True dedication: all-league stars

16
November 8, 2012
Sports
True dedication: all-league stars
 Take a look at seven of the school’s most prominent athletes and what makes them stand out on the field
Story and photos by Darius Chriss
Contributing Writer
M
eet girls cross-country’s senior Alyssa Cerminara Gutcher. She is nice and friendly off the course, but a fierce competitor on the course. Gutcher
is in the top 10 on the all-time girls list with a time of 17:34. Having run since her freshman year, Gutcher has continued to run at her top level.
“I keep running because I think it’s fun to represent,” Gutcher said.
In her four years of running, Gutcher has been to three state finals, placing fifth last year with her team. The girls ran in the top race of the morning at
the Orange County championships, where Gutcher placed eighth for all senior girls.
“My training isn’t really different from other people, just more mileage and faster,” Gutcher said.
Gutcher and the varsity team run an average of six miles a day Monday to Thursday, depending on which day they have a meet. This usually leaves them
as the last team training after school other than football on certain days.
Senior Alyssa Cermi“I would have to say our hardest day is Tuesday when we run repeats and do a lot of speed work,” Gutcher said.
nara Gutcher
Gutcher placed fifth in league last Friday as she and the team placed first to move on to C.I.F. this Saturday for the fourth straight year.
T
hey say, like mother like daughter; however, for varsity girls volleyball senior Abigail Peterman, it was a bit different.
“What started me playing (volleyball) was my sister playing volleyball,” Peterman explained. She was in fifth grade on a school team. Peterman has
been on the varsity team since her freshman year.
“I work really hard and don’t waste time… I leave it all on the court,” Peterman said. Every team has drills that seem never-ending and Peterman explained
one of her team’s.
“Our coach serves the ball at us,” Peterman said. “If we don’t get two good passes, we have to run lines. We also have to hit the corners and hit 15 balls…
it takes a long time so we’re all running all over for it.”
After three years of watching, Peterman was honored Oct.29th during senior night before the last league game against Irvine High.
Senior Abigail Peterman
W
hen life gives you lemons, make lemonade, but when life gives you a love for football and a pool, play water polo. This was ideal for varsity water
polo’s senior Travis Kissinger, who has played water polo since fifth grade.
“I wasn’t able to play football and I swam my whole life so the only sport that made sense was water polo,” Kissinger said.
Kissinger leads the team in assists with 20 on the season and is tied for most steals. Kissinger and the team went to C.I.F last year and he plans on going
again this year. His team’s training is unlike many sports.
“We can’t stand, so we’re constantly moving,” Kissinger said. With hard training usually comes a pregame meal that fills you up; for Kissinger, he keeps
it light.
“The sweat tea at McDonalds always gets me amped,” Kissinger said. Kissinger and the team had their final league game last Thursday against Irvine High.
Senior Travis Krissinger
T
Junior Genie Short
hey say the apple does not fall too far from the tree; for girls varsity golf’s junior Genie Short, it did not fall far at all. Short is the daughter of professional golfer Jeff Short.
“I wanted to take after him,” Short said.
Short began playing golf at the age of five. Because there is only one level for girls golf, Short had the chance to play at the varsity level as early as her
freshman year. Since then, she has continued to train hard.
“I go to the gym at least four times a week, and I golf every day,” Short said.
Short has a personal best score of 35 (1under) at Strawberry Farm Field and the Laguna Hill Golf Course. Short made it to C.I.F. for the second time this
year; last year, she made it to C.I.F. Finals.
I
t is hard to tell who will excel in running before high school with the lack of clubs and local teams, aside from the Irvine Junior Games. However, for varsity cross-country’s junior Jackson Marshall, people could tell right away. Marshall ran his first varsity time his freshman year and continues to improve.
“My faith in God gets me through some of the hard stuff,” Marshall said. “That’s the reason I am successful.”
Marshall has a personal best of 14:56 for a standard three-mile race, putting him at fifth all time on the Woodbridge boys list.
“I try to put really hard work into every practice,” Marshall said. Last week, Marshall and the team finished second in league and will move on to C.I.F.
Preliminaries this Saturday.
G
irls tennis senior Ivanna Rakie shows that practice does not make perfect but remains permanent.
Junior Jackson Marshall
“I have played tennis since I was 3 years old,” Rakie said.
This adds up to 14 years of non-stop tennis. With that, Rakie joined the varsity team her sophomore year. Since then, she has made it to C.I.F. individually and
with her team all 3 years. Even with 14 years of training, Rakie says she is still dedicated to her sport.
“I have private lessons 2 to3 times a week,” Rakie said. “I just try really hard in practice, but I am really motivated to play in college.”
Rakie and the team advanced to the second round of C.I.F. last Wednesday, but suffered a loss to Dana Hills. Rakie plans on playing for a California State
University or a private college.
Senior
I
Ivanna Rakie
n middle school, junior Austin Defreitas played on the local football team. Since his freshman year, Defreitas has played on the varsity football team and
continues to make an impact on the team. However, not everything comes easy for Defreitas.
“The harder days of practice are usually when we have to run a lot,” Defreitas said.
Defreitas led the league with 19 touchdowns, and led the league in rushing yards with 1835 (averaging 183.5 a game). With the team scoring 37 touchdowns on the year, Defreitas scored a little over half the team’s points. Like most athletes, Defreitas has a special pre-meal and song to get him ready for every
game
Junior Austin Defreitas
“I usually go to Juice it Up,” Defreitas said. “Then I listen to ‘All the Way Turnt Up’ by Roscoe Dash”.
Sports
November 8, 2012
17
Cross-country takes first and second at League Finals
 Both the boys and girls teams
will be moving on to compete in
the C.I.F. Preliminary rounds
by Achint Singh
Contributing Writer
G
irls and boys cross-country will be competing in the
C.I.F. Preliminary this Saturday at Mt. San Antonio
College at 8 a.m. after the teams received first and second
place respectively last Friday at the League Finals at Irvine Park.
During the second league meet on Oct. 25, the boys
won second place. The team trailed five points behind
Corona Del Mar High. The girls team took first place,
taking the lead by two points.
“The boys team, as you know, is a rebuilding year because they are really young,” head coach Bryan Pacheco
said. “However, they have been doing really well.”
“As a team I feel like we progressed really well this
season,” senior Justin Larios said. “The progress that we
made so far is just excellent.”
The boys team was able to defeat Corona Del Mar
during the first league meet, achieving its goal. The boys
were also able to get a better place than Northwood High
during the second league meet. Corona Del Mar and
Northwood are the team’s major rivals this season.
Junior Jackson Marshall has been a key athlete on
the boys team. He broke 15 minutes running 3 miles for
the first time ever, and he is ranked number 4 in all-time
history for the school. He ran 14:55 in the second league
meet and 14:58 during the third league meet.
The girls team has done very well during its season.
The girls beat Corona Del Mar in two of its league meets.
During the first league meet, they trailed 4 points behind
Northwood.
Photo courtesy of Regina Gutcher
JUNIIOR JAKE SUISTE sprints ahead of three other competitors from other high schools in the league finals last Friday, Nov. 2
at Irvine Park. The boys won second place at the competition.
“We still have CIF and CIF Finals and possibly State,”
junior Kyle Oefelein said. “But, we’re really glad we
beat Northwood at the last meet.”
Last year, the girls took fifth in the state. The team
hopes for the same results or even better this year.
Pacheco also feels that it is a building year for the
Girls volleyball beats Irvine High
 After a rough season,
ings the second time around and play a little
tougher on our competitors.”
Though the beginning of the girls’ season
was not as successful as the team expected,
the girls ended their year strong with a victory against Irvine.
by Caitlin Kealey
However, improvement was something
Contributing Writer
the team needed earlier in the year.
irls volleyball (5-13) wrapped up its
“I feel like skill wise we improved but
season with a victory against Irvine unfortunately we improved too late into the
High (3-1) on Monday, Oct. 29. At the end season and our record doesn’t show that,” seof this season, the seniors celebrate their last nior Kelsey Meyers said.
successful
game
Girls volleyball ended
“But you adjust your goals strong, showing off its
with Senior Night.
Afterwards, the as you move along and after skills in the last game as
team reflected on
as displaying its imthe first half of the season, well
its performance this
provement since the first
year and made sug- we decided to have better game the team played this
gestions for pos- showings the second time season.
sible improvements
The players on the
around and play a little
for next year’s seateam got to know each
tougher on our competi- other really well this year
son.
“We didn’t get to tors.”
and worked together in
the goals that we set
their efforts to reach their
out at the beginning
- Coach Alan Ho goals.
of the year,” coach
“I think this season we
Alan Ho said. “But you adjust your goals played pretty well as a team,” senior Katie
as you move along and after the first half of Bell said. “We got to bond as a team and we
the season, we decided to have better show- became really good friends.”
girls volleyball beat Irvine
High, ending its season
G
boys’ team. Despite the team’s inexperience, the team
members still hope to qualify for CIF.
Pacheco also remarks that next year will be that much
better compared to this year.
“Obviously we hope that next year will be that much
better,” Pacheco said.
Boys waterpolo finishes in fifth place
 Boys water polo finishes
versity High.
In order to make C.I.F. next year, the
team will bring forth harder work and determination.
“Yeah, I think that we really struggled
in our team dynamic,” junior Sam Slaby Joshua Vu
bodian said. “I think this time around,
Contributing Writer
we need to rework our strategy to gain a
oys water polo (11-11) finished the
better lead again.”
season in fifth place in its league after
The team will be training much harder
its most recent game against Irvine High than before in order to brush up for next
School last Tuesday at the home swimming year.
pool, losing the game
Last year, the
with a score of 11-10. “I think that we really strug- team won its first
“This season has
gled in our team dynamic. I round but lost in
certainly been more
the second. Howcompetitive,” coach think this time around, we ever, Campbell says,
Matt Campbell said. need to rework our strategy “The team has ma“We just couldn’t to gain a better lead again.” tured tremendously
make C.I.F., but we’ll
through this protry much harder next
cess.”
- junior Sam Slabodian
year to succeed.”
With the experiFor C.I.F. playence gained from
offs, teams compete
this year’s games,
in Southern California leagues against the team will be able to make a comeback
other schools for the State Championships. in the next season.
Though the team was unable to make the
“I know if we are willing to work toplayoffs, it had many season highlights, in- wards victory, we’ll be able to achieve viccluding the games against Irvine and Uni- tory,” senior Sam Killian said.
season but is unable to
qualify for C.I.F.
B
18
Sports
November 8, 2012
Behind the games: offseason sports prep for season
 Fall sports are winding down and as they begin their offseason, winter and spring sports players
Story and photos by Isabel Ma
are stepping up their pre-season preparations
Contributing Writer
Fall Sports
Football: Once season is done, the first few months of offseason will consist of long distance runs, sprints and weight lifting. At the end of January, the morning lifts begin, which
consist of coming to school at 6:15 a.m. and lifting weights; some players are able to warm up with weights that are upwards to 225 Ib. Football starts up again in late May and there
is a final intensive camp over summer before regular season begins.
Girls tennis: Once girls tennis offseason begins, athletes will mostly be doing drills to improve their stamina. This consists of sprints and a weekly mile run before going on to the
court for skill work. The team is also thinking of going to the fitness center to work out and do Pilates on Fridays. Over the summer, it is up to the players to stay in shape and get
ready for season since there is no summer camp. Even with a new coach this year, prospects for the team are looking good.
Winter Sports
Boys basketball: From Monday to Friday, offseason boys basketball practices are pretty consistent. Warm ups and drills occur
from 2:30 to 3:10 p.m., followed by up-hill sprints, weight lifting, runs around the track, leg workouts and stretching; this goes on
until 4:30 or 5 p.m. each day. One of the most grueling practices involves running a mile around the track while carrying 25 Ib.
weights.
Wrestling: Wrestling’s offseason follows a pretty strict schedule. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are used to practice take
downs and all other offensive and defensive moves. Tuesdays and Thursdays focus on conditioning and strength; the team warms
up by jogging a lap around the track, followed by several 100 meter sprints. In the weight room, athletes go by work out plans
of assistant coach, Austin Tu, which target the legs, core and arms. Afterwards, the team is free to work on whatever they want.
Spring Sports
SOPHOMORE JONATHAN TUDHOPE trains in the
weightroom.
Girls lacrosse: Girls lacrosse practices follow a loose schedule. Mondays are usually dedicated to runs, namely the “Jeffery Run,” a long distance route that goes down Jeffery Road and covers 3 miles in total. Tuesdays are for strength building
in the weight room, followed by up-hill sprints for agility. Wednesdays and Thursdays consist of mostly drills and regular
sprints. Fridays are set aside for the timed mile, when the coaches test if each player’s speed has increased over the week,
followed by abs workouts to wrap it up.
SOPHOMORES ROSE ARGHAVAN AND KATELYN JIANG
runs through a defense drill during practice.
Baseball: Offseason practices are the same every year for baseball. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the boys
are in the weight room. Tuesdays and Thursdays are field days.
Coach Tim Murray outlined his goals for this year, saying, “We want to qualify for CIF and finish in the top three spots.
We try to work hard to attain that even during our offseason.”
Every Thursday at 5 p.m. the team plays against other schools at Windrow Park to prepare for season.
Girls tennis reaches goals for the year
 Girls tennis ends the season strong and competes in C.I.F.
by Audrey Fong
G
Contributing Writer
Photos courtesy of Emily Chow
(LEFT) SOPHOMORE STEPHANIE HAZELL serves the
ball at Irvine High School on Oct. 4.
(RIGHT) SOPHOMORE EMILY TRINH hits the ball back
to her opponent on Oct. 22.
irls tennis (4-6) ended its season Oct. 31 after a loss to to rank within the top three at league, so that they could go to
Dana Hills High at a C.I.F. game.
C.I.F.
“Everyone on the team is extremely proud of sophomore
“Our strength would have to be our team work,” Hazell
Stephanie Hazell for taking the chamsaid. “The team this year is like a family;
pion title in league finals for the second “My goals in the beginning we all want to see each other do well.”
year in a row,” captain and senior Em- of the season were to have
With the team’s strong team work and
ily Chow said.
encouraging spirit, all of the players gain
each individual on the team a lot of positive morale from everyone else
Hazell hopes to win league next year
again and to go on to C.I.F. with the improve their skills, have on the team.
team next season too.
Each player tries to contribute as much
the team gain more experi“The season went pretty well,” ence overall and make C.I.F. as they can to the team.
Chow said. “My goals in the begin“During our matches, we are constantly
ning of the season were to have each The team reached all my supporting and cheering each other on,”
individual on the team improve their goals and I am very proud of junior Nicole Millado added.
skills, have the team gain more experi- them.”
“We will be saying good bye to our seence overall and make C.I.F. The team
niors; some of the girls will be doing off
- senior Emily Chow season or moving on to a different sport.
reached all my goals and I am very
proud of them.”
We will all still hang out and do a team sleepover and dinner,”
The team’s main goal at the beginning of the season was Hazell said.
Sports
Girls golf competes in individual C.I.F.
by Kristyanne Crosby
Opinion Editor
A
fter making it to C.I.F. sectionals and
winning first in league, girls golf finishes its season 4-6 in league.
Missing the cut off by one stroke, both
senior Angela Yang and junior Genie
Short’s C.I.F. journey ended last Wednesday.
“I’m really sad because the season was
so short and I really enjoyed high school
golf,” Yang said.
Now that the season is over, the team is
looking forward to next year.
“I know Genie’s going to do good be-
cause she is always good and my other
starters,” Yang said. “They all have so
much potential and I really think they’re
going to improve a lot.”
Short won the league match, to which
“We have a lot of freshmen
right now. If they improve
and I improve, then I think
we’ll win a lot and get to
C.I.F. next year,”
- sophomore Victoria Vasko
high schools across Southern California
sent their best players. In the last stroke,
Short took home the title Pacific Coast
League Champion. Next year holds new
potential for this rising star.
“I’ll be the only senior, so I’ll be captain and that’s a big deal,” Short said.
The golf team has a lot of younger
players.
“We have a lot of freshmen right now.
If they improve and I improve, then I think
we’ll win a lot and get to CIF next year,”
sophomore Victoria Vasko said.
Vasko placed 14th in the league championships while freshman Lindsay Van
Der Water placed 17th.
After the girls complete their C.I.F.
championships, the team will be winding
down until next year.
Football wins final game of the season
 Football ends its
season, winning its last
game on Nov. 2 against
Irvine at 7 p.m. and
making it to C.I.F.
by Anna Hong
Contributing Writer
F
ootball (5-5) won the final game of the
season last Friday against Irvine (35-7),
gaining the opportunity to play in C.I.F.
“My goal is the same every year,” coach
Rick Gibson said. “The goal is to work as
a team and do the best they can.”
Even though the team has lost recent
games, players still made it to C.I.F.
“I’m overall pretty disappointed with
Photo courtesy of Robert Busch
the season so far,” senior Jae Enyart said.
“We are a much better team than our re- JUNIOR AUSTIN DEFREITAS runs with the ball as an Irvine player tries to tackle
cord would suggest and we don’t have very himduring the team’s last game of the season against Irvine High School last Friday.
The team won the game with a score of 35-7, allowing football to continue on to C.I.F.
much time left in the season to show it.”
As the result of players’ hard work, the
The team’s effort and preparation since bonding skills. They are now preparing to
season ended well. Even though players the summer showed great results by ending win in C.I.F and the Pacific League Chamhad little time to improve their record, they this season. The team will now prepare for pionship.
still managed to qualify for C.I.F.
C.I.F. by practicing pre-game warm ups.
“The season ended very well but we
“I think our team is doing better this
“I think our team has very high poten- could have been better,” senior David Patyear than last year,” Enyart said, “but the tial,” junior Philip Hong said. “We just terson said.
difference is extremely marginal and if need to get used to ‘finishing’ the games.”
Players are working harder than before,
only because of the raw talent that we have
The team has the advantage of having learning how to play as a team and hoping
on our team.”
multiple talents followed by great team to end the season with good records.
The Woodbridge Theater presents
‘Antigone’
A New Twist on a Classic Greek Tragedy
Nov. 15 - 17 (next Thursday through Saturday) at 7 p.m.
Admission prices: $8 students
$10 general
November 8, 2012
19
Beyond the Stereotype
I
’m assuming we’ve all seen “Mean
Girls,” right? Well, for me, I just saw
it last year at a mock trial team bonding
dinner since my captain stared at me in
absolute disbelief when I let it slip that
I had never seen that movie. Turns out,
I’ve learned a few things from watching
that film. I share the same name with the
main antagonist, who happens to be the
most popular girl in the school. Funny,
since Regina George and I are polar opposites. I learned that popularity is meaningless. And most importantly, I learned
that popular culture has established stereotypes that define our views of the people around us.
One of these stereotypes that pops up
all around us is how we picture athletes.
In “Mean Girls” and other movies and
television shows, jocks are mostly portrayed as handsome, muscular and sexy.
They are depicted as unintelligent students who like to crack jokes in class and
entertain their classmates. Male athletes
in the media tend to be womanizers as
girls flock around them constantly.
In contrast, high school has taught
me something completely contradictory
to the image that today’s media is teaching us. Throughout my first two years at
Woodbridge, I met my fair share of athletes, and they are nothing like the stereotypes. They are friendly, they come in
all different shapes and forms, they are
a fair representation of every ethnicity
here at our school and they take honors
and A.P. classes. In short, the athletes in
real life are just like you and me; they
have dreams and goals, they participate
in other activities and they take school
seriously.
The athletes I know personally have
taught me that stereotypes do not define a
person. Since every individual is unique,
it is impossible to classify anyone by a
single label. Whether you’re an athlete
or not, you should not let stereotypes affect how you live; remember, only you
can define who you are, not an overused
word.
(P.S. I would like to thank Mr. Gesk
for inspiring me with this column idea.)
Best wishes,
Regina Zeng