Issue 4 Extended Sports Beats
Men’s Basketball
By Molly Jones, Print Photo Story Editor
Photos by Isaac Topp
The men's basketball team (3-1 overall, 3-1 league) started pre-season games by beating Foothill High School (84-65) on Nov. 30. The team then went on to play Westmoore on Dec. 5, and competed in the Piedmont High School tournament from Dec. 6-7.
Acalanes competed against Foothill at home with notable performances by junior Gavin Dodge scoring 26 points and junior Cameron Hood scoring 23 points.
The team has been working together frequently since last year. They have worked out and got additional time in the gym, to become stronger and more competitive for the season.
“Last spring we had 6:00 a.m. workouts a couple of times a week and then during the summer we had the month of June which was dedicated to getting better and personal improvement and then during the fall we've had open gyms 3 days a week and weights,” Gavin Dodge said.
The team welcomes back many players who will continue to be helpful to the team this season.
“This team has 8 players that played significant minutes last year…this so valuable. Beyond the year if experienced, all 8 of the players were committed to improvement in the offseason and enter the season more skilled and more confident,” Head Coach Bill Powers said.
The team is working on connecting more throughout the season and looks forward to San Diego, where they will compete in the Surf and Slam Tournament from Dec. 27-30.
“We've already come together and become a close group and I think that's only going to increase over the season especially once we go down to San Diego, and we get time to just bond and become closer to one another,” Dodge said.
Women’s Basketball
By Aamena Shipchandler, News Section Editor
Photos by Haley Chelemedos
The women’s basketball team (3-0 overall, 0-0 league) starts the season strong, looking to repeat successes from last year.
The team began with the Pinole Valley Invitational scrimmage tournament on Nov. 16, in which they beat Oakland Tech, Folsom, and California High School, and lost to Saint Mary’s High School of Stockton. On Nov. 23, the team scrimmaged San Ramon Valley and Archbishop Mitty.
The Dons played Archbishop Riordan at home on Dec. 26, for their foundation game, winning with a score of 57-49. Then, the team played in the Lady Cat Classic Tournament from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7. The Dons dominated against University with a score of 70-42, beat Redwood 57-28, and defeated St. Ignatius 56-53 to take home the tournament title. The team will have its first league game on Dec. 20 against Benicia.
Because of their time spent training in the weights room during the beginning of the school year and holding pre-season practices, the Dons hope their efforts will push them into a long and successful season.
“Last spring we did some open gyms, in June we went for about four weeks of working out and practicing skills, just getting better individually. And then in the fall, we started about a week after school started and had open gyms and weights, so we’ve been wanting to get stronger and better with the basketball for the upcoming season,” Head Coach Margaret Gartner said.
Consistently improving throughout the year, the team hopes to use their discipline and talent to start the season off strong.
“I think we are overall a pretty versatile team, everyone can finish at the basket, and everyone can shoot a three or a jumper. We play together, we play scrappy, and we play fast, and I think those are some things that people will have to keep in mind when playing us this year,” senior Dulci Vail said.
With players coming back from injuries as well as lots of returning players and some new freshmen, the team looks to have a successful season and expand upon early victories.
“I’m feeling pretty good about this season. We have more players than we did last season, and our strengths are definitely our speed, our aggression, and our energy,” captain and senior KK Lacanlale said.
Women’s Soccer
By James Hanzel, Staff Writer
Photos by Haley Chelemedos
As the women’s soccer team (0-0-1 overall, 0-0 league) looks to build off of an North Coast Section (NCS) run last season, they start the season with multiple non-conference games to tune up before a highly anticipated league slate.
The team began the season at home against Windsor on Dec. 4, with a draw with a score of 1-1.
On Dec. 6 the Dons hosted Cardinal Newman, losing with a score of 1-3. Looking ahead, the Dons will host a home game vs Bishop O’Dowd on Dec. 9. Additionally, the team will compete away at Maria Carillo on Dec. 11.
The team has laid out its priorities and commitments to start the season off on a good foot and prepare for their ultimate season goals.
“We need to focus on having good team chemistry and building a collective and united culture. Everyone is going to have to work hard for themselves and the team to be successful,” Head Coach Alex Avelar said.
The team starts the season with a new head coach, as previous Head Coach Nick Barbarino stepped down after last season. The squad brings in Avelar, who has prior experience in the Acalanes soccer program and looks forward to a successful season.
“It is my first year as varsity coach, but I was the [junior varsity] coach for the last five seasons. My goal this year would be to build on the success the program has had and become more competitive,” Avelar said.
With lofty goals and an emphasis on winning and success this year, there are specific standards the team seeks to maintain to achieve their goals.
“To be successful, our team needs to be respectful of each other. It starts at practice, where everyone has a sense of mutual trust and respect and it helps to build a positive environment in our team. This will help us always have each other’s backs so we can win games and persevere in tough times,” senior Taylor Mikalis said.
Men’s Soccer
By Shiraz Kamran, Staff Writer
The Acalanes men’s soccer team (1-0 overall, 0-0 league) start their 2024 campaign off aiming for success and trying to build off of an NCS run from last season.
The team started their season with a 1-0 win against Richmond High School on Dec. 3, a 2-0 win against Pinole Valley on Dec. 5, and they will play San Marin on Dec. 10.
Their scrimmage against Richmond High School is a valuable and well-liked tradition to kick off the season.
“[One] of the things that we're really excited about is every year when we scrimmage Richmond. We do not have referees, so the boys monitor themselves on the field, and we've never had an issue. ...We've probably done this for at least 12 years, and it speaks well to their program and ... the value of our own players as well,” Head Coach Paul Curtis said.
A rigorous pre-season helped the team ramp up to the season and hit the ground running during the first official practices and games.
“We're definitely focusing a lot on fitness. Just in the tryouts, we were focused on fitness with timed runs, but also, we went straight into running on our first couple practices,” captain and senior Jonathan Roth said.
While hosting a preseason is one way to develop the team, the number of people on the roster has also grown considerably compared to previous seasons.
“One of our strengths will be having as many seniors as we do, and the other is just raw depth. We have 25 on the roster. It's only the second time that the boys have had 25 on a team here. Normally it's 22, 23 ... , which is good [because ... in] winter soccer, a lot of injuries show up,” Curtis said.
Another goal of the program is team unity; connecting the whole program and fostering relationships on and off the field.
“As a program, we want to be very connected, especially with the two freshmen and the varsity teams. We're doing that [through] weekly ... meetings with all three teams together and [having] varsity and JV practice at the same time,” Roth said.
With the whole season ahead of them, the Acalanes men’s soccer team is looking forward to winning against their rivals.
“I'm ... excited to play Campolindo because it's always a big game, and even if one team seems to be a lot better, there's always competition and drama and bad blood which is awesome. I love those games,” Roth said.
Wrestling
By Max Trexler, Staff Writer
The Acalanes varsity wrestling team enters the season with optimism to grow and improve together as a team.
“We definitely have a lot more potential than last year. [We have] a lot more freshmen. … They have a lot of young potential,” senior Roman Betigga said.
The varsity wrestling team is starting the season with intentions of placing first in league, embracing their younger athletes, and building for the team’s future success.
“Personally, expectations this year are pretty similar to last, we're going to have a lot of first-year wrestlers in our lineup,” Head Acalanes Wrestling Coach Steve Nelson said.
Due to the initiative to grow the program, many students recruited for this season’s team are new to the sport, and beginning to learn and develop their abilities.
“For me, [challenges are] getting the techniques down and really actually learning what I'm doing, how to get into the right stance, and especially kind of being a girl on the team. It’s a little bit different because I think there's only four or five of us on the team now,” senior Maya Rotershteyn said.
The goal of improvement has led to an open and dedicated mindset from athletes in the season’s beginning.
“What can we do to just be a little bit better than we were? What can we do to learn every second that was there and make the most of our time and really just grit through it all?” Rotershteyn said.
