Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson

Nado Natterings
by David Axelson, Chief Executive Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation

6 June 2007 Issue #22

By the end of the week, the lone Islander athlete remaining in post-season competition was CHS senior track athlete Sarah Player. CHS Track Head Coach George Green, who along with CHS High Jump Coach Kerry Elders accompanied Player to the state meet in Sacramento, brings us up to date on the action. “As reported last week, Sarah qualified for the State meet in both the high jump and the 300 meter hurdles.

This marked the first time in Coronado High School history that anyone has qualified for the state meet in two events. She also set a new CHS record in the 100-meter dash of 12.35 seconds.

At the state meet, the high jump and the 300-meter hurdles were being contested at the same time, so she was a bit torn between the two events. She had to make her last jumps early, and then run over to check in for the hurdles, with very little time for warm-up.

Still, her 5-foot, 3-inch clearance in the high jump and her 46.16 in the hurdles were respectable considering the conditions. Sarah finished this year as the Central League’s MVP for Girls Track and with four CHS school records on the books: the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles.

At the CIF Prelims, freshman Sallie Privett picked up her share of medals by placing fifth in the Division II 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:19.05 and was fourth in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:48.16. Only four other runners in the San Diego CIF Section tried this difficult distance double and none of them were freshmen.

Neisha Scales placed eighth in the Division II 100-meter dash with a time of 13.20. Ben Enowitz placed ninth in the Division II 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:21.73.”

Junior and Senior Girls Square Off in Powder Puff Gridiron Clash

Powder Puff Football, a flag football game played between the CHS Senior Class Girls and the Junior Class Girls has become an annual rite of spring at Coronado High School. Sprinkle in few competitive male coaches from the Islander Football Team and you have an event that is now filling the stands at Niedermeyer Field.

This year’s game was played Friday and found the Seniors outlasting the Juniors 21-14 in overtime. With the game tied 14-all at the end of regulation, the coaches huddled with CHS Athletic Director Sandy Ferguson and requested that the game be continued so that a winner could be determined. The result was that each team was given five plays to score from the 20-yard line.

The first four overtime offensive plays by the seniors found them on the Juniors’ 2-yard line, which was close enough for quarterback Kelsey Branch to, in her words, “Jump over the middle and get the touchdown.” Branch also scored her team’s first touchdown of the game on the Seniors’ first offensive possession. Branch also completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to running back Molly Patrick in the fourth quarter.

Sounding like a seasoned signal-caller, Branch was quick to spread the praise, especially to her offensive line. “Our offensive line did great. Hallie Todaro was a tackle and she was mean. Alexcie Sanchez was the center and she made every snap. She’s only about 5 feet tall, but she did real well. Brooke Bower was our best offensive lineman, in part because she’s very tall.”
Joining Branch in the victor’s backfield were the aforementioned Patrick and Kelly Walsh.

The defense performed well, according to Branch. “Gabby Isaza was a linebacker and Walsh played both ways, playing safety on defense. Kylie Cusick was another safety and Andrea Wheeler did great at cornerback.”

The scoring for the juniors was provided by Tiffany Depfer on a 60-yard scamper and by quarterback Rosie Harris, who scored the team’s second touchdown.

Proof that the game is ultra competitive, aside from turning the normally mild-mannered and studious Todaro into a snarling offensive tackle, was the contest’s physical play. “It was flag football, but the girls kind of forgot about the flags,” Branch said. “It was about 60 percent tackle and 40 percent flag football. It was a great game and so much fun. Nobody got hurt, so that was good too. It was one of the best memories I will have of high school. It was probably my favorite thing I have done this year. When we won, everybody rushed onto the field. It was great and it really helped our class come together.”

The Seniors were coached by Ben Thorne on offense and JJ Pontes on defense. The Juniors were coached by Ricardo Oberwager.

Lacrosse All-Star Games Have A Distinct Coronado Flavor

Last week we noted that seven lacrosse games were to be played at Coronado’s Niedermeyer Field Saturday. The common theme throughout the day was that Coronado lacrosse athletes, both boys and girls, were found in almost every contest.

At the risk of turning this week’s column into “The Kelsey Branch Story,” the William and Mary-bound Branch was a major contributor in the Senior Girls All-Star Lacrosse Game, which began roughly 10 hours after the conclusion of the Powder Puff Game featured above. 

Midfielder Branch, who plans to walk on to the William and Mary women’s lacrosse team, or at least play for their competitive club-level team, scored a goal and added an assist in the contest. As Branch was Coronado’s lone senior on the varsity squad this season, she was thus the school’s lone All-Star. CHS Head Coach Jessica Battle coached one of the All-Star squads.

The Boys All-Star Game, which had a 6 pm starting time, featured five Islanders on the roster. They were JJ Pontes, Jake Benzian, Jake Vita, Erik Karlsson and Geoff Worley. The Vermont-bound Worley was unable to play due to an injured knee. The team was led by CHS Head Coach Alex Cade and his staff. The two county all-star games were presented by the San Diego Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse.

The CMS Boys Lacrosse program was also well-represented. One of the teams was coached by CMS Head Coach Parker Anger and featured six Coronado athletes. Participating in the game were Kyle Runyon, Sergio Flores, Jacob Lujan, Curtis Nixon, A.J. Vido and Dane Farguson.

The middle school championship and All-Star games were promoted by the San Diego County Lacrosse Association.

Girls Lacrosse Awards Announced

The CHS Girls Lacrosse program held their post-season awards banquet last week and several members of the program were recognized for their efforts.

Junior Varsity Coaches Mike Fisher and Joanie Huck announced that they gave Coaches’ Awards to Leslie Orell and Julia Turpit. The JV squad posted a strong record of 14-4 this season.

The Varsity Awards presented by Jessica Battle included: Most Improved – Erin Colvin; Unsung Hero – Melissa Humphrey; ISF Award for Integrity, Sportsmanship and Friendship – Bria Phillips; and Coach’s Award – Greer Goebels.

Five Islanders were named to the City Conference First Team for 2007 and they included: Alyssa Littin, Hannah Sebenaler, Goebels, Phillips and Humphrey. Saturday at the County All-Star Game, it was announced that Goebels and Phillips were also named as First Team All-Americans.

Lost in the chase for the CIF title by the Islanders was the incredible season turned in by two-sport star Sebenaler (water polo and lacrosse). Battle provides the details. “Hannah had 96 goals this season, beating the total of 93 scored by Marissa Nagler last year. Hannah also scored the most goals in all of San Diego County this year.

In my personal opinion, Sebenaler has the best shot of any high school player I have ever seen. It is incredibly powerful and you can see goalies wince as she winds up to shoot. They usually have no chance. She even shoots harder than a lot of collegiate players.

We haven’t actually clocked the speed of her shot, but it is incredibly fast. She even scored a few goals on the Coronado Boys Lax goalie in our Boys/Girls game last week. Hannah is an incredible offensive player and I am looking forward to a new record breaking effort from her next year.”

Rotary Club of Coronado Honors Top CHS Senior Athletes

Last Wednesday the Rotary Club of Coronado hosted the Top 15 Senior Class Athletes at club’s weekly luncheon at the Hotel Del Coronado. The athletes were introduced by CHS Athletic Director Sandy Ferguson.

Those recognized were: Kelsey Branch (basketball and lacrosse); Eric Clapper (water polo and swimming, including All American status in water polo); Jackson Crow-Mickle (water polo and swimming); Danielle Eckert (cheer plus track and field); Katie Estrada (water polo and swimming); Matt Ganyard (soccer); Nick Hamilton (soccer and lacrosse) and Chas Marks (basketball and baseball).

Additional honorees included: Molly Patrick (water polo and swimming); Sarah Player (track and cross country); JJ Pontes (football, basketball and lacrosse); Morgan Ronimus (water polo and swimming); Lee Sebring (swimming); Ben Thorne (football and baseball); and Geoff Worley (basketball and lacrosse).

Congratulations to all of the seniors for their fine careers at CHS.

CHS Baseball Reaches Semi-Final Series

Hopes for a Division IV championship repeat for the CHS Baseball Team came to an end last week at Islander Field, after their second loss to No. 4 seed Santa Fe Christian. The Islanders defeated the Eagles in the 2006 championship final, but in 2007 SFC will play Francis Parker in the Division IV title game.

Unlike some of the other late season losses by the Islanders, this game didn’t revolve around one big offensive inning from the opposition. This game was more of the 1,000 small cuts variety as the Eagles scored once in the first, twice in the third inning, three times in the fifth and twice in the seventh inning. The bad news is that represents a total of eight runs, which exceeded the two tallies the Islanders could muster.

Offensively Coronado had six hits, with two coming from third baseman Jake McMahon and one each from Kyle Pokorny, Tim Leary, Danny Cepin and Tucker Johnson. To add insult to (a little) injury, four Islanders were hit by pitches, including Pokorny, Leary, Keith Englehart and Chas Marks. Cepin was credited with Coronado’s lone RBI, a two-out single in the sixth inning that drove in pinch runner Blake Malkemus.

Coronado turned in some fine defensive plays, including an effort in the second inning by shortstop Mason Mills, who made a diving stop and still threw out an Eagle hitter. Marks, playing first base in the final game, made another diving stop of a well-hit ball and recovered to record the unassisted putout at first base. To counterbalance the fine plays, Coronado committed three errors on the afternoon.

The Islanders completed the season with a fine record of 23-11, which according to Head Coach Sam Ceci was among the highest win totals for a CHS squad in the school’s history.

Several Islanders are eligible for inclusion among the San Diego County statistical leaders for 2007. Leary finished the season hitting .433 (39-90), with Cepin finishing at .371 (39-105). Leary led in team RBIs with 34, while Cepin led the Islanders with 26 stolen bases, followed by Pokorny with 14.

Leary and senior Benson Lorden led the team in pitching wins with identical 4-1 records. Josh Fink was close behind with an overall record of 3-2. Tucker Johnson was the ERA title leader for Coronado with an average of 2.10, followed by Leary at 2.57. 

All in all, it was a fine season for the Islanders. The post season just ended a little earlier than most had hoped.

CHS Swimmers Complete Season

The Coronado High School Boys Swim Team capped a successful year with a strong fourth place finish at the recent CIF Division II Championships. Freshman Andrew Ireland’s third place finish in the 200 freestyle was the top individual finish by Coronado swimmer. Senior Lee Sebring also had a strong showing with a fourth place finish in the 100 backstroke.

David Foy and Adam Ratcliffe were also championship finalists, (sixth place or above) in the 100 fly. All four of these swimmers contributed to Coronado’s fine showing in the relay events, as the Islanders finished in the Top 3 in all three relays. Jacob Smith, Sean Cook and Francisco Heredia swam personal best times on the relays and scored individual points in the consolation finals. Smith won the Consolation 100 free and Cook shattered his best time in the 500 free.

On the Girls Swim Team side, Heather Ireland earned Top 6 honors in the 200 free and the 100 back, with personal best times in both events. She also swam a strong leg on Coronado’s 400 free relay. Teamed with Molly Patrick, Kelly Ronimus and Karly Hoshko, they scored the only other championship finals points for the Islanders. Ronimus, Patrick and Lenea Smith scored points in the consolation finals of the 200 free, the 100 back and the 500 free respectively. Their collective efforts earned the Islanders a Top 10 finish.

Save the Date – July 4 15K and 5K Race Coming

Reserve Independence Day morning for the 32^nd Annual July 4^th 15K Run and 5K Run/Walk. The races start at Tidelands Park at 7 am. Event proceeds benefit the Islander Sports Foundation as well as Coronado High School and Coronado Middle School sports.

Fees to enter the race are $25 with the price increasing to $30 after Friday, June 22^nd. Day of event registration is $35. Entry fees include a colorful commemorative t-shirt for all participants. Both races feature a flat and fast course. To register for the event, go to www.kathyloperevents.com or call 619-298-7400 for additional information.