Boys tennis
Following two seasons as league champions, the Aragon boys tennis team is very different from years past.
“I lost a lot of guys from those two teams,” said coach David Owdom. “[However,] I still have a couple very talented players from that team.”
Despite this, some feel the team still isn’t as strong as years past.
“I think we were strongest last year and the year before because six of our seniors left,” said senior Max Gan. “[Regardless] we’re still really strong [and] we have a few returning players, some good sophomores and a lot of good freshmen this year.”
During the average practice, Owdom tries to make it primarily gameplay.
“A lot of these people have attended clinics,” Owdom said. “But they don’t play people. When you’re playing people, [losing a point] matters. When you lose a point at a clinic, [you move on] to the next one.”
One of the biggest issues the team is facing early in the season has nothing to do with tennis itself.
“The only thing that’s bad is [that] the flu has taken over our team,” Owdom said. “Some [players] are even playing hurt, and I don’t want them doing that.”
After the team overcomes the wave of sickness, they have lots of goals.
“We’re definitely going for PALS again,” Gan said. “And hopefully we can make it past [the] second round of CCS.”
Tennis is a pretty competitive sport for playing time, as Aragon only has one team.
“We only have one team, so it’s all varsity,” Gan said. “But [only] the top ten have the matches that count toward the team’s wins.”
Despite the limited playing time, the team still has camaraderie and everyone is friendly with each other.
“I spoke with a parent the other day,” Owdom said, “She [said that her son] says the seniors are so nice and helpful. When I hear that, that’s great.”
Their next match is on March 12 against San Mateo High School.
Track and Field
Coming off of a strong season, with the girls ending second in PAL Bay Division and the boys in fourth, the Aragon track and field team hopes to continue doing well.
“[Last year] we had a number of kids go to CCS,” said head coach Denise Fournier. “The hope is that the girls [4×100-meter relay] or girls [4×400-meter relay] will get a school record this year.”
Last season many records were set, including the boys 400-meter dash by senior Charles Harger, girls 100-meter dash by junior Mina Hwang, boys 4×800-meter relay by Harger, senior Tyler Nichols, senior Luke Novak and alumnus Miles Rokala, girls 4×100 by alumna Stella Pisaro, senior Madison Ketcham, junior Amelia Hayden-Gephart and Hwang and finally the girls pole vault by alumnae Fern Aceituno and Eliana Shao.
The team has many strong athletes returning, including many of the record breakers.
“All those people with the exception of the pole vaulters are still on the team this year,” Fournier said. “So we should be able to show a very strong team in the league.”
Aragon’s track and field team offers many different events, from the mile to the 100-meter dash. Each event has its own head coach, and they all practice separately.
“We’re pretty separated by event,” Fournier said. “Each event is so different and [they] train differently from the other ones.”
The team radiates a good chemistry both within and among grades.
“I’d say the team chemistry is just as good as last year, if not better,” Harger said. “The practices seem to be very fun and engaging for all of the athletes. I always see everybody wearing a smile.”
The team is on the uptick with many strong runners returning along with new runners ready to improve.
Their next meet is the Fifth Annual Fighting Knights Relays on March 14.
Boys Volleyball
Last year’s boys varsity volleyball team ended the season winning 15 of their 33 games, entering CCS playoffs and exiting in the first round.
With a roster composed of six sophomores, seven juniors and only four seniors the previous season, the team was young for a varsity team. This season, the team is now matured, and many of the players continue to play.
“We have a lot more juniors than we did last year,” said senior and middle Luca Mangano. “We’re also a lot more balanced this year.”
There is only one sophomore on the team this year, ten juniors and six seniors as opposed to four.
“I have ten returning varsity players,” said head coach Meliame Hala’ufia. “I hope that … [they are] coming in a year later more experienced.”
With the stronger team, Hala’ufia has some more ambitious goals.
“[We hope] to win league, make it to CCS and get as far as possible,” Hala’ufia said. “We’re off to a good start. Right now … I have a hard time choosing who’s going to be a starter … I have [a lot of good] options.”
During the average practice, Hala’ufia tries to prepare players for a game-time situation.
“[Practice is] primarily drill stuff, and then just playing,” Mangano said. “[There are] lots of [in] game repetitions at the end.”
The team has a strong connection among each other.
“Everyone on the team is very close friends even off the court,” said junior and setter Abnik Singh. “We hang out outside of school so there’s a lot of team chemistry.”
The team will have a tournament on March 14 at home.
Softball
Ending last season with a record of 9-17 overall and 5-9 in the Bay Division, the Aragon softball team looks to build off of last year’s experience and improve their consistency on the field this season.
After winning the Division IV CCS championships in 2024, the Dons struggled to see the results they wanted during last year’s season, ultimately falling short of making the playoffs. Much of that challenge stemmed from having a young roster that lacked varsity experience, making it more of a developmental season for the team.
“Last year we were focused on rebuilding because we were a really young team, but now this season we are focused on playing at the highest level possible,” said junior Tahlia Shahani. “I think we have really strong players but also just a great team dynamic, and we’re really hoping to win CCS this year.”
Although the roster remains underclassman heavy, with just two seniors leading the team, the Dons have many strong returning players who gained valuable experience last season.
“I think that we’re starting the season off a lot stronger than last since we were able to get close last year and get to know each other really well,” said sophomore Rachel Horwitz.
The team will also be backed by Clemson commit junior Taylor Workman, who provides both leadership and collegiate-level talent to the lineup. With experienced returners and emerging underclassmen stepping into larger varsity roles, the Dons are confident as they head into the season and hopeful to finish with a winning record and trip to the playoffs.
Their next game will be against Aptos on March 13 at Aptos High School.
Swimming
Aragon’s swim team had a mediocre year last season. Despite this, players feel improvement in the team this season.
“The team has definitely grown stronger compared to last year,” said sophomore Ryuma Elias. “But [we’re] still not as strong as other schools.”
Head coach Bill Barthold finds it difficult to predict this season’s results.
“It’s hard to say right now [where we’ll place],” Barthold said. “We’ve only had one meet and we didn’t have a full complement of swimmers. It may not be a true reflection of the overall team quality.”
Many of the swimmers have different goals.
“[I want to] have fun and win a lot of meets,” said sophomore Aeden An.
Barthold’s main goal is to help the athletes improve.
“My goal is very simple: it’s to make [the swimmers] better than they are,” Barthold said.
Athletes who swim off-season at club teams adjust to a different training regimen.
“I would say Aragon [practice] is a little less challenging for me,” said freshman Christopher Lu. “The intervals are a little shorter, and I don’t think it’s as much swimming.”
Sophomore Siena Chen details the average daily practice structure.
“We do warm ups and then usually do two or three different sets,” Chen said. “Sometimes we do drills to make our strokes better.”
Barthold shows his philosophy on how he runs practice.
“[My practices are] a combination of conditioning and technique drills,” Barthold said. “I would say that’s the simplest way to [describe] it.”
The team is very friendly with each other, making every practice a safe place to be.
“I think it’s a really good environment,” Lu said. “We’re pretty friendly and everyone’s chill with each other.”
Their next meet is on March 14.
Girls Lacrosse
After ending with a record of 3-10 overall last year, the girls lacrosse team is looking to find more success on the field this season. As 13 of last year’s varsity players were seniors, the team is entering the season with a significantly younger lineup, relying on many newcomers to step into varsity roles for the first time.
Luckily, the team has been putting in the work since the new year, holding several weight training workouts a week throughout January before officially starting tryouts and field practices in early February.
“A lot of the girls have been showing up consistently, putting in the work in the weight room and on the field,” said head coach Ashley Parham. “Since we are a younger team, accountability and hard work are going to be critical if we want to compete at a higher level this season.”
Despite having a more inexperienced team than last year, new players such as senior Annalise Krause are excited and hopeful for the upcoming season.
“So far the team has been really uplifting, especially to the new players,” Krause said. “I think we’re a really hardworking team and I’m sure we will only continue to improve and work better together as the season progresses.”
In addition to individual development, the team is also working to improve overall communication and organization on the field.
“A big thing we’re focusing on in practice right now is calling and designing offensive plays,” said senior Natalie Horwitz. “We also just need to start communicating more with one another, which I think definitely starts at practice.”
As the season gets underway, the girls lacrosse team is hopeful that their hard work in the offseason, as well as their continued efforts at practice, will translate into improved results on the field and a possible playoff run. Their next game will be March 13 against Presentation High School.
Baseball
After a disappointing record of 9-17 the year prior, the varsity baseball team feels more confident and hopes to bounce back and have a better season than the last.
“We want to have a better record than last year,” said head manager John Rally. “Then we want to be competitive in every game that we play. There’s not a single team on our schedule that we look at and go, [they’re going to] cook us.”
The players enjoy the chemistry of the team.
“The chemistry is super good [this year],” said sophomore James Wright, “Everybody’s pulling for the same goal.”
In the average practice, Rally tries to work on a bit of everything.
“We’re going to spend the first 20 minutes every day stretching, playing catch, [getting warm],” Rally said. “Then we’re typically going to transition into drills, defensive work, ground balls and fly balls for the defense, and then some work in the cage. Everybody’s getting a baseline number of swings in for the day.”
After drills, the team plays for the last bit of practice.
“Ideally we like to get to the last 45 minutes to an hour of practice being some sort of competitive, structured, event,” Rally said. “We’ll typically divide into two teams … It’s not a full baseball game … It’s usually a coach throwing [for] batting practice, but with a live defense and batters taking live swings and running the bases live.”
The team hopes to do better this season with the help of their revamped roster. Their next game is on March 16 against Washington High School.
Badminton
The Aragon badminton team is back in action following their dominant season last year, finishing as league champions with an undefeated record of 14-0.
To finish out their season, the Dons had taken down the reigning league champion Carlmont to clinch the league title. Aragon also had an impressive playoff run, further solidifying their place as one of the top teams in the section.
With only three seniors on last year’s roster, the majority of the team’s players this season are experienced returners. However, head coach Martin Chen admits to having to cut several strong returners in an attempt to limit roster numbers.
“We had to cut a lot of good players and it was unfortunate because I liked a lot of them,” Chen said. “It’s tough to be a coach. Cutting is definitely the worst part of coaching.”
This year’s tryouts were especially competitive, with 81 students trying out and only 50 making the final roster. Despite the high turnout that reflects the program’s growing popularity, it also forced the coaching staff to make difficult decisions in order to maintain the team’s high competitive standard.
Even with the difficult cuts, the Dons return a strong group of highly talented players, many of whom practice badminton year round, beyond their high school season.
“We have a few players who practice all the time and they continue to get better and better every year,” Chen said.
Chen says that this individual dedication as well as the number of returning players has translated into strong team chemistry on the court.
“Our best players work well with each other, and our medium players work well with our beginners,” Chen said. “So it’s a really good mix of people with really good camaraderie and they all just help each other get better.”
The team’s next game will be on March 17 against Westmoor High School.
Boys Lacrosse
After going 0-11 overall last season, the boys lacrosse team is focused on rebuilding and improving as they head into the new season. With a mix of returning players and new faces on the roster, the team has spent the past month focusing on teaching inexperienced players the fundamentals of the game, getting the team back into shape and building chemistry on the field.
Under the guidance of head coach Yahir Fonseca, the team has been focusing on off-ball movement, defensive shifting and spacing on offense during their practices. With daily practices and a relatively late season start, the players have lots of time to refine their skills before their first game.
“I’m really excited to be coaching the boys team this year and I think that if we keep up the energy at practice and stay focused, we can definitely start to win some games,” Fonseca said.
Fonseca, who played lacrosse at Aragon before graduating in 2022, spent the past three seasons as the JV girls lacrosse coach before being promoted to the girls varsity assistant coach and head coach of the boys lacrosse team.
The players are entering the season with confidence in their defense and skills.
“Our team spirit is an undeniable presence and an overwhelming force,” said senior Ethan Hua. “I think our defense is extremely aggressive and with them, I think we have a good chance at keeping people out of the arc.”
The team will play their first game at home versus Scotts Valley on March 12.
Boys golf
As the spring sports season gets underway, the Aragon boys golf team is preparing for another competitive season on the course. With only one senior on the roster, the team is largely made up of juniors and sophomores who will be looking to step up and take on larger roles throughout the season.
After a challenging season last year, the Dons are focused on sharpening their play and increasing their intensity in hopes of seeing stronger results. However, players say they gained valuable experience despite the difficult results.
“Last year was a challenging season… but we played as a team with lots of chemistry,” said sophomore Brian Sato. “We gained a lot of experience through the matches, which will help us this year.”
With a season under their belts, many of the returning players are entering the season with greater confidence and a better understanding of the level of play across the league. According to Sato, the team’s pre-season practices have consisted of practicing their swings and getting as many reps in as possible.
As the season begins, the Dons will look to translate their hard work and experience into stronger results on the course.
