to let them make mistakes and let them learn the game and from their mistakes, so that they eventually get to a point where they understand how to improve. We had a positive season throughout where we improved in each game, and we understood where we were as a team, so it wasn’t a losing season at all.”

In Varsity Soccer, the Boys Team, with a league record of 2-8-3 and an overall record of 3-12-3, did not make it to CCS.

Competing in CCS, however, was actually on the bottom of their priorities list at the beginning of the season.

Boys Soccer Coach Forrest Brazil explains, “This year, playing in the Bay Division, which is a higher division, has been very challenging. We were in the Ocean Division before moving up, and it’s common that an Ocean Team drops back down, so were just trying to maintain our position in the Bay Division.”

Brazil adds, “CCS was not realistic this season because of the graduation of players who were important parts of the team, along with the much improved quality of opponents we faced throughout the season.

While many teams could not compete in CCS this year, the Varsity Girls Soccer Team and two boys from the Varsity Wrestling Team made CCS.

With a league record of 9-2-3 and an overall record of 13-2-5, the Varsity Girls Soccer Team, after winning the 2010 CCS Championships, made CCS while also winning the PAL Bay Soccer Title.

Due to seeding within the top four of Patch’s Peninsula Rankings, Dons, as the No.1 seed, advanced straight to the Quarter-Finals on February 26th against No.5 seed Los Altos at Terra Nova.

The Dons led 1-0 when Junior Rachel Killigrew scored off a pass from Junior Nicole Rodrick within the first two minutes of the game. With both a strong defense and offense, Dons kept Los Altos from scoring.

In the 2nd half, the Dons dominated possession for the majority, but were not given many opportunities to overcome Los Altos’ defenders. However, late in the 2nd half, Junior Allison Lim made a pass to Sophomore Addy Eveslage who made the quick breakaway and passed the defense to score, successfully ending the game in a 2-0 victory.

Varsity Girl’s Soccer Coach Will Colglazier comments, “We played very well and we certainly have talent. One thing that we really possess is soccer IQ because our players play smart and are always at the right places at the right time.”

On that same day, No.4 seed St. Ignatius also won 3-0 in their Quarter-Final match against Del-Mar, meaning that Dons will face them in the Semi-Finals on March 1st at Pioneer High School.

This game will have been played too late to make this publication cycle; however, if the Dons win this semifinal game, they will attempt a CCS Championship repeat at Valley Christian High School on Saturday, March 5 against the winner of an Archbishop Mitty v. Los Gatos match.

From the varsity Wrestling Team, seniors Conor Stanton and Raymont Afuhaamango both competed in the first rounds of CCS on February 25th at Independence High School, but did not move forward to Day Two of CCS.

Stanton, who has competed in CCS in the last two years, went 1-2 in Day One of CCS when he lost his match against the No.2 seed, Overfelt High School junior Alexis Arciga, in his 119 lb Weight Class. Stanton comments, “The biggest highlight for me this year of Day 1 was going against the No. 2 seed. I wasn’t a walk-over for him at all. I wrestled to the best of my ability, and had a fantastic match.”

Then, Afuhaamango, having this past season as his only ever wrestling experience, went 2-2 and was just one match away from advancing forward to Day Two in his 285 lb Weight Class.

Of the experience, Afuhaamango says, “My goals going into CCS was to make it to the second day of CCS and to wrestle my best. With not making it to Day Two, I was disappointed and relieved at the same time because this is only my first year playing this sport, so it was all new.”

As a whole, summing up the winter season and CCS, Stanton remarks, “The lessons learned: the importance of discipline, good sportsmanship even if you lose, never giving-up, and maintaining a hard-work ethic. Those are what I will take away.”