18 - Conejo Valley Unified School District

18
Boys
Soccer
Battles On
STEPHANIE NIEVES
SPORTS EDITOR
Boyd and Burke, with four goals each.
WHS managed a win against Royal
High School in the 65th minute. Rubenstein scored after an assist from Afshar,
giving WHS their third win of the season.
After a devastating loss to Agoura
with a score of 3-0, the team was well
aware that future games would be crucial
for their place in league.
Continuing with tradition, WHS
played TOHS at the annual Super Saturday event . The scores were varsity 0-0, JV
2-1, and frosh-soph 1-1.
Against Moorpark, the boys were
once again successful. The final score was
3-0 with goals by Afshar, Rubenstein, and
Ylauan, with assists from Burke, Hall, and
Alex Henderson ’08.
Most recently, the team had a 1-2 loss
to Newbury Park and Simi Valley, followed
by another win against Royal. Rubenstein
scored the first two goals with assists from
Ylauan, while Afshar scored on a penalty
kick for a final score of 3-1.
“We’re in a transition phase right now,
but I think the team is starting to work
together and do well,” said Adam Burke
’08.
On Wednesday, the boys pulled
through with a win against Calabasas,
movig them up in league. Houston and
Boyd each had 2 goals leading to a win
of 2-0.
“This season has had its ups and
downs. but I think we still have a chance
for a strong finish,” said Prober.
February 8, 2008 • THE ARROW
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIEVES
Closely following Agoura and Thousand Oaks High Schools, WHS is ranked
sixth in the Marmonte League with a current league record of 6-5-2 and an overall
record of 10-8-5.
The team consists primarily of its 11
seniors, led by forward Scott Rubenstein,
defender Christian Houston, midfielder
Arshad Haider, defender Blaine Prober,
and forward Naveed Afshar.
In his final season of varsity soccer at
WHS, Prober describes it as “memorable
and fulfilling.”
Juniors Baker Boyd, Connor Burke,
Austin Hall, and Jordan Ylauan have also
emerged as assets to this year’s team, demonstrating both skill and teamwork on the
field. Ylauan has a total of 10 assists while
Hall has 5.
“Burke and Hall have been really
valuable to us this season,” said Prober.
Afshar leads the team with nine goals,
followed by Rubenstein with six goals, and
SPORTS
PUTTING HIS BEST FOOT FORWARD: Scott Rubenstein ’08 hustles for a goal against Agoura.
JV Unites Behind New Coach
KELLEY BIGGS
STEPHANIE LERVOLD
STAFF WRITERS
Girls JV basketball, has
shown improvement over their
previous few seasons. Aided by
a new coach, William Burr, the
team has united under his leadership.
The team’s victory last Monday against Royal (40-36) gave
them a winning record of 7-5.
Starter Austin Walker ’09 recalls what off season was like.
“It was a lot of hard work
and more running than anyone
expected, but it has definitely
helped now that it is season.”
The team has three returning
juniors: Walker, Abigail Wilkins,
and Jessica Zwicker; five returning sophomores: Melody Barooni, Jordyn Colemon, Melissa
Johnson, Paige Kotake, and Samantha Spencer; and one freshman, Madison Marshall.
New team member Esther
Knopp ’09 also notes the improvement.
“I think we are doing very
well,” said the junior. “We improved a lot this season, and we
have great team spirit. I think
coach helped us a lot. He gave
us the feeling we are all really
good players and our team is
good enough to beat all the other teams.”
All teams have become very
close with each other and are even
hanging out outside of school.
“The team’s great, the coaching is really good and we all get
along really well and the season is pretty good so far,” said
Walker.
Most of the team has been
together for the past two or three
years and consider themselves
family.
“Our team is like one big
family. We have a lot of motivation from everybody,” said Spencer.
The team will be playing its
last game Friday, Feb. 8, against
Moorpark. Games will start with
JV at 5:30 p.m. and Varsity at 7
p.m.
Wrestling Scores League Victory
IRIS YAN
FEATURE EDITOR
Above: Flyer Alyssa Schrupp ‘11, Bases Andrea Kemp
‘11, Heather Riley ‘10, and Christina Cipriani ‘08.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIEVES
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIEVES
WHS competition cheer started the season off with
a competition on Jan. 19 at Agoura High School. They
placed second behind Hart.
“We did pretty well for out first competition especially because our team is so young. We didn’t do
as well as we were hoping, but it showed us what we
need to work on and helped us set some goals for the
rest of the year,” said Sara Hagey ’08.
Thomas Lang ’08 wrestled
his way to first place in the
145-pound weight class at the
Marmonte League finals. In addition, his fellow teammates Jason Villavisencio ’09 (103 weight
division) and Kelly Postel ’08
(119 weight division), placed second and third respectively.
They will compete in the CIF
Southern Sectionals on Friday
and Saturday, Feb. 15-16 at Los
Osos High School in Riverside.
Last year, the boys wrestling
team ended the season ranked
third in league, but at the end of
this season, the wrestling teams
have held on tight, vying for superiority over their competitors.
“Our season did not turn out
as well as I had hoped, due to my
anticipation of a league championship, but we are at a plateau
this year,” said Head Coach John
Cuccia. “In our team, the individual standouts are expected to
improve through the finals and
CIF.”
“What makes them unique
and successful is their outstanding self-motivation,” said Cuccia.
WRESTLING FOR THE WIN: Jonny LeFevre ’08 holds down his teammate
during their final practice before the match against Moorpark.
Many consider wrestling
one of the most difficult sports
in high school, as stated by Jung
Lee ’10, one of two sophomores
on the team.
“Because we have to manage
our weight and the practices are
physically straining, I believe that
wrestling is incredibly difficult,”
said Lee.
This year, though the wrestling team is not in as good of a
standing as last year, the team is
training its many young wrestlers
for the success in years to come
through its tough practices.
“WHS is currently hosting
an off-season wrestling program
two times a week to introduce
and train young future wrestlers. We hope that through this
program, we can promote the
sport of wrestling in Westlake,“
said Cuccia.
The varsity team had three
of its stars graduate last year,
but Cuccia and Assistant Coaches Kevin Marshall and Adam
Rundgren are tightening their
hold on their competitors.