Armstrong, Rick, Fernandez, Leach are Times’ Seniors of the
Year
Say this about them: Stephanie Armstrong, Katie Rick, Steven Fernandez and Dominic Leach understood what it took to be a winner during their four years at Live Oak High School. They did not know how to quit.
Their prep careers saw them excel in an array of sports, and each did so with a mixture of class, leadership and grace that made their athletic department proud. Win or lose, they gave it their best. Each has been named Live Oak’s Senior Athletes of the Year by the Times.
Given the diversity of their talent, there was never a dull moment in 2009-10. The year began with Rick and Leach playing a vital part in getting their teams to the Central Coast Section playoffs. Rick, a deftly quick driver on the girls water polo team, led the quarterfinals-bound Acorns in scoring; and Leach, a 6-foot-3 flanker caught 24 passes for 483 yards and six touchdowns as the Acorns’ leading receiver for the second straight season. Both were named first-team all Mount Hamilton Division.
In the offseason, Rick signed a Letter of Intent to play water polo and swim for Loyola Marymount University.
“Katie’s strength is tied to her swimming ability,” LOHS water polo coach Mack Haines said. “Not only is she fast, she anticipates the transition of the game. Her reaction time and her shot are definitely strengths, too.”
During basketball season, Leach ranked second in the West Valley Division in scoring (14.3 points per game) as a first-team all-league center.
“He had the kind of year you need from your senior big man,” basketball coach Brett Paolucci said in March.
Winter was a victory lap for Fernandez. The wrestling team captain guided the Acorns to their first league title since 1981, won a Blossom Valley Athletic League title at 152 pounds and finished in the top 25 at the CIF State Championships. His prep record was 102-21 with a 30-5 senior campaign.
“He was more of a coach this year to the other guys,” coach Robert Fernandez, Steven’s father, said. “His maturity went up this year. That’s all part of accomplishing your goals.”
Armstrong made history in spring, becoming Live Oak track and field’s first individual CCS champion in 28 years. The future Cal State Long Beach high jumper was undefeated leading up to section finals, where she matched her personal-record 5 feet, 7 inches to take top honors. Armstrong cleared 5-4 at state.
“She was competing at the top level for the first time ever this year, so she’s only going to get better,” Patti Coulter, one of Armstrong’s coaches, said last week.
Swim season saw Rick qualify for sectionals in eight events and claim a third straight 100-yard breaststroke title at league finals in one minute, 8.71 seconds.
JUNIORS OF THE YEAR: Rachel Cretcher, T.J. Ornduff.
As Mount Hamilton Junior of the Year in water polo, Rachel Cretcher cannot be classified as an offense- or defense-first player.
“She was both,” Haines said. “Rachel is one of the most balanced player we’ve had in the pool. She’s a legitimate Division I prospect.”
With her strength and speed, Cretcher is willing to play any position. She was just as much of a team player during swim season, when she helped qualify two relays for sectionals on top of making the cut in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle.
Linebacker T.J. Ornduff was one the main cogs of Live Oak’s Mean Green defense this fall — finishing with 41 tackles, 4.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and an interception — but his core athleticism came full circle in spring when he competed in half a dozen track and field events.
Ornduff outjumped wide receivers and kept pace with some of the area’s best running backs in sprints.
He has been named a team captain in football after one season.
“He’s one of the best athletes in the school, hands down,” former teammate Taylor Alonzo said of the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Ornduff, who is also sponsored in snowboarding.
SOPHOMORES OF THE YEAR: Megan Rauschnot, Kirsten Doting, Ben Hartl.
Forward Megan Rauschnot and back Kirsten Doting played a major part in Live Oak soccer’s run to the CCS Division III semifinals. Rauschnot, a first-team all-league selection, ranked second in the division in assists (12) and fifth in goals (11). Doting’s defense helped the Lady Acorns finish plus two in scoring with 10 shutouts.
Both sophomores played two other sports, including lead spots on the field hockey team. Rauschnot swam in spring, and Doting started in left field for the softball team and was second-team all league in field hockey having never been subbed out.
“Megan’s speed and strength made an impact for us,” field hockey coach Gina Sanders said. “Kirsten’s unstoppable at defender. That’s why we never took her out. Why mess with a good thing?”
To opponents, Ben Hartl was commonly known as the “big man in the middle.” The skillful and deceptively quick 6-foot-2 center mid played a major role on a resurgent boys soccer team. Hartl got the most out of his talent, tallying nine goals and five assists.
He also started for the golf team in spring.
“He’s one of those kids that leads by example,” soccer coach Tony Goble said. “A lot of kids have the talent to move on this sport, but guys like Ben are special. They have the right work ethic and a good head on their shoulders, too.”
FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR: Fa Saulala, Ryan McCombs.
Fa Saulala could have a closet full of awards by the time her prep career is over. The 5-foot-10 freshman was an impact player in volleyball and basketball, earning second-team honors as an outside hitter and post, respectively, and had an impressive spring as a thrower on the track and field team.
Saulala’s basketball season was shortened by injury, but she still averaged a team-best 9.9 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Ryan McCombs’ future is just as bright. He qualified for sectionals in three events this spring, including the 100 breast and 200-yard individual medley. He also swam anchor for a CCS-bound 200-yard freestyle relay.
COACHES OF THE YEAR: Alex Sutton, Tony Goble.
In her second year with Live Oak softball, Alex Sutton instilled confidence and a winning attitude into the Acorns, who reciprocated with their first CCS playoff berth in three years.
Goble coached the boys soccer team to its first league title in four years following a 6-9-5 finish in 2009. The Acorns upset Sacred Heart in the first round of the Division III playoffs and lost in penalty kicks to Santa Cruz in the quarterfinals. They ended the season on a 19-game unbeaten streak.
TEAMS OF THE YEAR: Girls soccer, baseball.
The LOHS soccer team (13-5-4) began the year hoping to snap its playoff playoff jinx and ended up nearly winning the Division III tournament. The CCS semifinalists captured a Mount Hamilton title and sent six players to the all-league list. Tony Vasquez was division Coach of the Year.
No boys team captivated its audience quite like the Live Oak baseball club, which, in the style of the 1976 New Yankees, turned a tumultuous start into one of the program’s most exciting seasons. Win or lose, every game was a thriller in the second half.
Managed by 24th-year skipper Mark Cummins, the Acorns started 6-9 and plummeted to seventh in the Mount Hamilton before transforming almost over night. Live Oak won 10 of its final 12 regular-season games to tie for third and entered the wide-open Division III tournament with a viable chance to win out.
The Acorns (17-12) produced two first- and second-team all-leaguers.
