LJ xc: Boomin' at Raven Invitational

La Jolla cross country coach Mandy Benham

(second from right) and her staff at the

Viking team awning on the field at Canyon Crest.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Beside a stellar fourth place in the Senior/Invitational girls team race at the Raven Invitational on the strength of one-two finishers Chiara Dailey, a freshman, and Kirra Fisk, a junior, the La Jolla girls pegged a third-place finish in the 1.5-mile sophomore race with Astrid Egan leading the way in 9:51.50 for 20th place.

A runner can "play up" in the event, for example the freshman Egan running in the 10th-grade race.

Team members and their times and finishes included: Zoe Dunfee, 10:01.90, 28th; Matisse Pickett, 10:02.10, 29th; Yaretzi Ramirez Soto, 10:51.70, 66th; and Mary Way, 11:00.90, 75th. All are sophomores.

The event was grind-it-out, especially under Saturday's conditions, which featured temperatures in the 90's, even more, during a week-long heat wave. There was no let-up at the racing site, Canyon Crest Academy, with a track surface, pavement, and dirt all radiating heat in the sunbaked conditions.

The sophomore girls race started at 10:05 a.m. At the 8 a.m. Senior/Invitational boys race, temperatures were already 80 degrees or more.

LJ Cheer: 9/2 vs. El Capitan FB

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB: Hansen, Castronovo, Scully lead 'D' in tackles

 Vike defender Sawyer Moseley (50) goes into

battle on the line against El Capitan Sept. 2.

Moseley has 11 tackles after three games.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Senior linebacker Nik Hansen--no "c"--along with strong safety Tommy Castronovo and two-way player Justin Scully, leads the Viking defense with 22 tackles after three games in the young 2022 season.

Seven of Scully's 22 tackles are solo efforts. Castronovo has four solos, Hansen likewise.

La Jolla teaches a team-directed defense, so these tackle stats are like taking a piece of pie out of a whole. But they're still significant as far as indicating who's getting the opportunities on "D" and who is taking advantage of them.

The season is still young, with Coach Tyler Roach's squad winning two straight efforts over Scripps Ranch and El Capitan--the team's first-ever encounter with the Vaqueros in the two teams' long histories. Let's see where the next three nonleague games take the Vikings before Eastern League play opens next month.

Safety Brenden Goldstein

takes a breather on the

sidelines late in La Jolla's

32-7 scrubbing of

El Capitan Sept. 2.

STAT LEADER BOARD - TACKLES (3 games)

Defender                                Solo            Assists            Total

Hansen, Nik                              4                   18                 22

Scully, Justin                             7                   15                 22

Castronovo, Tommy                  4                   18                 22

Boczanowski                            2                    17                 19

Palmer                                      1                    16                 17

McCandless                              2                    14                 16

Perry, Wallace                          2                      9                  11

Tommy Castronovo,

with 22 tackles

Cavanaugh                               5                      8                  13

Moseley, Sawyer                     1                     10                  11

Paul Hall                                  2                       8                 10

Johannsen                                4                      3                    7

Goldstein                                 2                      5                    7

Smoole                                    2                      4                    6

Buckley                                   1                      4                    5

LJ linebacker Kai McCandless (black jersey, hand  up) applies

pressure in the third quarter against El Capitan.

Defensive coordinator Mike Dutra (middle background)

talks with his defense just before the second half

kickoff.

LJ FB 32, El Capitan 7 - Game story

Viking QB Jackson Diehl (L) scrambles right

in the second quarter as La Jolla builds up

a four-touchdown advantage in the first half

Fri., Sept. 2, at Edwards Stadium.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla sliced, diced, and otherwise discarded El Capitan's able athletes as the Vikings built up a surprising 26-0 lead with 3:03 left in the first half, on the way to a convincing 32-7 win before a large student "Whiteout" t-shirted crowd at Blastoff Fri., Sept. 2.

Junior quarterback Jackson Diehl, growing in confidence, caught receiver Nick Sebro for an initial 24-yard TD reception at 7:15 of the first quarter. Diehl improvised on a scramble early in the second stanza, shot-putting the ball to two-way back Justin Scully for a 14-0 advantage with a minute gone in the period.

It was more magic between Diehl and Sebro, in a breakout game for both, midway through the period on a beautiful aerial Sebro caught behind the Vaquero defense and sprinted the last 20 yards to paydirt, La Jolla up 20-0. The first-and-10 play from La Jolla's own 31-yard line covered 69 yards.

The final first half nail in the coffin came on Ryan Weinberg's reception from nine yards out to claim the 26-0 halftime lead.

Diehl looked like a completely different person from the Vikings' scrimmage at University City August 12. His athletic skills in hurdling defenders when he ran (22 yards worth) and connecting with receivers via the air put Coach Tyler Roach's relatively inexperienced squad at 2-1 in the early pre-league season, with a spiriting rivalry game against Del Norte at home next.

Diehl completed 13 of 26 passes for 208 yards with his four TD passes. Scully continued to be the workhorse he has been this season, carrying the ball for 101 yards on 22 carries and hitting hard at his linebacker position on defense.

LJ xc: Freshman Dailey sets course record

Chiara Dailey (759), a newcomer to

La Jolla High, has separated herself from

the rest of the pack in the latter stages

of Saturday's senior/invitational 3-mile

race at the Ravens Invitational.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Chiara Dailey, a freshman who just started classes at La Jolla High last week, set a course record in the Ravens Cross Country Invitational at Canyon Crest Academy Sat., Sept. 3. The redhead in braids blazed a time of 17:07.20 to lead the seniors/invitational race before the heavy heat set in in the 8:25 a.m. race.

That's a sub-5:45 pace per mile in 80-degree heat over three miles.

Her teammate, junior Kirra Fisk, ran in the leaders' pack with Dailey and Gioana Lopizzo of La Costa Canyon, like Fisk an 11th-grader, midway through the race. Fisk completed the Viking 1-2 sweep in 17:23.00. Lopizzo finished almost four seconds behind her.

The steady Daphne Mayer, who has earned her stripes as a Viking running much of her high school career near Fisk, ran a more than respectable 25th in 19:11.30. Mayer is a junior.

Kirra Fisk (right, in black La Jolla jersey)

runs with leader Chiara Dailey midway through

the 8:25 a.m. race at Canyon Crest Academy

in Del Mar Highlands.

LJ FB 32, El Capitan 7 - Blastoff

Photos by Ed Piper

Junior Sawyer Moseley (50) defended by two Vaqueros

LJ QB Jackson Diehl (9) flies for more yardage.

Viking linebacker Wyatt Boczanowski

(black jersey) makes a stop right

at the goal line to deny the Vaqueros

a score just before the half.

Viking kicker/punter Evan Martin, a junior, 

blasts a punt away in the middle of the third quarter.

Justin Scully (5) motors

for more yardage.

LJ g VB: Nine juniors

Photos by Ed Piper

"We have nine juniors," said Tahlia Zadeyan, an 11th-grader herself. She is one of the present crop of La Jolla volleyball players, survivors after two years of COVID shutdowns and restrictions. Team members have a lot of enthusiasm, and seem cohesive as a unit. Stay tuned as the Fall 2022 season progresses.