Last week we noted that The Coronado High School Boys Golf Team had a tough week, losing their two matches, one of which was to La Jolla High School by the score of 188-198. The Islanders pride was redeemed somewhat when Stu Harris earned medalist honors by shooting a 36.

Less than a week later, the Islanders went to the La Jolla Country Club, a course they had never played before, and extracted some revenge against the Vikings 198-205. One Islander element remained constant as Harris was again the medalist, this time with a round of 36.

All of this was a tune-up for the second match of the week, this time against Harbor League rival Clairemont. The match was contested at the Torrey Pines North course, and Coronado posted a fine round of 184 to win by 32 strokes.

"They shot OK," said Head Coach Lee Price of the Chieftains. "They had done some 204’s already. Taylor Hakes was the medalist and shot a 33, Sean-Ryan McCray a 34, Bryan Reed shot a 37 and Michael Emerson and Harris both shot 40’s."

In high school matches, six players compete and the top five scores are used to compute the team score. Junior Nick Finley posted a competitive round of 41, and Price had the luxury of not including Finley’s score in the team’s total.

Wednesday Coronado hosted Mira Mesa and Price fielded the ‘Second Six’ from his squad against the Marauders best players. Coronado prevailed on the scoreboard 215-254, with Weston Moore, Daniel Mercado and James Carney all earning Co-medalist honors, shooting rounds of 42. The three victories pushed the Islanders record on the season to 5-2 overall, 2-0 in the Harbor League.

Thursday the Islanders expand their horizons by playing an 18-hole match (most interscholastic competitions are of the 9-hole variety) against Eastlake at Coronado Municipal. Due to spring break, the Islanders have no matches scheduled the following week.

"We should be pretty good from here on out," said Price of his team’s remaining schedule. "We play one 18-hole tournament next month and St. Augustine and Bishop’s will be there, so that will be a challenge."

We’ll turn the column over to CHS Head Track and Field Coach George Green for results of the Bronco Invitational last week and a preview of his teams.

"Senior Jamie Klages picked up right where she left off last year by winning the high jump at the Bronco Invitational held at Westview High School Saturday. Santa Margarita’s Lauren Collins, who is one of the nation’s best heptathletes, pushed Jamie to her limit as both athletes cleared 5 feet, 6 inches. Jamie won the event based on fewer misses at a lower height, but just missed clearing 5-8. Last year Jamie placed fifth in the state in the high jump at 5-7. Jake Ruzevick set a personal best time in the Boys 3,200-meter run, placing fourth with a time of 9:42 against a strong field, with 12 runners finishing under 10 minutes.

This year’s Girls Track Team is in somewhat of a rebuilding phase with the loss of the likes of Beth Wittry, Katherine Wingert, and Nila Heurtelou to graduation. Klages, Sarah Player, Megan Mushovic, Danielle Eckert, and Ashley Houston form the core of veteran sprinters and jumpers, with Danielle Cabana and Justine Gordon as the returning distance runners. Newcomers Allison Cabana, Emily Kleber, Rebecca Waterman, Tenille Workman, Neisha Scales, Anneke Nelson, Christen Grant, Crystal Curtis, Tracy Cummings, Gabrielle Cary and Care Bach will find their places on the team as the season progresses.

With Reid McLean, Adam Munns, Brad Munns, and Ruzevick among the top athletes in the section, the CHS Boys Track Team should have one of their best seasons in years. McLean was the San Diego Section 300-meter hurdles champion last year and has sub-50 second speed in the 400-meter run. Ruzevick is one of the top 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runners in the county and a two-time CIF Cross Country division champion.

Brad Munns is an excellent mid-distance runner and Adam Munns is one of the top high jumpers in San Diego, with a 6-foot, 6-inch jump to his credit. The distances will be strong with freshman Ben Enowitz, Michael Davies and Jose Tijerina competing from our Harbor League championship cross country team. Transfer student Kacey Zapatka will add depth.

Sprinter-jumpers Gino Jacob, Leon Jacob and Alton Smith are back, with newcomers Drew Lewis and Stephen Knuth looking good in early season workouts. Veteran throwers David Zodrow, Levi Lozano, and Brandon Hoover have developed into a good weights (shot put and discus) team that should score a lot of points."

Playing three matches last week, the CHS Boys Tennis Team started slowly by losing to San Dieguito 11-7. San Dieguito entered the week ranked third in the CIF San Diego Section Division III. The Islanders were led by in singles play by Daniel Souza and the doubles team of Mike Holman/Ryan Jones. Both groups won two of their three matches.

Things picked up Wednesday as the Islanders defeated Grossmont League North leader El Capitan 10-8. The doubles teams of Lewis Guess/Dan Schneider and Ryan Jones/Chris Mitchell swept all three of their sets, leading the way to the victory.

Thursday the Islanders took on Mar Vista and won 18-0. Souza lost only one game as he sprinted to scores of 6-0, 6-1, 6-0; Alan Hernandez won his matches 6-1, 6-3, 6-0; Guess/Schneider laid a triple bagel on the three Mariner doubles teams, while the combo of Javier Arozarena/Pedro de la Fuente only lost two games. Frankie Harrison/Chris Mitchell were almost as good, losing only three games in three sets.

Tuesday the Islanders host Canyon Crest High School at the Glorietta Courts at 3 pm.

Proving that you have to be tough, or at least in great shape, to play Girls Lacrosse, the CHS Islanders defeated USDHS 12-1 and then knocked off Serra 13-2. And their week was just getting started.

Saturday Coronado played in the Surf, Sun and Stix Invitational Tournament, held at Black Mountain Middle School and hosted by Mt. Carmel. The Islanders went 5-1 in the tournament, which featured 20-minute halves, as opposed to the regulation 25-minute half, and the games were played on a shorter field.

In the first several games, Coronado defeated teams from Fallbrook, Mt. Carmel, USDHS, and San Dieguito on their way to a semi-final match-up with Rancho Bernardo. The Islanders came out on the short end of a 7-4 score to the Broncos.

"Rancho Bernardo is strong this year," said Head Coach Jessica Battle. "We were exhausted after playing five games in the rain. If we were to meet them on a regulation field and we hadn’t already played five games, we could beat them. It was very obvious that the girls were exhausted at that time." Rancho Bernardo went on to lose to Torrey Pines 5-4 in the tournament final.

Playing on a short field hurts Coronado, which relies on a strong defensive unit led by Alex Vido and Angela Naple, and their team speed. "Our team is faster than most," Battle added. "We are losing our speed as an advantage on a short field, where you can get the ball down to the other end with one big heave."

Battle also complimented her key offensive players for their play during the week. "Julia Schelkun leads our offense and Hannah Sebenaler, Greer Goebels and Lindsey Negrete played well also. Angela Naple received the Islanders Player of the Tournament award."

This week Coronado hosts George Mason High School from Virginia Tuesday at 6 pm and then hosts USDHS Wednesday at 7 pm. The following week, which is Spring Break, finds the Islanders without any scheduled games.

Proving that they are at least as tough as their Girls Lacrosse counterparts, the CHS Baseball Team played five games last week and has the possibility of playing five more this week, if all goes well.

The Islanders started the week with a 7-2 loss to Horizon at home, despite a good outing from pitcher Mike ‘Sarge’ Hollinger. Pitching depth is critically important at every level of baseball, especially at the high school level and Hollinger is developing into a hurler who can burn some innings for Head Coach Sam Ceci’s club. "Sarge gave us five good innings Monday against Horizon," said Ceci. "In that game he was in trouble every inning, but he was able to get out of it. He’s battling now. Horizon was a very good team and we were flat, there’s no question about that. They swung the bat well and pitched well. Sarge pitched well enough to win."

In the week’s second contest, Coronado never let Mira Mesa get started, as staff ace Kevin Couture threw a one-hit, complete game shutout. The Islander offense supplied seven runs and based on their record in pool play, Coronado was now in the tournament finals against Francis Parker.

Parker, playing on their home field, as Coronado had done for much of the tournament, jumped on Coronado with four runs in the first inning, six more in the second frame, and cruised to a 13-1 victory in the Bully’s East title game. "Parker is very young and a very good team," said Ceci. The Parker game also saw junior Ryland Gill pitch well in a relief appearance.

A day off Friday was followed by a doubleheader against Mar Vista Saturday, with the game times at Strand Field slated for 10 am and 1 pm. The Islanders defeated their neighbors to the south in the twin bill 9-0 and 5-2. Junior Michael Denson won the first game and Hollinger ran his record to 2-1 and earned the victory in the ‘nightcap.’

According to Ceci, the Islander bats came alive against the Mariners. "We had 11 hits in the first game and six hits in the second game. Brandon Wheeler had a triple in the second game that scored two runners. Danny Cepin is kind of waving a magic wand, hitting the ball through the 5.5 hole (between the third baseman and the shortstop, made famous by Padre Tony Gwynn). He did that a couple of times Saturday. Our defense was almost spotless that whole day. Gill came in from out of nowhere and in both cases was able to throw strikes for us."

And if all goes well, the Islander Nine will do it all again next week in the Lions Tournament. They start the week Monday with a game against Otay Ranch at Montgomery High School. Tuesday they host Mt. Miguel at 3 pm. Santa Fe Christian follows Wednesday on the road at 3 pm. The tourney semis and finals are both scheduled for Thursday. Coronado’s division has 16 teams total, including Clairemont, La Jolla, and San Pasqual.

"We’re bringing up several JV players, a couple of freshmen pitchers who know how to pitch," added Ceci. "We may be able to get people out with our defense. We’ll give them a couple of innings here and there." The Islanders now stand with an overall record of 6-2 on the season.

Proving that volleyball is a game of momentum, the CHS Boys Volleyball Team started with it on their side against University City last week, winning their first game 25-20. Then the momentum switched and the Centurions ran off three straight games 25-14, 25-9, and 25-13 to earn the non-conference victory.

The Islanders play Wednesday at Otay Ranch and then host what Head Coach Phil Trotter describes as a "good Bishop’s team" Thursday. Both games are scheduled for 3 pm.

The CHS Softball Team lost 4-3 to Mar Vista and 10-4 to Francis Parker, but Head Coach Ed Shanholtz saw some positives from his team, especially in the game against the Mariners.

"The Mar Vista game was a great game. Neither team made an error. We could have beaten them, but we didn’t take advantage when we had our runners in scoring position. We had chances early that we didn’t convert."

Coronado scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to come from behind and take a 3-2 lead. Shanholtz picks up the narration. "Kristin Barker was 3-3 at the plate, and Lisa Bernardy was 2-4. Farrell Pompa drove in a run with a triple in the sixth. Sara Noceto got the go-ahead RBI driving in Farrell."

Noceto continued her hot hitting Friday against Francis Parker, going 2-4 with a run scored. Karli Massie was 1-2 with two RBIs. Despite giving up eight unearned runs as a team against Parker, Shanholtz said that "Pompa played great defense at shortstop. She’s is solidifying our infield defense."

Coronado faced Parker’s best pitcher and according to Shanholtz, "we hit her and put the ball in play. She was the Coastal League South Pitcher of the Year last year and Parker is one of the top teams in Division IV.

This week the Islanders have one game, a Thursday road battle at La Jolla Country Day at 3 pm. The Islanders start Western League play March 31, ironically during their Spring Break, against Clairemont at Coronado’s Green Field at 3 pm.

Last week the Islander Boys Lacrosse Team split their two games. The first game played Friday night was a 12-2 victory over Serra High School. The second game was a tough 4-3 loss at Torrey Pines in double overtime. Alex Woolf, Geoff Worley and Kelcey Fisher accounted for the three Islander goals against the Falcons.

Despite the loss to Torrey Pines, Coronado remains ranked No. 3 in the CIF San Diego Section by laxpower.com, behind only La Costa Canyon and Poway. The Islanders are also ranked No. 5 in the state, behind La Costa Canyon, San Ramon Valley, Poway and Monte Vista of Danville.

This Saturday at 11 am, the Islanders will host Wantaugh (NY) High School, who was the 2001 New York State lacrosse champion. The Warriors posted a 15-4 mark last season, a 2004 record identical to Coronado’s. According to CHS Lacrosse Booster Club President Jim Purvis, the Wantaugh game, against one of the top-rated teams in the nation, "is an opportunity for Coronado to gain some national exposure."