Cross Country:
CBXC Woodbridge Re-cap – Irvine, CA 9/15/22
8:30 PM rolled around and it was time for the Falcon women to head to the start line. Led by Senior Allie Moya, he Falcons women's XC team was ready to race in what would be their most competitive race to date. And they did not disappoint. With personal bests by Elise Henderson, Alicia Romani, and Eyvonne Nguyen, the Falcons ran to a sixth-place team finish. A mere 10 points behind rival Placer HS. Running season's best times were Allie, Elise Perkins, and Marina Noey.
Not to be outdone, the men's team toed the line at 9:40 in what was to be another exciting race. Junior, Sam Nealon led the Falcons as all seven runners produced their personal best time for a 3-mile distance. Moving up eleven places in the last half mile, Sam was able to finish in 8th place overall with a time of 15:45. Tyler Simi, Reign Saldana, and Preston Rabey each made late moves to make up places helping CB to a 5th place finish overall. Nikos Burciaga, Bradley Bertossa, and Sophomore, Alex Chavez completed the team of 7. All seven men ran personal bests for 3 miles. Congratulations to all the runners on their very successful races at Woodbridge.
CBXC Recap – Frogtown Invitational
Because CBXC varsity had run Thursday at the Woodbridge Invitational in SoCal, several JV runners were called up to run the Frogtown Invitational at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Twain Harte. It was a perfect day to race the hills and CB came out swinging. The Frosh runners too off first and with a strong performance by Nicholas Buckman, the team brought home the second-place team award. Nick was support by strong finishes by teammates Finn Rigby, Mason Edgett, John Buxie, Jonah Hrabe, Jackson Levasseur, Lucas Wagner, and Scott Kong.
In the next race, CB 9/10th grade team also finished 2nd as a team. Led, once again by Paige Rupert’s first place finish, the team of Mikiko Palmieri, Katie Cook, Makenna Lynch, Anna Katsandres, Soli Emiru, and Irene (Weather) Cretu gave what could be a Section performance as they out raced several Section rivals on this challenging course.
Next up were the 10th grade men. Led by returning runner Alex Potter led all CB runners finishing just seven seconds behind the winner. His second-place finish led the team to an overall second place team score behind a very strong Johansen HS team. Alex was supported by Marc Valdez, Rocco Giordano, Bromley Wyrauch, Isaac Lindberg, Jack Steen, and Caleb Symcowick-Rose.
For the Varsity teams, CB had several very strong races by runners called up to cover for our varsity runners who were home after racing in Irvine on Thursday. For the women’s team Shannon Wong put the pedal to the medal in the mast 150 meters to outkick teammates Caitlin Drew and Claire Carollo who finished in that order. Robin Sunada was the #4 runner for the Falcons with Ellie Cook, and Ashley Lobo rounding out team scoring. For the men’s team, Joaquin Hernandez led the varsity team from start to finish with a strong 3-mile race. Supporting Joaquin’s efforts were Brady Carson, Dom Fontana, Lucas Walters, and Diego Rivas-Hernandez.
Before I sign off for the week, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of a specific four Falcon Runners: Irene Cretu, Scott Kong, Alex Valdez, and Diego Rivas-Hernandez. If you know these runners, please make sure to congratulate them on their heart and commitment. While none of these runners is the prototypical cross-country runner, each represents themselves, and Christian Brothers in the best kind of way. Each one attends practice consistently and despite all odds, continues to race with the dedication and heart. Whether a two- or three-mile race, not one of them is willing to quit the race. They are the epitome of what it means to persevere. We coaches are thankful to each for what they bring to the team. Even if they never win a race, they will without any doubt be winners in life.
Next Up: The Placer Gold Mine Invitational – Saturday 9/24/22 in Auburn, CA
Women's Water Polo:
What a weekend of water polo! Congratulations to both teams on their performances.
On Saturday, the Varsity girls lost to Morro Bay but bounced back with a strong 8-3 win over Rodriguez. Birthday Girl Logan Tiska recorded 22 saves, 3 steals and 2 assists and Maddie Brennan went full "Beast Mode" scoring a hat trick. The team finished 7th place of the 16 team Gold Bracket.
Also on Saturday the JV girls opened against Davis losing 8-4 but playing very competitively. The second game was a nail biter against St. Francis with CB coming from two goals down to tie it up at 6-6 but unfortunately lost in sudden death overtime. We will get them next time but 4th place out of 13 teams is a nice finish.
Women's Volleyball:
Varsity:
Our Varsity Falcons competed against Capital Christian and in the Christine Craft Tournament this past week. CB improved to 3-0 in league by sweeping the Cougars 25-13, 25-17 and 25-20. The Falcons chipped away with 19 aces and maintained a hitting percentage of 0.206.
Tournament play increased the Falcons overall record to 10-4. Christian Brothers competed against some of the top teams in Northern California. The two losses came in their first and last matches of the day against #6 Oakridge (17-25, 23-25) and Tracy (25-23, 22-25, 11-15). Falcons found success against Nevada Union (25-21, 25-13), Tracy (25-16, 25-16), #18 Saint Francis (18-25, 25-21, 15-4), #2 Whitney (25-23, 26-24).
Coming up, Christian Brothers hosts West Campus on Monday, September 19th, and then continues league at El Camino on Wednesday, the 21st. Keep an eye out for Holy Court tickets hosted by Cosumnes River College on Saturday, October 15th.
Women's Golf:
Last week, the Varsity team got off to a great start in CAL league matches, going 2-0. Against Del Campo, we won by a score of 202-254. Senior Nicole Staggs led the way with 38 at Mather Golf Course. Hannah Stouder '25 and Brie Briggs '23 both shot 39. Hannah had 3 birdies in her 9 hole round! Cali Rapolla '23 had a 42 and sophomores Emma Oliveira '25 and Chloe Tam '25 had a 44 and a 45, respectively. We had a great get-together at my house following the match. Thank you parents for your support and for helping out with the food,
On Thursday, we played a home match vs. Capital Christian and won by 64 strokes (196-260). Hannah Stouder '25 made two birdies and seven pars on the way to a fantastic 2-under 34. Brie Briggs '23 had a 38, Nicole Staggs '23 a 39, Cali Rapolla '23 a 42 and Emma Oliveira '25, a 43, which included her first birdie of the season.
The JV players put in a good week of work to get ready for their upcoming matches. I was excited that eight of them came to Friday's strength and conditioning practice.
This week will be huge for the Varsity, as we play the two teams that we expect to challenge us in the league this year. Tuesday we travel to Empire Ranch in Folsom to take on Vista Del Lago at 3:30. We will be dismissed at 1:30. Carpooling may be required, but I should be able to get a van reserved if needed. On Thursday, we will play a 3:00 match at Ancil Hoffman GC vs. Rio Americano. Dismissal will be at 1:30 as well.
We are excited to have the JV team playing their first match of the season vs. McClatchy. The match will be played at Bing Maloney Executive Course at 4:15. We will dismiss the girls at 3:00 so that they can get out of the parking lot. We would love to have all available players that day so that we can see how they perform in a round.