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LC Basketball Affected by New CIF Winter Playoff Groupings

Morgan Tsujihara, one of La Cañada’s returning guards, will be competing in Division 1 this winter.
Photos courtesy Eric Danielson
Morgan Tsujihara, one of La Cañada’s returning guards, will be competing in Division 1 this winter.

The CIF Southern Section unveiled its new winter playoff groupings last Friday, shaking things up in boys’ and girls’ basketball.
The La Cañada High School varsity girls’ basketball team was bumped up to Division 1 after competing in 2AA last season.
The placement of teams is based upon a formula that takes the past two seasons into consideration. A power ranking is created based on strength of regular season schedule results and playoff performance.
LCHS head coach Owen Keenan wasn’t surprised about the announcement. “The system still has kinks that they need to work out,” the second-year coach wrote in an email. “We beat Glendora and Valencia last year. That gave us a lot of points. I was not surprised we moved up. We’ll play the schedule in front of us and do the best we can.” Continue reading “LC Basketball Affected by New CIF Winter Playoff Groupings”

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San Marino Remains Confident Following Historic Season

⬛  High School Girls’ Volleyball

Caitlin Nguyen
Photos courtesy Eric Danielson
Caitlin Nguyen is one of the defensive specialists returning this season. She solidified the backline during San Marino’s historic campaign.

The CIF Southern Section has not released its preseason polls yet but it did list the teams to watch in each division on Monday.
San Marino, the reigning Rio Hondo League champion, is one of the programs listed in Division 4 along with rival South Pasadena, which drew a mixed reaction from head coach Joseph Rios. Continue reading “San Marino Remains Confident Following Historic Season”

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New Fall Playoff Divisions Affect Local Programs

La Cañada High School varsity football team
Photo courtesy Eric Danielson
The La Cañada High School varsity football team was placed in Division 14, the lowest in CIF.

The CIF Southern Section recently released its new playoff divisions for football, girls’ volleyball, boys’ water polo and girls’ tennis, affecting several local programs.
CIF uses a formula to develop a ranking that is based on regular season record, strength of schedule and playoff performances the past two seasons. The La Cañada High School varsity football program has struggled to win games the last few seasons, placing the team in Division 14, which includes 70 squads. St. Francis was moved down to Division 3 this year. Continue reading “New Fall Playoff Divisions Affect Local Programs”

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Mayfield Senior Standout Running Toward Her Goals

Audrey Suarez
Photos courtesy Kevin Morris
Mayfield Senior runner Audrey Suarez had a memorable year and became the first Cub to win a CIF State championship.

The CIF State Track and Field Championships at the end of May are usually the conclusion of the spring season for runners after a grueling month that includes league races, CIF Southern Section finals and the Masters Meet.
For Audrey Suarez, it didn’t end until June 16. Continue reading “Mayfield Senior Standout Running Toward Her Goals”

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Local Athletes Earn All-CIF Honors

Ryan Graves
Photos courtesy Eric Danielson
Ryan Graves, who was named the Rio Hondo League’s most valuable player, made the All-CIF Division 3 first team.

Baseball, softball and boys’ volleyball players from La Cañada High School, Flintridge Prep and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy were recognized by the CIF Southern Section as it released the All-League lists last Friday.
Two members of the LCHS varsity baseball team were among those listed by CIF. Senior ace Ryan Graves, who will be playing at San Jose State in the fall, and standout Connor Buchanan, who committed to USC, made the All-CIF-SS Division 3 first-team.
Graves, the Rio Hondo League’s most valuable player, finished the season with an 8-3 record and an earned run average of 1.89. He struck out 64 hitters in 70 1/3 innings of work and was just as good in the batter’s box, hitting .424 and driving in 16 runs.
Buchanan was a leader on the mound and on offense. He posted an ERA of 0.76 and fanned 60 batters in 46 1/3 innings. He won three games and recorded five saves for the Spartans. Buchanan also hit .299, scored a team-high 33 runs, 24 RBI and belted eight home runs. Continue reading “Local Athletes Earn All-CIF Honors”

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Local Athletes, Coach Recognized by CIF-SS

Photo courtesy Eric Danielson Flintridge Prep senior Spencer Harris made the All-CIF Division 6 boys’ soccer first team after helping the Rebels win a Prep League title.
Photo courtesy Eric Danielson
Flintridge Prep senior Spencer Harris made the All-CIF Division 6 boys’ soccer first team after helping the Rebels win a Prep League title.

The CIF Southern Section released its All-CIF honors list on Monday and it included athletes from Flintridge Prep, Polytechnic, La Salle, Maranatha, Westridge, Flintridge Sacred Heart and St. Francis.
Five Rebels were recognized by CIF-SS in three winter sports. Flintridge Prep junior Kaitlyn Chen made the Division 2A girls’ basketball first team after averaging 18.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Boys’ soccer standouts Silas Chavez and Spencer Harris made the Division 6 first team, and Makenna Dominguez and Mikaela Celeste earned sports on the Division 2 girls’ soccer first team. Dominguez scored 36 goals and recorded 35 assists in 23 matches, and Celeste scored 28 and finished with a team-high 43 assists.

Photo courtesy Eric Danielson Sophie Markarem earned a spot on the Division 5 girls’ soccer first team after helping Westridge reach the CIF-SS title match.
Photo courtesy Eric Danielson
Sophie Markarem earned a spot on the Division 5 girls’ soccer first team after helping Westridge reach the CIF-SS title match.

Three Panthers were among those listed by CIF in boys’ soccer and girls’ water polo. Alexander Walsh helped the Poly boys’ soccer team finish its season with an overall record of 11-7-3, earning him a spot on the Division 6 first team. Talie Wilmans and Caroline Kelleher both made the All-CIF Division 6 girls’ water polo first team after leading the Panthers to a Prep League championship. Wilmans scored 122 goals, averaging nearly six per match, and recorded 59 assists and 81 steals. Kelleher was second on the team in scoring with 90 goals and finished with 40 steals. Continue reading “Local Athletes, Coach Recognized by CIF-SS”

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Flintridge Sacred Heart Edged in Final

By Alexander Payne
The Outlook

Photo courtesy Eric Danielson FSHA junior Lauren Bolte created opportunities for her team in the Tologs’ 1-0 loss to Oak Hills of Hesperia last Saturday.
Photo courtesy Eric Danielson
FSHA junior Lauren Bolte created opportunities for her team in the Tologs’ 1-0 loss to Oak Hills of Hesperia last Saturday.

The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy varsity girls’ soccer team fell short of capturing its second CIF Southern Section title in the program’s history, falling to visiting Oak Hills of Hesperia, 1-0, in the Division 3 championship at St. Francis High School last Saturday.
The lone goal of the match came in the 21st minute when freshman Kolo Suliafu held off a defender and chipped the ball into the back of the net after receiving a long pass from her sister, Tupou.
The Bulldogs (22-2-2 overall record) backed off their attack in the second half and switched to a 4-4-2 formation after opening with a 4-3-3. Continue reading “Flintridge Sacred Heart Edged in Final”

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Westridge Denied in Shootout, 4-1

Photo courtesy Eric Danielson N-Dea Goodwin constantly pressured the defense of Fountain Valley Los Amigos but couldn’t score in regulation and overtime. The Tigers fell to the Lobos, 4-1, in a penalty kick shootout.
Photo courtesy Eric Danielson
N-Dea Goodwin constantly pressured the defense of Fountain Valley Los Amigos but couldn’t score in regulation and overtime. The Tigers fell to the Lobos, 4-1, in a penalty kick shootout.

The Westridge varsity girls’ soccer team did everything it could to win a CIF Southern Section title.
The Tigers controlled the ball, generated more scoring opportunities than and completely shut down Los Amigos of Fountain Valley at Garden Grove High School last Friday. However, they couldn’t get that final touch to get the ball into the back of the net in regulation or overtime, allowing the Lobos to defeat Westridge, 4-1, in the Division 5 championship.
“I just feel like we couldn’t put it in the back of the net,” said Westridge head coach Tulio Marroquin. “It was going to be a game of long balls, and we knew that coming into it. It was going to be a physical match. Credit to them, they knew what to do and did it well. We had every chance from every angle and just couldn’t find the back of the net.” Continue reading “Westridge Denied in Shootout, 4-1”

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Titans Win Four CIF Individual Titles, Place Second in Southern Division

Photo courtesy San Marino Athletics The San Marino High School varsity boys’ wrestling team placed second in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division Wrestling Championships last Saturday. Koa Ruiz, Luka Wick, Kurt Trumbull, Caleb Trumbull, Beau Perez, Raul Jimenez, Josh Trumbull and Devyn Che qualified for the Masters Meet.
Photo courtesy San Marino Athletics
The San Marino High School varsity boys’ wrestling team placed second in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division Wrestling Championships last Saturday. Koa Ruiz, Luka Wick, Kurt Trumbull, Caleb Trumbull, Beau Perez, Raul Jimenez, Josh Trumbull and Devyn Che qualified for the Masters Meet.

The San Marino High School varsity boys’ wrestling team recently proved it is no longer in rebuilding mode after claiming its first Rio Hondo League crown since 2016, and the program reestablished itself as one of the best in the CIF Southern Section last weekend by placing second in the Southern Division Wrestling Championships at Brea Olinda High School.
Eight Titans placed among the top five and qualified for this weekend’s CIF-SS Masters Meet at Cerritos College in Norwalk. San Marino tallied 212 points to take home the runner-up plaque. Villa Park finished with 256.5 points to win the Southern Division championship. Continue reading “Titans Win Four CIF Individual Titles, Place Second in Southern Division”