Coronado’s Girls Soccer Team played high-level playoff soccer for most of the past two weeks and ended their season as CIF Division II Southern Region Champions, which pairs nicely with their CIF San Diego Section Division IV title.

Including their CIF Finals victory over The Bishop’s School, the Islanders played four games in seven days, winning them all. As impressively, Coronado yielded only two goals in their six-game sectional and regional championship run. As Head Coach Kiko Medina noted, “Defense wins championships. That was true this season.”

The tale of the 2010-11 Girls Soccer season has been followed in this column, but we’ll provide a quick refresher course. In early January 2011 after playing in the 32-team Excalibur Tournament hosted by Foothill High School, the Islanders owned a record of 1-4-3. When asked at the beginning of this week if he thought at that point his team would enjoy the postseason run they accomplished, Medina said, “Honestly, regionals no. But the CIF yes, definitely.”

Medina made a conscious decision to dramatically upgrade the Islanders schedule. After season-ending injuries to Annie Lovering and Lauren Tobin, and lingering injuries to several other key  contributors, things looked a little grim early in the season.

Coronado rallied during Western League play and captured their third consecutive league crown, this time by a single point over Cathedral Catholic. Earning the No. 2 seed in Division IV, the Islanders then proceeded to knock off Escondido Charter, Francis Parker and No. 1 seed Bishop’s to win the CIF title.

In the Regionals, Coronado was the No. 4 seed and knocked off No. 5 seeded Palos Verdes, No. 1 Santa Margarita, and No. 2 La Jolla. Somewhat ironically, the championship final between two San Diego County schools located 18 miles apart was played in Downey, but more on that later.

According to Medina, Santa Margarita was the real deal. The Eagles were paced by forward Lauren Bohaboy, who will be taking her talents to play with NCAA defending champion Notre Dame in the fall of 2011. Bohaboy scored 51 goals for her team this season in 33 games.

“In talking to a few other coaches, they pretty much said No. 11 (Bohaboy) was their team, she was phenomenal and everything ran through her,” Medina said.  “If you shut her down, you give yourself a real chance to win. I gave Kaitlyn Couture the job and she wanted it. The girl had her chances, but Kaitlyn took her out of her game and made tackles when she needed to. Our other defenders Cassie Callahan, Brianne Clifford, Avery Woodhouse and goalie Cory De Marco were great. Kaitlyn was absolutely phenomenal.”

The Islanders’ two goals in the 2-0 victory were scored by freshman Abigail Callahan and senior Stephanie Hamilton. Medina described the first tally. “Mallory Mitchell did a good job of servicing the ball into the box and Abigail made her run and took the shot. Their goalie made the initial save and then the ball bounced off of the defenders. Stephanie crashed the box and her shot hit the crossbar and popped back out. Abigail had a one-touch, half volley and tucked it into the far post. It was her first goal of the year, although she has had quite a few assists. For a freshman to step up in the Regional Semi-Final was huge. The celebration on the bench after the goal was really nice.”

According to Medina, the team’s second goal also began with Mitchell on the attack. “Aly Culora found Hamilton at the top of the 18 (yards away from the goal). Luckily for us, the defenders laid off of Hamilton. She got a great shot and it was a really nice goal. Santa Margarita has a lot of talented players and it was by far one of the best games this group has had in a long time. We defended like crazy when we needed to. The Semi-Finals were tougher than playing La Jolla in the Finals.”

Take that Viking fans. The two Western League teams played each other twice during the regular season, with each team winning once. Coronado won the league, while La Jolla finished in third place. Medina was, shall we say miffed, that La Jolla entered the Regionals as the No. 2 seed and Coronado was relegated to No. 4. The lone Islander loss in the last four CIF title games was courtesy of La Jolla in 2009. My memory of the game was that the Vikings celebrated a lot at the conclusion of the contest, which La Jolla won 4-0. Most of the current Islander team was around for that bit of business and perhaps they didn’t forget.

Traveling to Downey Friday for a 5 pm game, to face La Jolla was little strange in concept. “It took away from the importance of the game,” Medina said. “It was a big Regional Final and we weren’t able to travel a lot of fans and neither was La Jolla. It was one of those situations when you have two teams from the same section, where the CIF might bend a little bit and play at a neutral site in San Diego.” For the record, Downey is 116 miles from Coronado.

The Regional Finals opened Coronado’s way, when 10 seconds into the contest senior Culora scored for the Islanders. It was her first goal of the season, a theme that would recur throughout the final game. “Aly has worked hard and she was asked to play outside midfield for the majority of the season,” Medina recounted. “She wasn’t comfortable with it, but she did her best and got the job done.”

With the score still 1-0 in favor of Coronado, De Marco came charging off the goal line and made a great sliding tackle to thwart a one-on-one Viking scoring opportunity. Mariah Stacy later cleared a shot off of the Coronado goal line, saving another potential La Jolla score.

Katie Centeno scored later in the first half, which was her first goal of the season. Mary Grace Braun put the game away for good with a second half tally, also her first of the season.

The Islanders (14-6-4) thus won 13 of their final 16 games of the season to finish with a flurry. They also brought home a couple of very nice plaques for the program.

Islander Baseball Team Posts 3-0 Week

After losing 1-0 to Steele Canyon in their first game of the season, played in the Aztec-Foothiller Tournament, Coronado Head Coach Sam Ceci said, “It was a very good ballgame against a very good team. The polls haven’t come out yet, but I would bet they are in the Top 10. We competed better than I thought we would. It was a tough loss to a good team and we measured up pretty well.”

That game action occurred two weeks ago and things turned around in a hurry last week as in short order the Islanders defeated San Ysidro 7-6, Mater Dei 7-1 and Grossmont 2-1. All of the teams competing in this tournament reached the CIF playoffs last season in their respective divisions. Ceci called the win over Grossmont, “One of the Top 10 wins for the program in my tenure. When we play schools our own size, I expect to win. This is only the second time we have played Grossmont and they crushed us last year. We went toe to toe with them Saturday. We made the plays and the pitches. That’s a special moment for a baseball coach. Right now the kids are really playing well.”

The three tournament games last week allowed Ceci to feature his all left-handed starting pitching rotation of Austin Denson, Luke Gillingham and Jake Meloche. Denson held a 6-2 lead and had pitched 5.1 innings against San Ysidro when Ceci went to his bullpen. “In their first starts, we were trying to watch the pitch counts,” Ceci said. “Denson threw just fine. We jumped out and then we let them back in the game.” Denson was charged with just one earned run. Hitting stars in the contest included Denson, Gillingham and Tyler Brownell with two hits each. Denson helped his own cause with three RBIs.

Mater Dei came to Coronado Friday afternoon to find Gillingham on the mound. The junior lefty went 5.1 innings before showing signs of tiring. That was not a totally unexpected concept since the week before Gillingham was the starting power forward on the Islander varsity basketball team. Ceci liked what he saw of Gillingham’s outing. “Obviously I was very pleased. I love his mechanics, which are very solid. He went 3-0 on half a dozen hitters and got them all. Luke plays hard and thrives on the competition. There will be a nice healthy competition among these three guys to be the best.” As an added bonus, through four games Gillingham leads the team in hits, batting average and on-base average.

The defensive play of the game was turned in by senior third baseman Jack Mikesell with the bases full of Crusaders in the sixth inning, with one out. Mikesell dove and speared a line drive, then threw across the diamond in an attempt to double the runner off first. He was late on that opportunity. However Meloche was playing first and he fired the ball back to Mikesell who tagged out the runner at third, who had fallen while attempting to scamper back to the bag. Inning over and essentially game over.

“Mikesell is out there because he works at it and he’s a great kid,” Ceci stated. “He’s had some big hits. He made two great plays in the Grossmont game, in addition to the play against Mater Dei. He’s done everything we have asked of him.”

Shortstop Dylan Campbell had a two-out RBI double in the sixth and two hits against Mater Dei. Brownell had an RBI double on a hit and run in the first inning. Gillingham playing center field had an RBI single in the first and a two-out single in the fifth that drove in two runs. Collin Clark drove in two runs with a single in the first with two out. It’s tough to beat timely hitting and good pitching.

Saturday the Islanders traveled to Santana to face Grossmont. With Gillingham’s strong outing on the mound against Mater Dei and a nice relief pitching effort from Kyle Teachout who pitched 1.2 innings to earn the save, staff ace Meloche was ready to face the Foothillers. Meloche pitched a complete game three-hitter, walked two and struck out eight batters.

Coronado also caught a break in the Grossmont pitching rotation, according to Ceci. “They had to use their ace Friday to get by Vista and we not their No. 3. Jake always gives us a chance to win. They are a very good club. Jake’s first two outings this season were just short of spectacular. He just gets it done and gets the outs.”

Coronado had only four hits during the game, with the big one being a solo home run by Mikesell. Campbell scored the other run after drawing a walk and stealing two bases.

The win left Coronado in the thick of the race for the Aztec-Foothiller Tournament title. Steele Canyon, Grossmont, Vista and Coronado all have 3-1 records. Participation in the championship final will come down to the Islanders doing well in their Wednesday home game against Santana, with the first pitch at 3 pm. Total runs allowed is the tiebreaking statistic to get into the finals if multiple teams have the same won-loss record.

Other players who will play major roles in the Coronado season include Garrett Smerdon who has been playing left field for the Islanders. Starting catcher Andrew Toomey has returned to the lineup after completing a successful soccer season. Due to an arm injury to Smerdon freshman Robby Delamontaigne has received some playing time behind the plate.

The outfield rotation will include Clark, Freddie Schlichtholtz, Joe Williamson and Hank Taylor. The Islander pitching staff this season will also include Mikesell, Toby Talampas and Devin Vaage.

When major difference in watching the Islanders compete this year will be the reduced distance the ball travels when struck with the newly-mandated BBCOR bats. Ceci compares and contrasts the new and old aluminum bats. “There’s a huge difference. There is a sweet spot, but it is similar to wood. You have to hit it in the right spot and during the right part of the swing to generate power. You have to have all of the components to make it work. If you don’t hit it in the right spot of the bat, the ball will die out there. You’ve got to hit it well and the bat does make a difference.”

In a rare scheduling twist, if the Islanders do not make the finals of the Aztec-Foothiller Tournament, they will host Mar Vista Saturday for a doubleheader, with the games to be played at 10 am and 1 pm. Should Coronado qualify for the tournament finals, the twin bill with Mar Vista will be re-scheduled.

Support the Islander Baseball Team at PETCO Park

Saturday, April 30th at 4 pm, the Coronado Baseball Team will play Madison High School at PETCO Park. Tickets for the game are $15 each and there is open seating for the contest. As a bonus, you receive a ticket to the San Diego Padres game on May 7th a 5:35 pm contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This is a fundraiser for the San Diego Section CIF office and the Islanders are requested to sell 500 tickets to the game. If they can reach the 500 tickets sold level, the Islander program will benefit financially as well. Madison and Coronado are two of the best teams in Division IV and both teams compete in the tough Western League.

For more information regarding tickets for the game, please go to islanderbaseball.com. Baseball Booster Club President Scott Meloche can be reached via E-mail at scottmeloche@aol.com. It’s a great opportunity to support the Islander Baseball program and visit PETCO Park twice for the cost of one lone ticket.

Track and Field News

The Islander Track and Field season started last week with a meet at Mt. Carmel. CHS Head Coach George Green provides a report.  Sierra Smith joined a group of only a half dozen girls in the county who have cleared five feet, two inches or better in the high jump this season.

Her winning height of 5-2 is currently bested only by El Camino's Danielle Bryan who jumped 5-4 at Mt. Carmel last weekend, but its six inches better than any other San Diego Section freshman has high jumped so far this year.

Second place in the high jump went to Coronado's Brittany Hallawell, who improved her personal record by four inches while jumping four feet, 10 inches.  Also topping the current county-wide frosh top marks list was Lauren Bartsch's effort of eight feet made while winning the girl's pole vault. 

Logan Lister’s 37-foot, 8-inch shot put mark puts him among the top four freshmen in the county this season.  In the boys' high jump Jeff Bona was among the top group clearing 5-6.  Quite a few other Islanders competed but since this was basically a co-ed mixed relay meet for track events, no other marks are available.”

Boys Golf Off to Strong Start

Head Boys Golf Coach Randy Coutts is excited about his team this season, which has an infusion of talent from a variety of sources. The newcomers will combine with some shot makers who are returning to the program and competed for the Islanders last year.

The big news is the arrival of senior Andrew Lister, who is the reigning Virginia state high school golf champion. Lister will be stopping in Coronado for one season before he matriculates to Texas A&M on a golf scholarship in the fall. So far this season, Lister has carded four rounds of 36 and two rounds of 37 in Coronado’s matches.

Playing with Lister are program returners Brian Turley, Nick Spear and Jordan Oval. Turley is close behind Lister in scoring average and was the medalist in the Islanders match against Clairemont. Oval was All-Conference last year as a freshman and sophomore Spear continues to improve. That foursome is currently joined by freshmen twins Jordan Summers and Cole Summers in the starting varsity lineup, although competition for the varsity rosters spots is ongoing. Freshman Sven Karlsson is among the players competing for a starting spot and is one of six freshmen on the squad.

Senior Tommy Hart, fresh from his soccer season is in the playing mix. “Hart will shoot under 40 this season,” predicted Coutts. “He has a good, long game and he fits well with the team’s personality.”

Lister and Turley normally play together during the matches and the pairing has worked well as the Islanders are currently 5-1-1. “If there is any doubt in your game, Lister and Turley will make it show up,” Coutts said of the pair. “There is no place to hide on the golf course.”

Victories so far this season include a 203-206 win over Bonita, a 202-221 victory against Otay Ranch, and a win over Christian where the Islanders carded a 203. Coutts said that with some breaks the team could have scored in the 190’s, which is an excellent score in prep golf.

In a match played Monday, the Islanders lost to La Jolla Country Day by the score of 197-223. Anthony Paolucci, one of the best amateur golfers in the nation shot a round of 35 at the Del Mar Country Club to best Coronado’s Lister by two strokes. Paolucci, who played in the recent Farmers’ Insurance Open as an amateur, finished in a tie for 29th place at that event. Had he been a professional, he would have earned a paycheck in the amount of $33,814.

The two teams will see each other again this week in the Saints Invitational that will be played Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Patchell Takes Helm of CHS Boys Volleyball Team

Shawn Patchell is the new head coach of the Islander Boys Volleyball Team and also teaches freshman and sophomore English at CHS. We’ll get into Patchell’s background in the game a bit further along in the narrative. 

So far this season, the team which has two returning players from last year’s varsity squad is 0-2. According to Patchell, both matches went five games and the Islanders just ran out of gas. The returning players are setter Jake Nicholson and libero Jaime Gonzalez-Luna.

“Everyone else is brand new,” said Patchell of his club. “Josh Abrantes is doing a nice job at outside hitter. Our other outside hitter is John Nettleton who is making a big step up from the varsity. Tyler Webb, who didn’t play in the program last year, is playing opposite and coming along nicely. The middle blocker is Jason Fielder, with Dalton Martin playing the other middle position.”

Nicholson, who was the team’s setter last year, was the back-up goalie on the boys soccer team this season. He went from playing soccer Monday to setting in a regular season volleyball match on Tuesday, with no practice in between. “He has made the transition nicely,” said Patchell of the senior. “Another soccer player who will help us is Andrew Orozco. He’s just learning the game. Jake Willis is a middle blocker and Nate Hoffmann is a defensive specialist.”

The players who were on the JV squad last year are making the transition from a best of three games format to playing longer matches which are best of five games at the varsity level. “It’s a good group and this is a new challenge,” said Patchell of his team. “They are learning really quickly. They are starting to understand that it takes a lot of discipline and self-restraint to win in volleyball. Their ball control is improving by the minute. This weekend we put together a ‘king of the beach’ tournament, so they got a lot of touches over the weekend.”

This week the Islanders travel to Crawford for a 3 pm match on Tuesday and then host Hoover at 3 pm. “We had one week of non-conference play and we’re in league already,” said Patchell.

Patchell, a native of Irvine, played volleyball at Brigham Young University for four years and was an assistant and head coach of the program for a total of another eight seasons. The 6-foot, 6-inch Patchell also has coaching credentials on the international level, coaching the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team in the FIVB Junior World Championships in Pune, India in 2009. In 2010 he spent part of July in Egypt assisting with the coaching of the Men’s Senior Team in the FIVB World League tournament. Next summer Patchell will work with the Senior National Team in the Pan Am Cup, which will be played in Quebec, Canada. 

Patchell went to BYU on a basketball scholarship, as a 6-foot, 6-inch high school center. Once on campus, he was asked to make the difficult transition to shooting guard at the collegiate level. Instead he opted to play volleyball. And the good news is that he is coaching the Islander Boys team. Look for rapid improvement from the young Coronado team in the near future.

Girls Water Polo Honors and Awards

Last week the CHS Girls Water Polo Team held their post season banquet and the program honored players at three competitive levels. On the Novice/Freshman/Sophomore level, Most Improved honors went to Melanie Carrillo; the Coaches Award - Isabella Cuellar; Team Captain – Katy Gauvin; MVP-Offense – Madeline Hoshko and MVP-Defense – Bailey Goodwin.

Junior Varsity award winners included: Captains – Rebecca Bayer and Kaitlin Seay; Most Improved – Bayer; and Team MVP – Seay.

At the Varsity level, awards were presented to: Captain – Shelby Couture; Coaches’ Award – Sarah Alfano and Kendall Martin; Most Improved – Gabie Darlak and Jaicey Tyler; Most Valuable Offense – Couture; Most Valuable Defense – Brooke Bernardy; ISF Award – Kendall Hoshko; Golden Tassel Award for Highest Team GPA – Morgan Karney (4.29).

Couture was named to the First Team All-Western League and Martin earned Second Team All-Western League honors.

Boys Basketball Post Season Honors

Sunday the Islander Boys Basketball program gathered for their post season banquet. The Varsity winners included: Most Improved Player – Harley Ralph; Coaches’ Awards – Jason Fielder and Luke Gillingham; Team Co-MVPs – Justin Hebner and Danny Hebert; Co-Captains – Hebert and Hebner. Hebner and Hebert were both named to the First Team All-Central League, with Hebert being named Central League Player of the Year.

On the Junior Varsity, awards were presented to: Co-Captains Collin Green and Dylan Gouthro; Co-MVPs – Gouthro and Green; Most Improved – Ryan Halvorson and Logan Lister. Matthew Halvorson was named Frosh/Soph Team MVP.