EL SEGUNDO HERALD December 28, 2017 Page 5 The 2017 Sports Year in Review By Gregg McMullin As 2017 comes to a close, this gives us the opportunity to look back and recall the ups and the downs, the winning teams and some heartbreak losses. We cheered and we supported the hard-luck results. High school and youth sports once again took center stage as we supported each event. So with that in mind, let’s revisit the first six months of 2017 and relive the excitement of some very special and precious memories that had our community buzzing and outside communities DEADLINES OBITUARIES: Monday at noon. CALENDAR ITEMS: Monday at noon. PEOPLE ITEMS: Monday at noon. CLASSIFIEDS: Tuesday at noon. LEGAL NOTICES: Wednesday at 11:00 am. REAL ESTATE ADS: Monday at noon. AD CANCELLATIONS: Prior Thursday. LATE CANCELLATIONS WILL BE CHARGED 50% OF AD in envy. Basketball The year started out with the boys’ basketball team entering Ocean League with a 5-9 record. They would go 2-8 in one of the most competitive leagues in the South Bay that saw three teams go deep into the postseason. The Eagles would not be one of them, but first-year coach David March did a splendid job getting his team ready and competitive each game. The Lady Eagles’ season was a challenge for head coach Rand Kiehm. Just the season before, his team would advance to the CIF-SS Division 4AA quarterfinals. With the team decimated by the loss of so many players to graduation, El Segundo finished the non-league schedule 7-9. Facing Ribet Academy for one final tune-up before league play would be a daunting task. The Horned Frogs (12-3) were a CIF power and have eight consecutive winning seasons, including back-to-back CIF finals appearances and one title in that time. The Lady Eagles stayed within reach of Ribet before falling 48-43. The close loss gave the team hope of staying with Beverly Hills, Lawndale, Santa Monica and Culver City in Ocean League play. Beverly Hills won a CIF championship while the other teams reached the postseason. Sophomore sensation Malia Hue was the leading scorer and had one of her best games against Ribet by sinking eight three-pointers. But the Lady Eagles won just two games in league play and failed to advance to the postseason for the first time in six seasons. Girls’ Water Polo The Lady Eagles had a great season and went 14-11 overall, including 5-2 in league play. Jenna Olson, Isabel Romero, Claire Lindsey and Emma Romero led the roster. After finishing ninth in the competitive Western Tournament, the team played well and the pollsters noticed. When El Segundo cracked the top 10 in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 polls, the Lady Eagles responded with a 13-3 win over Torrance and a nice showing in the Segerstrom Tournament going 2-3.The Lady Eagles fell in the first round of the CIF playoffs to Alemany 16-12. Football Several Eagle football players participated in the 53rd Lions All-Star game. The game, that had been scheduled to be played at Mira Costa, was moved to El Segundo when Costa’s field was flooded due to the rain. The Blue team, coached by El Segundo’s Steve Shevlin, throttled the Silver team 31- 3. Eagles who made an impact on the game were Duncan Papalii, who scored a first half rushing touchdown; Angelo Pacheco, who led the team in tackles; Isaiah Gray, who started at running back; and Brandon Weldon, who started at left offensive tackle. Aston Saltz was a major factor blocking for Gray as well as the placekicker holder. Billy Brasher started at tight end and caught three passes, Haamid Brooks, Jr. caught a long touchdown pass, and Gabe Fernan played on the defensive line. Soccer Skip Jones took over for Tony Hobbs, who directed the Lady Eagles for four seasons. Coach Jones is a former player and attended El Segundo High School. His team would be challenged with so many injuries. Of the 18 players on the roster, 13 were seniors--but the team had just six returning varsity players. So inexperience coupled with injuries made it a challenging season. The Eagles scored the second-most goals in the Ocean League, but still finished 4-5-1 and out of the playoff picture. The boys’ team reached the CIF Southern Section quarterfinals in consecutive years the past two seasons. The team lost 11 players to graduation, but returned nine impressive and talented players. Juniors Tyler Villalobos and Daniel Gutierrez were the only returning starters, so the head coach Andrew Kelly had his work cut out for him. To help stabilize the team and visualize the future, three freshmen including Logan Pismopolous, Casey Lund and Christopher Charles would get significant playing time. Though the team would not advance to the playoffs, the Eagles did however finish the season on a high note by defeating Santa Monica 4-2. Letters of Intent Eagles moving on to play athletics at the colligate level included Jake Palmer (UC Irvine, baseball), Joe Kelly (Princeton, volleyball), Cory Lund (Williams College, lacrosse),Sean Emery (Claremont McKenna College, baseball), Cierra Kessler (Marymount California College, softball), Brandon Weldon (Sacramento State, football), Gio Miglietti (University of Washington, soccer) and Isaiah Lynch (Grand Canyon University, lacrosse). Moments That Mattered in Sports in 2017: A Recap of the Past Year By Adam Serrao Say what you may about the year of 2017, but it certainly did its job in providing us all with a great deal of memorable moments across the sports world. Some of those moments may bring you warm feelings of joy. Others may induce unpleasant memories that you’d rather forget. All in all, however, the athletic events that took place in the year of 2017 did their part in providing us all with countless hours of entertainment. So, without further ado, let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable sporting events that took place throughout the course of the past year that will now soon come to an end. What would a discussion about sports--and more specifically football--be if the names of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were not mentioned? Naturally, New England is in the running for a Super Bowl spot once again this season, but who could forget about their stunning comeback over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Atlanta held a 28-3 lead while most of America took joy in Brady’s pain and frustration. It wasn’t long, however, before the quarterback would lead his team on a stunning second-half comeback to eventually take a 34-28 come-from-behind Super Bowl victory. Just as the Patriots have dominated football lately, the Warriors have dominated the game of basketball. The epitome of a “super team,” Golden State went out and acquired Kevin Durant to become even stronger than before. That strength in numbers led to a 4-1 NBA Finals victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Those two teams weren’t the only ones making news in the NBA, though. The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Lonzo Ball with the second pick in the NBA draft. While his father has still failed to stop talking, Lonzo looks to be finally coming in to his own. The rookie currently averages close to 10 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game. At only age 20, Lonzo (and the rest of his family) has garnered a great majority of publicity around the NBA and more specifically, around Los Angeles. Who could forget the publicity stunt that was the fight between 40-year-old boxing star Floyd Mayweather and 28-year-old UFC star Conor McGregor? After weeks of grandstanding on stages across the world and badmouthing each other, the two fighters actually made their bout look somewhat respectable. In the end, though, Mayweather took the victory, as expected, and walked away with well over $100 million. McGregor received over $30 million. In college sports, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels maneuvered their way through their share of March Madness and found themselves up against a Gonzaga Bullsdogs team that had only lost two games all season long. A 71-65 victory brought North Carolina its seventh men’s college basketball national championship. Another underdog, upset victory took place in the College Football Playoff National Championship last year. The Clemson Tigers marched into Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida and behind star quarterback and MVP of the game Deshaun Watson, handed the Alabama Crimson Tide a 35-31 loss. In college football’s first ever rematch in national championship game history (Alabama had beaten Clemson in the 2016 championship game), the Tigers won on a go-ahead touchdown with one second remaining in the game. With 420 yards, Watson set the record for most passing yards in championship game history. The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their dominance of the NHL in 2017 as they became the first team in nearly two decades to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. The Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators by a final score of 2-0 in Game 6 of a series that saw Nashville make its first-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. With the victory, Pittsburgh has now won five championships, all of which have come since 1991. It was the third Stanley Cup appearance for Penguins star Sydney Crosby, who also won his second Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player of the postseason. At just age 29, Crosby has likely cemented his reputation as most recognizable player in the NHL. Just when everyone had perhaps forgotten about Roger Federer, the tennis superstar had a late-career revival in 2017. Federer not only won the Australian Open, but also captured a record eighth Wimbledon title in 2017 while in the process becoming the tournament’s oldest champion ever. With his amazing year, the Swiss superstar took home his 19th career Grand Slam title and at the age of 35, is showing a late-career resurgence that still ranks him amongst the game’s elite. Last, but certainly not least, who could forget the epic World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros? After their city had been devastated by Hurricane Harvey, Jose Altuve, Justin Verlander and the rest of the Astros rallied to defeat the Dodgers in seven games to bring a World Series title back to Houston. As good as the Astros were, however, the series might more notably be remembered--especially by Dodger fans--for their players’ inability to execute in the clutch. Clayton Kershaw once again showed that he is absolutely beatable in the postseason with yet another series of meltdowns occurring when the team needed him the most. Even Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen threw up a dud or two to contribute to his team’s loss. In the end, however, Houston proved it was the better team in winning franchise’s first World Series title ever. Those memories and many, many more complete a 2017 year that was full of a countless amount of moments that made us cheer, cringe, jump for joy and even shriek in disbelief. As 2018 gets off to a start, more memories begin to write themselves into the record books and into our hearts. There truly is nothing in this world like sports and the year of 2017 certainly had its own unique way of proving that point to us all once again. – Aserrao6@yahoo.com • See Eagles, page 12 Burkley Brandlin Swatik & Keesey LLP AT T O R N E Y S AT L AW Lifetime El Segundo Residents Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Wishing You A Happy And Safe Holiday Season
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