From unprecedented success in the gym, in the pool and on the
trails to unmatched difficulties on the field, and everything in
between, the Live Oak High fall sports season was as mixed a bag as
ever before.
From unprecedented success in the gym, in the pool and on the trails to unmatched difficulties on the field, and everything in between, the Live Oak High fall sports season was as mixed a bag as ever before.
But one thing tied the school‚s athletic programs together — optimism about the future.
Well-documented were the unsurpassed accomp-lishments of the Acorn girls volleyball team, with its emergence from the middle of the Tri-County Athletic League pack to the Central Coast Section finals and a berth in the Northern California playoffs, and the struggles of the Acorn football team, which finished a winless season and extended its streak without a victory to 24 straight games.
But there were highlights and lowlights aplenty from the rest of the school’s fall sports teams.
There were the twin TCAL champion boys and girls water polo teams, led by the brother-sister league MVP combination of Ryan and Ronni Gautschi, which went on to compete in the CCS playoffs and showed lots of promise for the near future.
Veteran boys coach Mack Haines was so impressed with his young team, which went 8-0 in league, finished 21-11 overall and advanced to the CCS semifinals after upsetting nemesis Gunn in the opening round, that he called it one of the most entertaining in his career.
“In 26 years of coaching, both at the university and high school, this was probably one of the most enjoyable teams as far as the people on the team, experiencing the highs and lows and the different personalities,” Haines said. “This was definitely one of the most interesting teams. We made tremendous strides. I’m really excited about the prospect of coming back and working with the kids. It renewed my excitement for the sport.”
Haines loses virtually no one off this season’s roster, and returns stalwarts such as Gautschi — the team’s MVP announced at the team’s year-end awards banquet, Justin Short — the team’s Most Improved Player award winner, and emerging star goalkeeper Shea Coleman, among several others.
Girls water polo coach Bryan Traverso said his team established itself as one of the top eight teams in the section, going undefeated in league for the first time since 1999 and advancing to the CCS playoffs before suffering a first-round loss in overtime to Soquel. The team finished 21-6 overall this past season.
In addition, Ronni Gautschi, just a sophomore, earned second-team all-CCS honors and senior Chelsea Laning earned section honorable mention honors. Laning also was invited to play in the CCS Senior All-Star game on Saturday.
Gautschi and Laning were named Team co-MVPs at the team’s year-end awards banquet, while senior Cameron Bair earned the Coach’s Award.
And, there’s more success to come, Traverso said, despite the costly loss of all-TCAL first-teamer Laning, a scoring machine who led the team in scoring and a player Traverso called “one of the best hole-sets in CCS,” and Bair, another key performer who Traverso called “one of the smartest players I have ever seen.”
The team returns Gautschi, all-TCAL first-team goalkeeper Danielle Maldonado, and several other returning starters, as well as reserves who saw considerable playing time.
“I feel we have a realistic chance to make it into the second round of CCs next season and establish ourselves as a top four or five team,” Traverso said.
Meanwhile, the Acorn girls and boys cross-country teams took divergent paths this past season. The girls earned a third-place finish in TCAL and their first CCS berth in Coach Dean Raymond’s tenure, while the boys fell to fourth and missed CCS for the first time under Raymond’s guidance.
Led by super sophomore Christine “Cobbie” Jones, the girls team finished 10th out of 14 teams at CCS, as Jones took third and teammates Yesenia Miranda and Daniella King both ran well. Jones qualified for the state finals and took 50th.
Jones, Miranda and Alyssa Nelson all return next year for their junior seasons, while Joelle Jenkins and Amanda Heist come back as sophomores to add depth to the up-and-coming team, which will only lose one top runner in King.
For the Acorn boys, juniors Billy Wong and Jonathan Kamei both made CCS as individuals, and both return along with classmate Jesus Atanacio. Senior Josh Craig graduates for the boys.
Jones and Wong were named the team’s MVPs at the team banquet held on Thursday.
After a disappointing start, the Acorn girls field hockey team started to come together at the end of the season.
Despite finishing in fourth place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division, Live Oak (6-5-3 in league and 6-9-3 overall) upset several highly regarded teams at the end of the season, including Monta Vista in its season finale.
“Our record didn’t really reflect our talent,” Coach Christy Musselman said. “We were really on fire at the end of the season, it just didn’t come together on time.”
In spite of losing five key seniors, including first-team all-leaguer Katie Hillman, second-team all-leaguer Allison Mutz, Quincey Sigona, Briana Kelly and Kirsty Mainland, Musselman said her team has 11 strong returners and will improve immensely next season.
“We feel like next year is our year — I’m not afraid to say that — we’re going to light it up next year for sure,” Musselman said.
Top returners include junior sweeper Andrea Thrappas, who also earned second-team all-league honors, junior goalie Cassandra Souza, and junior center-mid Eileen Grove.
In the less-successful category were the girls tennis and girls golf teams, both of which finished in the bottom half of the league. But both teams also have hope for the future with returning players bolstering their chances.
The Acorn girls golf team finished eighth overall in the TCAL and was led by junior Anne Trull, who just missed qualifying for CCS by 10 strokes. Trull was also named the team‚s MVP and Scholar-Athlete (3.88 gpa) at the team‚s year-end banquet.
The season’s biggest surprise, and hope for next season, came from newcomer Kalie Gill, a sophomore who had never played competitive golf before and joined the team to fill out the roster for the TCAL finals.
Gill shocked everyone by beating several players at the league finals and plans to play next season, according to Coach Mike Rubino.
The Acorn girls tennis team was led by seniors Mallorie Stevens, Amanda Bouchet and Kim Wakatsuki, all of whom will graduate. But returners Shaila Patel and Rachelle Abby, both freshmen, are expected to help bolster the team‚s chances next season, according to Coach Ignacio Herrera.
Herrera said the program needs more players with club tournament experience to be more successful. He said he is planning to hold a team banquet some time soon.
The Acorn girls volleyball team recently held its year-end banquet and announced that junior Juliette Bowers had earned the team’s MVP award, while senior Justine Pingue was named the winner of the Coach’s Award for her outstanding leadership efforts.
The Acorn football team is scheduled to hold its year-end banquet on Jan. 14, the first date that the community center is available, according to Coach Glen Webb.#
