Football has higher sights in 2014

The 2013 football season was certainly one to forget for Claremont, who finished the season 1-9 and 0-5 in Sierra League action. After starting the season 0-3, the Wolfpack played their best game of the year on Sept. 27 against Northwood. Claremont topped the Timberwolves 40-14 in what was the team’s most impressive defensive outing of the season.

Averaging 24.5 points per game, Claremont’s offense was led by two workhorse seniors in quarterback Craig Myers and running back Cecil Flemming. Flemming was arguably the team’s most valuable player, racking up 1,235 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns. The 6’ 2” senior finished with 169 carries, averaged 137.3 yards per game, and averaged an astounding 7.3 yards per carry.

Claremont’s defensive MVP was senior Josh Ferrer who ended 2013 with 73 total tackles and 49 solo tackles. His 8.1 tackles per game were first on the team.

Returning members to help water polo in 2014

After posting the best record in conference at 7-1, the Claremont boys water polo team (18-10) was primed to make a deep run into the postseason. However, a first-round CIF loss to Ventura, a team the Wolfpack had already fallen to earlier in the season, halted their quest for a championship.

The most valuable player for the Wolfpack was junior Adam Ward. Not only was Ward a threat as a dangerous scorer—he led the team with 83 goals and 101 points—but he was also stout in sharing and defending the ball, as displayed by his 18 assists and 39 steals. He appeared in 27 of 28 matches and led the team with a 3.07 goals per game.

Hard play will continue for girls volleyball

It was an up and down season for the Claremont girls volleyball team, but after reaching the CIF playoffs it is hard to say they were not pleased with their efforts.

The Wolfpack (14-13, 5-5) finished fourth in a tough Sierra League conference, both St. Lucy’s and Chino Hills went 9-1, and battled their way to CIF berth after defeating Serra, 3-1, in the Wildcard Round.

Head coach Allan Comerford deserves a lot of credit for guiding his team to the postseason, but perhaps the most noteworthy achievement is the strong work ethic he instilled in his athletes.

Girls tennis held strong league play

Claremont fell in the first round of the postseason to Valencia after dominating for much of the regular season. The Wolfpack began the season hot, starting off 5-1, and finished the season in similar fashion, racking up three straight wins to put themselves in good positions to compete in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, events did not unfold in Claremont’s favor, as they saw an early exit from the postseason after their loss to Valencia.

“The most important aspect I emphasize to my players is continual improvement,” Katigbak said. “I hope for the team to continue to show improvement.”

Girls golf had plenty of strong performances

The Claremont golf team featured two athletes in this year’s CIF Individual Regionals after the team put together impressive performances in the regular season and in the Sierra League finals.

The Wolfpack sent six golfers to compete in the Sierra League prelims on October 22, with four golfers qualifying for the Sierra League finals: Kennedy Bingham, Nicole Curti, Stella Huh and Vanessa Lopez.

Both Bingham and Curti were named to the first team All-Sierra League while Stella Huh and Vanessa Lopez earned Honorable Mention in the finals.

“I am proud of the girls,” head coach Octavio Hernandez said. “They played their best against the best in our CIF region.”

Cross country makes impact all the way to state competition

With top ten finishes at the CIF Southern Section Finals and appearances at the CIF State Championships, the 2013 boys and girls cross country season was one that will not be forgotten. 

After placing seventh at the Southern Section Finals, all seven members of the girls team qualified for the state championships in Fresno, including Megan Renken, Merin Arft, Reily McLachlan, Kiana Cavanaugh, Julia Cantrell, Annie Boos and Janelle Baeskens. The boys team placed ninth at the Southern Section.

At the State Championships, the girls took 11th out of 22 schools in the Division II 5K with 276 points. Merin Arft was the top runner for Claremont, coming in 41st place with a time of 18:45. Annie Boos finished in 18:59 to take 55th place and Julia Cantrell came in 75th with a time of 19:13.

Boys golf has room for improvement

The Pack finished 8-4 in Sierra League action and claimed third place to earn a CIF playoff berth earlier this year. Out of 20 competing teams, Claremont finished 10th with a total score of 407. Adelbert Wang shot a 77 while Braydon Fidak and Jonathan Yoo each shot an 82. Claremont’s efforts were the second best among Sierra League competitors.

Swimming/diving end on strong note

Claremont swimmers finished third in the Sierra League after finishing the regular season on a strong note. The Wolfpack sent 10 athletes to compete at CIF, including Mary Hanna, Morgan Stockham, Samantha Duran, Melissa Oei, Jacob Altree, Jack Mammone, Ben Jardine, Luke Miller, Dylan Tarazona and Thomas Randles.

Standouts in track and field

Claremont had a strong performance in the track and field league finals in early May. The girls track and field team finished the season as Sierra League champions and earned the right to compete at State, where they finished eighth.

In league finals, Brittany Brown won the 100 and 200-meter dashes while Kelsey Johnson won the high jump. Teammate Brittney Duquette finished second in the 400-meter run and Bailey Sanin finished second in the 800-meter run.          

Baseball team loaded with big hitters

After defeating the Upland Highlanders in a CIF-SS Division II play-in game, 5-4, Claremont (14-12) clinched the final coveted spot in the CIF playoffs. The Wolfpack won two of their last four to finish third in the Sierra League, but fell in the first round to Aliso Niguel, 7-1. 

Claremont had five athletes finish the season with an average of .300 or better, led by senior Jeremy Giles who hit an astounding .467 with 23 runs and 10 doubles.  As a team, the Wolfpack were stout on offense, recording a team average of .393, but were unable to hold opponents to under four runs per game.

Boys tennis has strong regular season play

Claremont sent its top four athletes to compete in the Division II individual championships at the University of Redlands in May, after an impressive showing in the regular season. Brothers Cameron and Konrad Lorek took the court as doubles partners, while brothers Andrew and Alan Leahy aimed to win singles.

“[Sommer] was really quick side-to-side, but had nothing on his balls, making him frustrating to play,” Andrew Leahy said. “I wanted to wait for the right shot to pull the trigger, and not show him too many things in a row. He was going to make me beat him.”

Softball team looks to improve

The Claremont softball team finished the 2012-13 season 8-13, with a 2-8 record in league play, and failed to make the postseason. As a team, Claremont struggled to limit the offensive output by its competitors, having finished the season with a team earned run average of 4.00. A key returner who will look to play a big role for the Wolfpack this season will be Andrea Olmsted.

Zetterberg leads play for boys volleyball

The Claremont boys volleyball team was in complete control of their 2012-13 season, going 25-6 and 11-1 in Sierra League action. The Wolfpack defeated Quartz Hill, 3-0, in the first round of CIF action, but fell to a tough Foothill squad, 3-1, ending a remarkable year for the Wolfpack. Senior Stephen Zetterberg had a phenomenal senior season, racking up 234 kills and finishing with a kill percentage of 61.9.

Returning players give boys basketball high hopes

The 2012-13 boys basketball team went 20-10 and 7-3 in Sierra League play en route to a CIF playoff berth. The Wolfpack were nearly unstoppable at home, going 5-1 at Claremont High, and fared well on the road with a record of 7-3. 

The Wolfpack had a trio of athletes averaging at least 10 points per game: Korey Hackett, 11.7, Omar Mahmoud, 10.8, and Chris Edward, 10.5. Not only were Hackett and Mahmoud threats to score from inside the arc, they were also dangers from beyond the three-point line, shooting a combined 46 percent on 189 attempts from beyond the arc.

Girls basketball showed strong play at home court

Claremont finished the 2012-13 season 10-15 and 3-7 in league action. The Wolfpack struggled on the road throughout the season, going 1-7 away from Claremont, but maintained a steady winning percentage at home, 5-4.

The Pack landed a spot in the CIF Southern Section playoffs and were pitted against the No. 7-seeded Segerstrom Jaguars. Claremont was outmatched and failed to top 30 points, falling 49-28. 

Boys soccer impressive play continued into CIF

Claremont (13-8-1) finished second in the Sierra League with a record of 7-3, and rode their late-season momentum deep into the CIF playoffs. The Pack finished the season 4-1 to put the team in good position to do damage in the playoffs.

They opened CIF with a 1-0 win over Arlington on the road and mirrored their efforts the following week against Redondo Union, earning another hard-fought 1-0 victory on the road. With two early round wins, Claremont had a chance to play in front of a home crowd against Servite in its round three match.

Both defenses were stout, with each failing to surrender a goal in regulation, and the game was eventually decided in a shootout. Servite edged Claremont to move on to the third round. After beating Loyola 1-0 the following week, Servite lost to San Clemente in the Championship.

Wrestling sends 5 players to CIF competition

Claremont sent three male and two female competitors to the CIF playoffs. Claire Garciz and Dina Marron qualified for the girls while senior Gabe Vigil, senior Sam Piibe and junior Dustin Eguilez all qualified for the boys.

Marron won three matches before being ousted in the fourth round while Garcia won two of her matches. Statistics were not obtainable for the boys.

—Bryan Stauffer

sports@claremont-courier.com