LJ water polo: Lacey and Zambia

Tudor Lacey (left), Vikings' conditioning coach,

with Coach Tom Atwell before

La Jolla's match Wed., Jan. 29

at Coggan Pool.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

We had a long afternoon, and time to use before the Vikings girls' varsity polo game, so a conversation with conditioning coach Tudor Lacey seemed very appropriate.

This outlet interviewed him last year, but we wanted to know more about the former Rhodesia/now Zambia and the copper mines his father was involved in.

"When the queen came by (televised?), everyone stood and showed respect," Lacey said in answer to what background his parents were and what culture predominated in the former southern African nation, renamed after apartheid fell and the colonial period ended.

As a boy, Tudor lived near the Kafue River, and this was the setting where he ran, jumped, and swam in waters that were safe--not where the crocodiles were.

"I was born 30 miles from the (family ) farm. It was a mining town. They found copper in north Rhodesia."

"To get (white) people to go to (work) the mines, you had a house, swimming pool, cricket fields, hockey fields..." Tudor said. The colonial government and the people basically re-created what they had in western Europe.

The men worked alongside the blacks, who, under apartheid, were not afforded education and lived a much different life than the white minority.

"My grandparents were farmers about 300 miles away in a farming district," the Viking conditioning coach remembered. "They went there in 1910."

What was the wildlife like? "On our farm, we had elephants, lions, a lot of hippos, crocodiles, antelope, and all sorts of ducks and geese."

The story of the day was about the Lacey family's dog Zippy. "I was still in boarding school (away from the family farm)," Tudor said, about 14 years old. So he got told about what happened to the beloved pet/hunting dog.

"One of my favorite dogs (Zippy) was taken by a croc. He was a Ridgeback and Bull Mastiff (mix). The croc kept chasing (people and animals). The boys (indigenous) dug out canoes. The croc would chase them.

"My sisters (Sandra, 18 at the time, just out of high school, and another) were there. The river (Kafue) had a bend in it.

"Whenever there was a gun, Zippy would (alert). My sister took a shot at the croc. It went underwater. Zippy came out of the water. He went down to the bend.

"As soon as (Sandra) shot, Zippy went. My sister went into the water up to her waist. She grabbed Zippy by the tail, and said, 'Come on.' Zippy ran out.

"There was a tree (in the water). (Zippy) got his front legs on the tree (to protect Sandra). The croc was underwater. He pulled Zippy under.)"

About his father Norman, Lacey recalled, "He was born in Zimbabwe. He moved to Zambia. My mother (Dorothy) was born in South Africa. They had a British accent, to an extent. She moved to Zambia when she was about 19."

LJ g water polo: Meet your Vikings

Free-for-all as Vikings' defense creates

havoc against Coronado Fri., Jan. 31.

La Jolla's Evia Tettenbum (13), Eddie Wells (6),

Grecia Ramirez (7), and Kate Morgan (12)

are in view. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The 2024-25 Vikings feature two seniors and lots of sophomores. Here is Coach Tom Atwell's view of each of the players in his rotation:

Eddie Wells, senior captain: "Senior leader, kind of the glue that holds the team together. Skills? She's a facilitator on offense and she defends some of (opponents') attackers.

"Mental? She's been around all the girls the longest. She's the cornerstone of our program. She's not the most dynamic player, but she brings all the girls together in a way we need."

Cora Pfau, sophomore: "Our defensive specialist on the perimeter."

Question: "She's young. What does she show?"

"Water polo I.Q. Scoring? She contributes. She's not a primary scorer, but we're doing well if she scores a goal a half."

Grecia Ramirez, senior: "She's our quiet leader and not a neighborhood kid, so she brings a grit we don't have. A lunch pail kind of mentality, 4.8 GPA or 4.6. Never had a B."

Stella Tezcan, junior: "One of our primary scorers. She also gets lots of steals, because she's long and tall."

Avery Edstrom, sophomore: "Our two-way defender. She usually has to take on their best player. One of the fastest players in the pool. If she scores one goal a half, we're in good shape."

"How does she swim fast?" "She's strong, and she knows how to swim. During swim season, she's one of our sprinters. She has great natural speed."

Lucia Vega, junior, starting goalkeeper: "Our goalie, three-year starter on the varsity so far. She runs our whole defensive scheme. She has become one of our great leaders."

Aviana Cavaiola, sophomore: "Our primary scorer, she creates the most offense for us, draws the most exclusions, and attracts the most attention from the other team."

Taylor Goldstein, sophomore, "is our utility player. She can play any position in the pool. Skills? That she understands each position if I put her in the pool."

Clara Siddons, junior (yet to go)

LJ g wrestling @ City Conference 2/1

Viking Julianna Barron (R)

gets tied up in a match at 110

pounds with Erika Tuazon

of Morse High.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Senior captain Matisse Pickett and junior transfer Becca Durst (Bellbuckle, Tennessee) took second place in their respective weight divisions at the prestigious City Conference Championships at Lincoln High Sat., Feb. 1.

Pickett, who has enjoyed a fabulous final season of prep wrestling--in addition to serving as Viking team captain--placed at 120 pounds. Meanwhile, Durst, a relative newcomer to the La Jolla program, garnered her 14 team points in the 155-pound weight class.

Matisse, who has sported pink braids this winter season, pinned Annika Chhon of Crawford in 1:11 in her quarterfinal match. Then she won a major decision, 8-0, over Reese Ramirez of Clairemont to move into the final, where she lost to Chloe Sampson of Mira Mesa.

Durst decisioned Tereah Henry, 13-8, in the semifinals before suffering a loss to Vivienne Wright of Mira Mesa in the final.

Becca Durst (left) and Matisse Pickett (center),

alongside her dad, watch morning matches

at the City Conference Championships

at Lincoln High Sat., Feb. 1.

LJ b BB: Sessa and 'going downhill'

By Ed Piper

La Jolla assistant coach Eli Crevelone was talking recently about guard Brody Sessa's effectiveness and fast pace down court.

"When he gets downhill, he's at his best," the basketball coach said. "We looked at things a few weeks ago. When you can get downhill, you're at your best."

Crevelone was talking in the context of Sessa's ability to move the ball quickly upcourt. He, not infrequently, goes coast-to-coast to score a basket: taking a rebound, or an outlet pass off the defensive boards, then rapidly dribbling the ball upcourt to score a bucket.

What does "downhill" mean, in Crevelone's lexicon? "Forward movement," he said. He said he discussed with Brody, "Don't dance around. No going laterally, side-to-side." Because when he dribbles that way, he's not making movement forward.

The junior "point forward"--guarding a bigger man on defense, while co-piloting the offense as a guard with teammate Leo Hawkinson--is enjoying an extremely effective season.

He is currently averaging 14.3 points per game in 23 games, with 6.0 rebounds a game 2.6 assists, 2.7 steals, 0.7 steals, and 2.9 turnovers a game--handling the ball a lot.

The Vikings are 16-7 at this writing (Feb. 3), 3-3 in the Eastern League, after winning the first 10 games of the season, then two losses, then four more wins to stand 14-2 on Jan. 10. Since then, it has been rougher sledding in league play, dropping close games to Point Loma Jan. 17 (49-47) and Madison Jan. 21 (57-52).

La Jolla has five scheduled games remaining in the regular season.

LJ g water polo 14, Coronado 4

Photos by Ed Piper

Aviana Cavaiola (11) smothers Coronado's

Sofia Moreno (10) on a shot attempt,

leading to a block and steal in the

first quarter.

Soph Sophie Trinidad (10) of La Jolla

launches to shoot in the first period.

Vikes' Clara Siddons (8) creates another

uncomfortable moment for Nado's Inah

Bingham, La Jolla now leading 5-0

in the first quarter.

Coronado cap numbers

LJ b BB 43, Canyon Hills 39

Viking Eyal Amasalem (0), playing

on his Senior Night, moves the ball

on the perimeter against Dillon

Sommese, playing zone defense.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Two teams with very different records (Canyon Hills 0-5, 8-14 overall and La Jolla 2-3, 15-7 overall) seemed very evenly matched up Fri., Jan. 31, on Senior Night in the Big Gym.

Coach Paul Baranowski's Vikings were playing again without big Lance Braga (knee), and maybe that helped even up things inside.

But guards contested, and defenses pressured, and the lead only reached 12 (by La Jolla with 2:25 left in the third quarter) before a large, spirited crowd for both sides.

More often than that, guards Leo Hawkinson (10 points) and Brody Sessa (12) led an attack that met an equally resistant one on the Rattlers' side, with Canyon Hills sharing the lead (early in the second quarter).

6'5" Quentin Goff for the Rattlers was on his game (baskets inside, trailing 20-15, 20-19, and 25-21).

The fourth quarter was crunch time, as La Jolla's lead dwindled from five to one.

"We had to play a lot of defense," said Sessa. "It was one of our best defensive games."

With 3:23 left, the Vikings led by one after Goff scored on a layup. Baranowski called a timeout at 2:58.

No  one scored in nervous time until 49 seconds left, when Hawkinson--living the dream--hit a three from the right baseline to go up, 41-37, and give the hosts breathing room. A week before, at home against Coronado, Leo hit the winning three with 0.7 seconds remaining.

Canyon Hills' Gabe Orila scored inside with 27 seconds on the clock. 41-39. Coach Brady Sirota called a timeout.

Fellow senior Jeremy Cromwell (3)

moves toward a shot. Cromwell

made two threes in the first quarter.

To stop the clock, the Rattlers fouled Eyal Amsalem, playing on his Senior Night, with 19 seconds left. He hit the first free throw in a bonus (five team fouls) situation.

Canyon Hills called another full timeout, down 42-39.

Amsalem then missed the second free throw, Canyon Hills rebounded, La Jolla stole the ball... But then the refs said Sirota had arranged for a timeout if the shot missed. They ruled that the Rattlers kept the ball.

And not a single second elapsed off the clock. How does that happen?

After the timeout, Canyon Hills advanced the ball to the front court and called another timeout. 13 seconds on the clock.

With 10 seconds remaining, Orila threw up a long three as a kind of shove, not shot form. The ball bounced in and out.

Gaining the rebound, La Jolla called timeout with seven seconds left. The Vikes had to inbound the ball near the Rattler basket.

Eyal got grabbed again. He missed the first free throw, made the second for a four-point lead, and the game was over, as long as La Jolla didn't foul on a made three. Neither happened (a three or a foul)--game over.

At 3-3, the Vikings have a fighting chance to go into the playoffs in two weeks well.

Jeremy Cromwell, a senior playing his last regular-season home game, made two threes in the early going. He came into the game after a few seconds at the start, as Baranowski realized he wasn't in the game and he was a senior.

"I was feeling pretty good in the first quarter," said the 6-foot wing. "After that, I didn't get many shots."

Asked about the wild ending, Cromwell said, "It was stressful."

Sessa: "We just needed to stay calm and be disciplined."

Said Hawkinson regarding no elapsed time coming off the clock at 19 seconds, "I think the coach had arranged beforehand for a timeout."

"It was very definitely a low-scoring game," said the 5'8" guard. "They had two bigs. (We didn't.) We did a great job on defense.

"They played zone, so we had to" work with that to get shot opportunities.

Junior Leo Hawkinson (4)

shoots from inside the arc

on the right side near the end

of the first period.

LJ wrestling @ City Conference: Long 4th in a comeback

In  his first match at 147, Liam Kressin (on top)

dominates Sean Lansang of Canyon Hills,

building a 15-1 lead on points before pinning him

in 2:58. Kressin gained seven team points

but did not place. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Jack Long, three days after celebrating his Senior Night, won third place at 218 pounds in the long-historied City Conference Championships at Lincoln High Sat., Feb. 1.

Long, who received a forfeit in the dual meet against Madison Jan. 29 but hasn't wrestled in competition since December due to injury and illness, pinned Parker Adamson of Cathedral Catholic in 34 seconds in the consolation semifinals, then held Kearny's Aiden Harvey's shoulders to the mat for three seconds in the final in 30 seconds.

The quiet, hulking senior, who starred for the Viking football team at outside linebacker the past three years, was on a roll of three pins in four bouts, starting with Harvey the first time in the championship bracket. That match lasted 1:42, an eon for Jack on this day of quick pins.

Long met his match in the championship semis against Ryan Stadtherr (pronounced "Stoddard" without the "d" by the football announcer), a running back and nemesis from the Scripps Ranch football team who led his team to the Eastern League title this year, defeating La Jolla at home on the way, 19-15.

Stadtherr beat Jack by fall in 1:12, sending him to the consolation bracket.