The Winter sports season is officially in full swing, as the soccer and basketball programs all had their first season games last week, with great success all around. However, that doesn’t mean that the fall season is officially over yet, as Cross Country has advanced to extend their season yet another week! More than half the program advanced to compete next weekend at Fresno in State competition, a remarkable achievement for one of the hardest working teams on campus.

Cross Country

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Riverside, as both the Boys and Girls Cross Country programs met with the other top teams from across Southern California in the CIF Southern Section finals. This competition was what both programs have worked for since the beginning of summer, running hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of miles, all in preparation for this event. The boys race started first, and when the dust settled, the team finished third in Division Five, advancing to the State meet for the second consecutive year! The team was led by three Patriot runners in the top 7, led by Ronnie Orosky (’20) in 2nd, Thomas Matthew (’20) in 4th, and Miles Clark (’21) finishing in 7th with a time of 15:42. Henry Didden (’22), Marcus Intal (’20), Max Wolff (’20), and Ian Stentz (’21) all turned in strong results to clinch the ticket to Fresno. On the Girls side, the race was the conclusion to an absolutely incredible season, as the team finished in 12th place in the race. However, the team did finish ahead of Brentwood and Sierra Canyon, important because it means completing a pre-race team goal to defeat our league rivals in CIF Championships. Although the team will not compete next weekend in Riverside, senior Lizzie Scott will advance as an individual to CIF Finals, by virtue of a 4th overall finish in Saturday’s race with a time of 18:39. She had this to say about her team: “We finished stronger than any of us could have imagined at the beginning of the season. We became super close and raced for each other. The girls are incredibly strong and dedicated and their hard work paid off. Our team this year was pretty young so I can’t wait to see how they grow. The girls cross country team has a bright future!” Good luck to Lizzie and the Boys Team at State next week!

Girls Soccer

The Girls Soccer team was the busiest team on campus over the past week, kicking off their season with three matches. Their opener was Tuesday at Malibu High, in which they came up just short, losing 1-0. However, the team rebounded two days later in their first home game against Louisville, winning 2-0. Freshman Marla Boudreau scored twice in the second half to lead the Patriots to the win, while junior goalkeeper Kayla Davis organized the defense and kept a clean sheet. The team was also in action over the weekend, playing Saturday morning at home against Cabrillo, and emerging victorious by a scoreline of 4-1. Although senior Sarah Konopaske did score, the storyline of the day was the incredible contribution from the Freshman Class, as Lucy Landsbaum, JiaLian Mackey, and Lexi Goodman (all ’23) added goals for the Patriots. The team travels to Villanova Prep on Monday for their fourth game, before finally getting a break over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Boys Soccer

The Boys Soccer team was in action twice this week, playing home games on Tuesday and Friday, against Malibu and Chaminade, respectively. Tuesday was a roller coaster match, characterized by quick swings and high scoring, but ending with a 3-2 scoreline in Malibu’s favor. After falling behind on a soft goal, Max James (’21) came off the bench to score twice in two minutes to put the team into the lead. However, just as quickly as we grabbed the lead, Malibu scored twice, and the 3-2 score stuck throughout the entire second half. After an inspired practice on Thursday, the team came out Friday wanting to prove itself against a D2 opponent in Chaminade, leading to our best performance so far in a young season. David Luner (’20) scored early on a beautiful bending free kick, but, despite having the lion’s share of possession, we were unable to get another past the Chaminade goalkeeper, finishing with a 1-1 draw. Thank you to the Navy for your support over both games, and we hope to see you against on Tuesday at 3:15 for our game against Villanova Prep!

Girls Basketball

The Girls Basketball team played once last week, routing Kennedy in their season opener by a score of 71-36. The team was led by their captains, as Vanessa Ogbu (’20) scored 16, and Katie Topacio (’20) added 11 for the Pats. Kayla Keshmeshian (’22) scored 16 as well for the Patriots, while Karlee White (’23) scored 12 in her first official high school game. However, the main reason for their win was their stifling defense, as the team worked hard to limit Kennedy to just 36 points. On Tuesday night, Viewpoint takes on Poly High School in Sun Valley, so good luck to the team in their first away game!

Boys Basketball

Finally, our Boys Basketball team had their season opener on Tuesday night at home against Shalhevet. The team started out strong defensively, holding Shalhevet to just six points in the first quarter, and leading wire to wire on the way to a 54-47 victory. Senior Roy Numa was the leading scorer for the Patriots, putting up 17 points, while highly touted freshman Dante Ogbu added 11 points in his high school debut. Dante also grabbed 14 rebounds to secure the win and to hold off a late Shalhevet run. The team is back in action on Monday night against Holy Martyrs, with a late 7:00 PM tipoff in the PFAC, so come out and support!

Despite the short school week, both the Boys Basketball and Soccer teams have home games this week, so come out and support! However, most importantly, good luck to our Cross Country runners as they compete in Fresno this Saturday. Your program’s camaraderie is incredible, and, on behalf of the entire school, we wish you the best of luck in State competition. You guys are incredible!

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