Brandon Le: kickflipping his way to success

16
Sports
May 22, 2014
Brandon Le: kickflipping his way to success
 Brandon Le’s
outstanding
skateboarding ability
has landed him several
sponsorships
by Carlos Diaz
S
Staff Writer
ophomore Brandon Le was recently
sponsored by People Clothing and
Skateboards and HustleVillians for his superb skateboarding skills.
“It has been five years since I started
skateboarding and I was influenced by a lot
of pro skateboarders,” Le said. “But I was
first influenced when I saw the older kids in
my neighborhood skating, and I wanted to
be like them.”
Le said that he was first sponsored in
summer 2013 by Uphustle Clothing and
soon after began to skate for B1P Clothing
in October 2013. He also received the benefit of free skateboards from his sponsors
Photo courtesy of Justin Yee
SOPHOMORE BRANDON LE performs a board slide down the rail.
because he skates so frequently.
“The thing I love most about skating
is being able to do it with my friends and
have fun,” Le said. “I also love the feeling
of landing a new trick. It’s unlike anything;
I can’t explain.”
Le said that the key to learning a new
trick is practicing a lot and not giving in,
because one might never know if the next
try will be a success.
He claimed Nollies and heel-flips are
his greatest strengths out of all the tricks he
is capable of doing. Nollies are essentially
Ollies but when riding Fakie, which means
riding in the opposite position of the skateboard. Heel-flips are almost like Kick-flips,
but instead of the tip of the feet flipping the
board, it is the heel.
“My most challenging tricks are the
360 flips. I used to be able to do them but I
have messed up my ankles so many times,
I can’t get the right scoop of my board anymore,” Le said.
Le goes to the Harvard Athletic Park
Monday and Friday to practice around two
to three hours each day. On weekends he
goes to film or shoot photos of his skate
sessions with his peers.
“I love teaching and helping people do
tricks; the more people in the skate community, the better,” Le said. “I’m always
trying to help kids at the skate-park learn
new tricks.”
Nothing has really changed the attitude
of Le since he got sponsored; he said it is
nice not having to purchase a fresh board
every other week.
“What is really awesome about skateboarding is that there is no scheduled time;
I usually just skate whenever I want or
whenever I have the chance,” Le said.
Sports
May 22, 2014
Track sets off at a break neck pace for CIF
 Runners credit
their “track family” for
personal successes this
season
A
Photo courtesy of Hannah Heising
SENIOR HANNAH HEISING pulls out in front during a recent meet.
disappointment that accompanies losing
has brought the track team close together.
“The track team is special because
we all are working for the same thing,
even though track is sort of an individual
sport,” Heising said. “Finishing a race
is the best feeling in the world no matter
what place you’re in because you know
how hard you’ve worked for that moment.”
Junior Scott Patton is one of 22
runners heading to CIF. He stated that
the boys’ greatest accomplishments this
season are becoming a top-ranked team in
relays, and having runners in the top ten
for their individual races.
“The team’s ultimate goal is to win the
CIF Southern Section title for boys and
hopefully take our relays to state,” Patton
said.
He said he believes the team differs
from its competitors because of the strong
bond between team members.
“This track team is special because
there is a strong group of seniors that have
dedicated four years to the program and
have made it a family instead of just a
team,” Patton said.
Racist remarks cause controversy in the NBA
by Alex Tran
O
Staff Writer
ne would imagine that in today’s
modern society, we as citizens would
have moved on from the dark ages of
racial oppression and prejudice. However, Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA
team, the Los Angeles Clippers, shows
that this is not the case; on April 25, TMZ
Sports released an audio file recorded by
Sterling’s girlfriend that revealed Sterling making racist comments about black
individuals. As a result, he is currently
refusing to pay his $2.5 million fine and
plans to sue the NBA for his lifetime ban.
Comments within the conversation between Sterling and his reported girlfriend,
V. Stiviano, include:
“It bothers me a lot that you want to
broadcast that you’re associating with
by Katie Mitchell
B
Staff Writer
 NBA Clippers team
owner Donald Sterling
makes racist remarks
that result in a lifetime
ban
Baseball makes CIF
Ad Manager
by Noelle Roys
t league finals on May 9, boys varsity
remained undefeated while the girls
team maintained high spirits despite losing to Northwood High.
With 22 runners headed to CIF this
season, several top athletes stated that
each person could not have reached his or
her goal without the support of the tight
knit team.
Senior Hannah Heising is no stranger
to setting records. Heising has been
selected to move onto CIF finals since
her freshman year and set a school record
of 44.65 for the 300 meter hurdles at the
2014 Pasadena Games Invitational.
“When I step on to the track, I feel like
all my problems go away, and it’s nothing
but me and the track,” Heising said.
However, she credits her team and
dedicated coach for getting her to the finish line. Heising stated that experiencing
the glory that comes with winning and the
17
black people,” and “You can sleep with
[black people]. You can bring them in,
you can do whatever you want, but “the
little I ask you is ... not to bring them to
my games,” according to CNN.
A picture of Stiviano and NBA all-star
and hall-of-famer, Magic Johnson, was
posted on Instagram, which instigated
Sterling’s comments.
Sterling has faced intense backlash
from members of the NBA community.
Various coaches and players have expressed their anger towards Sterling and
his comments.
According to the Huffington Post, LeBron James commented that, “there is no
room for Sterling in the NBA.”
National Public Radio stated that many
other players, such as Kevin Johnson,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson,
Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and
Kobe Bryant have also condemned Sterling’s statements.
The New York Times ran an article detailing the criticisms of president Barack
Obama, who felt Sterling’s comments in
the recording were “incredibly offensive
racist statements.”
Soon after Obama’s statement was
released, NBA commissioner Adam Silver
announced that Sterling was banned from
the league for life. Sterling is also faced
with a $2.5 million fee, the maximum fine
allowed by NBA regulations. In addition,
almost all ownership of the Clippers was
stripped from Sterling, and Silver plans on
forcing the sale of the team using a willful
violation of rules that would require consent from three-fourths of the other team
owners, according to NBC News.
In a recent interview with CNN reporter, Anderson Cooper, Sterling claimed
that he was “baited” by his girlfriend
into making those statements, defending
himself with accusations against Stiviano.
Sterling then proceeded to slam Johnson’s
character and his battle with HIV.
“What kind of a guy goes to every city,
has sex with every girl, then he catches
HIV? Is that someone we want to respect
and tell our kids about?” Sterling said. “I
think he should be ashamed of himself. I
think he should go into the background.
But what does he do for the black people?
He doesn’t do anything.”
USA Today reported that Sterling hired
an antitrust lawyer, Maxwell Blecher,
to represent him in a lawsuit against the
NBA, stating that he refuses to pay the
fine because he did not violate the NBA
constitution and will sue the NBA for
undue processes.
oys baseball has exceeded the
expectations it set for itself at the
start of the season. The team has proven
through hard work and a steady mindset
that it can beat the teams it has lost to in
previous years.
The team was tied with Northwood
for second place as of May 13, but
moved down to third place after a loss
against University High (7-6) last week.
The boys competed in first round of CIF
Tuesday, resulting in a loss against San
Clemente High school (2-1).
The team has many different
strengths and weaknesses.
“Hitting is definitely a weakness we
have right now and are dealing with,” senior outfielder Zach Weber said. “During practice we have been doing about
an hour and a half of hitting practice.”
The team has had its ups and downs
throughout the season, facing challenges
not previously faced.
“The latter half of the season has been
pretty difficult for the team after our
captain [Chad Jacob] got injured and
had to withdraw himself from the last
few games,” Weber said.
Next year, the boys will have to adjust
to the loss of many graduating seniors.
“I think the fact that most of our
pitching staff will be graduating this year
will have an impact on the team,” Vega
said. “We have some of the best pitchers
in the league - seniors Connor Rogers,
Kai Abe, John Stevens and Aj Drake.
Next year, I think the team will have
difficulty finding people to replace the
pitchers, but defensively and offensively
the team should do well,” senior Issac
Vega said.
When asked to give a word of advice
to the future team, Vega replied with an
optimistic answer.
“My advice to next year’s team would
be to stick together through everything,”
Vega said. “This year really proved this
to me. Even when things aren’t going
your way, everything will work out.
And play every inning like it’s your last
without doubting yourself.”
Both head coach Tim Murray and
assistant Coach Ryan Brucker are very
pleased with the teams’ accomplishments
this season and how far they have come.
“This team was truly a team, not
a bunch of individuals. They worked
together to reach their goals and I am
proud to have each of them call me
coach,” Murray said.
18
Sports
May 22, 2014
Teachers staying active outside the classroom
 Students are not the only athletic stars on campus; here are a few teachers who are just as
devoted to exercise
Jeff Alexander: ice hockey
by Regina Zeng
Staff Writer
Mike Antrim: running
W
hen it comes to running, our cross
country team is renowned for its
success and talent, but chemistry teacher
Mike Antrim runs just as much, if not
more. Mountain trails are his specialty, and
he runs on average 30 to 50 miles a week,
which include runs ranging from seven to
10 miles during the week and long runs
lasting over 10 miles on the weekends.
“It’s a way I can challenge myself to
test my limits; I enjoy the competition because I enter races, marathons and ultramarathons,” Antrim said. “I’m training for
an ultra-marathon in Yosemite right now
that I’ll be doing next month.”
Ultra-marathons cover longer distances
than the usual marathon length of approximately 26 miles.
Antrim first started running about 12
years ago when he was the school’s cross
country coach. Since then, he has participated in numerous marathons, including
the famous Boston Marathon.
“I really developed a passion for running. It’s a sport for a lifetime,” Antrim
said. “It’s something you have to build up
to. It’s not something you just go out and
start.”
J
ust last year, English teacher Jeff Alexander put together the school’s first ice
hockey program, which has been a great
success. Also in January of last year, Alexander himself began playing ice hockey
every Wednesday night in Yorba Linda at a
hockey rink owned by the Anaheim Ducks.
“I just love the sport of hockey and the
camaraderie, and it’s a great way for me to
stay in shape,” Alexander said of the experience.
Alexander plays on a team, which is
part of a 6-team league that competes in
a play-off format. During his first two sea-
sons playing the sport, his team won the
championship back to back.
“I’m still relatively new in the sport, so
for me I’m just trying to get better as far
as being a faster skater,” Alexander said.
“With me, it’s all about having fun out
there.”
While Alexander has never had experience with ice hockey before, his interest was sparked in college when he began
playing roller hockey. In addition, his aspiration to start an ice hockey program at
Woodbridge further motivated him to get
involved with the sport himself.
Photo courtesy of Mike Antrim
SCIENCE TEACHER MIKE ANTRIM poses for a photo during the Ultra Marathon race in the
Santa Ana Mountains.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Alexander
ENGLISH TEACHER JEFF ALEXANDER concentrates on propelling a shot past a defender.
David Gesk: yoga
M
ath teacher David Gesk first began
practicing yoga when he was in
college 25 years ago and he has loved it
ever since.
“I needed to take some kind of elective
class, and I thought yoga will be a piece
of cake, and I was really awake, and I
thought it was the hardest thing I’ve ever
had to do,” Gesk said of his first experience with yoga. “It hurt; the poses hurt.
It sparked an interest, how some people
could look like they were floating effortlessly, while I was struggling just to touch
my knees. That’s when I realized that this
is something that I need.”
With a busy work schedule and a family to raise, Gesk tries to squeeze in time
to practice yoga as often as he can, which
is usually three times a week.
“Yoga is not a sport. The goal of yoga
is to gain clarity, clarity of the mind, to
be present in the moment, which is what
the practice should do,” Gesk said. “One
of the biggest challenges is to make it
not competitive, to allow yourself just to
enjoy your own path, to find your own
self-exploration through the journey.”
Photo courtesy of David Gesk
MATH TEACHER DAVID GESK balances on his head on top of a surfboard in the middle of a
river in Florida.
Sports
Boys swim advances to CIF finals
Boys swim ends its
season on a strong
note
by Michelle Bau
Staff Writer
B
oys swim (4-1) finished fifth place out
of six teams at League Finals and advanced to CIF finals on May 17.
Senior Jonathan Lee, sophomore Sheldon Ho, juniors Alex Popovski and Nick
Vollucci broke a nine-year-old school record in the 200 Freestyle Relay at League
Finals.
“We had set that goal at the beginning
of the season, and it was nice to see those
swimmers work hard to achieve that,”
coach William Hewitt said.
The swimmers said they hope to reach
the All-American time standard for both
200 and 400 Freestyle Relays at CIF next
weekend.
As for next year, boys swim already has
a couple of goals laid out.
“One goal for next years is to practice
harder,” junior Adonis Lu said.
Coach Hewitt agreed, adding that they
would want to train harder in order to participate more in next year’s CIF.
“We would like to qualify for all three
relays for CIF, as well as have every in-
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Lee
SENIOR JONATHAN LEE steps up to the board in preperation for the meet.
dividual swimmers qualify,” Hewitt said.
“We’d also like to win at least two deal
meets.”
Regarding next year’s team, boys swim
has to adjust to the absence of the team’s
fastest sprinter, Lee. However, the boys
look forward to the talent that next year’s
team will bring.
“I’m not sure how that’ll work out, but
I know we have plenty of current freshmen
and sophomores that are talented,” junior
Jonathan Chang said.
Overall, the boys team accomplished
much and ended its season on a high note.
“Our season was actually awesome; it
was definitely the most successful and the
most fun out of my four years on the swim
team,” Lee said.
Girls swim races its way to new records
 Girls swim has a
record-breaking season
and will advance to CIF
by Michelle Bau
Staff Wrter
G
irls swim (2-2-1) has broken half of
its records at CIF Preliminaries and
played their first round of CIF on May 15
and advanced to CIF Finals on May 17.
At CIF last week, senior Alexa Clayfield, junior Daniela Georges, sophomore
Isis Choi, and freshman Whitney Chang
set a new record in the girls medley relay.
Several more records were broken soon afterwards by those same girls, in addition to
freshman Kate Krolikowski.
“We blazed a trail—the girls set six new
records, which is over half of our records,
in just one meet,” coach Pat Bangs said.
“They keep improving, and I expect that
they will continue to improve and set new
records at CIF Finals.”
One of the key meets the girls had this
season was against Irvine High-an extremely competitive team. The team was
able to walk away with a tie.
“We also almost best University Highwe lost by three,” Bangs said. “University
Photo courtesy of Pat Bangs
GIRLS SWIM celebrates a successful end to its season by jumping into the pool for a
celebratory photo.
High has been not only league champion,
but also a CIF champion for the last couple
of years.”
With the season almost done, the girls’
team has already started to make goals for
next year.
“Next year, I would like to see more
depth in our races,” Georges said. “Too
many times have we just missed winning
a meet because of a few points. The girls
need to see that every start, race, and finish
counts, and when they see that I think we’ll
be stronger than ever.”
19
May 22, 2014
Also in preparation for next year, the
girls need to adjust to the loss of their charismatic captain, Alexa Clayfield.
Despite this challenge, the team looks
forward to another season. The varsity
team next year will be composed of many
young swimmers-this year, six freshmen
made varsity and two of those freshmen
were a key contributor in the relays.
“We have some excellent sophomores
and freshmen stepping in,” said junior
Dominque McNamara. “We will have a
lot of talent on the team.”
Senioritis Stings
I finished my last round of AP tests
this month, and the feeling is honestly
surreal. The idea that the next month
or so will just be relaxed, spread out
assignments is something I’m really
looking forward to.
However, that relief has been
overshadowed by some bad news. My
family recently found out that my little
brother Nicholas, a post liver transplant
patient, will have to undergo another
liver transplant within the next couple
of months. At ten years old, Nicholas is
an incredibly brave, driven and intelligent kid. His intense eagerness to learn
more about the world is something that
is so inspiring and humbling to me at the
same time.
As a student, I have a bad habit of
complaining when I’m even mildly
inconvenienced by homework, or by
the date of a test. I compare the number
of hours I’ve slept with equally sleepdeprived classmates and feel pangs of
self-pity whenever I have a particularly
packed schedule. But when I think about
Nicholas, I feel extremely guilty. Because of his illness, Nicholas is denied a
lot of the things that boys his age get to
do. He can’t attend school regularly, and
will often miss weeks at a time, foregoing events like Valentine’s Day dances,
school carnivals and book fairs that
most students take for granted.
Because I complain about school so
much, I often forget that good things
often come in packages with the bad.
I may have hated long practices some
days, but I was able to spend three years
with an incredible group of girls, playing a sport that I love. I may have hated
studying for five AP tests, but the sense
of satisfaction after finishing all of them
is an amazing experience.
Watching Nicholas, I feel so undeserving of the things that I have already
- good health, the chance to participate
in sports and the opportunity to take
all the classes I’d like in a great school
located in a beautiful city. I hope that
through the difficult months that will be
coming up for Nicholas and our whole
family, I’ll be able to work hard for him
in everything I do and make him proud.
Sincerely,
Isabel