Nado Natterings
The 2006 Coronado Sports Year in Review
by David Axelson, Chief Executive Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation

25 Dec 2006 Issue #52a

Another year has sped by and the following column will attempt to re-cap the Best of 2006 in Coronado sports. We’ll review the year’s best athletic achievements by season.

One of the year’s highlights occurred off the field and involved a two-pronged, major commitment to improve the school district’s athletic facilities. Although the concept of placing artificial turf on both Niedermeyer and Cutler Fields had been bandied about for several years, 2006 was when the dream was realized. In addition, a new Olympic-caliber track was installed around Niedermeyer Field.

November 2006 the Coronado Unified School District approved the construction of an on-campus aquatics facility, the penultimate step in a drive that began in 2000. Under the direction of aquatics campaign chairman David Landon, every fundraising milestone agreed upon by the Islander Sports Foundation and the CUSD was met ahead of time, allowing construction on the facility to start January 2007. Athletic facilities which had once been at the lower end of acceptable levels, will now match those of any school in the San Diego County.

Considerable thanks needs to be extended to past CUSD Superintendent Dr. Marilyn Wheeler, current Superintendent Dr. Sue Coyle and members of the CUSD Board of Trustees. Thanks also to Coronado Mayor Tom Smisek, City Manager Mark Ochenduszko and Coronado City Council members past and present. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes the commitment of nearly that many people to build a first rate educational facility.

Winter 2006

The CHS Boys Soccer Team led off the New Year with a great showing, establishing a won-loss-tie record of 17-0-2 to start their season. In the process, they were the last high school team in San Diego to lose a game. They finished with a 20-2-2 record and earned an invitation to the CIF Division III playoffs.

My personal choice for No. 3 Best Game of the Year (BGOTY) came during the Division III semi-final game between Coronado and St. Augustine, which Coronado lost 2-1. The game, which was played at Balboa Stadium, was well-attended and well-played on the field.  “The effort the boys gave was incredible,” said Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu. Nick Hamilton was named Boys Soccer MVP.

Girls Soccer fielded yet another in a series of strong teams, as they started their season with a victory over El Capitan to win the Lady Vaquero Tournament. The squad finished with a 13-7-5 record and the No. 4 CIF Playoff seed.

After a first round bye, Coronado hosted San Diegutio Academy and the Islanders came out on the short end of a controversial 1-0 loss. In the No. 6 BGOTY, the referee located in the center of the field, 50 yards away from the action, made the call on whether or not a shot stopped by Islander goalie Megan Mushovic crossed the goal line. Aside from the officiating, the game was well played and competitive. Sasha Vido was named Girls Soccer MVP.

Win No. 100 by the Boys Basketball Team in the Blumenthal Sports Complex was one of the highlights of the beginning of their season. Another followed a month later when the Islanders fell to Crawford and All-American Tyrone Shelley by the score of 53-52 in the No. 4 BGOTY before a packed house in Coronado. It was an improbable result, as the Islanders lost their first game with the Colts, played at Crawford by 42 points. Bryan Reed’s 15 points and 12 rebounds combined nicely with 18 points and seven rebounds from Chas Marks. The cheerleaders were working the crowd and it was a great game.

The Islanders concluded their season with a record of 12-13, but qualified for the Division IV playoffs. Marks and Ryan Guard are named Co-MVPs.

The Girls Basketball Team took second place in the Central League, qualified for the post season, and after defeating Canyon Crest 47-39 in the first round of the Division IV playoffs, fell to La Jolla Country Day in the next round. The Islanders were 18-10 on the year and Brooke Becky was named Team MVP.

Turning to the aquatics world, the Girls Water Polo Team played some of the toughest competition in the country and wound up with a 21-10 record. They finished second to the Bishop’s School in the Division II playoffs. Katie Estrada was named Most Valuable Offensive Player and Kelly Phelps and Morgan Ronimus shared Most Valuable Defensive Player honors.

From the world of Coronado Middle School sports, the CMS Softball team under the direction of Ken Englehart won the South Coast Middle School League title, finishing 7-1-1 for the season.

Three members of the CHS Boys Water Polo Team were nominated to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. They are Dan Pedrotty, Joe Moffit and Scott Simeral.

The winter sports season also supplied the Top Comic Moment of the year, when the Sandy Dillon Dozen, a confederation of male athletes dressed as the CHS head boys basketball coach, arrived at a home game complete with appropriate hairlines, towels to alternately wear around their necks or kneel on as needed, and keys to jingle. Dillon, who tried hard to ignore the group during the game, later confided that he thought the group was hilarious.

Spring 2006

The No. 2 BGOTY leads off the spring of 2006 and that was the CHS Boys Lacrosse Team’s 16-15 victory over Concord De LaSalle. This game was played in the pre-artificial turf days, when men were men and the dust from Niedermeyer Field yielded to no one. The game was highlighted by a seven-goal, five-assist effort from Geoff Worley. The game concluded with Worley dashing around the field, playing a solitary game of keep-away from the entire Concord team.

The Boys Lacrosse program had a great year, posted a 17-6 record, an effort which included the City Conference crown. The season culminated with No. 3 seed Coronado’s 7-6 semi-final loss to No. 2 seed Poway in another great game played on the Titan’s home field.

The contest included great play in goal by Jake Benzian and a great closing effort by Kelcey Fisher in a furious scoring attempt to send the game into overtime. There is no love lost between these two teams, which have been competing against each other since the middle school level. Fisher was named Team MVP.

...continued next week.