LJ b BB 56, Parker 65 - 11/30

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ b BB: More photos from the Regional Rumble Nov. 22-23-25

Photos by Ed Piper

Junior Jackson Diehl (24)

drives against Westview.

Senior Kamron Kashani (11) shoots

between two Oceanside defenders.

Kashani ties up his man against

the Pirates.

Senior Sam Smith puts

pressure on Jaden Hubbard (11)

of Mission Viejo.

LJ b BB: Meet your Vikings

By Ed Piper

Elijah Vaz, #1, junior guard, 5'8", 130 pounds

Elijah is an unselfish player. He's a playmaker; shooter from outside and inside; and general good spirit for teamwork. To show how he is viewed, even by opponents, in a game against Oceanside Nov. 25, after he was knocked down, the opposing player took the time to reach out his hand and help Elijah up.

Jackson Diehl, #24, junior forward, 6'2", 175 pounds

Jackson is a role player. He plays well on defense under the basket. We have learned that he can jump to the moon, so he presents a shot-blocking threat. He is still working on his touch from the free throw line, as evidenced Nov. 25. For the Vikings' football team this fall, Jackson threw for over 2,200 yards passing this season, which is a phenomenal stat. He's only an 11th-grader, so he'll be back next year.

Sam Smith, #4, senior guard, 6'0", 160 pounds

Sam helps make the offense go by setting it up, taking the jumper from medium range, and driving, as well as dishing off.

Michael Contreras, #5, junior guard, 6'1", 160 pounds

An adept three-point specialist, Michael, a lefty shooter, is relied upon to produce some offense from beyond the arc. He is also effective off the dribble.

LJ b BB 48, Oceanside 57 - Regional Rumble

Viking Sam Smith drives on Oceanside's

Ellis Henry in the third quarter (first

photo, above left). Then Smith and

Henry spill onto the ground after

the collision. It seemed it might be

an offensive charging foul, but

Sam got two free throws. He

missed both. (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla dropped a 57-48 decision to Oceanside at the Regional Rumble at Madison High Fri., Nov. 25. It was the second straight game in which the Vikings gave up 15 straight points without scoring a bucket.

The loss drops La Jolla to 1-5 in the early season, its fourth straight loss in the tournament at Madison and the Vikings' fifth loss in a row after an opening victory at Fallbrook Nov. 12.

LJ b BB: More photos Tues., 11/22

Photos by Ed Piper

The many languages spoken on campus

at Madison High, site of the Regional

Rumble, which La Jolla played in.

Junior Jaime Guzman (23),

6'1", goes up against

6'7" Alexander Frost

of Mission Viejo. 

Jaime Guzman shoots

a free throw in the first quarter.

Forward Jackson Diehl handles

the ball in the offense. Defending

him is Niccolo Ownes (13)

of Mission Viejo.

Senior Sam Smith (4) runs into heavy traffic

against Mission Viejo's Niccolo Ownes (13)

and Josh Hewitt (24).

Guard Elijah Vaz (1) puts on the brakes against

Josh Hewitt (24) of the visiting Diablos.

LJ b BB: More photos 11/23

Photos by Ed Piper

Viking guard Michael Contreras gets

stuffed on a drive from the right side

by Nico Domingo of Westview.

Fourth quarter chat by La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski

with his young team to encourage some discipline

on both sides of the ball.

Guard Sam Smith shoots a little

jumper from inside against

Westview defenders.

Guard Elijah Vaz looks in from

the left side toward a shot

or pass.

A banner inside the Lincoln High gym (La Jolla's

game Nov. 23 was played there) touts Lincoln

graduate Norman Powell's youth camp. Powell

now plays for the L.A. Clippers after an NBA

championship with the Toronto Raptors

in 2019.

LJ b BB 36, Westview 57 - Regional Rumble

Viking junior Elijah Vaz sets

up for a nice jumper from

the right side in the second

half against Westview.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's boys gave Westview a Thanksgiving gift of a first win after two losses, as the Vikings (now 1-4) continued to seek their identity as a basketball team in the early days of the 2022-2023 season. They dropped a 57-36 decision to Coach Chase Fraser's Wolverines, their third loss in the Madison Regional Rumble and fourth in a row after an opening win at Fallbrook a week and a half ago.

The game wasn't quite as bad as the final score indicates. The Vikings just let things get out of hand later in the game, playing porous defense and throwing up some shots that didn't seem to work through the offense--just dribble, fire up a shot, and have it clang off the rim for another miss.

Coach Paul Baranowski's teams are known for being well-coached, so this is just a dismal time as Jackson Diehl, for one, transitions from the football season, and in general the squad gets to know one another and each's strengths.

The Thanksgiving Day break will be a welcome one, after this effort the day before the holiday and no school this whole week. Some bright spots included junior Elijah Vaz's unselfish play, as he did participate in the offense.

La Jolla went ahead, 14-13, on a nice layup by 6'6" Lance Braga in the offense to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter.

Unfortunately, the defense then proceeded to give up 10 straight points to Westview in the second quarter before Viking Logan Bonnett's free throw with 4:50 left. The score in Lincoln's nicely lighted gym, with a fabulous playing surface, jumped to a dismal 34-22 at halftime.

Things only seemed to get worse, as La Jolla trailed 48-30 by three quarters, and 21 at the final buzzer.

There's lots more basketball to be played this season, so the black-and-red (they wore black jerseys this time as the visitors) have growth and development to look forward to as we move through the Holidays toward Christmas.

La Jolla's Jackson Diehl applies

some heavy pressure on Westview's

Nico Domingo in the fourth

quarter.

LJ b BB 68, Mission Viejo 78 - Regional Rumble @ Madison

Jackson Diehl (24) goes

skyward to block a shot

by Mission Viejo's Isaiah

Tolmaire in the second

quarter Tues., Nov. 22.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

One thing we learned watching the Viking boys in action (after an evening unsuccessfully trying to find the High Tech San Diego gym Friday night) Tues., Nov. 22, is that Jackson Diehl can sky.

The Viking-quarterback-turned-basketball-forward made repeated attempts to block shots by opposing Mission Viejo players in a Regional Rumble game at Madison High, and some successful. View the photo above.

Another thing we had confirmed was that La Jolla guard Sam Smith can shoot and score, as he plunked in 16 points, including two two-pointers in the second quarter, three more in the third quarter plus a three in that quarter.

Diehl is raw, still developing his basketball skills. Smith is more polished. But those weren't enough Tuesday as the Diablos lived up their name and bedeviled the Vikings from start to finish, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first quarter that forced La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski to call a quick timeout to quell the uprising.

The Vikings righted the ship soon after that, and even got within three points with about two minutes left in the game. But they gave up needless and easy baskets in crunch time, as coach Moe Golshani's crew broke through the LJ pressure adeptly.

Diablo guard Jaden Hubbard, 6'3", scored 32 points to be named "Player of the Game" by host Madison coach Mike Stuts. As a result, the entire Mission Viejo team was treated to Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.

Hubbard killed the Vikings with two threes in the opening quarter, and two more in the second. But to the credit of La Jolla's defense, he didn't sink any more threes the rest of the game.

LJ wrestling: More photos - RB Takedown Tourney

Photos by Ed Piper

Senior Tora Haugen of La Jolla (right) toils in

her 11 a.m. bout at 131 pounds. Haugen

hails from Norway. She sports the new singlet

that several Viking boys and girls wore

Sat., Nov. 19, at the RB Takedown Tourney.

Junior Ella Roman (top, reddish LJ singlet) goes

in her second 150-pound weight division match

at the RB Takedown Tourney. Roman is a returning

wrestler from last year's Viking squad.

LJ rugby: 1st practice

Wyn Smoole, a senior at LJHS,

prepares to kick the rugby

ball early in warmups.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The Viking rugby team, which was "great", in coach Ethan Willis' estimation, two years ago, held its first practice of the 2022-2023 season on the softball field at La Jolla High Sun., Nov. 20.

"There are a lot of people on vacation," one of the early arrivals told the coaches, as numbers trickled in. The initial practice was held on the first Sunday of Thanksgiving week, when school is out and families often go out of town.

Rugby splits players between forwards and backs, with 15 on the field for a squad at a time. The backs are the "small(er) guys" who run fast, while the forwards carry the heft and can help push a group of players in a scrum toward their goal line.

Jaret Swerdlow, 18, a senior, was a minor celebrity as warmups started and he told about having a full cast after breaking his leg last year. "I was on crutches (for the two months)," Swerdlow, who claims his last name is Russian and Romanian, related. He is a back--fullback, in fact.

Wyn Smoole, 18, a senior, played defensive end for the Viking football team which just finished second in the Eastern League.. His brother, freshman Leed Smoole, 15, also was among the early arrivals. Wyn, lean and strong, gives his height and weight as 6'3", 160 pounds.

Leed stands 5'11", 145 pounds. Both would appear to be suited to play with the backs.

Nathan Plaskonos, 18, a senior who played beach volleyball for the Vikings this fall, also played water polo before that. "I'm a water guy," he said during conversation. In getting at the derivation of his Greek-appearing surname, he said it's Ukrainian. He goes 6'2", 190 pounds.

Alex Weisiger, 15, a sophomore, weighs 240, at 5'11". He'll play forward.

Finally, Renner Smith, 14, a freshman, told Willis he's "never played rugby before". He is 5'7", 135 pounds.

On the subject of roots and name origins, Swerdlow, the senior, said a cousin "told me a relative coming through Ellis Island said 'Max' when he was asked his name. He meant his first name, but the official meant his last name. So it was written down that his name was 'Max Max'."

Rugby hopefuls for the Vikings warm up

on the LJHS softball field Nov. 20.

LJ wrestling: RB Takedown Tourney

Maddie Quach (facing camera), a Viking soph

wrestling at 106 pounds, tries to take her

opponent down in the RB Takedown Tourney

Sat., Nov. 20. (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Over 25 wrestlers represented La Jolla High at the annual Rancho Bernardo Takedown Tournament Sat., Nov. 19, in a very full display of recovery from the two-year COVID spectacle and student-athletes' desire to pursue their sport or a new sport of their choosing.

Kraig Feldman, Viking head JV coach, remarked, "We have athletes," emphasizing the word "athletes". In other words, the Viking contingent was full of wrestlers who have athletic talents and are willing to put in the time on the practice mat to learn and perfect their skills.

Alongside strides in girls' and women's sports in the West (as in Western world), a foursome of girl wrestlers competed against other girls in the Takedown tourney. Ella Roman, a junior, Matisse Pickett, a sophomore, Maddie Quach, a junior, and Tora Haugen, a senior, got on the mat for their bouts early and later in the morning. Roman and Pickett are returners from last year's team.

Nerva Mugisha, an LJ junior at 120 pounds,

has his hand raised after taking his Clairemont

opponent down three times to win his bout.