EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 15, 2018 Page 15
Eagles from page 5
Monique Benjamin (Softball)
Monique is a four-year starter for the
Eagles and one of its captains for two years.
She has been an integral part of the success
of the softball program. She was one of the
team’s top pitchers for four years and has led
the team in hitting. As a junior, she hit .409.
Monique said that one of the highlights
of her past four years was helping to defeat
North Torrance 5-2 in the second round of
the CIF playoffs. She recalled the bus ride
home, after defeating Santa Monica to win
the Ocean League, was one of the most fun
bus rides ever. “We had a blast cheering and
singing all the way back,” she said.
Monique has been highly decorated with
awards that include being named to the Ocean
League first team as a freshman and junior,
and to the second team her sophomore year.
She was the 2017 Most Outstanding Ocean
League Player and made All-Area second
team and CIF Female Scholar Athlete of the
Year in 2017-18.
Monique, who will attend Columbia University,
said her time spent in the athletic
training program with the football team as
well as playing for the softball team provided
her with lifelong friendships.
Madison (Maddie) Kurke
(Volleyball)
Maddie has been the cornerstone of the
volleyball team’s success for the past four
seasons. She helped the Eagles advance to
three consecutive CIF postseason playoff appearances,
including two straight quarterfinals.
Her explosiveness at the net helped her lead
her team in kills the past two seasons. She
had 491 this season.
During her four years, Maddie was named
SoCal Prep Legend of the Week and a Daily
Breeze Athlete of the Week. She made the
All-Area team, All-CIF team, and was named
to the All-Ocean League first team twice and
second team once. She was named MVP of
the Valley Christian Tournament twice and was
MVP of her team two straight years.
Maddie will leave the warmth of Southern
California for the cool and beautiful campus of
Wesleyan University in Connecticut where she
intends on getting a Computer Science degree.
She’ll join a Cardinals team that is one of the
top Division III schools on the East Coast and
finished 22-6 overall this past season.
Maddie said one of the best memories
from her past four years was having the
Christina Mullane scored two first half goals against Santa Monica.
entire student section rushing the court after
the Eagles defeated Moorpark to advance to
the CIF quarterfinals. She noted that moving
across the country for her education won’t
be an easy one and that her time at El Segundo
High provided her with friendships
and experiences that will help carry her to
the next chapter of her life.
Madison Fisk (Crew)
When you first meet soft-spoken Madison,
you are impressed with this bright and articulate
young lady. She didn’t play conventional
high school sports, but she is as athletic as
anyone in the school. Her sport of choice is
crew, in which she has been competing for the
past four years. She has trained and competed
at the Marina Del Rey Aquatic Center where
her team has vied against collegiate squads.
She is a member of the junior rowing boys
team and coxed the second varsity eight
at the 2017 US Rowing Southwest Region
Youth Championship.
When she first started in the sport, she was
one of the rowers. She gained strength and
confidence in the first two years. Don’t let
Madison’s shy demeanor fool you because
for the past two seasons, she has been the
coxswain in the shell (boat). The coxswain
barks out encouragement to the crew and
helps steer the shell. Her involvement during
competitions is as important as the rowers are
and can be the difference of a winning time.
Madison will take her experience to San
Diego State where she will join six others
who have signed their letters of intent. She
plans to study Biomedical Science in hopes
of one day becoming a nurse practitioner
with an emphasis in pediatrics.
Dariush (Dar) Sayson
The El Segundo High football team and
the campus in general got extremely lucky
when Dar decided to transfer from another
school for his senior year. Dar was a standout
football player besides being an outstanding
student in the classroom at his other school.
Knowing fully that he wouldn’t eligible for
the first five football games due to CIF rules
didn’t faze him. “I knew instantly I wanted
to come to El Segundo when I first walked
onto the campus,” he said. Dar added that
from the first day of football practice, he felt
like he belonged when his new teammates
welcomed him enthusiastically. He noted that
his six months on the football team and attending
school led to lifelong friendships. He
credited head football coach Steve Shevlin
for giving him the opportunity to join the
Eagle family and for his guidance.
Dar said the memory of the El Segundo
community and the students at the homecoming
game packing the stands were big thrills. He added
that hearing his name chanted from the stands
from people he barely knew gave him chills.
Dar was named to the All-Ocean League
offense team as a running back. He also
won the Renaissance Award for Excellence
in Science. Dar will attend Pomona Pitzer
College and major in Biology.
Eagles Advance to CIF Playoffs
The girls water polo team lost a nail-biter
7-6 to Santa Monica to finish in a tie with
the Vikings for the Ocean League title.
Christine Mullane scored two first quarter
goals to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead. Emily
Wilkinson scored the first of her two goals
in the second quarter to give the Eagles a
3-2 lead. Christina Grenke’s power shot gave
the Eagles a 4-3 lead before halftime. In the
third quarter, Claire Lindsey extended the
lead with a shot inside for a 5-3 advantage.
El Segundo’s final tally came when Jenna
Olson stole a pass and fed Wilkinson, who
went the distance and scored from inside
for a 6-3 lead. Samo would then score four
unanswered goals and win 7-6. The thirdseeded
Eagles hosted Alemany yesterday in
the first round of the CIF playoffs.
The El Segundo boys basketball team
finished with a 15-11 overall record and
have advanced to the first round of the CIF
playoffs. They faced second-seeded Mark
Keppel on the road last night. A win would
give the Eagles a potential home game Friday
night at 7 p.m.
Both boys and girls soccer teams entered
the CIF playoffs this week. The boys finished
in second place in the Ocean League. The
girls won their last three games of the season,
finished in third place and were expected to
advance to the playoffs.
Little League Opening Day
The Opening Day for the El Segundo Little
League is set for Saturday with the annual
parade down Main Street starting at 9 a.m.
Games are slated for Brett Field all day long
after the Opening Day ceremonies. Other
games being played for AA and A divisions
will be at Walton Field and Arena Stadium
at the high school. Come out and support the
future baseball stars of tomorrow. •
Junior goalkeeper Sophia Caravello goes high to block a shot against Santa Monica. She has been one of the top goalkeepers in the Ocean League.
Monique Benjamin is a four-year starter for the Eagles.
Film Review from page 6
H. Nelson Tracey.
The highlight of Dee Rees’s last film,
Pariah, was the stunning cinematography
of then-unknown DP Bradford Young. Now,
Rees collaborates with another indie favorite
Rachel Morrison (who made history this
year by becoming the first female director
of photography to receive an Oscar nomination),
and the results are spectacular. Intricate
details are brought forth in framing the
characters, and a wealth of individual shots
that enhance the film are also moments to
be remembered. Between its marvelous story
and detailed craftsmanship, it’s easy to see
why Mudbound is a film worth shouting
about from the rooftops.
Mudbound is rated R for some disturbing
violence, brief language and nudity. 134
minutes. Now streaming on Netflix and
playing at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center. •
Dar Sayson was one of the top running backs in the Ocean League.