All five Coronado High School varsity sports programs, which have a combined won-loss record of 85-36-7, made their way into the playoffs over the weekend and the Girls Water Polo Team, which is already embroiled in post season play, won their quarter-final game over Scripps Ranch by the score of 11-4.

Annually the prep water polo world, both boys and girls, start their playoffs a couple of weeks earlier than the other in-season sports, and this year is no exception. Due to their fourth seed in the Division II playoff grid, Coronado earned a first round bye and then played Scripps Ranch Saturday morning at 9:50 am at LaJolla High School.

The Falcons and the Islanders faced each other twice in Western League play, with Coronado winning both prior contests by scores of 10-5 and 7-5. The Islander scoring leaders were senior Mary Lowe and freshman Katie Estrada, each with three goals.

"We came out and played pretty well," said Head Coach Dave Throop. "The last time we played them we won 7-5. I’m pretty happy with the way the game went."

Junior goalie Megan Braun got the start and played for three quarters, with senior Coral Kubala playing in the fourth quarter. Coronado’s quarterfinal victory set up a semi-final showdown with Bishop’s Tuesday evening, which is unfortunate that the two best water polo teams in San Diego County have to face each other in a semi-final game.

"We’re excited to face Bishop’s," Throop added. "I feel very positive about our chances."

The Boys Basketball Team achieved a first for the program by winning 20 games for the third consecutive year. They had to win twice last week to achieve the milestone and they defeated Madison 70-45 and then beat Crawford 55-45 in their final regular season home game Friday evening.

All of that winning had a positive affect in the team’s playoff seeding, earning the Islanders a No. 2 seed in Division IV. They will host the winner of the Mountain Empire vs. Imperial game Friday evening at 7 pm. If the Islanders emerge victorious, they will host the winner of the La Jolla Country Day/Bishop’s game Tuesday, March 2 at 7 pm.

"I thought that’s where we should be," said Head Coach Sandy Dillon of his club’s playoff positioning. "Francis Parker deserved the No. 1 seed. They beat Horizon Christian once, La Jolla Country Day once, Bishop’s twice and us twice."

Coming off of the win at Madison, highlighted by 29 points from Brett Milke, seven points and 15 rebounds from Tony Moore, and 15 points by Jimmy Harrison, the Islanders knew they would have their hands full with the Crawford Colts, who won the first game between the two clubs 53-49.

Friday night senior center Tommie Corcoran had a nice run to close the first quarter, where he had three offensive rebounds, a follow shot and took a charge from a Colt offensive player. All of that effort helped give the Islanders a 9-7 edge at the end of the first quarter. Corcoran would finish the game with five points and nine rebounds and the admiration of Coach Dillon. "It’s unbelievable how hard he plays," said Dillon of the USC-bound water polo All-American.

Senior forward Tony Moore had a great fourth quarter, scoring eight of his 15 points in the final stanza. Moore also finished with a team-high 11 rebounds. With Crawford putting together a run with 4:30 remaining in the game, Moore made a twisting, leaping underhand lay up that put the margin back to 10 points.

Milke finished with 16 points, with many of the points coming on critical free throw situations at the conclusion of the game. On the season, the senior standout is 96-120 from the line, good enough for an outstanding 80 percent. As a team the Islanders shoot 72 percent from the line, a strong result at any level.

Seniors Julian Cole and Cote Perkins also provided valuable minutes in the victory. Cole finished with nine points and five rebounds and continued to provide a spark to the Islander lineup from the bench. "Julian played so awfully well," Dillon said. "He was able to play (Colt junior point guard Maurice Clady) and get him stopped. I was really pleased with the way Cote played Friday night."

In the last four games, the Islanders have yielded 34, 41, 45 and 45 points to the opposition. It should come as no surprise that the Islanders finished eighth in the county in team defense, giving up a scant 49.4 points per game.

The CHS Basketball program had success at all levels again this season. Head Coach Bob Lindfelt led the Frosh/Soph team to a 12-2 mark and Head Coach Robbin Adair guided the JV squad to a 22-2 mark, including a perfect 10-0 mark in the Harbor League. The three teams combined for a record of 54-11, an .830 winning percentage.

The Girls Basketball Team heads into post season competition on a six-game winning streak, which helped earn them the No. 3 seed in Division IV. The Girls wound up with a Harbor League title, a 20-7 overall record and a 10-0 mark in conference play. They host Imperial Saturday in the quarterfinal round, although at press time there was some uncertainty on the date. If the Imperial boys win their first round game, there could be a Coronado vs. Imperial Girls/Boys Doubleheader Friday evening at Coronado.

This past week the Islanders continued their march through the Harbor League with a 65-39 win over Madison, followed by a 70-25 win over Crawford. Considering that the score at the end of the first quarter was 25-2, the balance of the game was ‘close.’ Honesty compels me to report that it wasn’t really that close.

As it was the final regular season home game for seniors Ashley Settle, Anne Marie Strohbeck, Alexis Castro, Nikki Hayden and Janelle Kuhlow, the quintet got the starting nod from Head Coach Toler Goodwin. Then Goodwin got caught in a bit of a tough situation leaving freshman Brooke Becky and junior Vanessa Gosenheim without much floor time. "Brooke and Vanessa played as little as they have all year," Goodwin explained. "I wanted to let the seniors play, then the game got out of hand and we put the younger kids in."

The game saw senior center Alexis Castro play most of the game at what amounted to the point guard position, as she scored 23 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out eight assists and snared eight steals. With a little more floor time, she could have achieved a quadruple-double (double figures in four statistical categories). Strohbeck had 13 points and six steals, Kuhlow added 10 points, and Hayden scored seven points.

"This week Janelle was as good offensively as she has been all year," Goodwin said. "Nikki played well and she has been doing some nice things. All of the seniors played well this week and they had a little fun Friday night." Castro finished the regular season with a scoring average of 19.6 points per game, good enough for eighth in the county.

Although Coronado and Imperial did not play each other this season, the Tigers did play in the Islander Thanksgiving Tournament, where they went 2-3. "We’re going to have to play well to beat them and come out with some focus," said Goodwin. "They have a couple of kids with some size, and they may press. Then they will sit back in a zone and we will have to make shots at different times. It will be a good lead-in game for us. If we can get by them, our likely opponent will be Bishop’s."

A goal on a free kick from sophomore Sasha Vido helped earn The Girls Soccer Team a 1-1 tie against La Jolla High School in their final regular season game. The Islanders finished in fourth place in the Western League and the No. 6 seed in Division III. They will host No. 11 Santana and if Coronado wins, they will play Friday Feb. 27 against Our Lady of Peace at St. Augustine at 3 pm.

Head Coach Miles Ramirez was quick to point out how tough the league was this year. "Our league was tremendous and it got the recognition it deserved from the seeding committee. Every team in the Western League made the playoffs. It’s the only league in the county where all the league members were accepted into the playoffs."

The regular season ended strangely according to Ramirez, as the La Jolla game was played in a driving rain storm. "There didn’t seem to be any urgency to come out and win because it was a meaningless game. We had already wrapped up fourth place in the league and both teams just wanted to get out of the game without any injuries. I feel that this (the playoffs) is what the girls have been waiting for. Get the regular season over and get into the playoffs. Our experience will definitely be an advantage for us."

Going into the final week of play, the only team that was up in the air about their playoff chances was The Boys Soccer Team. Head Coach Brian Hiatt knew his club had to win out over Christian and Preuss Academy for them to make the post season and they did just that. Coronado defeated Christian 4-0 on two goals from Stuart Gallant and one goal each from Ryan Cummins and Kelcey Fischer. Gallant, a junior, accounted for both goals in the Preuss Academy game.

Hiatt thus entered the seeding meeting with his team on an uptick and he emerged with the 11^th seed out of a possible 12 playoff positions in Division III. They will play Wednesday at San Dieguito High School at 6 pm. If they win, they will face Crawford at Hoover High School Saturday, with the time to be determined.

Aside from the goal scorers, Hiatt hailed the fine play of Travis Lindsay, Christian Bond and Nick Hamilton this past week. "Nick Hamilton had the best week he’s had all year and Lindsay was very solid. We only have two substitutes," Hiatt continued. "We’ve been playing like that for two or three weeks. We’ll see what happens."

Islander Head Track Coach George Green checks in with some news. "Like all other spring sports, Track and Field has been underway since Saturday. Anyone interested in coming out for this year's team should meet with the coaches at 3 pm after school this week. Although dual meet competition doesn't start until April 1, we'll be attending several invitational meets starting with the Tiger Relays for the Girls March 13
and the Bronco Invitational March 20.

Last year the Boys went 4-2 against Harbor League competition and the girls extended their unbeaten streak to 2 years while taking the Harbor League championship for the second year in a row. All of the girls from last year's team are back, along with a few promising freshmen.

Miler Jake Ruzevick got a jump-start on his season last Saturday with a personal best
at an all-comers meet held at Long Beach State University. He jumped in the fast heat
of the 1600 along with 15 open and collegiate runners and placed seventh with a
time of 4:30.6, a little over two seconds under his previous best effort."