It was a great year in sports for parents, athletes, teams, coaches, players and fans from Southwest Riverside County and whether it was championship teams making a lot of noise, the littlest of baseball players bringing home awesome hardware, Taekwondo champions kicking their way to glory, gold medal winning skydivers soaring to greatness or USA Olympians representing the area proudly…the Valley News Sports Department tried not to miss a beat… goal… score or cheer.
Here are some of the highlights from 2016 featuring what we believe were some of the top stories from The Valley News.
January
As the New Year began, the winter sports seasons for the local area athletes were just getting underway. January played host to sports like basketball, wrestling, water polo and soccer to name a few, but also had its fair share of other various sports take major precedence as well.
The Chaparral Pumas Baseball program held their annual alumni game early in January, which also included a special jersey retirement ceremony for current MLB player and former Puma, Shane Peterson.
Murrieta Valley High School’s league leading wide receiver, Marquis Spiker, was selected to the MaxPreps All-Sophomore 2015 First Team.
Coley Candaele stepped down as Vista Murrieta High School’s head football coach, a position he held since the school opened. Candaele, who became the school’s athletic director this past year did continue to serve as the Broncos head track coach. Under Candaele’s leadership, the Bronco football teams won nine League Championships and went to the CIF Football Championship seven straight years, winning it all in 2011.
The Murrieta Mesa Rams varsity baseball team defended their title, winning the 2016 Tahquitz MLK Baseball Classic for the second straight year.
Thirty-two local players from school’s representing the Southwestern League, Sunbelt League, South Valley League and Ambassador League played so well, the Southern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation honored them with the title of All-CIF.
The Temecula Valley Pop Warner Battling Kodiaks won the Junior Pee Wee Division in Las Vegas at the JAMZ Youth National Cheer Championships in Las Vegas.
Former Murrieta Valley Nighthawk golf prodigy, Rickie Fowler, claimed the Abu Dhabi Championship title in late January, finishing with a one-shot victory ahead of playing partner Thomas Pieters (67).
The winners of the Temecula Valley Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot participated in the Elks District Hoop Shoot, held in San Jacinto. The first place winners from the District Competition were Taj Jackson from Temecula Luiseno Elementary; Taelyn Holley from Murrieta Elementary and Madison Packwood from Temecula Valley Middle School. All three winners moved on to the Regional Competition, which took place Jan. 30, at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo.
The Riverside County Football All-Stars emerged victorious in the 31st annual Inland Empire All-Star Classic, downing the San Bernardino County All-Stars in the final minute, 34-31.
February
National Signing Day took place the first Wednesday in February and nearly one-hundred senior student athletes were reported by athletic directors from schools all over Southwest Riverside County to have begun the next step in their journey of playing sports at the next level by signing their national letter of intent.
With a 27-22 score over Vista Murrieta, the Temecula Valley Golden Bears wrestling team won their 28th consecutive league Title and 19th consecutive since the forming of the Southwestern League.
14-year-old Timmy Pourkazemi of Murrieta took first place in his age group (13-15) at the Palm Springs Hits Triathlon, with a time of 3:18:27. The series of events included a 1500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and a 10-kilometer run, which is considered an Olympic-sized triathlon.
The 2016 Southwestern League individuals wrestling tournament was held mid-February at Temecula Valley High School where 44 student athletes, from all six local SWL schools, would win and advance to the CIF-SS Finals.
The National Guard and MaxPreps presented Citrus Hill High School, of Perris, the Minuteman Trophy and banner at Citrus Hill High School in the 11th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions ceremony.
Former Wolfpack runner, Isaac Cortez, who held the 1600-meter record in Riverside County and was the defending CIF-SS Division 1 champion in the 800 and 600 meter races, won the Mile race at the Millrose Games in New York City.
The Murrieta Mesa Rams girls’ water polo team helped the fledgling school attain yet another milestone with their first ever CIF-SS playoff victory for the program by defeating Lakewood in their Wild Card match-up, 14-13, in Ram waters.
Vista Murrieta High School announced that David Olson was to be named the new head football coach for the Broncos. Olson served as VMHS’ varsity defensive coordinator for the past five years before taking over.
The Great Oak cheer team solidified themselves as one of the best cheer teams in the nation after securing their second-straight national Championship at the Jams Nationals Cheer competition held in Las Vegas in late February. The varsity team took first place out of six competing teams
March
The Murrieta Surf GU12 team captured the prolific State Cup trophy after an inspired finish in the Round of 32, which saw them outscore their five opponents 13-2.
Temecula native Jason Reyes took home two medals in the Department of Defense Warriors Games, a Paralympics-type event held in West Point, New York, which is designed to showcase the resilient spirit of our nations wounded, ill and injured service members and from all branches of the military.
The Murrieta Valley Lady Nighthawks were able to finish strong capturing the CIF-SS Division 2 Title with their 10-8 victory over El Toro High School at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine. The last time that the Lady Nighthawks won was in 2012. For the second time in his tenure as head coach, Bryan Lynton has led both the girls’ and boys’ team to CIF-SS Championships (2006-07). The boys won their own title at the end of 2015.
The Rancho Christian boys’ basketball team won their Division 5A CIF-Southern Section title game against St. Bernard (Playa Del Ray) early in March. It was the first CIF title for the school and was the first for any high school basketball team from the Temecula area. They also advanced to the CIF State tournament, but fell in the Regional Finals to St. Bernard, 67-61.
The Temecula Valley Golden Bears boys’ basketball team, who won the Southwestern League title, made their way through the CIF Southern Section Division 1A playoffs as well, but fell to Santa Monica 66-60 at the Honda Center in Los Angeles. They also advanced to the CIF State tournament, but fell in round 2 to JW North, 81-57.
The Lakeside Lancers girls’ basketball team found themselves in the Division III CIF State Championship game after an incredibly close victory in the Regional Finals, where they outscored Orange Lutheran 35-34. They face d off against Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in Sacramento at the Sleep Train Arena, home of the Sacramento Kings, but fell 50-47 ending their historic 29-6 season.
Southwestern League baseball action was in full swing by mid-March and at Lake Elsinore’s Storm Stadium, the eighth annual Southwestern League triple-header got league games underway. Murrieta Mesa defeated Murrieta Valley 5-3, Vista Murrieta took out Great Oak 4-2 and Chaparral beat Temecula Valley 3-2.
The Linfield Lions went 5-0 to claim the title at the San Diego Lions Club Tournament. This tournament championship comes off the heels of the Lions second place finish in the Citrus Hills tournament
April
The boys’ U16 Academy team, for the Temecula Valley Hawks Soccer Club, traveled to Phoenix, Arizona in early April to play in a college showcase event in front of many college coaches. With three wins, all shutouts in group play, the Hawks faced the top Arizona club, Sereno West (ranked 18th in the nation for the U16 age group), and after battling to a 1-1 tie in regulation play, the game went to penalty kicks where the team from Temecula prevailed as champions.
The eighth Annual Temecula Special Games took place in the City of Temecula and the Temecula Valley Unified School District was a main sponsor. For eight straight years the Temecula Special Games have promoted a “can do” spirit and physical activity of athletes of all abilities to help encourage confidence. Festivities took place at the Great Oak High School football stadium.
Temecula Valley High School’s Ryan Cosio took fourth place at the U.S. Wrestling Nationals, alongside Santiago High School’s Joshua Kim. The Golden Bear wrestler had an outstanding season wrestling in the 170-pound weight class, helping TV win their 28th straight Southwestern League title. Ryan finished eighth at the Riverside County Championships, second at the Southwestern League Finals, fifth at the CIF individuals and seventh at Masters. Cosio was also the only Golden Bear wrestler to make it to the State Tournament in late February where he placed seventh overall, going 1-2.
In a mid season high school baseball game played at Palomar College, the league leading Murrieta Mesa Rams punched their ticket to the postseason with a 2-0 win over Vista Murrieta. It would be the first time for the program from Murrieta Mesa to advance to the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Three students from Paloma Valley signed letters of intent to attend St. Andrews University in North Carolina. Alexandria Blackwell, Nathaniel Blackwell and Julian Desouza all committed to play volleyball for St. Andrews in late April. The signing is unique in part because Alexandria and Nathaniel are twins, and Julian is best friends with Nathaniel.
Former Vista Murrieta football standout Su’a Cravens, who went on to play at USC as a linebacker/safety, was selected by the Washington Redskins in the 2016 NFL Draft with the 22nd pick in the Second Round, 53rd overall.
May
The Redline Athletics facility in Temecula welcomed Olympian and legendary volleyballer Paula Weishoff in early May. Weishoff made a guest appearance to help run a skills clinic and give a motivational speech to the young athletes training at the facility.
Great Oak golfer Ryan McCoy won the Southwestern League individual championship with a score of 143 (69 -74) and the good news kept rolling in for the Southwestern League’s best golfer and his team. A week after capturing their 10th straight SWL Title, Great Oak outperformed the entire rest of the league during the Individual Championships, with the top four golfers coming from the Wolfpack.
After four months of games, the post season for the top baseball teams in the valley included Southwestern League baseball champions, Murrieta Mesa High School, who won their first ever league title, Temescal Canyon, who captured their second-straight Sunbelt League title (first outright since 2011), and Calvary Murrieta, who took home their second-straight South Valley League Championship.
Also with the end of the regular season came the beginning of playoffs for softball and several lucky local teams were selected to continue their seasons, including Southwestern League Champion Great Oak High School, Linfield High School, Santa Rosa Academy and Temescal Canyon.
Senior girls from Chaparral, Temecula Valley, and Great Oak high schools traded in helmets and padding for pigtails and flags for the annual Sugar Bowl powder-puff games. This year, the series of three games were played on Chaparral High’s football field. Former flag football player and Mayor Pro Tem, Maryann Edwards awarded the Mayor’s Cup this year to the Chaparral Pumas for their second consecutive Sugar Bowl win.
The Southern Section of California Interscholastic Federation honored their top athletes for the 2015-16 school year. 24 students were selected not only for their achievements on the field or court, but for their performance in the classroom as well. Students were invited to attend a breakfast hosted by the Citrus Belt Area Athletic Director’s Association, where they were honored for their outstanding seasons.
For the first time in school history, the Great Oak Wolfpack swept the CIF-SS Division 1 Track and Field Finals, capturing both boys and girls titles. It was the second Division 1 title that the boys’ team has won in school history and the first for the girls’ team.
Toward the end of May the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team visited Murrieta Mesa High School to continue their national promotion tour before heading into the FIVB World Grand Prix and the Olympic Games during the summer. Both Murrieta Mesa and Forza1 partnered to help sponsor the event.
June
It was a year of firsts for the Murrieta Mesa varsity baseball team who were ranked No. 48 in the MaxPreps Top 50 national high school baseball rankings as they ended their storybook season in early June at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, the home of the Inland Empire 66ers. For the first time ever, the Rams had a Division 1 college commit come from the program, Andy Thomas – Baylor University. In fact, for the first time ever, they had the most ever college commits, with almost their entire senior staff, 14 players in all, getting looks to play at the next level. They had their first ever winning season, garnishing a 22-7 overall record. They won their first ever Southwestern League title with a 12-3 first place record. They won their first ever playoff game and never looked back on the way to their first ever CIF Southern Section Championship with a 10 inning, 3-2 win over Studio City’s Harvard-Westlake Wolverines.
Head coach Bryn Wade was also named L.A. Times Coach of the Year.
A local skydiving team won gold in 4-way canopy formation skydiving at the U.S. Parachute Association National Parachuting Championships at the Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales. The team, Elsinore Too Wrapped Up, also earned slots on the prestigious U.S. Parachute Team that will compete at the World Championships this September outside of Chicago.
At the CIF Track and Field finals, schools from all over California met at Buchanan High School in Clovis, CA for the CIF California State Championship Finals. While dozens of athletes turned in memorable performances, perhaps the most memorable came from Michael Norman, who led Vista Murrieta to its second-straight CIF State Championship in track and field. Norman was the winningest athlete on the day, racking up four different gold medals.
The third Annual Colony Men’s Golf Club Scholarship Tournament & Awards Luncheon, founded and organized by Mike Base, Bill Tiffany and Dennis Murphy and sponsored by the membership, took place for the local 2016 high school winners and their coaches. Student athlete recipients included were Cole Peters and Madison Schimek from Murrieta Mesa High School, Kaden Page and Hunter Du Bois from Vista Murrieta High School and Alii Kim, an accomplished student golfer from Vista Murrieta High School, was also recognized. The event also noted the leadership of Coach Terry Kim and Athletic Director John Broussard from Murrieta Mesa High School, as well as Vista Murrieta High School’s Coach Ryan Heise and Athletic Director Coley Candaele.
Tristine Ciling, a junior on the girls’ varsity basketball team at Murrieta Mesa, represented the United States in the United World games in Klagenfurt, Austria during the middle of June.
The Temecula Valley Hawks GU13 Academy team traveled to Arvada, Colorado, for a week in mid-June to compete in the president’s Cup Region 4 Championships. The team earned a trip to the regionals competition after coming out on top in the State Cup.
Temecula native Jason Reyes took home two medals in the Department of Defense Warriors Games, a Paralympics-type event held in West Point, New York, designed to showcase the resilient spirit of our nation’s wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans from all branches of the military.
July
2016 Temecula Valley High School graduate, Kelsie Whitmore, currently playing for the Cal State Fullerton Titans softball program, inked a second contract this past year, but this time it was one that absolutely made her a trailblazer for the advancement of women in baseball. Along with Team USA teammate, 25-year-old pitcher/infielder Stacy Piagno from St. Augustine, Florida, both were recruited and played with the Sonoma Stompers baseball team, making them two of the first women to ink a pro contact to play with men in over 75 years.
Vista Murrieta’s Michael Norman, who is now attending the University of Southern California, had another record-breaking season this past year on the high school track, so good in fact that he was named the 2015-16 Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. The honor was also bestowed upon him in 2015 as well.
The CIF Southern Section recognized Michael Pfeiffer as part of the Inaugural MVP Athletic Director’s Class. Pfeiffer is the Athletic Director and head varsity basketball coach for Paloma Valley High School and is in his 24th year in Education. Pfeiffer is the winningest basketball coach for the Wildcats and joined over 25 other Athletic Directors in the Inaugural class.
Former Temecula Valley standout, Brooks Pounders, notched his first MLB pitching win in early July against the Seattle Mariners.
Lindsay Davenport, a 1994 Murrieta Valley High School graduate, and her partner, Mary Joe Fernandez, won the Ladies Invitation Doubles round-robin pool at Wimbledon.
August
The much-anticipated 2016 Rio Olympic Summer Games hit the world spotlight and quite a few local professional athletes represented the valley very well. Former UCR Highlander, Brenda Martinez, qualified for the USA team by .03 seconds in the 1500m event at the Olympic trials, Murrieta’s Rickie Fowler, who attended Murrieta Valley High School from the Class of 2007, had his share of success, Sarah Hammer of Temecula won her fourth Olympic silver medal in two Games and San Jacinto’s Sarah Robles won her first Olympic medal, a bronze in the +75 kg. weight class. It was Team USA’s first medal in women’s weightlifting in 16 years.
Bonsall resident, Carli Lloyd, also experienced the Olympics for the first time with the women’s’ volleyball team who took home the Bronze and making its grand comeback in 2016 to the Olympics was rugby sevens, a sport that hadn’t been played in the Olympics since 1928. One member of the team, hailing from Fallbrook was 20-year old Richelle Stephens, by far the team’s youngest player. Stephens was a key contributor in the United States run, which included a 48-point win in their first ever Olympic appearance.
Temecula-native and Great Oak High School graduate, Stephanie Malherbe was another one of the youngest athletes to compete at this year’s Olympic Games, at just 20 years old. Currently a member of the Texas A&M Aggies team, Malherbe, a dual citizen, decided to play for the South African women’s soccer team in this year’s Olympics. In her first ever international appearance, the team was unable to advance past qualifying play, finishing fourth in Group E and failing to move on to quarterfinals. However, at just 20, Malherbe should look forward to many more appearances with the South African team, who will no doubt look to better their performance from the Rio Olympics.
In local All-Star success at the youth baseball and softball level…French Valley’s 10U softball team had an amazing All-Star season. Team Legacy certainly defined their athleticism throughout the summer with an overall record of 25-1. For the first time in Temecula Youth Baseball history, a team has captured a World Series title. Except it wasn’t just one Temecula team that won this year, as two Pinto Machine Pitch teams returned home from postseason play with World Series Championships. Led by coaches Rey Dominguez, Scott Forest, TJ Salinas and Christ Scott, this year’s seven-and-under All-Star “Red team” went a perfect 13-0 during PONY sanctioned play, bringing home the title.
Not to be outdone by their younger counterparts, the 8U Machine Pitch “Red team” from TYB went 22-1 during postseason play, winning the Irvine Memorial Day Tournament, the Fallbrook Tournament and eventually the Pinto-8 World Series. During Regionals to qualify for the World Series, the team outscored their opponents 65-5, mercy-ruling every opponent along the way. The team, led by coaches, Paul Kobayashi, Dan Horner, Deron Stidman and Paolo Tortorice, relied on every player at some point along the way. Their one loss came at the hands of Temecula’s Machine Pitch “Blue team” during Super Region action. The Blue team also qualified for the World Series, but fell in the semifinals.
Through the third week of July, Temecula and Murrieta had brought home the most championship All-Star banners for their leagues with eight overall. Valley Wide in Hemet won four, French Valley won three, Elsinore Valley has two and Menifee brought home one banner
For the second consecutive year the Arsenal FC ECNL U14 soccer team won the San Diego Surf Cup.
During the third week of August, Jeff Crothers, a fifth degree Keichu-Do Black Belt from Cajun Karate in Murrieta, took a team of seven students including 5 youth and two adults to Phoenix, Arizona, for the 2016 US Karate Alliance Worlds Karate Championships. Katie Elliot, Samantha Lopez, Faith Arevalo, Sarai McCullough, Rachel Hamilton, Solomay McCullough and Christian Gibbs brought home many accolades with three students getting fourth place, one of them with a third place finish, two second places finishes and five World Championship titles.
September
Fall sports for the local high schools kicked off in September. The first official week of high school football was the first step in a journey that would lead some teams to new glory, others to league championships and only one local team to a coveted state title. As league play began in the Southwestern League one team not only tied a school record for points scored in a game, but also gave another new head coach in the valley their first win. Murrieta Mesa crushed visiting Montclair 70-14 and jumped out to a great start under new Head Coach Darrel Turner. Other notable games included Linfield (1-0) stunning Desert Hot Springs, Hemet (2-0), San Jacinto (1-1) and Tahquitz (1-1) winning in the Mountain Pass League and the Sunbelt/Southwestern League matchup that went the way of the Elsinore Tigers, who ousted Temecula Valley 28-0. The Tigers shut out the Golden Bears for the first time since 2012, and the first time ever since Head Coach Rick Mey took over two seasons ago.
Senator Jeff Stone presented the Murrieta Mesa baseball program with an official state document in early September honoring Coach Bryn Wade and his program for their 2016 CIF-SS Division 1 Championship.
The City of Temecula Aquatics Team was awarded first place in the Aquatics International Lifeguard Challenge. During the summer months Aquatics International releases a video challenge which is open to any aquatic agency.
For the ninth straight year local girls’ volleyball teams from 10 participating high schools participated in “Play for the Cure” games, which raised money for the Stephanie Horton Foundation as well as Michelle’s Place Breast Cancer Resource Center. Participating schools included Chaparral, Lakeside, Murrieta Mesa, Murrieta Valley, Great Oak, Temecula Valley, Linfield Christian, Vista Murrieta, Elsinore and Temescal Canyon.
Temecula Valley High School played host to this season’s first Southwestern League cross-country meet, but it would be Chaparral and Great Oak that would see success on the Golden Bears home course. Great Oak, who has primarily dominated the area for quite a few years, gave way to the Chaparral Boys cross-country team as they ran away with a one-point victory with an incredible final push to upset Great Oak in this season’s first Southwestern League meet.
October
Lakeside senior girls’ basketball standout, Emma Merriweather, verbally committed to Long Beach State. Merriweather averaged double digits in both points and rebounds last year and played a leading role in the Lancers reaching the CIF-State Division 3 championship game.
Shivela Middle School became the first school in the Murrieta Valley School District to add a Skate Club where students learn about ollies, sliding, grinding and many other tricks once a week during their lunch period. Skate Club members can’t get on their boards until they have their helmets on and must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA to participate.
Thousands of racers and supporters made their way in mid-October to the 18th Annual Susan G. Komen Inland Empire Race for the Cure in Lake Elsinore.
The Los Angeles Lakers made their annual trip to Pechanga in support of the Los Angeles Lakers Foundation and the youth of the Pechanga Indian Tribe. Their full day included a youth clinic, a morning practice and media event, “Hoops for Troops,” and a re-match with the Golden State Warriors, which they lost 123-112.
Temecula Valley girls’ volleyball team was out in front after picking off each team in the Southwestern League in the first round of match-up’s, but the rest of the league was ready to pounce including the Murrieta Mesa’s Lady Rams who celebrated their 3-2 victory over Murrieta Valley, taking with them their school’s first ever league win.
Former professional soccer player and long time Murrieta resident, Sean Bowers, was announced as the new general manager of the San Diego Sockers, who begin their 2016-17 season in late October.
The Southwestern League girls’ varsity tennis championships got underway at the Murrieta Tennis Club pitting the top female players from around the valley against each other in a win or go home single elimination tournament. The final three girls left standing at the end of Day Two were Temecula Valley’s Lindsey Gelinas, who beat Faith Pearson of Murrieta Valley to claim the singles Championship, and Alana Andrews and Kelsey Lajom of Murrieta Valley who took out their own teammates from Murrieta Valley, the No. 2 team of Alyssa Karavitch and Natalie Duffy.
The Temecula Valley Auto Mall sponsored the first ever Southwestern League Sportsmanship Conference where approximately 300 high school athletes from the Temecula Valley and Murrieta Valley Unified School Districts gathered to attend the Southwestern Sportsmanship Conference at Murrieta Mesa High School. The event – which focused on sportsmanship, leadership and respect – included guest speakers, lunch and prizes for the student athletes.
Murrieta Valley High School’s junior girls’ golfer, Brooklyn Van Bebber, just one year after barely making it into the CIF-SS Southern Section Individual Regional’s, came in this year as the Southwestern League Champion. Van Bebber won her first-ever league crown with a two-day total 11-over 153 at Cross Creek Golf Club in De Luz.
After 10 years of participating in national level competitions, the Vista Murrieta Marching Band won its first Regional Championship Saturday, Oct. 30. This accomplishment places Vista Murrieta within the top 1 percent of the 19,000+ marching bands across the country.
November
Nearly one-hundred high school senior student athletes who have committed to continue their athletic careers signed their national letter of intent in the first week of November
Fifteen local football teams went into the first round of the playoffs in early November, but only 8 came out on top including Vista Murrieta, the Heritage Patriots, Murrieta Valley, Temescal Canyon, Calvary Murrieta and Rancho Christian.
The Elsinore Lady Tigers volleyball team was the only local program to have a really great run in the postseason, but lost in the Division 4 Championship game against Sierra Canyon by a score of 3-0. Along with the Great Oak girls’ volleyball team, Elsinore advanced to the CIF State tournament, but both fell in the opening round.
Vista Murrieta’s girls’ tennis team ran though the Division 2 brackets to try and keep the Southwestern League well represented in the postseason and made their first-ever finals appearance after beating a Riverside Poly squad that has been a finalist three years running. In the finals Vista Murrieta fell 11-7, to Palos Verdes. The previous best playoff run for Lady Broncos was a quarterfinal appearance in 2013, when current standout players Emma Vanderhyden, Therese Recidoro, Maddie Bush and Julia Weng were all freshmen.
In more girls’ tennis action Great Oak also gave the Southwestern League good representation in Div. 3, making it all the way to the semifinals where they fell to Walnut 10-8. Elsinore got the Sunbelt League some recognition as the Lady Tigers ran through the Div, 4 brackets where they also fell in the semi’s to Charminade in a 9-9 tiebreaker (77-72). Hemet (Mountain Pass League) was the final local team to bring some excitement to the area as they took their toll on the Div. 5 brackets, but fell in the Final’s, 16-6 to Rancho Mirage.
Murrieta Mesa’s boys’ water polo team made a great charge through the 32-team Div. 4 brackets, making their first ever postseason appearances well worth the excitement for local fans. With wins over Beaumont (16-11) and Chadwick (10-8), the playoffs ended for the Rams when they fell to San Juan Hills in the quarterfinals, 10-9.
Murrieta Valley was the final local team remaining in the water polo hunt with wins over Crecentia Valley (16-7) and Wilson/Long Beach (11-9), but fell to Laguna Beach 9-4 in the semifinals at the Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine.
Great Oak’s cross country teams won big at the recent 2016 CIF Southern Section Finals in Riverside as well as the State Championships in Fresno. Both teams came in first at the Southern Section finals as the girls’ team achieved their seventh CIF championship in the past eight years, with five consecutive wins, and the boys’ team won their second title in a row. With the boys’ and girls’ teams now ranked No.1 in the state and receiving national acclaim, their recent accolades had their sights set on the top of the podium for the California State Meet as well as this week’s Nike Cross Nationals.
After three seasons at the helm, Temecula Valley’s head football coach, Rick Mey, has resigned. Mey, 46, who came to Southwestern League from the Phoenix area in 2014, coached the Golden Bears to their first CIF post season appearance in his first season, garnishing a 6-5 overall record. That playoff appearance was the first for Temecula Valley since 2016. Since that first season that Mey took over, the Golden Bears varsity teams have gone 5-15.
December
The Murrieta Valley Nighthawks football team finished their run to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championships in a game that fired on all cylinders every step of the way. Behind an explosive offense that scored 96 TD’s and averaged an astounding 50.8 points per game this season, one in which they beat Vista Murrieta and clinched their very first Southwestern League title, the night ended in disappointment as the host Nighthawks, who ended their best season in its 26-year history at 11-3, fell behind in the first quarter and never caught up, falling 45-35 to visiting San Clemente.
Great Oak’s cross country team followed up its state championships wins with a third-place finish on the girls’ side and a sixth-place showing for the boys’ team in the Nike Cross Nationals meet in Portland at the Glendoveer Golf Course, adding two more top-10 finishes for the Great Oak cross country teams at the NXN.
Former Temecula Valley standout, Brooks Pounders, was acquired by the Angels in a trade with his former team, the Kansas City Royals.
The MSJC men’s basketball team won the championship of the Kiwanis Hoops and Crops Tournament. Tre Nottingham earned MVP honors for the tournament, while Carl Brown was named to the All Tournament Team for MSJC. This is the third straight Hoops and Crops title for the Eagles.
The Nighthawks doubles team of Alyssa Karavitch and Natalie Duffy were ousted in the round of 16 of the CIF-SS Individual Girls Tennis Championships, losing to Amanda Chan and Sophia Genender of Studio City’s Harvard-Westlake at the Seal