Cabrillo, Cabrillo, Cabrillo, Lompoc

Cabrillo senior Daniela Alvarado (above) was one of four Conquistadors named to All-CIF teams for winter sports.
Rachel Nelson, the LPL MVP, was another.

All-CIF

The newly released winter sports All-CIF Teams contain the names of only four local athletes, all from Cabrillo. They are Rachel Nelson (Div IV Girls Water Polo - 1st Team), Daniela Alvarado (Div IV Girls Water Polo - 2nd Team ), Massimo Beeson (Div III Boys Soccer - 1st Team Defender), and Oscar Torres (Div III Boys Soccer - 3rd Team). The sports teams released are for boys & girls basketball, boys & girls soccer, and girls water polo.

Cabrillo Baseball

Varsity [6-8]: Recap of Righetti Tournament
They opened with Dos Pueblos at home on Tuesday, losing a slugfest 16-12 [Story]. Lost to Palm Desert 7-1, in a game moved to the CHS campus, by allowing six runs in the second inning [Story]. And finished 2nd in the ugly contest - besting the Santa Maria Saints 11-5 Thursday at Righetti High School [Story].

Cabrillo finished tournament action at 1 pm Friday against Santa Barbara. The Conquistadors came out on top and evened their tourney record at 2-2. Using 12 hits (including 6 doubles), 6 free passes (5 walks, 1 hit batter), two Dons errors, and a solid 5 inning performance by starter Brian Engler, Cabrillo turned a 4-2 deficit into a 10-6 win. They were down 4-2 after 3 innings but got 1 in the fourth and 2 in the fifth to take a tenuous 5-4 lead. Santa Barbara scored 2 runs in the sixth off Deuce Galvan but the locals put up 5 big ones, and reliever Justin Boggs shut down the Dons in the seventh.

Tony Elliot went 3-3, scored a run, drove one in, and had one of those six doubles. The other doubles belonged to Zach Pecyna (2 RBI's, 2 walks), Kevin Harmon (2 runs), Patrick Somers, David Fraats, and Brian Engler who helped his own cause with an RBI and two runs scored.

Cabrillo jumps back into the LPL playing Morro Bay [5-8] next Tuesday. Morro Bay went 2-2 at the recent Atascadero Tournament.
The JV results from Saturday's action at the Righetti Tourney are not yet availible.

Cabrillo Softball

At the Arroyo Grande Tournament [Recap]

Cabrillo opened play with the regional monster - Simi Valley. The undefeated Pioneers won the tourney- as they did The Best of the West Trny earlier in the week. The result was a 15-0 hammering. But as the man said "there is no shame in being knocked down - only in staying down". So these ladies climbed off the matt and belted Covina's Western Christian 6-1 in the afternoon game. On day two, they suffered a similar fate, losing to El Segundo 10-3. They were reportedly playing Sanger for eleventh place in the second game Saturday.

The Braves Classic

The Classic was by all accounts a great success -- for Lompoc Athletics, with thousands of dollars raised for all LHS Athletics (not so much that your contributions are unneeded). Others perhaps did not fare so well. [Story] Seems our old pal Brad is determined to prove Robin Ventura correct in his assessment of him- "Those who can -- do; Those who can't -- coach; and those who can't do either -- write about it ! I guess those who can't write -- blog. -- el stato

CIF Champion & CIF Review

CIF CHAMP

CIF Inland Division Champion Masson Blow on the Lompoc Locker Room TV Show

CIF Wrestling

Masson Blow led a contingent of five Braves to the Inland Division CIF Finals Saturday. He was the #1 seed at 152 lbs. and lived up to his billing by winning the the Championship in that weight class. Seven Cabrillo grapplers participated in the event, with Matt Zahuta posting the best result - 6th place @ 130 pounds. Masson and Jerome Long (2nd @ 276/hwt.) of Morro Bay will represent the LPL at the CIF Master's Meet.


Lompoc placed 21st out of 41 schools, Morro Bay 13th, Santa Ynez 31st, and Cabrillo 32nd. The competition was won by powerhouse Temecula Valley, with Royal [Simi Valley] 2nd. - Full brackets and results .

CIF Roundup

Unfortunately, the other locals in CIF competition Saturday did not fare so well. The Lompoc girls basketball team put forth a real gustsy effort against Keppel at home, but couldn't hold on to the lead.. They went up 40-39 with 4:26 left in the game, but couldn't score down the stretch and lost 47-40. See game story .St. Joseph defeated Chaparral 50 - 44.


The Cabrillo girls soccer squad was on the road in Whittier to play the California Condors. They continued the recent spate by area teams of one-point losses in CIF play, falling 2-1. Rebekah Rogers had the goal for the Conquistadores.


Valley CIF Recap
-only Masson Blow remains in contention.

Soccer:
Cabrillo boys lost 3-2 (ot) in the wild card round.
Lompoc girls lost 3-2 (4-3 pen) in the wild card round.
Cabrillo girls lost 2-1 @ California [Whittier] in the first round on Sat.

Water Polo:
Cabrillo girls lost (9-8 ) to Louisville in the second round on Thursday.
[ All the SB County teams have now been eliminated from Div. 4 .
Santa Ynez lost to Cate (6-2) on Tuesday, but Cate was knocked (12-0) off by 4th-seeded Arroyo Grande in the second round. While St. Joseph was crushed 17-2 by 3rd seed Rio Mesa.]
Basketball:
Cabrillo girls lost 62-43 @ Valencia in the wild card round.
Lompoc girls won their wild card game at Palmdale 59-58 on Thursday, then lost to Keppel 47- 40 at home in the first round on Sat.
Cabrillo boys lost 55-33 @ Santa Clara in the first round on Fri.
Lompoc boys lost 55-54 to Bell Gardens at home on Fri.

Bring on Spring: Softball, Baseball, Tennis [boys], Track/Field, Swimming, Golf [boys]
-el stato

Heartbreak on the Hill, No Joy in the Valley [Water Polo Update]

Cabrillo's boys soccer team controlled the second half, they just couldn't score enough, planting the seeds of a 3-2 loss in sudden death overtime of their CIF Wild Card match Wednesday. Brighton Galvan scored both goals for the Conquistadors - one early in the first half, the other midway through the second. The Anaheim Colonists controlled the majority of the first period, answering Galvan's opener with two of their own.



In the second, the Conquistadores just missed goals on several occasions.
Just wide late in the 2nd half

Start of Overtime

In the overtime sessions Cabrillo continued to control the game, but as both teams were tiring, there were several defensive lapses by each side which could have lead to points.

Over the crossbar in overtime





After the game, first year coach Armando Torres told the team and supporters : "From now on, Cabrillo will be a team to reckon with".


End of the Season











Lompoc Girls Soccer

The Lompoc girls, meanwhile, were on the road against La Salle but with identical results - a 3-2 loss in overtime. Veronica Villareal scored in the first period, and Lupe Estrada in the first overtime session, but both goals were answered. This resulted in a shootout which Lompoc lost 4-3. Villareal, Estrada, and Lindsey Eckersley scored in the shootout. Brandy Machado, who played the entire game in goal, had 10 saves and stopped two penalty kicks.

UPDATE: Cabrillo Water Polo

The Cabrillo girls faced off at the COLAC against the squad from Louisville HS (Woodland Hills) in the second round of the CIF playoffs. Louisville, a private Catholic girls school, advanced to the game by beating Nipomo 11-3 in first round action on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the Conquistadores, the Royals improved to 19-11 with a 9-8 victory. It was a close affair throughout and either team could have won it (see games above). Reported [unconfirmed] scorers for Cabrillo were Rachel Nelson (5), Ashlea Coski (2), and Phoebe Huggins.


Cabrillo Head Coach Corey McIntyre talks with a player after the match.






Golf Gals




Julia Heath and friends went clubbing, but they didn't swing that much.
The Cal-Poly (SLO) womans golf team stormed through the Lady Braveheart Challenge at Oak Valley Golf Course in Beaumont (CA), drubbing runner-up San Diego St. and the rest of the 16 team field by 16 strokes. They followed up Monday's 313 (total scoring strokes, 4 players) with a 316 on Tuesday for an excellent 629 aggregate score on the 6,089 yard, 72 par course.

The ladies were led a career best tying effort by Stephanie Yocum (pictured), a sophomore from Pacific Palisades, who shot a (75/76) 151 to win individual honors by a stroke over two other players. Her 76 on Tuesday was the low score of the day.

Julia Heath, from Lompoc, was her usual consistent self with consecutive rounds of 78, posting a 156 score that was good enough for 5th place. Junior Hannah Brabb was 13th (76/85-161), while sophomore Maddy Fletcher shot (88/77) 165. Her 11 stroke improvement moved her from 71st place into a tie for 28th. Junior Elsie Walker carded a (84/89) 173 for 55th place as the fifth member of the squad.

The win was the Mustangs first tournament win of the season and the ninth since the program's establishment in 2000.

Coach Scott Cartwright's charges return to action on March 9th in a dual match versus CS Bakersfield at Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles.

Winter Sports CIF Pairings

CIF Pairings have been announced for the winter sports. LPL information is listed below, for complete bracket information click on the various links.

Basketball

Girls:

Div II-A [Los Padres League] 32 teams 1st Round: Thurs 14 Feb 2008 (7:30 pm)

# 4 St. Joseph (LPL #1) vs Glendora (Sierra # 3)
Unsd Lompoc (LPL #2) @ Palmdale (Golden # 2)
#13 Morro Bay (LPL #3) @ Schurr[Mtbl] (Almont #2)
Unsd Cabrillo (LPL # 4) @ Valencia (Empire #1)

{other SLO, SB, & Vent county leagues: Marmonte (I-A), Channel (I-AA), PAC-7 & Pacific View (III-A), Tri-Valley (II-AA), Coast Valley (IV-AA), Condor (IV-A), Frontier (V-AA)}

http://www.cifss.org/download_playoff_bracketts.php?sport_id=4


Boys

Div III-AA [Los Padres League] 33 teams
1st Round: Friday, 15 Feb 2008 (7:30 pm)

# 8 St. Joseph (LPL #1) vs. Alhambra (Almont AL)
#10 Lompoc (LPL #2) vs Bell Gardens (Almont #3)
#13 Morro Bay (LPL #3) @ Workman (Montview #2)
Unsd Cabrillo (LPL #4) @ #5 Santa Clara (Tri-Valley #1)

{other SLO, SB, & Vent county leagues: Marmonte (I-AA), Channel (I-A), PAC-7 & Pacific View (II-A), Tri-Valley (III-AA), Coast Valley (V-AA), Condor & Frontier (V-A)}
http://www.cifss.org/download_playoff_bracketts.php?sport_id=20


Soccer

Boys

Div III:
Wild Card Round - Wed, 13 Feb 2008
1st Round - Friday, 15 Feb 2008

1st Rd Santa Ynez (LPL #1) vs. Pasedena (Pacific #2)
1st Rd Santa Maria (LPL #2) @ Burroughs [Brbnk] (Pacific #1)
WC Rd Cabrillo (LPL #3) vs. Anaheim (Orange #3)
WC Rd Templeton (LPL #4) @ Dominguez [Cmptn] (SGV #2)

{other SLO, SB, & Vent county leagues: Marmonte (I), Channel (II), PAC-7(IV),Pacific View (IV), Tri-Valley (V), Condor(VI) ; Frontier (VI)}
http://www.cifss.org/download_playoff_bracketts.php?sport_id=22

Girls
Div IV:
Wild Card Round - Wed, 13 Feb 2008
1st Round - Saturday, 16 Feb 2008

1st Rd Santa Ynez (LPL #1) vs. WC 'E' (Magnolia/San Marino)
1st Rd Cabrillo (LPL #2) @ California (Del Rio #2) 2pm
1st Rd St. Joseph (LPL #3) @ Santa Ana Valley (Orange #1)
WC Rd Lompoc (LPL #4) @ La Salle (Del Rey #3)

{other SLO, SB, & Vent county leagues: Channel (I), Marmonte (II),PAC-7(III),Pacific View (IV), Tri-Valley (V), Condor(VI) ; Frontier (VI)}
http://www.cifss.org/download_playoff_bracketts.php?sport_id=12

Water Polo [Girls]
Division IV (24 teams):
1st Round - Tuesday, 12 Feb 2008 (3:15 pm)
2nd Round - Thursday, 14 Feb 2008 (3:15 pm)
Quarterfinals - Saturday, 16 Feb 2008 (3:15 pm)

Cabrillo (LPL #1) BYE
St. Joseph (LPL #2) vs San Luis Obispo (PAC-7 #4) at Paul Nelson Pool
Santa Ynez (LPL #3) vs Cate (Tri-Valley #3) 2pm at Paul Nelson Pool

#2 Arroyo Grande (PAC-7 #1) BYE
Paso Robles (PAC-7 #2) vs Camarillo (Pac View #3)
Nipomo (PAC-7 #3) @ Louisville (Mission #2)

Malibu (Tri-Valley #1) BYE
Carpenteria (Tri-Valley #2) vs Glendale (Pacific #3)

{other SLO, SB, & Vent county leagues: Channel (II), Marmonte (II),PAC-7(IV),Pacific View (IV), Tri-Valley (IV)}
http://www.cifss.org/download_playoff_bracketts.php?sport_id=18

Wrestling
The Team wrestling playoffs for CIF Southern Section took place on February 9th, 2008. The PAC-7 and the LPL were each represented by two teams. Area leagues competed in the following Divisions: PAC-7 (I), Marmonte (II- both teams lost semifinals), Channel (III- went 1-2), Pacific View (IV, 2-2), Los Padres (V), and Tri-Valley (VI, 0-1).
In Division 1, PAC-7 #1 Atascadero went 1-1, defeating Dana Hills (48-31) before losing to Sultana. PAC-7 #2 Righetti lost in the first round 44-26 to Hesperia.
The LPL had slightly better results in Division V. League Champions Morro Bay beat Mira Costa (48-21), and Canyon Springs 38-30, before falling to Loara 47- 20. Santa Ynez lost their first match to Highland 46-27.
The Individual Competitions begin this weekend.
http://www.cifss.org/download_playoff_bracketts.php?sport_id=17
---- el stato

Old Airport News , 7 Feb 2008

The sports day began and ended with overtime, starting in the pool and ending in the stadium. In between, there was action in many areas of the old airport - LHS baseball & softball were warming up for take off at Bodary Field and the LHS softball field, basketball was practicing in the Paisola Pavillion for Friday nights games, at COLAC three Tsunami members were preparing for next weeks Junior Olympics, and the LPL girls water polo tournament finals were played, plus Lompoc & Cabrillo faced off in boys and girls soccer at Huyck Stadium. Lets start with the ending and begin at Huyck.

I am so proud of you....

When an emotional Lompoc boys soccer head soccer coach Phil Galfano addressed his tired but jubilant charges after a momentous 1-0 overtime win over Cabrillo, he knew exactly what to say. He began with "I am so proud of you". In a turbulent season that brought many disapointments, he had never stopped believing in his squad and kept working to get them to believe in themselves. In many games they had outplayed their opponent, but their inability to get the ball into the net had resulted in losses. But over the course of the last three weeks, they truly began to gel as a team. They did not lose in their final five league games, and by tying perennial powerhouse Santa Maria, and defeating the Conquistadores they proved they could play with anybody in the area. They also had a major effect on the LPL standings: the tie bumping the Saints to second, and the defeat dropping Cabrillo from first to third.
Both schools had chances throughout the game, but the defenses were intense. Several yellow cards were shown and play was quite physical. Many people's emotions grew quite heated during the game. Oscar Torres of the Conq's was assisted from the field, but later returned to the game. The Braves Andy Maldanado was not so fortunate, he had to leave the field on the cart and it is believed that he might have a leg fracture.
The play in goal was outstanding with several incredible stops by keepers Alex Zavala (CHS), Roberto DeLuna (LHS), and Jorge Hernandez (LHS) who finished the game after replacing DeLuna mid-way through the first half when DeLuna was injured on a collision in the box. Hernandez, in particular, had a brilliant series late in the game. He made three stops in continuing action inside the goal area, the last one, only partially blocked, was slowly trickling towards the goal from about two feet away before being cleared by Juan Elizalde.
The winning goal was scored in extra (injury) time of the second half of overtime. Alex Botello (#3) lofted a penalty kick, from about 5 yards beyond the box, towards the right-hand goal post, where a charging Marco Vargas (#5) headed it into the goal. Lompoc had several similar opportunities earlier in the game, but was unable to convert. The ball, however, always just managed to elude the net.
Galfano had one final message for the Conquistadores as they head into CIF competition - "Let me know where you are playing and I will be there to support you."

More Soccer

The Girls varsity soccer teams also met at Huyck, with Cabrillo prevailing 2-1. Diamonne Mitchell scored in the first off an assist by Amanda De Temple, she returned the favor in the second half when De Temple scored off a header by Mitchell. Lompoc' goal came late in the second when Sunny Estrada made a nice move on the left side, spun across the front of a defender, an booted the ball past a stunned Cabriilo goalie to cut the lead in half. This was also a very physical game.

Both the LHS varsity teams held reconition ceremonies prior to thier games. The girls honored the seniors on the team and support staff and also on the Cabrillo team. The boys honored their seniors and the seniors parents.

The CHS JV girls won their match 5-0 to finish league play 8-0-4. Goals were scored by Milinda Favela (2), Alisha Melatti, Christina Goodchild (just returned from a knee injury), and Emily Paz.
The boys JV match-up was another overtime affair. Tied 0-0 at the end of regulation, it was eventually won by the Braves on penalty kicks despite two great saves by Isaias Suarez.


Not ready to give up the title yet

The Cabrillo girls water polo team faced off against the upstart St. Joseph Knights in the LPL Championship Game. Both teams had won their preliminary match-ups on Tuesday - Cabrillo beating Morro Bay & St. Joe defeating Santa Ynez. There was even some talk around the pool that the Conquistadores reign at the top was shaky, if not entirely over. The problem was that apparently no one had checked with the girls in the pool. Cabrillo came out fired up, scored 3 goals in the first two minutes, 8 unanswered in the first period, and cruised to a 19-2 win. Cabrillo scoring: Rachel Nelson (8) [above], Ashley Coski (7), and one each by Daniela Alvarado, Maggie Carroll, Leesha Taylor, and Chloe Huggins. Michelle Buss [below] played well before being substituted.

In the third place game, Santa Ynez overcame a 4-1 deficit halfway through the 3rd period to win 6-5. It was a very close game with the game tied for most of the 4th quarter and both teams having good shots on goal.

The day started, however, with Lompoc attempting to hold on to 5th place. They jumped out to a four goal lead (5-1) at the end of the first, but Santa Maria managed to nibble away at it for the rest of the game and eventually tied it up at eight with 4:08 left in regulation.

A major factor in the comback was the decision by the Saints to continually pressure goalkeeper Erica Elenes. This forced her to pass the ball off and negated one of the Braves primary weapons - her down-pool passing on transitions which had set up several of the early goals. It also delayed the start of the Lompoc set offense by burning 5-10 seconds off the 30 second shot clock.

Niether team could score again before the clock ran out and the game went to overtime. The first overtime consisted of two three minute periods with a changeover between them. The Saints outscored the Braves in the first half 3-2 , but Lompoc evened it up with 14 seconds left in the 2nd half of the overtime period. The second overtime was a single three minute sudden-death period -- neither team scored. Another sudden-death period ensued, and Santa Maria posted a goal with 1:40 left.

Lompoc received 5 goals from Brooke Crouse, two each from Shelby Carpenter and Amanda King, and great goal play from Erika Elenes. The Saints got five goals from Bryanna Torres, four from Patty Vogel, and absolutely dominating physical play from goalkeeper Liz Loshbaugh.

Off to Bakersfield

Three members of the Lompoc Tsunami Aquatics Team have qualified for the Junior Olympics in Bakersfield next week. Paola Hernandez and Tiffany Hubbard both plan to swim in the maximum seven events selected from those in which they qualified. Rebecca Riley was able to qualify in the 100y breaststroke at the central area Last Chance meet last weekend. Paola (LVMS) and Rebecca (VMS) also like to play soccer, while Tiffany is a talented cross-country runner at LVMS. [Rebecca, Tiffany, Paola] -- el stato

News from the Old Airport 31 Jan 2008

This one was just a little bit high.

The LHS girls water polo team wrapped up the regular season on Thursday at COLAC. It was not the ending for which they were hoping; the varsity dropped a 9-6 game they could have won and the JV was looted by the visiting Santa Ynez Pirates. The news for the Braves was much better next door at Huyck Stadium where the girls soccer squad fared much better at fending off their own group of Pirates - this bunch from Morro Bay.

The water polo varsity started the action off hoping to hold on to their third place seeding going into next weeks LPL Tournament. Unfortunately, they gave up three first quarter goals, while scoring none. Santa Ynez never relinquished the lead after that, although Lompoc gave them a good scare by scoring four in a row. After playing even, three goals each, in the second the Braves cut the margin to a single point (6-5) by the end of the third period. The Pirates came out hot into the last stanza, however, scoring two goals in the first two minutes, and pushing the lead to four before Lompoc was able to respond just ahead of the final buzzer. Elizabeth Sweet & Jenna Berberness each scored four goals for the Pirates. The Lompoc goals were scored by Brooke Crouse (3), Oyuki Gonzalez, Amanda King, and Daniella Caballero. Erika Elenes again had an excellent game in goal.

The JV squad managed to stay with Santa Ynez for a quarter, countering two early Pirate goals with one by Anna Clark, but almost all of the remainder of the game was controlled by the visitors. The exception being a high arcing shot from way outside by Carolina Cazarez that surprised everbody - especially Carolina. The final was 14-2. Natalie Castillo scored seven for the Pirates and Rachel DeLeon had three.


Meanwhile over at the stadium Larry Justice's JV soccer girls began a turn-around in Brave fortunes with a 3-0 win over Morro Bay. Torrie Faulkner scored twice, Brittany Reeves once, and Amy Dominguez had six saves in goal.

Veronica Villareal

The varsity was able to continue the trend when they took the field, albeit not to the same degree. Even though they dominated play throughout the game, they were unable to put the the Pirates away and were forced to anxiously await the final whistle while trying to run out the clock. Veronica Villareal scored the lone goal of the first half on a nice assist by 'Sunny' Estrada. Morro Bay evened the score early in the second when three Lompoc players all decided to back off the ball allowing Olivia Wall to feed an easy pass to Joanna Wheeler for the goal. A stirred up Braves team soon responded by ramping up the tempo. This resulted in a Lindsey Eckersley corner kick that "V" Villareal stuck in the net for her second goal of the game. Several Lompoc players, including Villareal, had scoring chances but none of them were able to convert.
The Braves win, combined with Cabrillo's 1-0 loss to St. Joseph at CHS, provides Lompoc with a great opportunity to move past both those teams in the LPL standings, since they play St. Joseph on Friday and Cabrillo next week - both at home. Their other remaining game is on the road Tuesday against Santa Maria. ----- el stato

Lompoc Soccer Splits

It was a big win for an improving Lompoc girls soccer squad. They had defeated this same Templeton team in the first league round, but it was a narrow 1-0 victory on a sloppy field - and the teams play matched the field. Not so on Tuesday at Huyck where they posted a relatively easy 4-1 win.
Elicity Fabing
Elicity Fabing kicked things off with a goal assisted by Veronica Villareal, but the Eagles were able to even the score. Villareal then put the Braves up for good with the help of a Stephanie Miranda assist. Fabing and Lilliana Zuniga closed out the Eagles - both scoring goals assisted by Roseangela Perez.
Alfredo Garcia
Head Coach Addie Francis was effusive in her praise of the work done by assistant Alfredo Garcia; citing his work in getting the team to gel in the last few weeks, his work with the goalkeepers, and his general coaching excellence. Perhaps, the best example of his work has been the maturation undergone by starting goalkeeper Brandy Machado. The talented sophomore had her best game of the season - playing with much more confidence and aggressiveness.

Since the team has two players on the "disabled list", Coach Francis called up Jennifer Justice from the JV squad.

The JV team was shut out by Templeton 5-0. They were playing them even until an 'own goal' opened the floodgates. Offense was also a problem as they only managed one shot on goal by Denise Hernadez.


The Guys
The boys varsity, on the road at Templeton, squandered a 1-0 halftime lead, losing 2-1. The Braves dominated the game in everything but scoring. They had more shots (13-3), more corner kicks (5-1), and in general controlled the game. They just couldn't get the ball in the net. Part of the problem was a wet, sloppy, bumpy field which created caroms reminiscent of the old parquet floor at the Boston Garden.
The Lompoc goal was scored by Ricardo Serranno on a nice cross by Lupe Caldera. The Eagles scores bookended the second half, the first about four minutes in, and the other with about 12 minutes left. One was rebound after a shot hit the post, and the other on what the Lompoc coaches regarded as a questionable offsides non-call.


The JV cuised to a 4-1 win also at Templeton. ----- el stato

"At Least No One Drowned," says Davis

"Well, at least no one drowned! " was the response LHS Athletic Director Jesse Davis received in response to a query yesterday. It also summed up the the day in Brave athletics.


The Girls water polo program was in action at the COLAC against a pair of Cabrillo squads that were larger, faster, stronger, more physical, more experienced, and were better in almost any adjective you care to name. The results were predictable- a 16 to 4 loss by the varsity and a 14-0 swamping for the JV. Lompoc was also dealing with the dismissal of two veteran players from the team for disciplinary reasons, but Head Coach John McNutt was pleased with the way the team came together later in the game - outscoring the Conqs 3-2 in the fourth quarter. He was also philosophical about the loss- " No one wants to win more than I do, but the idea is to play hard the entire game, get better, and have fun doing it". Brooke Crouse had two goals for the Braves, and seven different Conqs scored on varsity, ten in the JV game.


The varsity game also experienced a surreal moment in the fourth period when the center strip of the pool was deluged by a burst of torrential rain through the opened roof panels. The panels were open to try to prevent the creation of fog and heat build up in the building. Center director Jeff Storie reports that the city has received and is evaluating bids to install an air handling system in the facility. He hopes to have it operational this fall.


Erika Elenes Lompoc's sophomore goalie had a very good game for the varsity

The boys soccer games at LHS had to be reshuffled due to the rain. Since the JV field was "under water" according to Davis, both games were played at Huyck Stadium. The playing surface at Huyck was in great shape, although the track and surrounding areas were a morass. A few fans "Braved" the weather to watch the JV lose 2-1, followed by a 4-1 loss by the varsity - both to Santa Ynez. The varsity had lost five players from the team over the weekend and had called up two from JV. The girls varsity lost on the road to the Pirates 2-0.

The depleted grapplers were at Morro Bay. Only 7 of the 14 weight divisions actually had matches - Lompoc winning three. ----- el stato

Comments from College

A Compendium from the College Avenue Carousel:

• The Lompoc Girls Soccer teams both recorded victories over Santa Maria on Tuesday (Jan 15) -- the varsity jumped out to a 6-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 10-0 final. The JV, on the other hand, started off slowly, dropping to a 1-0 deficit before exploding late in the game for a 5-1 win. Scoring for the varsity Braves were Lindsey Eckersley (2), Stephanie Miranda (2), Sameeha Husayn, Elicity Fabing, Lily Zuniga (from 25-30 yards out), 'Sonny' Estrada, Veronica Villareal, and Teresa Carreno ; Jennifer Justice (3), Brittany Fabing, & Sonia Pantoja scored for the junior varsity.






Spectators help the JV Girls Celebrate




The Girls will host a fundraiser BBQ & Bake sale in the Walgreens parking lot on north 'H' st this Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm .






The recently renamed Lompoc Tsunami Aquatics will be holding an event this weekend (the 19th & 21st) to raise money to pay for practice facility lane fees. The group hopes to raise part of the $6,000 annual cost with a " Lap-A-Thon", with individual swimmers securing pledges for laps swum. Donations and pledges are always welcome. Lompoc Aquatic Center director (and Tsunami coach) also announced that there will be additional open swim hours this coming Monday (the 21st).






The LHS Wrestling squad meanwhile recorded a narrow 42-40 win on the road at Santa Maria. The JV result was lopsided once again partially due to forfeits at 9 weights. Lompoc won one of the five contested JV matches.






On Wednesday, the Cabrillo Girls Water Polo team defeated an over matched Santa Maria squad eighteen to four. Rachel Nelson had five goals; Celeste Sazzani, Cloe Huggins, Jessica Carreon, and Maggie Carrol each had two goals. The Saints only have eight girls in the program - all sophomores except for senior goalie Liz Lashbaugh (who had six first half saves). Hence there was no junior varsity action.





The Entire Santa Maria girls water polo program


Unfortunately, due to technical problems (progress has been made), the pictures with this post, the report on last nights basketball contests, & the LHS Girls hoops update scheduled for today have been temporarily delayed . -- the s