This week we’ll check in with the Coronado High School Boys and Girls Basketball Teams, both of which played in tournaments over the holiday break. The second portion of the column will feature the first half of ‘The Year in Review’ for calendar year 2009. As an aside, the National Football League season is so long, that the San Diego Chargers get mentioned at the beginning of this week’s installment and at the end of the wrap-up which comes next week.

We’ll also take a quick peek at the CHS Sailing Team and bring you up to date on the varsity game schedule for this week.

CHS Boys Basketball Takes Second Place in Islander Holiday Tournament

The last version of ‘Nado Natterings’ reflected the fact that the CHS Boys Basketball Team had just completed the first two games of their Coronado Holiday Basketball Tournament. Those contests included victories over Preuss Academy and Maple Ridge High School from Canada.

In Monday’s tourney action, the Islanders defeated an overmatched squad from Julian by the score of 73-13. Everyone wearing a home white uniform played and scored, with Justin Hebner’s 19 points leading the way. Senior guard Josh McNeal supplied a nice effort with 10 points and six steals, followed by Harley Ralph with nine points, and Danny Hebert with seven. Billy Schmitt and Eric McAdams added six points each, while Roland Kaaialii was the leading rebounder for Coronado with seven caroms.

Truth be told, Tuesday afternoon’s tournament pool play finale against Temecula Prep wasn’t much more competitive, with Coronado prevailing 66-26. Hebner tickled the twine (quality writing, that) for 18 points, and Hebert added 14 more. Chris Maskevich had a good outing with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The conclusion of Tuesday’s first game was followed roughly 90 minutes later by the tournament championship game, which featured Pool ‘B’ winner Mission Hills against the Islanders. It proved to be one of the most competitive games of the entire three-day affair. However Coronado started slowly and trailed 12-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter found the Islanders’ zone press working to perfection and the home squad outscored the Grizzlies 19-8 to take a 26-20 halftime lead. The third quarter was essentially a push, but Mission Hills pulled away with a 27-11 rally in the fourth quarter. The final score was 58-47 and Mission Hills walked off with the tournament hardware.

Hebner scored 17 points, while Hebert contributed 12 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Bryan Beverly chipped in seven points and Peter Zeller added six points, courtesy of two long three-pointers during the Islanders impressive run in the second quarter.

“The tournament as a whole gave us an opportunity to look at all 11 guys on our team,” reflected Islander Head Coach J.D. Laaperi. “Some of those guys will give us minutes in league play. In a couple of the tournament games, we really had to play well to win.”

Laaperi continued and discussed the Mission Hills game in some detail. “We were down 15-7 and made a great run to go up by four or five points. But we couldn’t put any distance between us. They made their shots down the stretch and we didn’t. But, the kids played their tails off and gave it everything they had. Josh, Peter and Bryan have helped us establish a decent rotation at the three-guard spot. This game helps get us ready for league play and we will have to play well. I think the teams are pretty much going to beat up on each other.”

As noted above, the Islanders begin Central League this week, with a road game at Clairemont Tuesday at 4:45 pm. They then play the back half of a Girls/Boys Doubleheader Friday night against Point Loma, with game time scheduled to start around 7:30 pm.

Islander Girls Basketball Competes in West Coast Jamboree

Having already hosted their own tournament over Thanksgiving, the CHS Girls Basketball Team took their act on the road after Christmas, traveling to San Francisco for the West Coast Jamboree. The Islanders competed in the Ruby Division, which CHS Head Coach Toler Goodwin described as a ‘mid-level’ division in the 130-team event. The tournament included a lot of talented players destined for NCAA Division I play after their prep careers conclude.

Coronado opened with Wood High School and played a solid first half, trailing by a single point at intermission. According to Goodwin, the opponents, “which featured some solid players,” went on a 40-18 run in the second half to win 60-37.

Despite the seemingly lopsided score, the Islanders were down by only nine points late in the game. “We had a really good start to the fourth quarter,” Goodwin said. “We made a couple of shots and got to the free throw line early. Peri Curtis had 14 points and Maggie Harris had 11.”

One of the ironies of the tournament was that the Islanders lone win in the four games came against Liberty High School from Madera, which featured one of the Top 60 players in the country in Melissa Sweat. The 5-foot, 10-inch guard has committed to play her college ball at San Diego State. The Islanders rode a 25-6 third quarter to a 51-27 victory.

Curtis supplied 18 points and Harris added 14 more to lead the team. Alex Evans scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Point guard Cory De Marco dished out nine assists. Goodwin said of Sweat, “She scored 39 points in the first game of the tournament and we held her to 16. We played a zone and matched up with her early, when she got the ball.”

The third game was played against Hercules High School, and resulted in a 42-27 loss. Goodwin described the events of the game. “We missed some opportunities early and we were 0-9 from the free throw line in the second quarter. We had a decent third quarter. We were down a couple and made a late run. At one point it was 34-25 and we stalled out. We just couldn’t finish. Coronado wound up 6-20 from the free throw line and all year to that point we had shot about 65 per cent from the line. Peri had nine points and Coco Abrantes had seven. We didn’t shoot the ball very well at all.”

The fourth game was against Palo Alto, a Division II school and it was a one-sided affair. Coronado was on the short end of a 38-12 result.

Despite a 1-3 record, Goodwin was upbeat about the trip. “The kids were fabulous and the travel was unbelievably smooth. We saw a lot of things in the tournament that we needed to face and we made some good adjustments. We played everybody, every day. In the last game, we couldn’t make a shot to save our lives. The tournament will make us better for league play.”

The Girls host Clairemont Tuesday at 5 pm as Central League play commences. Friday they host the front half of the Girls/Boys doubleheader with Point Loma, with the tip-off at 6 pm.

Ireland Named to All-Academic First Team

Islander senior water polo player Andrew Ireland was named to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s All-Academic First Team last week in his sport. Ireland sports a nifty 4.13 grade point average. The All-Academic designation reflects both grades and playing ability.

CHS Sailing Team Places Fifth at Anteater Regatta

Recently the CHS Sailing Team had their best finish in the UC Irvine Anteater Regatta in recent years, finishing in fifth place out of 27 teams. The event was sailed in unusually breezy conditions on Newport Harbor. Representing Coronado at the event were Esteban Forrer, Alexa Cavalieri, Hans Henken, Kaitlin Dunphey, Katie Dowling, Philip Lozier, Karisa Chapa, Chuckie Eaton, Jenny Melnick, and Ryan Nies.

The team’s next event will be the Rose Bowl Regatta, hosted by USC at Long Beach Harbor. The Rose Bowl is the only event where college teams compete separately from the high school teams, but on the same course.

Coronado Varsity Schedule

To help get you back in the swing of things, here is this week’s CHS varsity sports schedule. The basketball game schedules are listed above.

Wednesday, Jan. 6, at 6 pm, Boys Soccer vs. Madison at home.  

Friday, Jan. 8, at 5 pm, Girls Soccer at La Costa Canyon; Boys Soccer at Hoover, 3 pm.

Saturday, Jan. 9 at 6 pm, Girls Water Polo at home vs. San Clemente.

Sports Year in Review – Installment I

·         On the professional football front, the San Diego Chargers defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL playoffs before falling to eventual Super Bowl champs Pittsburgh Steelers 35-24.

·         The CHS Girls Water Polo Team won their own America’s Finest City Tournament, defeating eventual Division I champion Vista 10-4 in the finals. The victory over the Panthers provides the Islanders with bragging rights for being the best team in San Diego County.

Coronado goes on to win the CIF Division II championship in a 12-11 overtime thriller over Bishop’s.  This was arguably the best game of the year, all CHS sports included. Alex Adamson is named Team MVP and the team compiled an overall record of 23-9.

·         CHS Alumni Layne Beaubien (CHS ’94) and Jesse Smith (CHS ’01) are honored by the San Diego Sports Hall of Fame for their roles in winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. This was the first water polo medal earned by the U.S. since 1988.  

·         Coronado’s Greg Johnson is honored by the CHS Athletic Department for his service to Islander sports. Johnson has served as an assistant coach for both the boys and girls basketball teams. He has also been the advance scout for the CHS football program for several seasons.

·         The Islander Girls Soccer Team wins the Western League title, for what is thought to be the first time in CHS history. The team earns the top seed in CIF Division III and loses to La Jolla 4-0 in CIF finals. Andrea Davis is named Team MVP.

·         CHS Girls Basketball finishes their season with a record of 14-9, which includes a second place finish in the Central League.  The squad earns a spot in the CIF Division IV playoffs, but loses to Parker in first round game. Angela Strohbeck is named Team MVP.

·         Boys Soccer Team earns No. 3 seed in Division III playoffs and has a strong finish to the season, despite several injuries to team members. The team plays to their seed and loses in the CIF Division III semi-finals to Cathedral Catholic by the score of 2-1. Christian Herrera is named Team MVP.

·         Islander Boys Basketball reaches the CIF Division IV playoffs and defeats Olympian in the first round. Coronado loses to No. 2 seed Francis Parker in overtime, in the quarter-finals. Krishna Samperio is named Team MVP. Later in the year, Head Coach Ken Caesar, who served for two years in that position, leaves CHS to take the same job with Mater Dei High School. Caesar is succeeded by J.D. Laaperi (CHS ’99) as head coach.

·         CHS Boys Lacrosse is voted No. 1 in the state of California in mid-April and sustains that ranking for the balance of the season. The Islanders win their first CIF title with 9-4 victory over La Costa Canyon and finish with record of 21-2 They are undefeated in state of California and the Team MVP is Jonny Poe.  Bobby Braun named San Diego CIF Section Player of the Year.

·         The CHS Sailing Team finishes fifth in the Pacific Coast Championships. Competition included the Top 20 teams in California. The Team’s Top Gun Award is presented to Hans Henken, skipper of the Varsity ‘A’ boat.

·         Islander Girls Lacrosse earns the No. 2 seed in the CIF playoffs and loses to Torrey Pines 9-8 in the CIF semi-finals. The team won the City Conference with perfect 10-0 mark and posted an overall record of 21-4.Melissa Humphrey is City Conference MVP and earns All-American honors for the second time.  

·         The Boys Golf Team sends Connor Pompa and Alex Valle to the CIF Playoffs, as the team misses qualifying for CIF Team play by a fraction of a stroke. Valle qualifies for CIF Finals and shoots a 156 for two rounds. Pompa, who posts a lower stroke average for the season, is named team MVP.

·         CHS Alumnae Katie Estrada (CHS ’07), Morgan Ronimus (CHS ’07), and Hannah Sebenaler (CHS ’08) all play on the UCLA Women’s Water Polo Team that wins the  NCAA title.

·         The Islander Boys Tennis Team battled in the tough Western League and names freshman Sean Lee Team MVP.  

·         The Coronado Boys Volleyball Team finishes the year with a mark of 7-7 and qualifies for the CIF Division IV Playoffs. They have a good effort in the first round, before losing to Mater Dei 25-22, 27-25, and 27-25. Team MVP is Cotter Stacy.