LJ g water polo 6, Bishop's 14 - 1/29

Photos by Ed Piper

Viking Avery Edstrom (2, right) looks for a pass

on offense.

Aviana Cavaiola (near) reaches for a loose ball

under pressure.

Lefty Katie Johnson (left, 6) faces Vikings Carys

Villano (15, near right) and other defenders.

Avi Cavaiola (left, 3) rises up to fire a shot

against Gigi Paredez (11) of Bishop's.

Lotte Lightner (white 7) of Bishop's swipes a ball

from Avery Edstrom (2).

La Jolla High Assistant Principal/Athletics

Joe Cavaiola (R) with Bishop's water polo

coach Ian Davidson before the game.

Prep track: Leed in the lead

Viking Leed Smoole (left) breaks out of a starting

crouch as he trains under Haneef Shaheed in the

Shaheed Speed sprinters club at Mira Mesa High

Tues., Jan. 27. Shaheed is visible at rear right,

second from right in blue "Seattle" sweatshirt,

partially hidden. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Haneef Shaheed had me on the first comment.

"I see you're wearing your Seattle Seahawks sweatshirt," I called out on the sidelines during the Viking girls soccer team's game at Mira Mesa High Tues., Jan. 27.

I hadn't met Shaheed, the father of Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (who played at Mt. Carmel High), but I could tell he had something to do with a group of high school sprinters he was running through their paces.

I thought I was so clever. The Seahawks play in the Super Bowl Sun., Feb. 8, only a week and a half away. Haneef was, obviously, proudly wearing the blue sweatshirt with the playoffs going so well.

Shaheed's rejoinder: "I see you're wearing your Dodgers sweatshirt," he quickly responded. The Dodgers won their second World Series in a row in Oct./Nov. Who isn't going to show the logo off?

I was reminded, always be ready out in public. You're going to get called on your stuff.

Meanwhile, Leed Smoole of La Jolla High was running with the other students. Lo and behold, a man in a red sweatshirt walked by as I was taking photos of the Viking soccer game. He eyed me, and I eyed him. We couldn't tell until we were five feet away--my former principal in Juvenile Court schools, Tracy Thompson.

"Lalo," he addressed me. I used to go by that Spanish version of "Ed" or "Eddie". I can always tell where I know someone from by what they address me as.

Tracy was my principal while I was a long-term substitute teacher at Rancho del Campo in East County, then when I was hired at Camp Barrett on a permanent contract, he was my principal in the Mountain 
Region (so called, including Campo and Barrett).

I told his walking buddy, "He always told me he wore Marshall Faulk's number before Marshall Faulk." Number 28.

Tracy, a big, powerful man with muscular shoulders, played running back for SDSU back in the day. I misremembered his number as 45--he reminded me 28. I looked in my phone contacts, and I had it there correctly, entered years ago.

An incredible story, Tracy started as a teacher's assistant in Juvenile Court schools, then teacher, then principal, and finally Executive Director. He told me he retired two years ago.

He said, "You still doing this?" (taking photos and writing stories on La Jolla High sports). Me: "Yes, my 22nd year."

Meanwhile, Coach Shaheed was continuing his workout for sprinters with Leed and the others. I walked up to Leed, knowing him from track and football. "What is your school status?" I said, not quite sure why he was working out at Mira Mesa High. "High school." "Where do you go to high school?" "La Jolla," he told me. There are so many transfers these days, student athletes going to four different high schools in four years, that it is dizzying.

Another member of the workout group was doing high-knee double-tap steps quickly through metal devices on the end of the football field. I asked, "What do those do?" "They help us lift our knees for good form" in sprinting, she said.

"What is the name of the (track) club?" I asked, finally getting a picture of what was going on during the soccer game. "Rashid Speed," I think she said. "Rashid" for Haneef's son, since he's now a star in the NFL.

LJ track: Coach Ben Martin in the offseason

Sprinter Leed Smoole (left, running) receives

training under the watchful eye of Coach

Haneef Shaheed (far rear right, second

from right in blue "Seattle" sweatshirt,

partially hidden). The La Jolla senior

is expected to be a top competitor

this spring. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Ben Martin became the La Jolla High track coach last Spring, with the first-ever Sunset Relays held on campus.

These comments were made Jan. 7 during offseason workouts.

Q: What does a head track coach/freshman (football) assistant do in the offseason?

BM: As soon as football is over, we (the track team) hit the weight room two days a week and we're on the track two days a week. Getting them ready, getting them stronger.

Q: Who can we look for in track this season?

BM: Chiara Dailey, obviously. She's going to be fun to watch her senior season.

Leed Smoole--I think he's going to be top of the county (sprints).

We have some newcomers coming up, freshmen. You don't really know until they compete. The girls team is strong, and the boys team is coming along. We have some strong sophomores.

Q: Is there another Dailey coming up?

BM: Yes (laughing), Blaze is a freshman. I think he was top 5 among freshmen, running distance for the first time. There are two more. (Jett is a sophomore. Dad, Adam, is girls track coach.) Zane... I can't remember the name of the other one.

LJ g water polo: Atwell update on 'physicality'

La Jolla's Cora Pfau (4, white cap) is out-physicalled

by Farren Moss (black cap, behind Pfau) of Bishop's

in the Knights' 18-8 win at home Jan. 20.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The Viking girls water polo team had its final tune-up before a Western League rematch with Bishop's when they faced Helix at home Jan. 28. Before the game, La Jolla water polo coach Tom Atwell talked about the need to get his girls to play with more "physicality"--"we're making progress," he said.

Q: Can I ask questions of the tennis ball? (Atwell often holds a neon green tennis ball in his right hand during matches, and sometimes bounces it off the pool deck as he processes things.)

TA: Go ahead.

Q: The big question: What are adjustments the team is making and can make to increase its effectiveness?

TA: The biggest thing is our physicality. When we played last week against Bishop's (number-six team in the nation), they were way more physical than us, and I think we were taken a little aback by it.

We have to play today and tomorrow like we're not afraid to match up and to wrestle and to be more physical. I think if we can take care of the physical part, the other parts of the game will start to come together a little bit better.

I feel there's some little technical things we need to do better, but the single biggest thing is physicality.

Q: Is there a way to instill that?

TA: Next to not being able to coach size, it's the hardest thing to try to coach up, especially with a kid who is not comfortable being physical. We're getting there. We had a better practice a couple of days this week.

LJ g water polo 13, Helix 4 - 1/28

Photos by Ed Piper

Viking defenders Taylor Goldstein (black cap,

top left/back), Avi Cavaiano (black cap, 3),

Clara Siddons (black 11), and Cora Pfau

(black 4) descend on the ball as Lucinda

Anderson (white 3) struggles in the middle.

Lillian Wylie (white 4) is another heavy

threat in the middle.

Freshman Carys Villano (15) moves the ball

at the point.

Junior Avery Edstrom (2) takes aim as she

considers options to shooting.

Junior Cora Pfau (4) battles as Helix's

Olivia Gallegos (7) works behind her.

Alicia Vargas Lopez (5) is in range of the goal,

but Coach Tom Atwell calls her a

"facilitator" more than a scorer.

LJ g soccer: More photos 1/27

By Ed Piper

Senior midfielder Grace Phan (right) shows off

her ball-handling skills.

LJ g soccer 5, Mira Mesa 1 - 1/27

Photos by Ed Piper

Grace Phan (right) fights for a ball successfully

against Izabelle Martinez (21) of the Marauders.

Sophie O'Brien (left) of La Jolla sends her

Mira Mesa counterpart flying after this frame.

Sam Woolf (left), a freshman forward,

scored one of four La Jolla goals in the

first half--two by Woolf sisters

(Hannah, a junior, was the other).

Marauder Reilly Harteis covers her.

Senior Grace Phan (right) passes at midfield

in front of Mira Mesa's Izabelle Martinez.

Freshman sensation Bowie Kerch (right)

handles the ball, closely defended.

LJ wrestling: Ori - 'Trying to stun him'

Ori Mor (167 pounds), after

his pin of Jack Cohen (rear)

of Christian High

Sat., Jan. 24.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Ori Mor, 167 pounds, after he slammed his first opponent of the day, Jack Cohen of Christian High, to the mat multiple times in winning the bout Saturday morning, Jan. 24, at the City Conference Championships:

"Dude, I was trying to lift him as high as I can, and slam him. I know it's not the way you're supposed to do it, but..."

Q: (As we walked out of the Canyon Hills gym, toward the LJHS team tent) "It's quicker that way?"

Ori: "It is quicker. It stuns them, and they're a little disoriented."

Q: "Was he stunned?"

Ori: "Yeah. You could tell."

A: "The pin was 55 seconds. It was quick."

Ori: "Yeah. It was quick. It was quick."

A: "What were you trying to do right when you started the match?"

Q: "I was just trying to read him, see when he's going to try to shoot, try to hit his head, disorient him, and put on my shot."

*  *  *

David Blasquez, a former 215-pound and heavyweight wrestler for La Jolla, has returned this season to volunteer as an assistant coach.

"As coaches, I had Kellen (Delaney), Ryan (Lennard), and Ryan Lindenblatt," David said. "I wrestled for two years at 215, then as a senior I went up to heavyweight.

"My junior year, I injured my meniscus (knee) and suffered a broken thumb."

"It's the first time I've been back in 15 years," Blasquez said. "I just turned 34. Paul Schoen coached. He was the last LJHS'er to go to state." (a new name to this reporter)

*  *  *

Head coach Joey Stofko and family spent the holidays in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, "across the bridge from Allentown," according to Joey. These are his home parts.

"Asher (Sternberg, his stepson) went, too. There were 50-mile-an-hour winds. We went archery hunting for white-tailed deer." It didn't work too well.

"It was super noisy/crunchy (from stepping on the snow and ice) in the forest, so as soon as you got there, they were out of there."

*  *  *

Stofko said the recent fundraiser through Beaumont's went well. "They sold out takeout rotisserie chicken every day," he said.

"We want to go into next year with some money." The funds raised will go to the following:

    --to pay for a new mat ("We borrowed money to buy it.")

    --tourney fees

    --warm-up outfits

    --singlets

    --food for tournaments

    --a pop-up for tourneys - "so we don't look like hobos out there."

*  *  *

Maddie Quach gets feedback from Kellen

Delaney right after a bout Saturday morning,

Jan. 24, at the City Conference Championships.

Assistant coach Kellen Delaney (head coach 2015-2025) discussed senior Maddie Quach's growth as a wrestler:

"Maddie has progressed nicely, technically speaking. She has just struggled to be as aggressive in some cases.

"One day, after a great match, and a great tournament, she came off the mat very proud of the way she wrestled even though she had lost.

"She said she 'chose violence', so I leaned into that. 'Choosing violence' within the confines of the rules. It means she is going to be put in tough positions, but finding the will to fight through them rather than folding.

"She's going to have to at least match the aggression that her opponent is putting on her. She has responded really well to it and has continued to 'choose violence'."

Coach Emeritus Walter Fairley, Jr. (left) and

Kellen Delaney (right) talk with Quach.

Fairley, inducted into the National Wrestling

Hall of Fame, is a mentor to Delaney, former

head coach of the Vikings (2015-2025).

LJ wrestling: Meet story #2

Liam Kressin (middle) of La Jolla looks to

referee Terrence Dugay, who signals one point

for Kressin's escape. Liam (146 pounds) lost

this bout to Ryan Vavrunek (right) of Scripps Ranch

by pin, but then came back through

the consolation bracket to take third place.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Continuing La Jolla's string of successes on both the girls' and boys' sides at the City Conference Championships Sat., Jan. 24, 146-pounder Liam Kressin--who reached the CIF Masters meet last season--came up through the consolation bracket to secure third place in the relatively large weight division.

The tall, long 12th-grader--having just celebrated Senior Night Wed., Jan. 21--got pinned in his opening bout. He came back to win four consecutive matches to take third-place honors. In the finals, he pinned Ryan Vavrunek of Scripps Ranch in 3:00 (one minute into the second round).

Making a sportswriter's task a hard one with all these runs deep into their brackets, fellow senior Dylan Haugum also took third place in his 217-pound bracket, winning a match by pin in the penultimate bout in 2:46 over Oswaldo Lagunas of Point Loma.

Ori Mor (top), 167 pounds, quickly moves

to a pin of Christian's Jack Cohen in 55 seconds.

Mor went on to take fourth place in his

weight class.

The 12th-grader, who came back to the wrestling team this year after competing as a freshman, recorded a pin over Wesley Stinson of Madison in the third-place match in 2:22.

Teammate Ori Mor (167) took fourth place in his weight class, reaching the third-place bout through the consolation bracket. The junior recorded a fall of Kilian Strachota of SDHS, his foe in their dual meet match only three days before, in 4:03. (He pinned him Wednesday, too.) Mor succumbed to a pin in the final.

LJ wrestling: Meet story 1/24

Beckler Durst pins Dijonai Bradford (left)

of Crawford in 3:30 in her first of three falls (pins)

on the way to the 137-pound title at the

City Conference Championships Sat., Jan. 24.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla senior Beckler Durst, who moved before her sophomore year from the South in the U.S., conquered the 137-pound bracket at the City Conference Championships Sat., Jan. 24, by pinning Aaliyah Martinez of Point Loma in 56 seconds.

The third-year Viking wrestler's semifinal performance was even briefer. Becca pinned Zoe Diaz Hay of Patrick Henry in a mere 22 seconds, as she continued her recent pattern of aggressiveness starting at the opening whistle. The competition was held at Canyon Hills High.

Durst moved from Georgia two and a half years ago and soon became part of the La Jolla wrestling "family", making quick friends, including with classmate Maddie Quach. The two are a constant presence at meets when they compete and even when they don't compete.

Becca tore her left ear lobe, requiring seven stitches, three weeks ago competing at the "Warriors of the West" girls meet at Clairemont High Jan. 3. Her headgear caused the injury. But that didn't slow her recent momentum.

Maddie Quach (top) placed second at 107 pounds.

Here, she pins Margaret Pryor of Patrick Henry

in 1:24, the first of two falls in a row.

Fellow senior Noah Pace, in his final City Conference Championships of his high school career, reached the title bout in his 122-pound weight division.

The annual tournament, dedicated to the memory of Lincoln wrestler Willie James Jones, Jr., a standout wrestler/valedictorian cut down by random gang violence years ago, comes at the height of the season--just before La Jolla's trip to the Holtville Tournament Jan. 30-31 and the CIF Section championships a week later.

Everything came together for Pace, the slim, blond veteran who takes his glasses off right before each bout. "I saw that he (second round opponent Angel Sardina of Hoover) was front-heavy, because he was putting his hands on the mat. So I knew that I could snap him really easily," the 12th-grader said after his 10-second pin, the fastest this reporter has ever seen.

Back on the girls' side, Quach reached the finals at 107 pounds. Her second fall was the quickest--59 seconds. Of her first-round pin in 1:25, she said, "Choose violence, but legally, obviously. Go hard, go strong, get it done." Quach is so good-natured, she has been coached by Kellen Delaney and others to do what is counter to her "kind" personality off the mat.

La Jolla's Victor Franklin (left) reached the

134-pound championship to place second.

On the way, the Temecula Valley transfer

defeated Abdullah Alshami (above) of

Patrick Henry, 17-2, a tech fall, in the

second round.

LJ wrestling @ City Conference Championships @ Canyon Hills HS - 1/24

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ senior Noah Pace (122)

(behind) has the fastest

pin one reporter has seen:

10 seconds over Angel

Sardina (Hoover).

Becca Durst (top) works to flip opponent

Dijonai Bradford of Crawford over, which

she eventually did and won by pin.

LJ b basketball @ Point Loma - 1/23

Photos by Ed Piper

Injured Cole Hein (far left) (concussion protocol)

 does homework during Coach Paul Baranowski's

halftime talk with the team to stay up with his studies.

"Pink Out" PLHS students go crazy after

the last reserve being inserted into the game

with 3:20 left.

LJ wrestling: Mor in feature match

Ori Mor (top) grabs the right wrist of Kilian

Strachota of SDHS to begin the second period

of their 165-pound match Wed., Jan. 21.

Mor held on one more period to pin Strachota

with 1.8 seconds left. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

In a match that went virtually the entire six minutes (three two-minute periods), La Jolla's Ori Mor came out in a test of endurance to best Kilian Strachota of San Diego High at 165 pounds at the two teams' dual meet Wed., Jan. 21.

The bout matched two behemoths--Mor, especially, shows rippling shoulder muscles on his frame--in an exciting contest of wills.

Obviously, both were adept at countering the shots and other maneuvers of their opponent, with a standoff of 0-0 through the first period.

In the second, Mor, who has been out for a couple of weeks and tuned up by competing in last Saturday's Monte Vista Invitational, took Strachota down and held him for a multiple count on the mat, but was unable to pin him.

Kilian pulled a reverse after the count, ending the period trailing 4-2.

In the third and deciding period, the two gulping big breaths as they lined up repeatedly for resets, Ori was down at the outset of the period and escaped. That put him up, 5-2.

A takedown led him to 8-2.

Finally, with the Senior Night crowd cheering and exhorting, the Viking wrestler got a pin just before the final buzzer--1.8 left on the clock. So his time of fall was rounded off to 5:58 (actually 5:58.2).

The hosts now led, 32-19, with the six team points for the fall. La Jolla held on to win, 38-37, after three more matches and forfeiting the heavyweight bout.

LJ b wrestling 38, SDHS 37 - Senior Night 1/21

Photos by Ed Piper

Dylan Haugum, on his own Senior Night,

faces the crowd as he is declared the winner

at 215 pounds over Ernesto Rodriguez
(right, behind referee Terrence Dugay).

Haugum had a fall (pin) in 34 seconds.

Coach Emeritus Walter Fairley, Jr. in one of

his more inspired moments--with the new

Viking mascot. Walter is the one on the left.

Maddie Quach and family

LJ g water polo: Further refining

Mackenzie Adams (top) was setting up so far

from the goal on the 1-2 side Tues., Jan. 20

at Bishop's because the Knights' physical play

was forcing them outside. #8 red cap is

Aileen Shin. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

I came up with a new term overnight: "boys' water polo", to describe the way the La Jolla boys team had to play Cathedral Catholic and Bishop's last fall--after being treated rudely by JSerra in San Juan Capistrano, and a year ago, Oaks Christian.

In both latter games, Coach Tom Atwell's male squad traveled up north and faced nationally-ranked teams who battered, bruised, and otherwise stepped on their opponents.

The Viking girls absorbed the same brusque treatment in early December, as JSerra's team came to Coggan and dealt them a sizeable loss--all with the kind of jarring play that makes you pull back in mini-shock and see they're playing a different game.

Don't get me wrong, La Jolla has two extremely talented teams, both at the elite level and playing far above the level of 90 percent of the other teams in San Diego County. I recognize that.

But there is another level, and only Bishop's on the girls' side plays "boys' water polo" (as I defined it) in the area.

In this super-elite atmosphere--Ian Davidson and Doug Peabody's Knights are ranked second in the U.S., behind Mater Dei Santa Ana--there's no consideration of playing "nice" or "playing like a girl", which isn't even a term anymore, with the quality competition girls and women (defined by under-18 and over-18) are putting forth these days.

In the Knights' 18-8 win over visiting La Jolla last night (Jan. 20), I again saw a kind of play that was in-your-face, foul if you need to, pushing on the waterline and kicking underneath the waterline to establish position, knock the player you're defending off-balance, don't let them set up where they want to in the offense they're running.

There's no room for allowing the other side to dictate to you, on either offense or defense.

Atwell is working on it, but that it where he has to get his girls--accustomed to bumping and bruising from the start, and not apologizing for it, in my humble opinion. It has to happen the minute the ball comes out after the opening sprint, until the point where the game is decided. No other team in San Diego can afford the Viking girls the testing they need in preparation to compete with cross-town Bishop's.

The long-time (25 years) coach has been wise to expose his team to top (read "rough" as far as this discussion) teams in Orange County and elsewhere. That's where he's going to have to go to submerge them in this foreign culture of physicality.

LJ g water polo 8, Bishop's 18 - 1/20

Attacker Cora Pfau (4), far left, of La Jolla

is blinded by water splashed by Knight

defenders, including Farren Moss (9,

far right). (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Reigning CIF Player of the Year Aileen Shin scored eight goals, as she and her Bishop's teammates showed why they are the number-two water polo team in the nation, downing La Jolla 18-8 Tues., Jan. 20.

Shin, who sat out much of the third and fourth quarters, still led the Knights in scoring as they charged out to a 5-0 lead after one quarter and 8-2 midway through the second period.

The day before, Ian Davidson and Doug Peabody's squad had played national number-one-ranked Mater Dei Santa Ana closely in a 14-10 loss, trailing only 9-8 late in the game.

They brought the same physicality against the Vikings, intruding on space and aggressively denying positioning as they disrupted La Jolla's ability to set up offensive patterns early and dominate on the scoring end.

La Jolla is ranked sixth nationally.

Knight Fiona Salatka (5), guarded by

La Jolla's Stella Tezcan (7), looks for a pass

on the 4-5 side in the first quarter.

Coach Tom Atwell's team regrouped a little to close the gap to 8-3 and 9-4. But Davidson began substituting freely from his stocked roster, still in the first half.

Atwell complained to the referees that Bishop's players were "slapping the water"--apparently to distract or cut visibility across the pool. He was answered by his counterpart, which the near-side official pointed out.

Shin, the First Team All-CIF standout, was inserted for one offensive play in the middle of the third quarter, and seemingly scored a goal at will, sailing a shot over LJ goalie Lucia Vega's head into the corner of the goal, for an 11-5 lead. Davidson and Peabody immediately substituted her out.

Bishop's goalkeeper Edie Nordan was tough in the cage. Lefty Fiona Salatka, starting on the 4-5 side (right side of the imaginary rectangle in front of the goal), and Ava Grandinetti supplied plenty of firepower for the Knights.

LJ g soccer: What a difference a year makes

Photo by Ed Piper

By Ed Piper

"Strengths? We're getting more connected as a team, which is good," La Jolla girls coach Austin Mobley said before league play started. "We have a good amount of ability. We just need to put it all together.

"There have been really good moments. It just hasn't been consistent enough."

The conversation turned to last year's team, which the present squad is performing far superior to--1-0 in City League at this writing (Jan. 20), 6-4 overall.

"You guys were missing some people last year," suggested an interviewer.

Mobley: "We had some injuries. We were in a league in which opponents were just better than us." (Division 1)

Speaking carefully, he said, "It was not as successful as we would have liked it to be." (1-15 on the season) "But I think it is going to help us this year, because we dealt with all that adversity last year."

What are you going to work on in the next month? "We've gotta get sharper attacking and defending set pieces. That cannot be a weakness."

"We're going to go home if we give up goals in set pieces," Mobley explained, "if that's the difference in us winning a playoff game or losing a playoff game."

LJ g wrestling @ Monte Vista Invitational - 1/19

Becca Durst, at 137 pounds, holds down the

shoulders of West Hills' Gabriella Valentin

for a three count in her first match.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Beckler Durst, idled after her headgear pulling on her left ear caused seven stitches two weeks ago, came barging across the mat against her opponent like "Raging Bull".

"She didn't know what hit her," commented an observer to Durst, a senior wrestling her final year at La Jolla, afterwards. "Thanks," Becca said as she exchanged fist bumps.

Gabriella Valentin of West Hills was the object of the137-pounder's aggressiveness. Durst rapidly took her down, then held her shoulders to the mat for a three count to record a fall in 15 seconds. It was muy rapido.

Later in the morning, after the long wait for the first bout with Valentin, Becca pinned Daniela Martinez of Santana in 3:45.

The La Jolla senior is rewarded

for her aggressiveness with a

hand raised, signifying a triumph

over Gabriella Valentin (near camera)

of West Hills.