GIRLS
LACROSSE: Griffins down Cate, win CIF-Southern Section title
The Griffins celebrate their championship after
defeating Cate in the US Lacrosse-CIF-Southern Section championship
game. (When people supply us the names, we'll add them)
April
27, 2009
LACROSSE: Griffins Girls and
Boys team sitting near top of OC rankings
We don't have the names right now, but if somebody
provides them, we'll happily put them in.
The Los Alamitos Girls lacrosse team, ranked
No. 1 in Orange County, finishes up their regular season this week
with three matches. They take on Sage Hill tomorrow then finish
up Sunset League play against Newport Harbor Thursday afternoon
at Laurel School. They close out their season againt tesoro on Saturday.
We think they are 12-0 but since they're so excited about they're
winning ways, they've forgotten to send us some recent information.
Here's their record at maxpreps and the OC Varsity.
The Boys Lacrosse team (shown above) is not doing too shabby itself.
They're sporting a 16-1 record and are No. 2 in Orange County.
The team is led by Senior Captains C.J. Jacobs, Nolan Smith and
Kenny Smith. All are returning First team All-Sunset league players.
They also close out their season against Tesoro this week -- but
on Thursday.
GIRLS LACROSSE: Five Griffins selected to take
part in East Coast showcase event
Five members of the undefeated Lady Griffins lacrosse team were
selected to participate at the Women's Divisional National Lacrosse
Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland over Memorial Day weekend. The
girls selected are (pictured above, l-r) Amiya Moretta, Tracy Paulson.
Kristin Robbins (alternate), Ashley Actkinson, and Shaina Denny.
The tournament, an elite showcase, will be attended by more than
100 college lacrosse coaches scouting for players. Players from
sixty five schools attended the 5-hour tryout in San Diego.
March
8, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins receive wild card invite
and No. 4 seed for SoCal Regional Championships - host Torrey Pines
on Tuesday at Laurel HS 4pm.
A tough 2-0 loss to San Clemente in the CIF-Southern
Section Girls Soccer Division I semi-finals was soothed somewhat
when the Los Alamiitos Grifins Girls Soccer team was selected as
a wild card for the Southern California Regional Soccer Championships
this week.
The Griffins were awarded the No. 4 seed, and
will play Torrey Pines, the No. 2 team from the San Diego section,
as their first opponent. The match will be played Tuesday on the
Griffins home field at Laurel HS.
The state CIF controls all aspects of these games
and they set the admission price -- which will be $9 for adults,
$5 for students with ID.
VIDEO REPLAY OF THE LOS AL-SAN CLEMENTE CIF
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
GIRLS SOCCER: San Clemente defeats Los Al, 2-0
in CIF final
The Los Al girls soccer team gave up their first two goals of the
post-season and with it their hopes of winning a Division I championship,
as San Clemente defeated the Griffins 2-0 befoe a good sized crowd
at Mission Viejo High School Saturday night.
The Griffins seemed to have the best of it in the first 12-13 minutes
of the game, but couldn't convert opportunities.
San Clemente got a corner kick in the 14th minute, which Kelsey
Wilson sent into the middle of the box. Griffin keeper Amanda McDonough
got a hand on it, going to the ground in the process. The ball seemed
to stay in the Los Al box forever before it was finally poked in
by the tritons' Shelby Chambers-Garcia. The Griffins claimed McDonough
was prevented from getting back up by a San Clemente player who
held her down, but it was to no avail and the goal was allowed.
The intensity of the game picked up even more but although Los
Al had opportunities, they could never get around the tough San
Clemente defense for a great shot. Jessa Yukihiro's free kick as
time was running out in the first half almost went into the top
upper right corner but was just knocked away by San Clemente keeper
Tiffany Corder, who turned in a fine game.
Los Al kept pressure in the second half, but their cause was hurt
when senior captain Katie Peterson took a hard knee to the left
side of her stomach. Play was stopped for about ten minutes and
Peterson was assisted from the field unable to continue. Medical
personnel on the sidelines were concerned about possible damage
to a lung, rib or spleen, but a trip to the emergency room determined
she had a severe abdominal strain.
Peterson's injury was followed moments later by an injury to keeper
Amanda McDonough, who came out to make a sliding stop but just an
instant before she secured the ball it was kicked hard by a charging
San Clemente player who sent a bullet into McDonough's shoulder.
McDonough held on to the ball but the injuury to her shoulder forced
her from the contest. X-rays after the match fortunately were negative
re: broken bones.
The Griffins tried to rally, and pushed players forward, but very
quickly San Clemente forward Frannie Coxe made them pay. Affter
getting by the Los Al defenders and sending it past replacement
keeper Amanda Sears to make it 2-0.
To their credit, the Griffins didn't give up and continued to get
the ball near the net, but the tough san Clemente defense, led by
Santa Clara bound Zoe Jeffers turned back the Griffins attack.
If
having difficulties with the video above,
you should be also able to watch it at wwww.vootage.com
LOS
ALAMITOS GRIFFINS
SAN
CLEMENTE TRITONS
No.
Player
Pos
Yr
01
Amanda McDonough
GK
Sr
1
Amanda Sears
GK
Soph
2
Natalie Donaldson
Def
3
Jessica Heller
For
5
Kori Meacham
Mid
Fr
6
Taylor Vargo
For
Fr
7
Adriana Gjonich
For
Soph
8
Carly Campbell
Mid
Sr
9
Natalie Ohishi
Mid
Sr
10
Kylie Bay
Mid
Sr
11
Claire Bush
Mid
Sr
12
Lauren Ingram
Mid
Jr
13
Ari Carillo
For
Jr
14
Shannon Ward
Def
Jr
16
Andi Franco
Def
Sr
17
April Cross
Mid
Jr
18
Samantha St. Omer Roy
Def
Sr
19
Shannelle Simien
Mid
Soph
20
Katie Peterson (Capt)
Mid-Def
Sr.
21
Delaney Kennedy
Def
Sr
22
Leah Iris
Def
Jr
23
Megurire Broersma
Mid-For
Sr.
24
Jessa Yukihiro (Capt)
Def
Sr
25
Kelsey Salcido
Mid
Jr
26
Linsey Salcido
Def
Fr
27
Callie Taylor
For
Fr
Coach: Steve Soler
Brent Whitfield, Brittany Janssen
No.
Player
Pos
Yer
Tiffany Corder
GK
Sr.
Sheridan Hapsic
GK
2
Frannie Coxe
Soph
3
Camile Berg
Jr
4
Janae Cousineau
Fr
5
Madison Kaminiski
Soph
6
Lauren Fryer
Jr.
7
Greer Zerboni
Jr
8
Jen Chrislip
Jr
9
Kelsey Wilson
Sr.
10
Shelby Chambers-Garcia
Jr.
12
Kristine Atkinson
12
Barret Bestard
Sr
15
Sam Yackley
Jr
16
Danielle Hines
Sr
17
Dani Weatherholt
Fr
18
Kaylin Mellem
Sr
19
Zoe Jeffers
Sr
20
Lindsay Grant
Soph
21
Alexis Mahoney
Sr
22
Mackenzie Kipe
Jr
24
Renee McDermott
Soph
24
Michaela Carrillo
Coach: Stacey Finerty
March
3, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Overtime shootout goes to 10 kickers
before Griffins squeak out CIF semi-final win; now play San Clemente
for title.
As a young girl Kiley Godfrey said she "came
to a lot of Los Al girls soccer games, and always imagined what
it would be like to be out there playing in front of all those people."
Well,
now she knows what it's like big time. Before one of the largest
crowds in Los Al soccer history, as the tenth kicker in a nerve-wracking
shootout -- Godfrey stepped up and nailed a shot into the upper
right corner to propel the Lady Griffins into their fourth CIF championship
game.
The Griffins now play San Clemente for the CIF
championship at 8pm Saturday at Mission Viejo High School.
By reaching the Southern Section finals the Griffins
also qualify for the Southern California Regional Championships
which will be played next Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The Regional
championship game will be played at either Warren or Downey High
School. It is not a state championship because many of the Northern
California mountain areas play soccer in the fall due to weather
-- i.e., it's too cold.
This is the fourth appearance in a CIF Southern
Section championship game for Los Al which previously won championships
in 1996, 1997, and 2005.
Godfrey's heroics were only one of many on the
afternoon. , as senior goalie Amanda McDonough once again put the
team on her shoulders and made the stops that gave them a chance
to win -- blocking four penalty kicks — three in the shootout,
and one before that in the 80th and final minute of regulation.
Also not to be overlooked was the clutch shooting
of junior Kelsey Salcido who calmly made her third shootout PK in
three post-season attempts, or the shots of seniors Meguire Broersma
and Samantha St. Omer Roy who stepped up and made their shots to
keep the Griffins alive until McDonough gave them a chance.
Aliso, which had only allowed seven goals all
season, made it tough for Los Al, but the Griffins definitely had
some good opportunities throughout the match. Midway through the
first half a long Katie Peterson throw-in was flicked past Aliso
keeper Kathleen Messinger and was rolling across an open net, but
Shannelle Simien couldn't get to the ball before it rolled beyond
the end line.
Late in the second half, a Jessa Yukihiro throw
in came to the six-yard box, where Ari Carillo slammed a low bullet
which was punched down and away by Messinger.
At this point in the playoffs, especially in Division I, all the
teams remaining are good and any team can win. "It's going
to be a battle," Griffins coach Steve Soler said.
"Aliso is one of the best teams around, a very good defensive
team. I think it'll come down to one goal and whoever makes a mistake."
The No. 2-seeded Griffins (20-3-5), the Sunset League champs, have
not had an easy time of it in the playoffs, winning one game 1-0
and needing to win on penalty kicks twice. But maybe that's just
what it will take to beat the third-seeded Wolverines (22-2-2),
who knocked Los Al out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals last
year.
"We still have a sour taste in our mouth from that,"
Soler admitted. Unlike last year, this will be a home game for Los
Al. "It's a huge advantage," said Soler, noting the bigger
field at Laurel School. The Griffins are a young team, starting
five freshmen such as scoring options Taylor Vargo and Callie Taylor,
but the senior leadership of Katie Peterson and Jessa Yukihiro have
been a stabilizing factor. "They've guided the underclassmen,
showing them what it takes to win these games." Soler said.
Neither Aliso Niguel, which was second in a very tough South Coast
League, nor Los Al has allowed a goal in the playoffs yet.
"It's going to be a defensive battle," Soler said.
from OC Register
Division I
ALISO NIGUEL (22-2-2) vs. LOS ALAMITOS (20-3-5)
Site, time: Laurel School, 3 p.m.
Outlook: The Wolverines and Griffins will renew
acquaintances for the first time since last season’s CIF-SS
quarterfinals, when Aliso Niguel defeated Los Alamitos 2-1.
The third-seeded Wolverines have continued to rely on the stingiest
defense in Division I, as they have not allowed a goal in their
playoff victories over Great Oak 3-0 in the first round, Upland
1-0 in the second round, and Santa Margarita 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
For the season, they have allowed only seven goals. Junior goalie
Kathleen Messinger is one of nine goalies in the county that has
recorded over 100 saves.
The second-seeded Griffins have had a much more difficult road
into the semifinals, as two of their three wins have come via shootout,
including their quarterfinal victory over Mater Dei. Los Alamitos
is 11-1-1 in their last 13 games, outscoring their opponents 25-8
in the process.
February
26, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al edges Mater Dei in PKs, will
host Aliso Niguel in semi-finals
The
Los Al girls soccer team won its second CIF playoff match via the
penalty kick route, downing Mater Dei 3 PKs to 1, Thurssday afternoon
at Mater Dei.
Griffin goalkeeper Amanda McDonough made a key stop in the shotout
and Kelsey Salcido made the game-clinching PK for the second time
in three playoff matches. She did it against Huntington Beach in
last Thursday's first round matrch.
With the win, the Griffins now advance to the CIF Girls soccer
semi-finals next Tuesday against Aliso Niguel which downed Santa
Margarita. Los Al had won a pre-coinflip earlier in the week.
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al downs Temecula Valley 1-0,
plays Mater Dei in quarterfinals
They didn't take advantage of most of their opportunities, but freshman
Taylor Vargo's goal in the 26th minute proved to be enough for the
Los Al girls soccer team which downed visiting Temecula Valley 1-0
in CIF Division I 2nd round playoff action at Laurel School on Tuesday
afternoon.
With the win, Los Al advances to play at Mater Dei on Thursday.
Game time is 3pm.
It will be the first time the two schools will meet since the CIF
2005 championship game at Cal State Fullerton 2005, which Los Al
won 2-0.
PRESS-TELEGRAM:
February
20, 2009
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins
fall to Lynwood in OT 70-69
The Los Al Boys basketball team suffered only its second loss of
the season, but it unfortunately was a season-ending one as Lynwood
edged the Griffins 70-69 in the second round of CIF Division I-AA
action.
The Griffins avoided losing in regulation when James Walker swished
a three-pointer in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime.
Walker scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half.
Down by one with less than ten seconds to play, Los Al had a chance
to go ahead when Clark Evans stole an inbounds pass and passed to
Nathan Berger, but the latter's shot was knocked away by Lynwood,
preserving their win.
It was Los Al's first loss since Dec. 5. They finish the season
with a 27-2 record, tying it for the school's best-ever.
Los Al junior Kaley Dodson scored three goals for the Griffins
(24-6) and younger sister Cory had two goals but it wasn't enough
as Foothill edged Los Al 7-6 in a CIF Division I playoff second
round loss at Beckman High School.
BOYS SOCCER: Late goal by Newbury Park sinks Griffins
The Los Alamitos Boys Soccer team had two great chances that narrowly
missed and paid the price when Newbury Park put away a scramble
goal i9n the 77th minute to end the Griffins season with a 1-0 loss
in the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs.
The Griffins finish the season with a 15-6-7 record.
February
19, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: McDonough's save lets Griffins survive
against Huntington Beach; host Temecula Valley on Tuesday
Senior goalkeeper Amanda McDonough knocked down Huntington Beach's
fifth shootout kick to give the Griffins a nerve-racking win over
the Oilers in the first round of CIF Division I Playoff action on
Thursday at Laurel.
Los Al won a coin toss on Friday morning and will now host Temecula
Valley on Tuesday afternoon at Laurel School. Complete updated
brackets are available here.
Huntington Beach, which downed Tesoro on Tuesday, played to not
lose on Thursday, dropping back many defenders to negate the Griffins
attack.
After the two teams played two regulation halves and two overtimes
of scoreless play, the game went to a shootout, in which Los Al
was 0-3 this year.
For the Griffins the best news (besides the win) was probably
the return of sophomore Shannelle Simien. Simien, an all-county
player as a freshman last year, has missed the entire season while
rehabilitating from an ACL replacement surgery. In her very first
outing, she played over 40 minutes, and while her touch was understandably
not up to par, her presence resulted in some of Los Al's best scoring
opportunities.
Simien took Los Al's first kick in the shootout, and converted
for her first goal of the season -- and for her exuberant celebration
she was rewarded with a yellow card. Huntington Beach responded
with a goal of their own. Lauren Ingram, Jessa Yukihiro, Natalie
Ohishi all followed with well-placed shots to the corners, but the
Oilers answered in kind. Then after Kelsey Salcido made Los Al's
fifth goal, McDonough dove to her right and knocked down a shot
to save the Griffins season for at least one more game.
Los Al scored a goal a few minutes into the first overtime when
Katie Peterson headed in a Lauren Ingram corner kick, but it was
rightly ruled that Ingram's kick had crossed the end line and was
out of play before curving back into play, right in front of the
goal.
February
15, 2009
BOYS BASKETBALL: Los Al to open CIF playoffs against
Millikan on Wednesday
Los Alamitos Boys basketball team will host Long Beach Millikan
in Wednesday's first round of the CIF Division I-AA basketball playoffs.
The Griffins, seeded #4 in the pairings, take a 26-1 record into
the match while Millikan, which won a playoff on Friday over Lakewood
to get the Moore league's guaranteed 4th spot, is 14-11.
There were few surprises in the seeding. As expected Mater Dei
(26-0) was No. 1, followed by Riverside M.L. King (22-2) and Compton
Dominguez (21-5).
February
12, 2009
BOYS BASKETBALL: Los Al thumps Edison, sweeps
Sunset league and finishes regular season with 25-1 record
The
Los Alamitos Griffins survived a rough start and finally outran
Edison 68-37 to finish the Sunset league with a 10-0 record, and
extend their school-record winning strreak to 24 games.
Junior James Walker led all scorers with 19 points, despite not
entering the game until midway through the first quarter as it was
senior night -- the final regular season game for 11 Los Al seniors
-- team captain Nathan Berger, Jacob Cheek, Joseph Coromelas, Clark
Evans, Jeff Given, Brandon Harris, Ahntwan Harris, Arthur Mogilevsky,
Sean Norum, Tony Ramirez, and Eric Zickefoose.
Los Al finishes the regular season with mark of 26-1, besting the
previous school best of 25-1 posted by the 1969-70 Griffin squad
which eventually went 27-2 overall and reached the CIF 3-A quarterfinals.
Despite their record the Griffins will go into the playoffs as
a unknown commodity. They have only played against two top-rankled
teams, falling to No. 3 ML King of Riverside in the Cerritos-Gahr
tournament semi-finals, and downing No. 5 Etiwanda on Martin Luther
King birthday showcase.
As a first place team they should draw a third place team in the
first round, but it's highly possible that team could come out of
the tough Moore League - which would set up a Los Al-Wilson match.
The CIF changed their playoff format criteria this year, going
back to enrollment based breakdowns, so Los Al (with over 3,000
students) will play in Division I-AA, while Edison and Marina (both
with much less than that) will play in Division I-A.
February 12, 200
GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins down Edison 3-1 to claim
fifth Sunset League title in six years
Junior
Ari Carillo scored two goals and freshman Callie Taylor added a
third as the Los Alamitos Griffins girls soccer team defeated Edison
3-1 to win the Sunset league championship.
Carillo finished the regular season as the team's leading scorer
with 8 goals and two assists. Taylor was second on the team with
16 points. Junior Kilery Godfrey was third (15 points) and freashman
Taylor Vargo was fourth with 13 points. Throw in the fact that the
Griffins were missing this year the services of sophomore forward
Shannelle Simien, who made all County and all-CIF as a freshman,
and it's apparent Los Al will come back loaded on offense next year.
The Griffins started this year's league season 8-0 but then made
things interesting by losing to Esperanza 3-1 and then were tied
by Marina 2-2 on Tuesday, making the league finale a must-win.
Los Al jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead, but then traded goals
with Edison in the second half.
The Griffins finish with an 8-1-1 record, a couple points ahead
of Esperanza (7-2-1), which defeated Marina in overtime yesterday.
The CIF brackets will be posted Monday morning. Los Al was ranked
No. 5 in this w3eek's latest rankings. The fina;l rankings will
be announced on Sunday, and are usually a good indicator of the
CIF playoff seedings.
In the lower levels both the JV and frosh-soph teams brought home
the league championship.
February
11, 2009
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins down Marina 2-0, claim 2nd
place in Sunset
February
10, 2009
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins destroy Marina to claim
sole possession of 10th Sunset league title in 11 years.
GIRLS SOCCER: Marina rallies from 2-0 deficit
to tie Los Al; Griffins in must-win situation at Edison on Thursday
evening
After being up by a 2-0 score early in the second half, the Los
Al Griffins failed to put away numerous other chances and then allowed
two second half goals and ended up being tied by Marina 2-2 in Sunset
league action.
The Griffins are still in first place by a point an can clinch
the title by downing Edison on Thursday. Game time is 5pm.
February
7, 2009
WRESTLING: Periera,
Peters claim Sunset League mat titles
Two Los Al wrestlers, Nick Periera (140-pound
division) and Clayton Peters (152) each finished in first place
to the Sunset League wrestlig championships Saturday at the Los
Al gym, and 12 wrestlers finished high enough to advance to the
CIF Individual Championships first round which will be held Feb
20-21 at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga.
Overall the Griffins finished in third place
with 127 points at the meet, behind Fountain Valley (150 points),
and Edison (142.5). After Los Al was 4. Esperanza (103); 5. Marina
(95.5); 6. Newport Harbor (53)
This Saturday, Los Al will host the first round
of CIF-SS Division I Dual Meet playoffs.
SUNSET LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Champions
Nick Periera (140 pounds)
Clayton Peters (152)
2nd Place
Anthony Leonard (103)
3rd Place
Rene Sandoval (112)
Zach Sturm (125)
Dave Urbina (135)
Bryan Polomik (160)
Edwin Bang (171)
Larry Opkins (215)
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins down Servite at Mater
Dei Nike Extravaganza
The Los Alamitos Griffins boys basketball team, ranked No. 2 in
Orange County, No 4 in CIF Division I and No. 7 in the entire Southland
by The Times, downed Servite 53-47 in the opening game of today's
Nike Extravaganza at mater Dei.
James Walker had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Los Alamitos (24-1),
which rallied from a 26-20 halftime deficit against the Friars (5-19).
February
6, 2009:
BOYS BASKETBALL: Los Al downs Fountain Valley
79-59,
claims share of Sunset title, improves record to 23-1 overall
The Los Alamitos Griffins jumped out to a 25-5
first quarter lead and never looked back, downing Fountain Valley
79-59 Friday night on the losers' court.
The win, combined with Edison's upset win over
Marina, clinched at least a share of the Sunset League championship
for Los Al. It is Los Al's 11th league title in 12 years, and coach
Russ May's eighth league championship in his nine seasons.
Los Al was led by James Walker and Clark Evans
with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Senior Ahntwan Harris added
11.
BOYS SOCCER: Dobson goal gives Griffins 1-0 win
over FV
Josh Dobson converted a pass from Tim Harty for
the game's only goal as the Los Alamitos boys soccer team prevailed
at Fountain Valley 1-0 in Sunset League soccer action.
The win gives the Griffins a 14-5-7 overall record
and a 5-3-1 league mark. They finish their season next Wednesday
against Marina
February
3, 2009
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins improve to 22-1 with
69-47 won over Esperanza
James Walker had 15 points, while Ahntwan Harris
and Jack Haley added 14 and 11 respectively, as Los Al downed Esperanza
69-47 in a Sunset Legaue contest Wednesday night in Anaheim.
The win improved Los Al's record to 22-1 (7-0
in league).
The Griffins will play Fountain Valley on Friday,
then have an early turnaround with a 9:30 match against Servite
as the kick-off game for the Mater Dei Nike Extravaganza on Saturday.
The Esperanza boys soccer team scored a late header goal to defeat
Los Al 1-0 Wednesday afternoon in Aztec land.
The win clinched a share of the Sunset League title for the Aztecs
(6-1-1), and dropped Los Al to 4-3-1. Los Al finishes off its season
next Tuesday and Thurday with matches against Fountain Valley and
Marina. Although it doesn;t mathematically do so, a win in one of
those matches should be enough to earn a CIF playoff spot.
February
3, 2009
RECRUITIING: 10 Griffins sign letters of intent
February
2, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins fall to Esparanza 3-1
The Los Al girls soccer team suffered its first
loss of the Sunset League season, falling 3-1 to arch-rival Esperanza
on Tuesday afternoon at Laurel School.
After the Griffins had a little best share of
the action for the first fifteen minutes, Esperanza kicked it into
another gear by scoring three goals over the next 20 minutes of
play, clearly dominating the midfield, and seeming to want the game
more. Equally evident was the relative ease which the older stronger
Esperanza upperclassmen were riding the lighter Griffin freshman
off the ball throughout the match.
Los Al got on the board early in the second half
when Kiley Godfrey had her legs taken out from under her in the
box, and Lauren Ingram converted a penalty kick. But while Los Al
put on pressure they never mounted any serious run at the Aztecs.
Los Al is now 7-1-0 while Esperranza and Marina
are both 6-2-0. Los Al could have clinched the league title with
a win, but now they will have to win out their final two games against
Marina and Edison to win the title utright. A win in either game
gives them a share of their fifth league title in six years.
Feb 3, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Ingram, Taylor goals lead Los Al
to 2-0 win over Fountain Valley; Griffins play No. 4 Esperanza in
Senior Day battle
The No. 2 ranked Los Alamitos girls soccer team
got goals from senior Lauren ingram and freshman Callie Taylor as
they knocked off Fountain Valley on Monday and improved their Sunset
League record to 7-0.
The Griffins who are now unbeaten win in their
last 13 matches, take a a 16-2-4 overall record, into today's Senior
Day showdown with arch-rival and No. 4 ranked Esperanza at Laurel
School.
In their first meeting, freshman Lindsey Salcido
scored in overtime to give Los Al a 2-1 victory.
January 30,
2009
Maddy Caddell named
Queen of Courts
Queen of Courts candidates (l-r) Katrina
Metoyer, Bethley Honma, Jessa Yukihiro, Queen Maddy Caddell,
Kelly Holford, and Francine Crowell.
Griffin senior Madeline Caddell
was named the 2009 Queen of Courts at halftime of the Grffins win
over newport harbor last Friday night.
Cadell, a runner on the Griffin track team, will
attend Virginia Tech next year.
For the first time, every member of the court
was a member of a Griffin girls athletic team, with at least four
of the girls having earned athletic scholarships.
Francine Crowell, an all-county lacrosse player,
will play that sport at Notre Dame next season. kelly Holford, an
all county and all-CIF volleyball player has committed to play at
highly-ranked University of Washington.
Katrina Metoyer will play softball at Western
Kentucky, and jessa Yukihiro, a captain on the Grififn soccer team,
will play at Southern Utah next fall.
Bethley Honma plays on the Lady Griffins basketball
team.
January 29,
2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Griiffins score three late goals
to down Newport Harbor
After dangerously letting Newport Harbor think
they had a chance to win the game through most of the game, the
Los Alamitos Griffins girls soccer team scored three goals in fourteen
minutes to win their sixth Sunset League match without a loss.
Seniors Lauren Ingram and Meguire Brorsma and
freshman Callie Taylor (back after missing fuor games with a pulled
hamstring injury) all scored, as Los Al ran its over all record
to 15-2-4 and 6-0 in league play.
The Griffins return to action on Monday at Fountain
Valley and then host Esperanza Tuesday in a showdown with the county's
No. 5 team. The Griffins won the first meeting between the two Sunset
powerhouses, by a 2-1 score in overtime.
The Esperanza game is Senior Day -- the last
regular season home game for the 12 Griffin seniors.
GIRLS SOCCER: Griiffins score three late goals
to down Newport Harbor, Senior Day showdown with Esperanza looms
After dangerously letting Newport Harbor think
they had a chance to win the game through most of the game, the
Los Alamitos Griffins girls soccer team scored three goals in fourteen
minutes to win their sixth Sunset League match without a loss.
Seniors Lauren Ingram and Meguire Brorsma and
freshman Callie Taylor (back after missing fuor games with a pulled
hamstring injury) all scored, as Los Al ran its over all record
to 15-2-4 and 6-0 in league play.
The Griffins return to action on Monday at Fountain
Valley and then host Esperanza Tuesday in a showdown with the county's
No. 5 team. The Griffins won the first meeting between the two Sunset
powerhouses, by a 2-1 score in overtime.
The Esperanza game is Senior Day -- the last
regular season home game for the 12 Griffin seniors.
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins run record to 20-1 with
comeback win over Marina
After finding themselves down by 10 points
to hot-shooting Marina early in the second quarter, Los Al went
back to the basics -- i.e., get it inside to senior forward Clark
Evans.
The 6-5 senior responded with 27 points, and
had 13 rebounds, muscling in 12 of his 15 shots — none coming
from beyond 5 feet from the basket — to lead the Griffins
to a 73-66 Sunset League win at Marina on Monday night.
The teams were tied for first place in the Sunset
League entering this week. Los Alamitos, ranked No. 2 in Orange
County, is 20-1 overall and 5-0 in league. Marina is now 17-4 and
4-1.
Los Al junior guard James Walker had 24 points,
10 in the fourth quarter including a clutch 3-point play with 26
seconds left that gave the Griffins a seven-point lead. He also
had nine rebounds.
Los Al, which is off to its hottest start in
school history, returns to action on Friday night against Newport
Harbor. The 2009 Queen of Courts will be crowned at halftime.
BOYS
BASKETBALL: Edison puts scare, but Griffins prevail 66-56
After jumping out to a big early lead, the Los
Alamitos boys basketball team nearly let one get away against Edison.
But thanks to a little senior leadership, the No. 2 Griffins held
to post a 66-56 victory at Edison on Friday night.
The Griffins sunk 11 of its first 14 field-goal
attempts and appeared to put the game out of reach early. But impatience
and poor choices led the Griffins to missing their next 15 shots
and the Chargers began to whittle away at the lead.
Coach Russ May had been trying to rest seniors
Nathan Berger and Jake Cheek , nursing colds and a minor injury,
and save their energy for the upcoming showdown againt Marina, but
when Edison cut the lead to two points with just four minutes to
play, May inserted the two veterans and saw immediate results as
the Griffins regained control of the game and pulLed away to the
final margin of victory.
Los Alamitos improved its record to 19-1 overall
and 4-0 in Sunset League.
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al comes alive in OT, downs
Edison 3-0
Adter a lackluster 80 minutes
of play which saw the Griffins fail to capitalize on numerous scoring
opportunities, the Los Al girls soccer team rallied for three goals
in overtime to defeat Edison 3-0 and complete the firts half of
Sunset League play with a perfect 5-0 record.
The Griffins are now 14-2-4 overall.
Freshman Natalie Donaldson provided the game-winning
goal late in the first overtime, when she headed in a Lauren Ingram
corner kick from five yards out. Earkly in the second extra period,
senior Lauren Ingram added a goal volleying in a long Katie Peterson
throw in and then Adriana Gjonovich put the game away with a scramble
rebound goal after Ari Carillo beat the defenders against the end
line and fired a shotr which was knocked down by the Edison keeper.
January 14,
2009
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins depth too much for Esperanza,
76-40
The Los Al boys basketball team won its second
Sunset League game, parlaying their full-court pressure defense
and some great outside shooting into a 76-40 win over Esperanza
on Wednesday night at Los Al.
The win improved the Griffins league mark to
2-0 and made them 16-1 overall, which is to the best of anyone's
recollection, the the best start in school history.
Clark Evans led Los Al with 14 points, scoring
and set the tone early with three inside buckets in the first quarter.
Evans got early help from Jack Haley and Jacob Cheek who led a dead-eye
outshoot shooting display for Los Al which put them up by over 20
at half time.
Sophomore Camryn Crocker got in some impressive
minutes with 10 points and 7 assists, including three alley oops
over the top of the Aztec defense, and some great crossover moves.
Junior James Walker turned in a very low-key
double/double performance — 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Los Al returns to action on Friday against Fountain
Valley.
January 13,
2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Salcido sisters lead Los Al to 2-1
OT win over Esperanza in early Sunset showdown
The Salcido sisters were in the house Tuesday
night, with each scoring a goal to lead the No. 4 ranked Los Al
girls soccer team to a 2-1 win over arch-rival Esperanza on Tuesday
night in Aztec-ville.
Junior Kelsey volleyed in first half goal and
then freshman Lindsey headed in a Lauren Ingram corner kick in the
second overtime to notch the game-winner for the Lady Griffins who
improved their Sunset League record to 2-0 and their overall mark
to 11-2-4.
Esperanza, who was ranked No. 2 in the OC, falls
to 11, 13-2-1,
The Griffins got on the board about 12 minutes
into the match when freshman Natalie Donaldson took a quick restart
after a foul and dribbled down the left side and sent a arcing cross
into the six-yard box where it was poorly cleared and Kelsey Salcido
volleyed a line drive into the upper left corner of the net.
The Aztecs ratcheted up the pressure in the second,
and finally scored with abvout 12 minutes remaining after a free
kick
Salcido's game winner came Lauren Ingram sent
a corner kick to the far post and Salcido, standing just inside
the six yard elbow got the side of her head and ear on the ball
which rolled just fast enough to be beyond the Aztec keeper's outstretched
arms.
Los Al returns to action on Thursday, hosting
Fountain Valley in the first of three straight home games.
The Los Al Griffins won its second Sunset League
match with a 2-1 win over Newport Har bor in a match played at Edison
High Friday evening.
Los Al got its scoring from Armando Monjaraz
and _____. Nick Brady had five saves for the Griffins who are now
2-0 in league play and 11-2-6 overall.
December
8, 2009
GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins down Newport Harbor 2-0
Junior Ariana Carillo and freshman Taylor Vargo
each scored goals as the Griffins posted a 2-0 win over visiting
Newport Harbor on Thursday in the Sunset League opener for both
teams.
Senior goalie Amanda McDonough had two saves
for Los Al in the first half and sophomore keeper Amanda Sears had
four saves in the second half.
The Griffins (10-2-4) overall, ranked No. 5 in
Orange County) will play arch-rival Esperanza (ranked No. 2, and
) at Esperanza on Tuesday at 5pm.
December
31, 2008
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al allows one goal in five games,
goes undefeated but finishes sixth at Excalibur
The Los Al girls soccer team downed Wilson 2-0
in the morning and then tied El Toro 0-0, but thanks to their second
penalty kick setback in as many days, they finished a very respectable
sixth place at the Excalibur Tournament at Foothill High School.
The Griffins downed Wilson 2-0 in the Wednesday
morning early match, getting a goal from Kelsey Salcido after a
scramble in front of the net following a Jessa Yukihiro corner kick.
They out the game away in the second half on a Shannon Ward penalty
kick after junior forward Kiley Godfrey was fouled in the penalty
box after splitting two Wilson defenders.
Los Al opens Sunset league play next Thursday
against Newport Harbor.
December
30, 2008
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins claim championship of
KSA Tournament at Disney World
The Los Al Boys Basketball team captured the
championship in the Thomas Jefferson Division at the KSA Holiday
Classic in Orlando, Florida by downing previously unbeaten Albany
Academy of New York 68-49 Tuesday morning.
Jacob Cheek led the Griffins with 17 points,
including five three-pointers.
The tournament is one of eight Varsity division
tournaments running simultaneously at the Wide World of Sports Complex
at at Disney World in Florida. With the wins, Los Al improves their
season record to 12-1. Their only loss has come to highly ranked
King of Riverside.
The Griffins opened play on Saturday, Dec. 28
with an 82-47 win over Plant City (Florida), then followed that
up with a Monday morning win over Niceville (Florida).
Albany had defeated St. Francis de Sales of Columbus,
Ohio 52-45, and Edgewater of Orlando to reach the championship game
against the Griffins.
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al falls to Santa Margarita
in PK shootout
Los Al's hopes for repeating as Excalibur Cup
Champions came to an end Tuesday afternoon with a 0-0 regulation
tie and an ensuing shootout which saw Santa Margarita outscore Los
Al 3-1.
While Los Al definitely was the aggressor most
of the contest, miuch of that was due to Santa Margarita's strategy
of "playing to not lose." school, The Eagles kept their
defense hunkered back most of the game, although they almost put
the game away in regulation on a counterattack that seemed to leave
an Eagle alone against goalie Amanda McDonough, but Katie Peterson's
perfectly time slide tackle negated the shot and allowed Los Al
to regain possession.
Despite their ball control, the Eagle defense
only allowed the Griffins one real good opportunity which saw a
scramble in front of the net end up with a shot going just wide.
Los Al will now play Wilson (PK shootout losers
to Esperanza) for a chance to play in the fifth place against either
Tesoro or El Toro.
Los Al JVs win North OC JC Classic for second
straight year
The
Los Al Girls Soccer JVs won the championship of the North Orange
County Classic JV Division for the second straight year, downing
Oak Valley 4-0 in the championship game. Earlier in the day, Los
Al advanced out of the semi-finals via a PK shootout win over Mission
Viejo, after the two teams ended regulation play in a 0-0 tie. The
JVs go into Sunset league play with a 8-1-4 record.
December
29, 2008
GIRLS SOCCER: Freshmen score four of six goals
to lead Los Al to Excalibur wins over Trabuco Hills and Walnut
Apparently undaunted about playing against some
of the top high school teams in Southern California, freshmen scored
of the six goals as Los Al posted a pair of first day wins in the
32-team Excalibur Soccer Tournament Monday at Foothill High School.
Freshman Taylor Vargo scored one and assisted
Kelsey Salcido on another as Los Al downed Trabuco Hills 2-1 in
a chilly 8am tourney opener, and then freshman Natalie Donaldson
scored a pair and freshman Callie Taylor, the team leader in assists,
scored her third goal of the season as the Griffins thumped Division
II power Walnut 4-0.
The Griffins will face Santa Margarita at 2pm
this afternoon at Foothill. The two teams tied 1-1 on December 16,
when the Eagles scored a goal late in the game . If Los Al wins
they will play in the semi-final tomorrow moring at 9:30 against
either Esperanza or Wilson.
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins fall to Fullerton, regroup
to down Cabrillo
The Los Al Boys soccer team lost its second match
of the season, falling 2-0 to Fullerton Monday morning in the quarterfinals
of the Marina Holiday Classic. The Griffins bounced back in the
afternoon to down Long Beach Cabrillo 1-0 and will face Sunset League
rival Marina on Tuesday morning in the fifth place match.
December
27, 2008
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins down Ocean View, Whittier
to advance in Marina Tournament Elimination rounds
The Los Al Boys Soccer team downed Ocean View
5-0 and Whittier 2-0 in pool play and will advance to Monday's 8-team
championship bracket at Marina High's 22nd annual Boys Soccer Holiday
Classic. Los Al will face Fullerton.
Jaiye Madourie scored a pair of goals to lead
the Griffin win over Ocean View, while Brian Hudson and Andrew Takahashi
provided the offense in the win over Whittier.
GIRLS SOCCER: Alums down Varsity 2-1
The
Los Al Girls Soccer alumni downed the Los Al Girls Varsity Soccer
squad 2-1 in a match played at Los Al High Saturday morning.
The Varsity opened the scoring when Lauren Ingram
kicked in a rebound off alumni goalie Greer Wilk ('08, now at UC
Davis -- and she's actually a midfielder but she left her soccer
shoes at home). Wilk redeemed herself with three pointy blank saves
later in the match and earned alum Player of the Game honors.
The alums ralled to tie the score in the second
half on a arcing shot by Katie Suits ('08, now at UC Berkeley),
then scored the game winner with about five minutes remaining when
Katie Suits fired a shot that was first blocked by Varsity keeper
Amanda Sears but Jen Brodie ('06) put away the carom.
JV AND FROSH-SOPH GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins rack
up wins at North OC Classic
The Los Al Griffins Girls JV and Frosh-Sioph
teams both won their two pool play games to advance to the divisional
semi-finals at the North Orange County Classic JV tournament on
Saturday. The JVs downed ___ and then pummeld Irvine 8-0, while
the Frosh-Soph squad beath the St. Joseph JVs 3-0 and the Millikan
JVs 1-0.
December
20, 2008
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins down Cajon
68-52 to take El Dorado Basketball Tournament
The Los Al Griffins downed
Cajon High of San Bernardino 68-52 to win the championship game
of the Irvine World News Gary Raya Co-Ed Classic at Concordia University
Saturday night.
Los Alamitos (8-1) outscored Cajon in the final
quarter, 24-16, to win the title behind the play of tournament MVP
Clark Evans, who scored 15 points.
Los Alamitos held a 30-23 halftime lead. Cajon
stayed close, 38-31, midway through the third quarter, but the Griffins
were tough defensively the rest of the way.
Los Alamitos also had solid contributions from
James Walker, who scored 18 points and Jack Haley, who had 13 points.
With the win, Los Al improved its overall record
to 7-1. They return to action Tuesday night when they take on Ocean
View as part of the Orange County North-South Challenge.
GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins fall to Wilson 2-0 in Mater
Dei semi-finals
The
Los Al girls soccer team played another 2-0 game Saturday afternoon,
but this time they were on the short end of the score as the Griffins
fell 2-0 to Long Beach Wilson in the semi-finals of the Mater Dei
Premier Invitational.
The score was tied 0-0 at halftime but Emily
Dillon's early second half goal gave Wilson the eventual winner.
The Bruins added the insurance goal later in the match. Wilson will
play Aliso Niguel for the title on Monday.
Earlier in the day Los Al won its third pool
play game with a 2-0 win over Northwood. C;air Bush scored off an
assist from Adriana Gjonovch (shown left in white) . Shannon Ward
also scored off an assist from Jessica Heller.
The Los Al Girls now take a week off before returning
to action next Saturday with their annual Alumni Game (10:30 at
the Los Al High back fields) and then beginning play in the always
tough Excalibur Cup which runs Dec, 29-31 at Foothill High in Tustin.
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins down Mayfair 62-53,
advance to El Dorado tourney championship game
The Los Al Griffins Boys Basketball team won
their third straight match of the Gary raya Co-Ed Classic, downing
Mayfair 62-53 to advance to Saturday night's championship game.
Los Al, the No. ranked 2 team in Orange County, improved its season
record to 7-1.
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins down Wilson 2-0
After opening the season with five straight ties,
Los Al has now won four of five and improved it's season record
to 4-0-6.
December
18, 2008
GIRLS WATER POLO: Dodson, Fattal lead Los Al to
19-2 win over Mira Costa
Junior Kaley Dodson scored seven goals and freshman
Rachel Fattal added six as The Los Al girls water polo team crushed
host Mira Costa 19-2 Thursday afternoon.
The Griffins improved their record to 8-1 on
the season.
The Los Alamitos Boys Basketball team improved
its season record to 5-1 with a 81-55 win over El Dorado in the
first round of the Gary Raya Co-Ed Classic Tournament Monday night.
The Griffins were led by junior guard James Walker
who had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Senior forward
Nathan Berger led Los Al with 10 rebounds.
Los Al plays its second game of pool play Tuesday
night against Chino.
Kaley Dodson had 12 goals, and sister Cory had
three as the Griffins pummeled Long Beach Poly in a non-league water
polo match. Jessica Dunn and rachel Fattal also each scored a hat
trick for the who improved their record to 7-1.
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al falls to Esperanza in Aliso
Cup semi-finals
The Los Al Girls soccer squad suffered its first
loss of the seasonm, falling to rival Esperanza in a semi-final
match at the Aliso Cup on Saturday evening.
Earlier nin the day, Los Al downed Los Osos 3-0,
which combined with Mission Viejo's 1-0 loss to Northwood, gave
Los Al first place in its pool and a berth in the semi-final match.
Freshman Callie Taylor scored a pair of goals for the Griffins,
and April Cross contributed a solo goal. Taylor now has two goals
and two assists in the young season.
Los Al returns to action Tuesday afternoon, hosting
Santa Margarita at Laurel, then begins play in the Mater Dei Tournament
on Thursday.
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins win, tie at Irvine Classic
After registering their sixth tie of the season
-- a 2-2 draw with Northwood -- the Los Al boys soccer squad notched
its second win of the season, downing Estancia 3-1 at the Irvine
Tournament.
Los Al is now 2-0-6 on the season.
December
12, 2008
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins finally win one, down Irvine
1-0
After opening the season with five straight ties,
the Los Al Boys Soccer team finally broke into the wins column by
downing host Irvine 1-0 Friday afternoon.
December
11, 2008
GIRLS SOCCER: Griffins corner Northwood 3-1
Junior forward
Ari Carillo scored twice off of corner kicks from senior midfielder
Lauren Ingram as the No. 5 Griffins rallied to defeat No. 6 Northwood,
3-1, in pool play of the Aliso Cup Tournament on Thursday afternoon
at Meadowood Park in Irvine.
Northwood scored first on a 20-yard arcing shot
midway through the first half, but the Griffins took the lead late
in the first half goals on the first of Carillo's two header goals
and a score by junior defender Shannon Ward who took a pass from
Kylie Godfrey and sent a a high arching kick into the top left corner
of the net, making it 2-1 at the intermission.
Ingram and Carillo re-created their corner kick
connection again in the second half for the final margin.
Los Al completes Aliso tournament play on Saturday
morning against Los Osos, 1-0 losers to Mission Viejo on Thursday.
Los Al and Mission Viejo, which tied 2-2 on Tuesday, are currently
tied atop their Pool standings, with the Diablos currently gaining
the tie-breaker edge
via fewest goals allowed.
BOYS BASKETBALL:
Los Al downs Canyon (Anaheim) 63-54; improves to 4-1
Led by the inside game of Clark Evans and his 15 points, The Los
Alamitos Griffins downed host Canyon High of Anaheim 64-54 to improve
their young non-league record to 4-1.
Junior transfer guard James Walker contributed
12 points and 2 blocked shots, while senior guard Tony Ramirez aded
11 points.
Los Al returns to action next week with their
second of three pre-league play tournmaments, El Dorado High's Gary
Raya Co-Ed Classic Basketball Tournament.
December
9, 2008
GIRLS SOCCER: Los Al ties Mission Viejo 2-2
Junior Ariana Carillo's late goal gave the Los
Al girls soccer team a 2-2 tie against visiting Misison Viejo in
a Tuesday afternoon match at Laurel High that doubled as a first
round game of the Aliso Niguel tournament.
The tie gives the Griffins a 1-0-1 mark on the
season.
Los Al opened the scoring with a first half goal
from sophomore forward Adriana Gjonovich who took a pass from freshman
Callie Taylor, then sent a 25 yard blast which hit the cross bar
near the far post and bounced down into the goal.
After Mission Viejo rallied to take the lead
in the second half, Los Al switched to three defensive backs to
put on more pressure, a move which was rewarded when Gjonovich chipped
a pass over the defenders and Carillo, in a footrace wth the Diablo
keeper, barely got to the ball first and poked it past her for the
tying score.
The Griffins got lucky when a through pass got
past the Griffin defenders who were caught in bad position, but
the Mission Viejuo player sent the one-on-one shot against the goalie
wide right.
Los Al returns to Aliso Cup action Thursday at
Northwood in the eastern hills of Irvine. They resume Aliso action
on Saturday down in Aliso Viejo.
BOYS BASKETBALL: Griffins down Centennial 71-55
to take 3rd place at Cerritos-Gahr tourney
Los Alamitos outscored Compton Centennial 20-11
in the fourth quarter to put away the game and take third place
in the Cerritos-Gahr tournament details Saturday night.
Junior guard Tim Chung continued his hot outside
shooting, leading the Griffin scoring with 20 points. Camryn Crocker
and James Walker added 11 and 10, respectively.
Walker and senior forward Nathan Berger led Los
Al with nine rebounds and Walker added eight, and had four assists.
mJack haley also had four assists.
BOYS SOCCER: Griffins remain fit to be tied at
Aliso Cup Tournament
The Los Alamitos Boys soccer team ended its first
Aliso Cup experience the same way that it has started and played
throughout the season -- tying Santa Ana Valley 1-0, the Griffins
fifth tie in as many games this season.
Earlier in the tournament Los Al tied JSerra
2-2, and Harvard-Westlake 1-1, and Long Beach Wilson 0-0.
Los Al (0-0-5) resumes play next Friday at the
Irvine Challenge.
In lower level play at the Marina High JV-FS
tourney, the Griffin JVs split its two Saturday tournament games
-- falling to Paranount 3-1, and tying Loara 2-2, but Loara advanced
via the PK shootout route.
In Frosh-soph play, Los Al tied JSerra 2-2, with
the Griffins advancing this time after the shottout.
December
3, 2008
BOYS BASKETBALL: Chung ties 3-pt record as Griffins
down Cerritos
Los
Al junior guard Tim Chung hit eight
three-pointers to lead the Griffins to a 91-62 win over Cerritos
in second round action at the Cerritos-Gahr tournament. Los Al will
play Martin Luther King of Riverside in the semi-finals.
Chungs' eight three pointers ties him with Landry
Fields and Tim Lin for the Los Al single
game record.
Griffins teams fare well in OC Register pre-season
previews
Los Al teams fared well in the Orange County
Register's pre-season picks which were published in that humble
publication today.
Girls Water Polo was in the fifth spot, as was
the Girls soccer team. (The Griffin girls were also fifth in the
CIF
Division I pre-season rankings).
The Griffin Boys soccer team were slotted in
the 8th spot. Wrestling was picked as the county's No. 9 team --
and was 10th
in the initial CIF rankings.
FOOTBALL: Griffins to face Tesoro in father-son
coaches' duel
The Los Al Griffins will face No. 3 seed Tesoro
in the first round of the CIF Pac-5 football playoffs this Friday
night at Tesoro. That match would be tough enough as it is as the
__ are the No. 1 team in Orange County and in the South Coast League,
but making it even moe intyeresting is that the team is coached
by Brian Barnes (LAHS '97) and son of Griffins head coach John Barnes.
LB Poly is the No. 1 seed overall, followed by
Notre Dame, Tesoro and Servite.
If Los Al defeats Tesoro they would play the
winner of the Mater Dei-Jordan match up.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Griffins down Thousand Oaks
in five; await winner of postponed Mira Costa-Orange Lutheran match
Jane Croson and Briana Dixion each had 20 kills
as the Los Al volleyball team downed Thousand Oaks in five game
to advance to the Division I-AA semi-finals.
The Griffins next play on Wednesday when they
host the winner of Monday's No. 1 seed Mira Costa-Orange Lutheran
march-up. That game was postponed because of all the fire activity
around the Orange Lutheran area on Saturday.
No. 3 seed Santa Margarita hosts No. 2 seed Wilson
on Tuesday.
Los Al won the first two matches 25-22, 29-27,
but then Thousand Oaks rallied to tie the matrch with 21-25, 21-25
wins, before the Griffins collected themselves to put away the match
15-12.
GIRLS TENNIS: Griffins fall to Beverly Hills 13-5.
November
14, 2008
FOOTBALL: Esperanza win over Edison gives Los
Al share of Sunset championship; then they pull third place out
of hat
Sometimes it's just as important to be lucky
as good.
And the Griffins got very lucky on Friday night
when a reporter drew a bottle of "white out" with their
name on it out of a hat, and put them into the CIF playoffs which
begin next week.
The Griffins made life very difficult for itself
by losing to Newport Harbor Thursday night. The loss meant that
long-time rival Esperanza had to beat Edison for the Griffins to
avoid missing the CIF playoffs, despite their 8-2 record. But the
Aztecs did prevail (defeating Edison 16-3 at Orange Coast College)
and in the process giving themselves, the Griffins,as well as Edison,
Newport Harbor and Fountain Valley a share of the Sunset League
title. Al teams possessed a 3-2 league mark. Only poor Marina and
its 0-5 record missed out on a piece of the Sunset championship
pie.
To determine the league's three positions in
the CIF playoffs, the initials of the five co-champs were put on
the bottom of bottles of White Out correctional fluid. Reporters
were invited in to pull three bottles out of a hat. The reporters
then left and the bottles were turned over revealing Esperanza,
Fountain Valley and Los Alamitos. Edison was then picked fourth
and Newport Harbor fifth.
Because Espy, FV and the Griffins had all beaten
each other, another drawing was held with the Aztecs getting the
No. 1 spot. Because Fountain Valley had beaten Los Al, they got
the league's No. 2 spot.
"This is a crazy, miserable way to determine
playoff spots," said Los Al athletic director Cary Brody. "It's
one thing for an adult coach to go through this -- he'll move on,
be back next year. But for a player -- kids who have put four years
of work into a quest... and it comes down to this. It's a shame.
It's a joke. "
BOYS WATER POLO: Griffins down CdM, move on to
semi-finals
With Ryan Summers, Forrest Watkins, David McCabe
and Austin Trinkle all socring two goals each, the Los Al Boys water
polo team outlasted a tough Corona del Mar team 10-6 Friday night
in a second round CIF playoff match.
Goalie Michael Delaney made 13 saves for the
Griffins (24-5).
The Griffins now advance to a semifinal match
against El Toro next game Wednesday at 5p.m. at the William Woollett
Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine. El Toro has beaten Los Al twice this
season in very close matches.
November
13, 2008
FOOTBALL: Griffins fall 24-23, playoff chances
take big hit
Newport Harbor kicker Dillan Freiberg's field
goal with 13 seconds left gave the Sailors a 24-23 win over Los
Alamitos High at Gahr High School and may have booted the Griffins
out of the CIF playoff picture.
The
win came just moments after the Griffins seemingly had the game
in hand with the ball at the Newport two-yard line and under five
minutes left. But a holding call and then an interception in the
end zone gave Newport life and the Sailors drove the ball down the
field for the winning score.
The loss puts Los Al in at least in a very bad
position, with their 3-2 record currently tying them with Newport
and Fountain Valley, the two teams that beat Los Al this season.
If Edison beats Esperanza tonight, FV and newport would get priority
for the league's second and third playoff spots. If Esperanza wins,
then five teams would be tied for first place with a 3-2 record.
Los Al's chances of winning the Pac-5 Division's
lone at-large berth look slim, with the Griffins weaker non-league
schedule coming back to haunt them. Although Los Al recorded wins
over good Narbonne and La Habra teams, the Griffins played no quality
teams from the Southern Section's top divisions.
Jane Croson had 14 kills and Kelly Holford had
16 digs, as Los All recovered from a game one loss to win three
straight from Temescal Canyon in a match unfortunately marred by
what a school official termed "embarrassing behavior"
from boys in the Griffin student section.
Los Al advances to play Thousand Oaks on Saturday.
TO (25-4) downed Rosary 3-1 on Thursday.
TENNIS: Griffins doubles teams win six of nine
to pace upset win
Krista Englant and Jennifer Alashi won four straight
games in their final pairing and pulled Los Al into a 9-9 tie which
then gave the Griffins a 78-75 upset win over El Dorado in the first
round of CIF Division II playoff tennis action.
ALUMNI SOCCER: Ingrassia's passion is now Long
Beach's success
It was a big PR day for ex-Griffin and current
Long Beach State women's soccer coach Mauricio Ingrassia. Ingrassia
(LAHS '89), who will lead the Beach women into their first NCAA
post-season match tonight against San Diego, was announced as the
Big
West Coach of the Year , got a nice write-up in Doug
Krikorian's column and a good story
by beat writer Dave Werstine to boot.
Joining Ingrassia in the Big West post-season
honor parade was fellow ex-Griffin Hayley Bolt (LAHS '05) who made
first team along with teammates Kim Silos, Lindsay Bullock, Mariko
Strickland, Sara Baca and keeper Liz Ramos who was named Big West
Goalkeeper of the Year.
November
13, 2008
CIF PLAYOFFS: Boys Water Polo downs Buena; Girls
VB opens tonight against Temescal Canyon
The Los Al Boys Water Polo team opened their
CIF playoff run with a 15-3 win over Buena at the base onWednesday. Ryan Fattal, Austin Trinkle and Forrest Watkins
each scored four goals to pace the Griffins (24-5). Los Al next
plays on Friday against Corona Del Mar which defeated Inglewood
11-4.
The Los Al girls volleyball team opens its CIF
playoff action tonight against temescal Canyon which swept Millikan
on Tuesday. The Griffins, who were seeded third behind Mira Costa
and Long Beach Wilson, drew a first round bye. Were Los Al to win,
they would play Saturday against the winner of the Rosary-Thousand
Oaks match.
November
11, 2008
FOOTBALL: Playoff win-or-go home atmosphere surrounds
Los this week's Al-Newport Harbor game
There's one week to go in the high school football
regular season, but it already has a playoff atmosphere.
An article in the Newport Beach Daily Pilot shows
the craziness that can happen if Newport beats Los Al and Esperanza
beats Edison and Fountain valley beats Marina -- leaving five teams
tied for first with a 3-2 record. Coin
flips would determine the first seeds and then head to head
action would come into play.
November
10, 2008
ALUMNI SOCCER: 8 ex-Griffins help teams to NCAA
playoff bids; LB State travels to UCLA to face San Diego and hopeful
match against No. 2 UCLA
The teams of eight former Los Alamitos Women's
soccer players earned bids to the NCAA women's soccer playoffs which
were announced on Monday night.
On Friday, Long Beach State (with Hayley Bolt
and Julie Megorden) will travel up the 405 to play the University
of San Diego, with the the winner facing the winner of the UCLA-Fresno
State match. The survivor of this foursome would play the winner
of the BYU preliminary round which pits No. 10 USC (the defending
NCAA champ) against Boston University and No. 22 BYU against ACC-tournament
finalist Virginia Tech (Megan Strawther, LAHS '06).
Another potential preliminary round showdown
between former Griffin teammates could happen in Missouri where
Rocky Hearst and Evansville (The Missouri Valley champions) play
Missouri, with the winner meeting the survivor
of the Memphis-Illinois (Jamie Alvis (LAHS '05) match-up.
Cal Berkeley, (Katie Suits, LAHS '08), the fifth
place team in the Pac-10, travels across country to take on Florida
of the SEC, and Northern Arizona (with Tori Rocke, LAHS '07) faces
No. 2 Portland up in Oregon.
In Division II playoff action, UC San Diego (with
Annie Wethe, LAHS '08) opens its first round action against
BYU-Hawaii. the match will be played Thursday evening in Seattle.
CIF PLAYOFFS: Girls VB seeded
No. 4, Boys WP seeded 3rd as CIF Playoff brackets are announced
The Los Al Girl Volleyball team drew the #4 seed
in the CIF Division I Southern Section volleyball playoffs and will
receive a first-round bye on Tuesday and the play the winner of
the Temescal Canyon-Millikan match on Thursday.
The Griffins, ended up as the No. 4 ranked team,
with Santa Margarita moving up late in the season after winning
the Redondo Tournament and downing the nation's then No. 1 team,
La Costa Canyon. Unfortunately, for Los Al, if form stands in the
Div. I playoffs (not always the best assumption), the Griffins would
play No. 1 Mira Costa in a semi-final game, instead of No. 2 Wilson.
This also effects State Championship tournament bracketings which
in part are determined by 1) the size of your school and 2) how
far you advance into the playoffs. Big schools that play in weaker
Southern Section divisions can benefit greatly from this. Theoretically,
winning the semi-finals against No. 2 Wilson is a much better prospect
than doing the same against Mira Costa. But ultimately, you still
have to play the game.
WATER POLO
In the water polo brackets, the Griffins drew
a No. 3 seed, after Foothill's surprising upset win over El Toro
last week. Their first place finish meant they had to be placed
above El Toro and since El Toro beat Los Al twice, it was only natural
that they would be placed above Los Al at No. 2. Thus, Los Al would
be in line to play El Toro in a semi-final match.
1. Foothill (20-6), Sea View League Champion
2. El Toro (24-2), Sea View League Runner-Up
3. Los Alamitos (23-4), Sunset League Champion
4. Santa Barbara (21-7), Channel League Champion
November
9., 2008
ALUMNI SOCCER: Ex-Grffins Hearst, Rocke, and Wethe
help lead college teams to conference titles
SOCCER: The teams of five former Griffins played
for women's soccer conference championships on Sunday, but only
Evansville and Rocky Hearst (LAHS '05, Rossmoor)
came away with a title trophy. Hearst scored a
goal to clinch Evansville's
2-0 win over Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Conference championship
game and earn a guaranteed NCAA tournament berth. Hayley
Bolt (LAHS '05, Lakewood) and Julie Megorden
(LAHS '05, Rossmoor) and Long Beach State hosted UC Santa Barbara
in the Big West Title game but fell
in penalty kicks 6-5 at George Allen Field. The game went to
the eighth kicker but the last two Beach kickers hit the post and
had the ball bounce out. Tori Rocke made the All-Tournament
team as her Northern Arizona squad downed
Weber State 2-1 to win the Big Sky championship. Annie Wethe
scored a goal nine minutes into the match as UC
San Diego defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills to win the CCAA
women's title. Wethe also made the all-tournament team, just a few
days after earning honorable
mention all-league honors.. And Megan Strawther
(LAHS '06, Rossmoor), although recuperating from an ACL Reconstruction,
watched her Virginia Tech teammates reach the ACC Tournament finals
before falling to 19-time NCAA champs North Carolina 3-0 in the
ACC Championship match.
November
8, 2008
ALUMNI: Childs grabs
seven catches as Boise State improves to 9-0; Dykes makes game-saving
tackle; Linehan, Weber State take Big Sky Conference title
FOOTBALL: Jeremy Childs (LAHS
'05, Lynwood) had even receptions for 135 yards and reached the
end zone twice for No. 9 Boise State in its 49-14
win over Utah State. Boise State improved its record to 9-0...
D.J. Dykes (LAHS '04, Rossmoor) had seven solo
tackles and three assists -- and the game-saving
tackle -- as Colorado rallied for two touchdowns in the fourth
quarter to down Iowa State 28-24... Kevin Linehan
(LAHS '04, Rossmoor) and Weber State clinched their first Big Sky
Championship in 21 years, by downing
Idaho State 59-27 win on Saturday... Michael Patterson
(LAHS '01) had an interception and a fumble recovery but his Philadelphia
Eagles fell to the New York Giants 36-31.
VOLLEYBALL:
Rachael Moss (LAHS '06, Cypress) put down 21 kills
and had 15 digs to lead the Duke volleyball team to 3-2
win over Georgia Tech Saturday evening. Moss took a team-high
56 attacks and made just three errors to finish with a .321 hitting
percentage in the win, which keeps the Blue Devils (19-8, 11-4 ACC)
in a tie for first place after they defeated first-place Clemson
3-1 Friday evening.
Nicole Vargas (St. Joseph's '05, Seal Beach) had
45 assists as Long Beach State rallied from a 2-1
deficit to down Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Long Beach State next
host UC Irvine at home on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. before playing
UC Riverside the next night in the final two home conference matches
for the 49ers.
The game against Irvine is the latest in the Black & Blue Rivalry
Series, and the 49ers will be handing out "I Bleed Black and
Gold" Decal giveaways. Thursday's match against Riverside will
be in conjunction with the "Food from the Heart" Food
Drive. Bring a non-perishable food item the day of the game and
receive a voucher for a free ticket to the women's vollyeball games
against UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
No. 10 USC (Geena Urango, Emilie Stewart)
had a tough match against No. 5 Washington, being swept
by the Huskies on Friday night.
Danny
Suits (LAHS '06, Rossmoor), Zac Rothman
(LAHS '07, Seal Beach) already has helped his UCLA team to a Pac-10
Championship last week, had another strong edefensive outing
as the Bruins downed
a strong Cal Poly San Luis Obispo team 2-1 on Saturday night.
Suits, who leads the Bruins in minutes played this season, often
went head to head with former Griffin teammate Wes Feighner (LAHS
'08, Rossmoor) who has had a great season fro SLO.
November
7, 2008
FOOTBALL: Griffins rally to down Esperanza, 22-21
Facing the cold hard facts that with just over three minutes left
they were seven points down, their CIF playoff chances were definitely
on the line (even though they had a 7-1 record going into the game),
and they had 85 yards of grass and Esperanza defensive players between
them and the end zone, the Los Al football team rallied to score
a touchdown and then a two-point conversion to give the Griffins
a 22-21 win over arch-rival Esperanza Friday night at BNradford
Stadium in Placentia.
Clark Evans hit a four-yard TD pass to senior receiver Jonathan
Cheri to cut the score to 21-20 and then hit Paul Richardson for
the go-ahead mark to give Los Al the win.
Los Al is now 3-1 in Sunset League play, tying them for first place
with Edison which pulled out a win over Fountain Valley Friday night.
Fountain Valley, Esperanza and Newport Harbor are tied at 2-2. Marina
is 0-4. A Los Al win in their league finale againsty Newport Harbor
gives them a share of the league title and, most importantly, the
guaranteed league #1 seed in the post-season playoffs. A Griffin
loss and a win by Esperanza over Edison, and Fountain Valley over
poor Marina, would amazingly put the league in a five-way tie for
first place -- with everybody but Marina having a 3-2 league mark.
BOYS WATER POLO: El Toro
edges Los Al 9-8 in 2 OTs
Nick Rascons's goal with 2:34 left in the second overtime period
gave No. El Toro a 9-8 win over No. 2 ranked Los Alamitos Friday
afternoon at El Toro.
The win confirmed the Chargers (26-2) place atop the CIF Division
I rankings going into Sunday's announcement of the pairings for
the CIF playoffs which begin next week.
Austin trinkle score three goals for Los Al and sophomore Joe Feretti
scored a pair for Los Al which finished the regular season with
a 22-5 record.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Griffins complete perfect 10-0
Sunset League season
Sophomore Jane Crosson had 25 kills and junior Emily Hartong added
14 as the Los Alamitos girls volleyball team downed Edison in five
games (23-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10) to complete a 10-0 Sunset
League season.
The Griffins, currently ranked No. 1 in Orange County and No.
3 in CIF Division I with an overall record of 22-5, will learn
their CIF playoff schedule on Sunday afternoon.
He stands almost 6-foot-5 and weighs 225 pounds, about the same
size as quarterbacks , who own Super Bowl rings. He may have a half-inch
or so on two other Super Bowl champs, Tom Brady and Eli Manning,
and this season's likely rookie of the year, Atlanta's Matt Ryan.
The Los Alamitos girls volleyball team downed Marina 3-0 on Tuesday
to improve its Sunset league mark to 9-0. The Griffins, who have
alrewady clinched the Sunset league championship, finish off their
season on Thursday at Edison.
Jane Croson and Christina Harris led Los Al with 11 and 10 kills
respectively. jkelly Holford added 11 digs.
October
31, 2008
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Griffins down Esperanza and
Fountain Valley; take 8-0 mark into regular season final week
The Los Al girls volleyball team improved its Sunset League record
to 9-0 (20-5 overall) with a pair of wins last week. On Wednesday
they downed Esperanza and on Friday Los Al defeated Fountain Valley
3-0 on Senior Day with the Griffin seniors (Kelly Chiffer, Brianna
Dixion, Kelly Holford, Meghan Horio, Brenna Malloy and Stephanie
Weingart) going all the way in the win.
The Griffins finish up their regular season at Marina on Tuesday,
then wait for the CIF playoff brackets which will be announced next
Sunday.
Los Al is currently ranked No. 3 in CIF Division I play, behind
Mira Costa and Long Beach Wilson.
October
31, 2008
FOOTBALL: Griffins fall to Fountain Valley 21-14
in OT
The Los Al football team lost
a tough one to Fountain valley in overtime last Friday night.
After jumping out to a 14-0 lead and dominating the first half,
Los Al was the dominee in the second half
The loss comes just one week after a 23-19 win over No. 1 ranked
Edison at the Homecoming Game.
Los Al took a 7-0 record and a No. 2 Orange County ranking into
the contest and seemed to have the game under control in the first
half. But the second half was a different story.
The loss puts Los Al into must-win situations for their next two
games against Esperanza and Newport Harbor. A single loss in either
of those games would give Los Al an 8-2 overall record but a 3-2
league mark which amazingly might only be good enough for fourth
place in the Sunset League and not good enough to gain the Pac-5
division's sole wild card/at large spot. Bottom line for Los Al
-- stay focused.
BOYS WATER POLO: Los Al clinches Sunset title
tie; readies for No. 1 El Toro in showdown of top two teams
The Los Al boys water polo team continues to
roll along.
Last Wednesday, the Griffins thumped Fountain
Valley 21-9 with Austin Trinkle and Forrest Watkins each scoring
five goals.
T he Griffins, the No. 2 ranked team in the CIF
Coaches rankings, are now 4-0 in league play and 21-4 overall. Guaranteed
at least a tie for the league title, they close out their league
season against Esperanza (3-1) this Wednesday night, then play on
Friday at No. 1 ranked El Toro in a game that will no doubt have
an impact on the seedings for the CIF playoff brackets which will
be announced this Sunday.
GIRLS GOLF: Prystaloski wins Sunset League individual
championship
Los Al golfer Natalie Prystaloski won the Sunset League individual
golf title after shooting a 10-over 118 last Tuesday at El Prado
Golf Course. With the win, Prsytaloski qualifies for the CIF Southern
Section Southern Individual Regional which takes place today (Monday)
at Yuicapa Valley Golf Club.
Prsytaloski was two down entering the second day of the individual
league finals, and needed a par on the final hole ot earn her a
one-stroke win.
This is the third time in four years that a Griffin golfer has captured
girls individual championship. Adriana Ortencio, now a sophomore
at Long Beach State, won back to back honors in 2006-07.
The Griffins finished the Sunset League season with a 4-6 record
and an 8-10 overall record.
October 16,
2008
HOMECOMING: Peterson named 40th LAHS Homecoming
Queen
Griffin
senior Katie Peterson (shown left with sister Rachael and mom Gail)
was announced as the 40th Los Al HS Homecoming Queen at a halftime
ceremony during the Los Al-Edison game on October 16.
Peterson was escorted by her sister Rachael and
dad, Brent.
Other Homecoming nominees were Shannon Brodie,
Carly Campbell, Kendra Kautz, and Akaila Sparks.
The Mr. Irresistible winner was football linebacker
Ryan Derry. Other nominees were Matt Cravens, A.J. Crook, Emilio
Garcia and Clayton Peters.
Los Alamitos took advantage of a couple second
half turnovers to build a 28-7 lead and then had to survive a late
La Habra rally to come away with a 28-21 win at La Habra Friday
night.
La Habra scored two touchdowns in the final ten
minutes and then seemed to recover an onside kick with less that
thirty seconds remaining, but the officials ruled a Highlander had
touched the ball before it traveled the required ten yards, and
the Griffins gained possession to secure the game.
Los Al seniopr quarterback Clark Evans completed
14 of 22 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown, a 36-yard Hail
Mary to Darryl Jenkins to end the first half. Evans also rushed
for 108 yards on 24 carries.
Senior Austin Trinkle scored four goals and Joe
Ferretti, Ryan Fattal, David McCabe and Forrest Watkins scored two
apiece to lead Los Alamitos to a 13-7 victory over Wilson in a boys
water polo match. Los Al is now 9-1 on the season.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Griffins take No. 1 Mira Costa
to 5 but fall
For the second time this season, the Los Al girls
volleyball team gave No. 1 ranked Mira Costa a real battle but came
up short.
The Mustangs, the top-ranked team in CIF Division
I-AA defeated Los Al, the No. 3 ranked team in the division, 25-13,
25-22, 16-25, 16-25, 15-12, in a non-league battle Thursday night
at Los Al.
Mira Costa (8-2) is ranked among the nation's
top ten teams by prepvolleyball.com. Earlier this season, the Griffins
lost to Mira Costa, 2-1, at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas.
Sophomore Jane Croson led Los Al with 12 kills
and Halli Amaro added nine. Setter Meghan Horio had 41 assists and
Kelly Holford had 17 digs.
WATER POLO: Gadget play, late steal, helps No.
1 (Div. I) Los Al avoid near loss and defeat No. 1 (Div.2) Mater
Dei 5-4
The Los Al Boys Water Polo team needed a late
steal and a goal in regulation to send their match with Mater Dei
into overtime, where Forrest Watkins' goal gave
the Griffins a 5-4 win Tuesday night at the Joint Forces Base.
The game was an early season showdown between
Los Al (4-0), the No. ranked team in Division I, and Mater Dei (5-2),
ranked No.1 in Division II.
Defenses were tight right from the start and
after a late steal by the Monarchs, the Griffins found themselves
down 4-3 with 23 seconds to play. Los Al coach Dave Carlson set
up a gadget play by pulling goalie Michael Delaney
to set up a double team. But befrore the double-team could happen,
senior David McKay stole the ball with 13 seconds
left and his pass yo a breaking Ryan Summers resulted
in a goal with nine seconds left.
Watkins scored the only goal of the extra period
after a Mater Dei exclusion.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: No 1. Griffins down No. Dana
Hills 3-1
The
Los Al girls volleyball team, just installed as the No. 1 ranked
team in Orange County, downed No. 10 Dana Hills in four games (25-12,
22-25, 25-21, 32-30).
Sophomore Jane Croson had 17
kills and junior Emily Hartong (left) added 13
for the Griffins which improved to 11-2 on the season.
BOYS WATER POLO: No 1 ranked
Griffins to face first test against strong Mater Dei squad
The No. 1 ranked Griffin
boys water polo team will face its first true test of the young
season when it faces Mater Dei Tuesday night at the Joint Forces
Base pool.
In their first three contests, the Griffins downed Northwood 8-0,
Capo Valley 16-2, and Millikan 13-4.
Mater Dei is 6-1 and is coming off a championship this weekend at
the very strong Scott Roche Tournament in Menlo Park.
Los Al which features a very strong senior-laden lineup, also strengthened
itself at the coaching position as Dave Carlson recruited 6-time
CIF champ Dave Sprague to help out with the Los Al team this year.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL:
Griffins win Gahr tourney, finish 6th at Durango Classic in Las
Vegas; Dixion, Holford all-tourney
The Los Al girls volleyball team is off
to a strong start. The Lady Griffins won the Gahr Tournmament championship,
beating
defending CIF champ Lakewood in three straigfht games (25-19,
26-24, 25-22). Senior setter Meghan Horio had 31 assists.
At the always super-tough Durango Classic
in Las Vegas, the Griffins won their pool, but fell to SoCal powerhouse
Mira Costa in a tough quarter-final match (21-25, 30-28, 25-23).
Los Al rallied to down Liberty (25-19, 25-18), then dropped the
fifth place match to Wilson (25-19, 20-25, 25-18).
Senior opposite Brianna
Dixion and senior libero
Kelly Holford were both named to the all-tourney
team.
The Griffins host Dana Hills on Tuesday.
September
19, 2008
FOOTBALL: Griffins
down Fremont 48-0, off to 2-0 start
The Los Al football team is off to a 2-0 start
after easy wins over Mayfair and Fremont of LA. Los Al is good –
and should be better than last year -- but it’s hard to read
too much into these games.
Darryl Jenkins had three TD receptions in the Griffins 48-0 win
over Fremont of LA on Friday. The week before, the Griffins downed
Mayfair 24-3 as quarterback Clark Evans and running back Cody Perez
combined to rushed for 253 yards.
The Fremont was originally scheduled to be played at Wilson High
last night. But when Wilson was unable to host it, Los Al wanted
to change it to a Thursday night contest at Gahr, but Fremont was
averse to Thursday night games. So after Fremont said let’s
call the whole thing off, Coach John Barnes said we just want to
play a game, so we’ll come to your house on Friday afternoon.
Senior QB Clark Evans (who committed to Colorado State last Spring)
had some impressive yardage stats, but his passing numbers indicate
he is still bothered by a lingering shoulder injury.
No home games until the October 16 tilt against Marina.
Brandon Graves, who caught 31 passes as
a sophomore for Los Al last year, is having transfer issues at Crespi
High in Encino.
The Los Al girls tennis team
dropped its first match of the season, falling to Santa Margarita
Thursday afternoon in games 87-84. Los Al won the singles side 5-4,
while Santa Margarita had a 5-4 edge in doubles sets.
Los Al hosts Long Beach Wilson on Tuesday afternoon.
LAHS IMPROVEMENTS:
Many said it would never happen, but after eight
years the LAHS weight room has been finally completed. After eight
years, numerous snags, the facility
Other improvements – the gym floor has been resurfaced and
a new mascot painted
The pool deck.
Soccer and lacrosse fields at Laurel and McAuliffe..
Softball has just put up new fencing and a backstop.
August 16,
2008
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Griffins to face Newport Harbor
in semi-finals of Hawaiaan Tournament
Iolani lost to Los Alamitos to leave California
schools in the main draw of the Ann Kang Invitational Volleyball
Tournament last night.
Newport Harbor will take on Los Alamitos in one
semifinal, with Wilson playing Mira Costa in the other. Both winner's
bracket semifinals are at 9:45 a.m. today, with the championship
set for 6:30 p.m.
LAST
YEAR MAKE-UPS
Miscellaneous stuff we neglected to get to last
Spring.
Post-season honors keep rolling in: Matt
Avery named all-county first team. He and Kirk
Singer have committed to play at Long Beach State.
Griffin Volleyball player Kyle McElderry,
also going to LB State, was named was the Press-Telegram’s
Dream team Player of the Year, was second team all-county and first
team all CIF and.. He was joined on the latter squad by Dewey Thomason
and Matt Markel who are both now attending Golden
West JC.
Los Al sophomore softballer Brittany
Spalding, who led the county with 15 home runs, was named
to the OC
Register all-county softball first team and her twin sister
Channelle earned second team honors.
Freshman Sidney Czaus finished
2nd in Sunset League Diving finals and then went on to finish 10th
in CIF.
With
over 2,300 persons enjoying the offerings of 42 local restaurants
and caterers, the 7th edition of The Taste 4 Los Al -- held last
Saturday evening (October 20) at the Los Alamitos Corporate Center
-- raised over $232,000 for Los Alamitos High School booster clubs
and facilities. Among the particpating restaurants was Tracy's Bar
& Grill, owned by Los Al alum Jill Warino (shown left, with
her mother). Jill also operates Jill's catering.
Over 2,600 tickets were sold for the event. Major sponsors included
Chateau St. Michelle Wineries and Time-Warner Cable -- who will
be showing a highlights of the event on its Orange County segment
of Headline News. The report will also be available at TW's On-Demand
channels. (Channel 1). Other sponsors included Pacific Premier Bank,
Champions Quest, CI Solutions, Global Electronic Technologies.
SCHOOLS: Wall Street Journal article lists
Los Al as top district for educational "bang for your
buck"
A Wall
Street Journal article highlighted a
study comparing real estate prices to education scores
and it turns out that homeowners within the Los Alamitos School
District are getting more "bang for their buck"
in terms of education which makes their homes more recession-proof
than homeowners throughout most of the nation.
The
Los Alamitos Griffins survived a rough start and finally outran
Edison 68-37 to finish the Sunset league with a 10-0 record, and
extend their school-record winning strreak to 24 games.
Junior
Ari Carillo scored two goals and freshman Callie Taylor added a
third as the Los Alamitos Griffins girls soccer team defeated Edison
3-1 to win the Sunset league championship.
The
Los Al girls soccer team played another 2-0 game Saturday afternoon,
but this time they were on the short end of the score as the Griffins
fell 2-0 to Long Beach Wilson in the semi-finals of the Mater Dei
Premier Invitational. 
Starting
a midfield of three freshmen, Los Al downed Canyon 2-0 in the second
round of the Mater Dei Tournament on Friday. 
Los
Al junior guard 
VOLLEYBALL:
Rachael Moss (LAHS '06, Cypress) put down 21 kills
and had 15 digs to lead the Duke volleyball team to 
The
Los Al girls volleyball team, just installed as the No. 1 ranked
team in Orange County, downed No. 10 Dana Hills in four games (25-12,
22-25, 25-21, 32-30).
With
over 2,300 persons enjoying the offerings of 42 local restaurants
and caterers, the 7th edition of The Taste 4 Los Al -- held last
Saturday evening (October 20) at the Los Alamitos Corporate Center
-- raised over $232,000 for Los Alamitos High School booster clubs
and facilities. Among the particpating restaurants was Tracy's Bar
& Grill, owned by Los Al alum Jill Warino (shown left, with
her mother). Jill also operates Jill's catering.
