It may be Sobrato High athletics
’ first winter, but some of its teams are behaving as if they’ve
been around for a while. There’s the Bulldog boys basketball team,
which is winning twice as often as it loses and has already won a
tourney consolation title, and there’s the Sobrato girls soccer
team, which also has a winning
record and shocked everyone by finishing third place in a
varsity tourney earlier this season. Even the Sobrato winter sports
teams that don’t have gaudy records have plenty of reason for
optimism, according to their coaches.
It may be Sobrato High athletics’ first winter, but some of its teams are behaving as if they’ve been around for a while.
There’s the Bulldog boys basketball team, which is winning twice as often as it loses and has already won a tourney consolation title, and there’s the Sobrato girls soccer team, which also has a winning record and shocked everyone by finishing third place in a varsity tourney earlier this season. Even the Sobrato winter sports teams that don’t have gaudy records have plenty of reason for optimism, according to their coaches.
There’s also optimism regarding the school’s athletic facilities. According to Athletic Director Dennis Martin, the gym and pool will be ready by February (unfortunately, too late for basketball) and the track, and baseball and softball fields, will be ready in time for spring sports.
Meanwhile, this winter, the soccer teams are already playing on the fields at Sobrato, while the hoops teams are in the Britton Middle School gym and the wrestling team is at Live Oak High.
Following is a roundup of Sobrato’s winter sports programs (all frosh-soph):
Boys basketball
While new coach Lawrence Crawford brought plenty of experience with him to Sobrato, having coached at Leland, Gunderson and San Jose State, one of his biggest contribution to the program has been his son Marqus. The sophomore point guard is averaging double digits in scoring (including a season-high 34 against Homestead) while leading the Bulldogs to a 10-5 record so far. In addition to the consolation title at the Wilcox Tournament, the Bulldogs have already claimed a victory over crosstown rival Live Oak (in triple overtime).
Coach Crawford said the team’s success has been a welcome surprise.
“We’re enjoying it quite a bit, I’m real pleased, especially for a first year school and not knowing what to expect,” Crawford said.
Other top players on the standout squad include sophomore forward Matt Kellett, freshman guard Quincy Rich, and freshman forward Patrick Boyd.
Girls basketball
It’s been an up-and-down season so far for the Bulldog girls basketball team, which has had its struggles but also its impressive moments (most recently in the form of a 42-7 victory over Calvary Chapel on Wednesday).
Led by Coach Rodney Tabares, who previously coached at Willow Glen and Andrew Hill, the Sobrato girls have worked their way to a 4-7 record so far.
Top players include freshman point guard Roxanne Dominguez, freshman center Gabrielle Aguirre, freshmen swing players Alex Cervantes and Jessica Naranjo, and freshman center Nina Bayo.
In all, Tabares had 25 girls try out for the team, indicating plenty of interest in the program.
The former South San Jose AAU coach is also talking about forming an AAU team for the Morgan Hill/Gilroy area.
Wrestling
Short on numbers but long on talent, the Sobrato wrestling team features some of the top wrestlers in the area, including former Live Oak standouts Jake Ortiz and Gennaro Redmond. (Both transferred to Sobrato after wrestling varsity with the Acorns last season.)
Coached by Ray Garza, a former area wrestling champ himself, the Bulldogs have shown up well in several tournaments so far this season.
Ortiz is 12-0 with nine pins, while Redmond is 11-1 with 11 pins in meets such as the Bear River in Auburn, and the team won 10 of its 12 matches at the Amador tourney.
Other top wrestlers include Tim Hendersen, Jenenetta Marisclan, Crystal Orozco, and Victor Gillespie.
Boys soccer
Despite its 2-4 record, the Sobrato boys soccer team has shown flashes of its potential, according to Coach Ricardo Martinez. The veteran Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League coach said the team has won games by scores of 11-0 (against Calvary Chapel) and 4-1 (against Hollister-San Benito), while dropping some close matches. (The Bulldogs dropped a 5-3 decision against visiting Pajaro Valley on Thursday.)
“We’ve got some talent,” Martinez said. “But we’re obviously still in the development stages. We’ll be better next year.”
Sobrato is led by sophomores Marilo Almeida (the leading scorer) and Sam Stoner, and freshmen Danny Nelson and Shilbin Pharayil.
Girls soccer
Many probably thought Coach Sue Scigliano was tossing her team in over its head when she signed them up as a replacement for a missing team at the Silver Creek Tournament in November. After all, a first-year frosh-soph team at a varsity tourney is usually a recipe for disaster.
Against all odds, though, Scigliano’s charges won three of its five matches in the event, including victories over Salinas and Notre Dame-Salinas, and claimed third place overall. Watch out for this team, which is 6-4 so far this season.
Sobrato is led by freshmen Ashley Grose (the leading scorer), Katrina Olson, and Hanna Fredrickson, and sophomores Katie Alton and Jessi Seda.
