Page 4 December 27, 2018 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
School Spotlight
Sports
The 2018 Sports Year in Review
By Gregg McMullin
As 2018 comes to a close in another week,
this gives us the opportunity to look back and
recall the ups and the downs, the exciting
wins and some heartbreaking losses. It was
another year of close calls, heartbreaks and a
time to reflect and reminisce about sports in
our community. High school and youth sports
once again took center stage as we supported
our teams and our kids. So with that in mind,
let’s revisit the first six months of 2018 and
relive the excitement of some very special and
precious memories that had our community
buzzing and outside communities in envy.
Basketball
The girls had a challenging season that
included playing 18 games against teams that
advanced to the playoffs. They tied for third
place in the Ocean League that culminated in a
tiebreaking loss to Santa Monica. Junior guards
Malia Hue and Kailea Lee were instrumental
running the offense, while sophomore forward
Reese Jones and freshman Jordan Peterson
were key defensive players.
The boys had a good season in spite of
finishing fourth in the Ocean League. The
Eagles would start the season 5-0 and were off
to their best start in years with a 12-4 record
before starting their Ocean League schedule.
The league schedule was a challenge, facing
three teams that advanced to the postseason.
The Eagles faced 14 teams that reached
the postseason and their 15-12 overall record
was the best in six seasons. Second-year head
coach David March had the program going in
an upward manner with hardnosed defense.
Third-year guard Miles Jones was supplanted
after getting injured. Jones’ injury hurt the
Eagles offensively, so the direction was to be
better on defense. In 27 contests, the Eagles
gave up an average of 38 points per game -- one
of the stingiest in the CIF-SS Division 4AA.
The season ended in the first round of the
CIF-SS Division 4AA playoffs when El Segundo
fell to second-seeded Mark Keppel in
a close game, 44-39.
Girls Water Polo
The Eagles’ high-scoring offense, that saw
them score the fifth most goals in their division
(291) and easily the most in the Ocean League
(99), was one reason El Segundo advanced to
the CIF playoffs. The Eagles advanced to the
finals of the Diamond Bar Tournament, but
lost to Long Beach Millikan 11-10 in a thriller.
The offense was led by Jenna Olson, Claire
Lindsey and Christina Mullane, who helped the
team average 10 goals per game. The defense
was led by Lisa Caravello in goal. She turned
back some of the top offenses, including Millikan.
The Rams, who averaged 15 goals per
contest, were held to 11 and Caravello made
15 saves in the game.
The Eagles advanced to the CIF Southern
Section playoffs and defeated Alemany 16-10,
but were eliminated by Diamond Bar in a close
one 5-4 in the quarterfinals.
Athletes Sign Letters of Intent
Monique Benjamin (Columbia University,
Softball), Madison (Maddie) Kurke (Wesleyan
University in Connecticut, volleyball), Madison
Fisk (San Diego State, crew) and Dariush
(Dar) Sayson (Pomona Pitzer College, football)
have displayed their athleticisms on the field
of play. They gave their all and stood out in
their respective sport. Their focus beyond their
sport also stood out in the classroom, as colleges
from the East Coast to the West Coast
beckoned them.
El Segundo In-Line Hockey League
A standing-room-only crowd watched and
cheered on Championship Saturday when
the El Segundo In-Line Hockey Association
crowned champions in three divisions. In the
Mite Division, the Flying Tigers faced off
with the Black Widows in a game that was
a nail-bitter. The Flying Tigers took a quick
2-0 lead thanks to goals by Donovan Finney
and Aran Clinton. Gavin Vanek scored a hat
trick and led the Flying Tigers to a 6-4 win.
In the Squirt Division, the Rue Jackets fell
to the Classic Kings 6-3. The Classic Kings
leaned on goalie Jacob Light, who was solid
throughout the game in making 25 saves. The
Classic Kings took the lead three minutes into
the second half on Landon Aubert’s unassisted
score. Four minutes later, Aubert took a pass
from Connor Hitzig with another score. The
Classic Kings would score another goal with
less than five minutes remaining to ice the game.
In the Pee Wee Division, the Whitehawks
trailed the Classic Kings 5-2 at halftime only
to make a brilliant comeback in the second
half to win 8-6. It was a minor miracle of
their comeback win, with three of their goals
coming off short-handed power plays. Noah
Poinsettia-Yoshida led the Whitehawks with
four goals, including two during short-handed
plays. Austin Kehl, who was playing in his
third consecutive championship game, led the
Classic Kings with two goals and two assists.
Soccer
After a challenging start, the Eagles got on
a roll. El Segundo began the year 2-3-3 and
didn’t look like the team that would finish
as the CIF and Southern California Region
champion. Things changed once the Eagles
started Ocean League play with wins over
Culver City and Beverly Hills. Though they
didn’t win the Ocean League after two close
games with Santa Monica, they were clearly
the team to beat once the playoffs started.
The Eagles were playing their best soccer
entering the playoffs and were peaking at just
the right time. It wasn’t an easy road to the
championship game even if they had outscored
their opponents 11-6 in the first four playoff
games. They defeated four league champions,
including fourth-seeded Baldwin Park before
getting to the pinnacle of the season. They were
challenged by the long drive to Vista Murrieta
in a 3-3 win on penalty kicks. They forged
through a chilly game on the road that saw a light
dusting of snow against Oak Hills from Hesperia
and an eventual win 2-1 to reach the final. In
the final, El Segundo would face a Hesperia
team that had outscored its playoff opponents
9-1 and was on a seven-game win streak.
In the CIF final, Denis Vezina fed Ciaran
Feeney with a pass and the latter obliged with
a header out of reach of the goalie and into
the net in the 59th minute. In the 72nd minute,
Jack Finders took a free ball and blasted
a left-footed shot to the back of the net for
a 2-0 lead to cap the scoring and the Eagles’
first CIF soccer championship.
El Segundo advanced to play in the Southern
California Region State Division IV championship
tournament and defeated Kennedy, the City
Section Division 3 champions, 7-3. The Eagles
went on to beat Desert Mirage of Thermal on
the road 5-4 on penalty kicks to advance to the
final hosted by El Segundo. On a rainy evening
in front of a crowd that numbered over 700
fans sitting in the wind, rain and cold, the Eagles
faced Hesperia and won a thriller on penalty
kicks. During the penalty kick phase, Logan
Pismopulos scored on a shot to the right corner,
Malcolm Holtzmann’s blast to the left corner was
good and Finders’ finesse made it 3-3. When
Hesperia’s Cesar Roque’s attempt went wide
left, it all came down to Casey Lund to deliver
the game-winner. Lund blasted it into the corner
and with it was a historic win for the ages.
The Lady Eagles started the season without four
potential starters who were either injured or decided
not to play. It would be a challenging season,
but they persevered through adversity to return
Engaging Local Elementary
Students in Art
Pursuing your passion. Some call it a “fanciful
hope,” while others say, “#lifegoals.” At
Vistamar School students and teachers pursue
their passions through exploratory classes, and
it is the reason why Paint Pals exists for Juan
Cabrillo Elementary.
Designed by Vistamar seniors Emma Cheung
and Nikki Sadat, Paint Pals is the answer to
a need for further art exploration at Cabrillo.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Cheung
and Sadat are in their second year of running
the program.
When asked why Sadat and Cheung felt
it was important to create this class, Sadat
reflected, “Freedom of creative expression is
critical for development in kids. The ability
to have fun at a young age and that ‘coloring
inside the lines’ isn’t the only way is very
important for self-confidence.” The Vistamar
exploratory class meets four times a month,
spending two days lesson planning and two
days visiting Cabrillo School. Cheung added,
“I’ve always loved art as well as volunteering
with kids, so this was the perfect opportunity
to combine these two passions.”
The class has grown from nine students in
the inaugural year to more than 20. The group
does projects like decorating masks, crafting
hand puppets and designing paper airplanes.
Sadat shares her favorite memory of the class:
“The image that always stuck with me was my
view of 35 kids quickly running towards their
parents with their masked faces covered in a
Emma Cheung (L) and Nikki Sadat (R)
See Students in Art, page 6
ESUSD SEEKS
MEASURE ES BOND OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The El Segundo Unified School District (ESUSD) is seeking
residents to oversee the spending of Measure ES, the $92 million
in school bonds approved by the voters on November 6, 2018.
Community members who live within the boundaries of
ESUSD are eligible to apply for membership on the
Measure ES Citizen Bond Oversight Committee.
If you or someone you know is interested in participating
on this committee, please download and complete the
application found at https://tinyurl.com/esoversight.
All applications must be received by 4:30 PM on
Friday, January 11, 2019. Submittal instructions
can be found on the application form.
For additional information on the bonds and the oversight
committee, please visit www.elsegundousd.net. Thank you.
See Sports, page 10