In the recent past, Claremont boys water polo has outplayed the competition so broadly, one could just tell they would win from the moment they entered the pool.

That feeling of inevitability was missing Tuesday, as the Pack traveled to Alta Loma for a Palomares League match. The good news is the boys did bring home an 11-8 win, but it wasn’t pretty.

Alta Loma actually was the first on the board when Trevan Chapman found the net after a minute and a half of play. The Pack quickly came back, as Claremont’s Zach Martin evened the score.

This tit-for-tat continued through the second quarter, until Claremont got a 6-4 lead they carried until the halftime break.

The Wolfpack maintained its lead throughout the rest of the game, and even looked like they might put this one in the books early. But that just wasn’t the case. Leading 8-4 at 4:36 in the third, the boys made costly mistakes, allowing the Braves to get back in the game.

Many of the errors manifest themselves in penalties on both sides, including seven exclusions in the first half alone. The Pack squandered several opportunities when the Braves were on an exclusion by rushing into action and shooting too soon, rather than taking the time to pass and set up a no-fail angle.

Claremont had good performances from both goalkeepers, Matteo Velasquez and Enrique Roybal, as well as some excellent defense in general.

Coach Kristin Rodriguez said after the game the team suffered from early jitters then found their groove only to falter again. The uneven performance could be partly due to the erratic practice schedule because of pool construction at CHS. With travel time, the boys only got in a 90-minute workout on Monday at Pomona College.

They had little time to relax, traveling to Glendora on Thursday after press time for another tough league match.

Football wins ahead of league opener

Claremont High School advanced its record to 4-1, with a 43-29 away victory over Montclair on Friday.

Montclair owned the first quarter, scoring nine points to Claremont’s zero, however, in the second quarter the Pack came alive with 29 points to the Cavilers’ six. Both teams managed to get two more touchdowns in the second half, which ensured the Claremont victory.

Junior Ricky Murillo led the Pack’s offense at quarterback with 15 completions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown and an interception.

Junior Alex Sotolongo caught five passes for 170 yards, including one 75-yard play and two touchdowns, earning the player of the game award from the coaches.

Claremont’s rushing game came alive for the first time this season with an impressive 252 yards and four touchdowns. That outcome was largely due to a five-star performance from senior Logan Moran, who had 18 carries for 174 yards and three touchdowns. At the same time, the Pack totally shut down Montclair’s running game, handing senior quarterback Adrian Vargas a negative 26-yard stat.

Otherwise, the teams had fairly equal offensive numbers, including 496 total yards for Claremont and 411 for Montclair. Hopefully, the winning record will translate into increased confidence, including big plays for the Wolfpack’s Palomares League opener against Ayala on Friday at CHS.

Girls volleyball 3-2 in league

Claremont’s Palomares League record stands at 3-2, after the girls got a 3-1 (19-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-16) win over Bonita Wednesday in La Verne.

Last week the girls defeated Colony, 3-0 (25-23,30-28, 25-15) on Friday at CHS, but lost to first place Glendora, 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 18-25, 14-25) on Tuesday at Glendora.

The girls are in third place at the midway point in league and will face Ayala on Friday in Chino Hills.

Girls tennis advance to 3-0

The Pack moved to 3-0 in Palomares League with a 16-1 win over Alta Loma last Thursday and a 17-1 victory against Glendora on Tuesday. The girls, who were ranked No. 1 in the September 23 CIF-Southern Section Division 2 poll, will take on Colony High School on Thursday at home.

CHS grad named Pac-12 freshman of the week

Setter Kylie Robinson was named the Pac-12 freshman of the week for the second time this season after leading the Ducks in their first two conference matches over the weekend, according to University of Oregon.

Robinson, who won the season’s first freshman of the week award September 2, racked up 108 total assists last week in a pair of five-set matches against Oregon State and Utah, including 56 in Oregon’s win over the number-18 Utes on Sunday. Robinson wowed fans early in the match with an incredible one-handed set to set up a thunderous kill by senior Ronika Stone.

The redshirt freshman, and 2018 Claremont High School graduate, ranks second in the Pac-12 and 20th in the nation through the first 11 games with 11.02 assists per set. She has four matches this season with 50 or more assists, including three in the Ducks’ last four contests. Robinson is tied for second on the team with 10 service aces.

Robinson and the number-25 Ducks will be at home this weekend with a nationally-televised match against number-three Stanford on ESPN2. Oregon will then host number-19 California at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Webb’s Lilly Miller wins Bellarmine-Sacred Heart race

Claremont resident and Vivian Webb junior Lily Miller literally ran away from the field to win the second heat of the girls varsity race during the 2019 Bellarmine-Sacred Heart Invitational on Saturday in Griffith Park.

Miller, who won the race last year, had a time of 18:55 over the hilly 2.9 mile course, 51 seconds faster than second place.

The defending champion changed her race strategy slightly, saying that last year she held back on the course’s easier portions, but this time went all out.

 “This year I pushed the uphill and tried to keep the pace going through the flats and downhill parts. The downhill finish is something I took easy last year and this year I just pushed it almost to the breaking point,” she told Prep Cal Track after the meet.

The girls varsity team placed sixth in their division and the boys team took fourth.

The Gauls easily defeated all other teams in the first San Joaquin League meet last week in Claremont. The boys crossed the finish line in perfect order, claiming the top five spots for a team score of 15 points. Avalon was second at 70 and Samueli Academy third at 77.

The girls dominated, claiming the top four spots and a seventh place finish for a team score of 17. Samueli Academy was second at 70, with Connelly third at 76.

Webb girls volleyball winning

The number-10 ranked Gauls increased their Academy League record to 5-0 with wins over Orangewood Academy, 3-0, (25-7, 25-13, 25-15) last week, and Connelly, 3-0, (25-14, 25-12, 25-17) on Tuesday.

Webb needs one more win to clinch a league title, which should come quickly as the Gauls host last place Fairmount Prep on Thursday, after press time.