The Coronado High School Varsity Softball Team kicked off the home portion of their 2004 season with a 5-4 victory over La Jolla Country Day. Playing what Head Coach Ed Shanholtz described as "a great all-around team effort," the Islanders simultaneously handed the Torres their first loss of the season and raised their own record to 2-3 on the young season.

Shanholtz has been alternating pitchers Kristen Barker and Sara Noceto thus far and it was Barker’s turn to take to the mound. The sophomore hurler scattered eight hits over seven innings and emerged with the victory.

When things go well in sports, there are usually a host of contributors to the effort and that was true of Thursday’s victory. "Melissa Lopez was 2-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored," recounted Shanholtz. "Noceto was 1-2 with a triple, and Jessica Bridges had two key runs batted in. Farrell Pompa caught a good game behind the plate and Jessica Davis-Ricci made a nice running catch to her left and doubled a runner off of second base. Sunshine D’Amico made two great sacrifice bunts and did some good base running."

The schedule gets tougher this week for the Islanders as they have an early-week contest against Kearney Monday, followed by their first Western League game of the season at La Jolla Wednesday, before returning home to Green Field Friday to host Mission Bay.

Boys Volleyball Head Coach Phil Trotter said something rather simple, but exceedingly difficult to do over the weekend when he declared, "I’m trying to build a program." He has a good start this year with three returning players in senior outside hitter Jared Gibson, junior setter Jed Considine and junior middle blocker Jonathan Smith.

Trotter’s technique is also pretty straight forward, "I’m trying to get good athletes out there and then make them good volleyball players." Other athletes who will contribute this season include sophomore middle blocker Bryan Farley and senior opposite Carl Lane.

Trotter can point to at least one player that concept has worked on and that is the 6-6 Gibson, who formerly played tennis and basketball at Coronado before concentrating on volleyball. "He has a chance to be the best player in the Harbor League," said Trotter of Gibson. "He played with the Seaside Volleyball Club last year and he is probably the first club player Coronado has had in a while."

Trotter’s short-term assignment is to quickly season an inexperienced team and get them ready for Harbor League play. So far the Islanders have lost to Serra in five games, lost to Mar Vista, and defeated La Jolla Country Day Tuesday in a non-league tilt 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, and 25-19. Gibson led the way with 18 kills in the victory.

In case the scoring looks unusual for a volleyball match, the high schools have now adopted rally scoring, where there is a point won on every play, not just by the serving team.

Competition in the Harbor League comes from defending champion Clairemont and The Bishop’s School, but Coronado will be in the mix for the title according to Trotter. "If we play to our potential and the kids continue to work hard, we have a chance to really develop over the season." Other Harbor League opponents include Crawford, Hoover, Gompers and Madison. "Madison usually has good athletes who come out. Really the league is up for grabs this year."

One coach with a lot of talent at his disposal this spring is Head Boys Golf Coach Dr. Lee Price. Perhaps even better is the fact that the team is young and talented. There area two seniors on this year’s squad, Kevin Mathis and Kyle Worley, who normally occupy the first and third slots on the team. Price describes Mathis as "the most steady" and the current holder of the squad’s best scoring average, which is 37 strokes for nine holes of play. The No. 2 slot is held by junior Taylor Hakes and the other relatively fixed positions are held by juniors Sean-Ryan McCray and Stuart Gallant. Sophomores Stewart Harris and Bryan Reed also will see a lot of playing time.

But fielding the best team has its challenges for Price. Hakes frequently competes in national-level tournaments and Gallant often has club soccer commitments. An interscholastic golf team fields six players, with the best five scores counting toward the team total.

Other team members include juniors James Carney and Brendan Boyle; sophomores Westin Moore, Nick Finney, Scott Aurich and Sam Rosen-Hall; and freshman Liam Cronan.

Thus far the Islanders have defeated Scripps Ranch (189-210), beaten USDHS at Riverwalk Country Club (195-199), lost to La Jolla (190-191) and beaten Clairemont (202-211). "Even in the match we lost, we had the medalist (low score in the match) in Kevin Worley, who sot at 33," said Price. "Most of the time our leading scorer is Mathis."

"Without getting cocky, we should win the Harbor League this year," Price continued. "We won it last year and this year we’re just as strong. We shot at 187 this past Thursday against Christian (a 187-215 victory), without Taylor."

This week the Islanders face Hoover Monday, a tough St. Augustine squad Tuesday, and then Crawford Wednesday at Balboa Park.

The CHS Baseball Team started the week with a 5-1 loss to Mira Mesa, where erratic fielding in the form of five errors contributed to the loss. However, they righted the ship Saturday by sweeping a road doubleheader from defending Eastern League champion Morse High School by the scores of 9-8 (eight innings) and 11-2.

Head Coach Sam Ceci was pleased with the collective effort of the Islanders, now 4-3 on the season. "It was one of those ‘refuse to lose’ kinds of games," Ceci said of the front end of the twin bill. "Mike Denson came in and got a couple of hits for us that really sparked us. Loren Murillo had a huge pinch hit and we got a couple of sacrifice bunts down, which were really nice. Generally, we just didn’t give up and just kept coming back. Josh Okerman made a nice diving catch in right field."

As was the case with the softball team in their team victory, this win had many contributors. Leftfielder J.T. Rogan went 3-5 with 3 RBSs and two runs scored. Denson was 2-3 with three runs scored. Staff ace Kevin Couture earned his second victory of the season and senior catcher/relief pitcher Geoff Thorne came into end a Morse rally, which found the tying runner on second base in the eighth with two out.

The second game was a comparative cake walk as Murillo had the Tiger hitters pounding the ball into the ground for most of the afternoon. Couture, who plays shortstop when he doesn’t pitch, proved he can swing the bat as well, going 3-5 in the nightcap, while driving in three runs. David West went 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. The unique stat of the game belonged to Thorne, who walked four times and scored three runs. Ryan Nunn added a couple of hits for the Islanders.

This week Coronado travels to Hoover Thursday, where Mike Hollinger will pitch against the Cardinals. The Islanders host St. Augustine at Strand Field Saturday, with the JV playing at 10:30 am and the varsity scheduled to play at 1:30 pm. Couture will likely draw the start against the Saints.

The Boys and Girls Swim Teams have had two meets already this year, with both squads defeating St. Augustine/Our Lady of Peace in their season opener. This past week the Boys defeated Scripps Ranch 108-102, while the Girls fell to the Falcons 112-99.

With the eldest portion of the Boys team suffering from advanced and prolonged senioritis, Head Coach Dave Throop opted to highlight the contributions of the younger team members. "I like the group, but we’re not in shape yet. We have a good, young group that is working hard. Junior Drew Ratcliffe is one of our freestylers and we’re targeting him for the 200 free. Sophomore Devon Farrell is emerging as a team leader and he concentrates on the breaststroke and free events. Sophomore Sean Castillo has lots of physical talent and he competes in the 100 free and the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Juan Carlos De La Fuente will be one of our 500 free guys."

From a conditioning stand point, the Girls, most of whom are coming off of the winter water polo season, are ahead of the Boys. "We’re happy with where our anaerobic conditioning is, but their bodies are adjusting to the different demands of the sports," Throop said. "Katherine Burt is our sprinter. She’s a year stronger and a year quicker. She will contend for the Top 6 in anything she swims. She will swim the 50 or the 100 free and some backstroke events. She’ll also be in the medley and free relays."

Throop mentioned two freshmen, Lizzie Hansen and Molly Patrick as promising, young freestyle swimmers. "They have been pleasant surprises. One week Lizzie will beat Molly and next week the reverse. We also have Taylor Clarkson, who is a sophomore transfer student form Virginia Beach, who will help us round out the sprint events."

In total, there are more than 60 kids in the swimming program this spring. "Even though we have facilities issues, the kids are awesome with their attitude," added Throop. "We have a real resilient group of boys and girls in both the swimming and water polo programs."

The Girls Lacrosse Team gets the award for the fastest start to the season, having played five games already, going 4-0 in San Diego County. Their victories have come against Bonita Vista, USDHS, Monte Vista and The Bishop’s School. The fifth victory was in tournament play against St. Ignatius, a team from the Bay Area, which had never lost to a San Diego-based team before.

Veteran Head Coach Jessica Battle has a wealth of talent available to her, including stars from two winter sports teams, Dayna Queisser from soccer and Alexis Castro from basketball. Queisser has made the shift from offense to defense this season, while Castro plays the defensive wing position.

"Jessica Kelz is an excellent goalie and she makes a world of difference," said Battle recently. "Junior Julia Schelkun plays center for us on offense and is doing a great job. Katie Bickert is a returning senior who will play attack wing. Senior Kelsey Dampier also plays attack wing. On defense, sophomore Angela Naple has been terrific."

On the down side, senior Jade Hughes will be lost to the team due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during soccer season. "She has been acting as our captain," Battle said. "She has been really supportive of everyone else."

This year the girls lacrosse teams in the county have been divided into four conferences, with Coronado one of the six teams assigned to the City Conference. The team will play a total of 18 games this season, one against each of the other conference schools, with the balance of the schedule played against non-league teams and traditional rivals. The four conference champs and the next four best teams make the playoffs. Battle picks Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon as the teams to beat in the county this year, with Coronado being in the hunt for a CIF title as well.

Head Coach George Green checks in with a CHS Track and Field report. "Last Saturday at the Bronco Invitational, San Diego section’s first major track invitational of the season, held this year at Rancho Bernardo, a handful of Islanders picked-up where they left off last year.

In the high jump, Adam Munns just missed at 6 feet 6 inches, which would have been the leading section mark. Still, his 6-4 effort put him in a dead heat for top honors with Based on overall misses, Munns finished second and Reid McLean placed eighth at 6 feet even. McLean also placed 2^nd in the long jump with 20’ 2" and ran a 51.2 second leadoff leg on the mile relay team.

Jake Ruzevick stepped up in distance to try his hand at the 3200 (basically 2-miles). His 9:57 sixth place effort after a slow early pace and hot conditions puts him in the game with many of the county’s top runners. He already has a 4:30.5 mark in the 1600 this year.

In the girls 1600, run in hot, dry conditions, Katherine Wingert faded but managed to hold on to fourth place in 5:27.21. Nila Heurtelou placed fifth in the 100 in 13.08. Not a bad time for a dirt track. Beth Wittry scored a double of sorts. Not only did she win the open 400 in 60.58, she broke her own school record in the triple jump by nearly a foot with a sixth place leap of 33 feet 6.5 inches.

In the relays, which were run in divisions, the girls 4x100 team consisting of Heurtelou, Wittry, Sara Player and Danielle Eckert placed second in 54.12. The girls 4 x 400 was won in a lark with Wittry, Heurtelou, Player and Wingert in 4:22.41. The boys 4 x 100 consisting of Gino Jacobs, Leon Jacobs, David Zodrow and Jeremy Hastings placed second with 49.94. Ruzevick, McLean, Hastings and Leon Jacobs combined for second in the 4 x 400 with 3:48.64.

As a team, the girls should be a bit stronger this year than last because of a several additions. We have a small but talented veteran base consisting of Wittry, Wingert, Heurtelou, Jamie Klages , Caitlin Alley, Megan Mushovic, Caitlin Bigham, Morgan Gary, and Ashley Houston with mid-distance and distance support from Monica Ascolani, Danielle Cabana and Justine Gordon. Freshman, Sara Player, should be a major addition in the jumps, hurdles sprints and throws. Freshman Danielle Eckert is looking great in the pole vault and will help in the other jumps and relays. Based on this the girls team has a better than even chance at a third consecutive league title.

With Munns, Ruzevick and McLean the boy’s team will be strong at the big meets where individual efforts take precedence. Adam Munn’s twin brother, Brad Munns, is in this league as well but he’s out for the season with a basketball injury to his ankle. As a team, however, there is insufficient depth to contend with the larger teams in our league.

On the positive side we have Blake Gorey and Alton Smith from cross country as well as some developing runners in Leon and Gino Jacoby, Brent Gladney, Jeremy Hastings, Brandon Hoover and Zac Kinnett. Our throws team, this year coached by Mel Bechtel, is led by Levi Lozano and David Zodrow. The prognosis looks positive.

As for the other coaches, Kerry Elders (7-2 high jumper) coaches the high jump and hurdles; Mark Tompkins (4:10 USNA miler), the distance runners; Jack Nash (Villanova) and myself (ODU and recreational jogger) round out the staff.. There is a track and field website, so log on and check out Islandertrack.com. There you’ll find last year’s results for both track and cross country, all-time track records and photos from this week’s meet at Bronco including a quicktime movie of Beth’s triple jump record."