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

3 Jan 2007 Issue #52b
second part of 2006 in review

...continued from last week.

On the Girls Lax side, Coronado started the season by capturing the championship of the Third Annual Surf, Sun and Stix Invitational Lacrosse tournament, an event that featured teams from all over the state. The team featured a troika of brilliant scorers in Marissa Nagler, Hannah Sebenaler and Greer Goebels. Unfortunately late in the season Nagler sustained a broken bone in her foot and was unable to participate in the playoffs. Coronado went undefeated through the City Conference and then in BGOTY No. 7, kicked Cathedral Catholic 11-4 in the CIF semi-finals. Coronado got up big early and took no prisoners at the end. Coronado fell to eventual CIF Champion Poway in the CIF semi-finals by the score of 14-8.

In what was probably the quickest league title earned in Coronado High School history, the Boys Golf Team won the Central League crown in mid-April when they defeated Christian 207-220 (low score wins in golf). Dillon Hakes and Stewart Harris both went on to qualify for CIF Individual play, making them among the best prep golfers in the county. Hakes and Harris were also named Team Co-MVPs.

A new entry in the Islander sports pantheon was born in 2006 as The CHS Sports Medicine Team under the tutelage of CHS Athletic Trainer Connie Martinez, won the 4^th Annual Sports Medicine Interscholastic Competition held in Los Angeles. Coronado’s Hayley Kitzmiller finished in third place individually out of 180 student entrants.

In the world of Track and Field, Sarah Player had a great season, tying or setting three school records. By the conclusion of the year, Player shared the 200-meter dash record and held the 100-meter hurdle and 300-meter hurdle records. Danielle Eckert, who was new to the sport of pole vaulting, won the Central League title. Both Eckert and Player qualified for the CIF meet. Player and Levi Lozano, who threw the shot and the discus, were named Team MVPs.

The CHS Sailing Team finished the year ranked No. 16 out of 60 schools in the state. Pike Harris was named as the recipient of the Top Gun Award emblematic of the program’s best sailor.

Both the CHS Boys Tennis Team and the Islander Softball Team made the playoffs. The softball team led by MVP Farrell Pompa fell 2-1 to La Jolla Country Day in the first round of the playoffs. Krishna Samperio was named Boys Tennis MVP, spending most of the season as the squad’s No. 1 singles player. Molly Patrick and Preston Lujan were named as the MVPs of the Girls Swimming and Boys Swimming Teams respectively. Both athletes helped lead their teams to strong showings in the Division II CIF Swimming Championships.

But the big news for the spring and perhaps the entire year, was the first-ever title for the CHS Baseball Team in Coronado High School’s 86-year history. The Islanders led by Head Coach Sam Ceci, parlayed the concept of ‘good field, no (or at least not much) hit’ to the CIF Division IV crown, after finishing as runner-up for the Division III title in 2005.

After finishing 4-8 in the very tough Western League, the battle-hardened Islanders earned the No.2 seed in the playoffs. In the No. 1 BGOTY, Coronado defeated Santa Fe Christian, the No. 1 seed, by the score of 4-2 in the championship finals. Senior Kevin Couture toed the rubber in the title game, struck out 10 batters and scattered seven hits to earn the victory.

The team received great defensive play all season long in center field from converted infielder Max Weinfurtner. Senior Blake Spitzer solidified the club’s defense as the starting catcher coming down the stretch. The Team MVPs were Michael Baker-Denson and Weinfurtner. The team’s record was 20-14.

Top CHS Senior Athletes of the Year for 2006 included: Chris Arthur, Sean Castillo, Jessica Davis-Ricci, Kelcey Fisher, Preston Lujan, Kyle McArthur, Megan Mushovic, Marissa Nagler, Kelly Phelps, Farrell Pompa, Blake Spitzer, and Sasha Vido.

In the eponymous Annual Axey Awards, Baseball’s Sam Ceci and Girls Lacrosse Head Coach Jessica Battle earned Coach of the Year awards for Boys and Girls Sports Teams respectively. The Top Senior Athletes of the Year were Mushovic and Fisher.

Fall Sports 2006

By all accounts, it should have been a rebuilding year in 2006 for The CHS Football Team. A very talented, but very young team with only a hand full of seniors doesn’t often equate to a positive result on the gridiron.

The Islanders defeated Mar Vista 19-7 to retain the Taufaasau Cup, emblematic of long-standing South Bay rivalry. In BGOTY No. 5, Coronado thrashed Clairemont 45-24 in a pivotal Central League road game. This was also a season that saw junior running back Ricardo Oberwager rush for more than 200 yards in a game twice, a feat matched by fellow junior running back Kyle Brown.

Coronado was undefeated in the Central League and won the conference championship. The team finished the season with a 9-3 overall record. They lost to eventual CIF Division IV Champion Santa Fe Christian in the quarter-finals. Lineman and team Co-Captain Ben Thorne was named Team MVP.

The Boys Water Polo Team had a successful season and finished with a 20-9 record, highlighted by an early-season 6-5 victory over The Bishop’s School in BOGTY No. 8. Two elements made the game noteworthy. First it was a victory over Bishop’s. Second was the shot by Jacob Smith at the final buzzer, which covered three-quarters of the pool, skipped twice and found the back of the net for the Islander victory.

Coronado would go on to become tri-champions of the Western League with La Jolla and Bishop’s and be awarded the No. 3 seed in the CIF Division II Playoffs. The Islanders lost to Bishop’s 8-6 in the semi-final game. Smith was named Team Most Valuable Offensive Player at the conclusion of the season, with Kyle O’Brien Pokorny earning Most Valuable Defensive Player recognition.

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams representing Coronado both had outstanding seasons. The Boys won the Central League title for the third year in a row and the club’s top runner Ben Enowitz qualified for the state meet. Freshman Sallie Privett won the Central League individual title and paced the way for the Girls to win the Central League as well. Their league team title was earned in a one point victory over Christian. Adrianna Davies qualified for the state meet along with Enowitz. Privett and Enowitz were named Team MVPs.

In Girls Golf, Alexcie Sanchez and Giovanna Ascolani both advanced through to CIF Individual play, leading a strong effort from the team. Spencer Berman was named Girls Tennis MVP.

Girls Volleyball finished with a 13-18 record and competed in the tough Eastern League. One of the team’s highlights was a victory over Division I Patrick Henry 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, and 16-14. Coronado qualified for the playoffs, earning a straight-set, first round victory over Marian Catholic, before losing to Bishop’s in the next round. Christy Mebust was named Team MVP.

Just before Christmas Break 2006, the Boys Soccer Team won the Premier Division of the Coronado Invitational Tournament, with a 3-1 semi-final victory over Eastlake. Their title run was capped off by a 2-0 shutout of Bonita Vista in the championship game.

I hope all CHS and CMS athletes, coaches, their families and all of the readers of Nado Natterings had a very Merry Christmas. Please accept my best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!