CHS cross country holding strong, tennis promising

Girls tennis have a triple threat

A trio of talented freshmen is leading girls tennis as the season gets underway.

The number one singles player, freshman Goldie La, has yet to lose, going 12-0 in the girls’ first three matches, which included two very competitive teams, Redlands and Arcadia. Number two seed is freshman Caren Uribe, but number three is a toss up between freshman Jahday Drewery and senior Liz Wu.

Wu, who is also the team captain, has recently been chosen as a 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist. The nationwide pool of semifinalists representing less than one percent of US high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state on the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test, according to CHS.

Doubles teams are: number-one Astrid Petropoulos and Emma Berens; number-two Kirsten Hernandez and Salma Mohideen; and number-three, Jillian Ontiveros and Grace Wride.

Claremont lost to both Redlands and Arcadia in preseason play, but defeated Glendora on Tuesday 17-1 in their league opening match. The girls were at home against South Hills on Thursday after press time.

Cross country remains dominant

Claremont High School cross-country continues to be a dominating force in local competition, winning its first league match September 8.

The boys narrowly squeaked by Ayala, winning by just three points. However, the girls put together a commanding win. The varsity boys scored 33 points, followed by Ayala at 36 and Bonita at 67. The girls scored a scant 15 points, followed by Ayala at 54 and Glendora at 86. The girls JV and freshman teams won as well.

The girls teams won every race at the Cool Breeze Invitational meet, a big fund raising event for Claremont cross country. Junior Sydney Hwang was the Pack’s top finisher in the varsity race at third place. Annette Hermelin won the JV race and Angie Gushue won the freshman contest.

The varsity boys team placed sixth at Cool Breeze, which was the second best time in division two. Diego Denson won the boys sophomore race.

The girls look as though they may have another great season as long as they can avoid injury. The varsity team is currently ranked first in CIF division two and first in the state. The boys are ranked third in division two and seventh in the state.

 

Boys water polo season up and down

After dominating for several years, it may be a tough season for the Pack.

The boys lost their season opener to Damien 14-4, but did well at the Segerstrom Tournament last weekend in Orange County, with a 3-2 record, earning them fifth place.

The Pack then had another disappointing result, losing a close away match to Yucaipa, 15-10. Claremont was down by a mere two points with just four possessions remaining in the match, but Yucaipa made the most of those opportunities, scoring three more points.

The team is young, with many players joining the varsity squad for the first time. Senior Ian Waasdorp is leading the charge on offense, averaging six goals per game.

Waasdorp also was named a USA Water Polo All American in August, which is an academic award.

Football faces tough competition

Claremont High School football came out strong this year with a 34-28 season opening win against Norte Vista, but have since run into a brick wall.

That wall went up on September 1 when Upland High ran over the Pack, 62-3. The Pack did their best, but in the end could do little to slow down the Highlanders, one of the top-ranked teams in Southern California this season with a 4-0 record.

Next up was rival Damien at CHS on September 8, which was another tough match. The Pack came out pumped up and advanced the ball very well, but were hampered by turnovers. The Spartans had little problem moving the ball, with senior quarterback Warren Bryan completing 16 passes for three touchdowns. Bryan also had 84 yards of rushing including a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

By contrast, Claremont quarterback Reggie Retzlaff had just seven completions for 44 yards and one touchdown pass to junior Elijah Bennett.

Claremont’s unofficial MVP award goes to junior kicker Cole Weaver who kept the Pack in the game with two field goals in the first half. If not for the two turnovers, also in the first half, the final score could have been quite different.

Last Friday it was a completely different story for CHS and Retzlaff as he scored all three of the Pack’s touchdowns, gaining a much-needed win against Pomona High School, 25-20.

Retzlaff’s first TD came in the second quarter with at 54-yard run. But the big plays all came in the fourth quarter with less than six minutes to play. Down by nine points, running back Stephen Reyes ran the ball 45 yards, but was caught just shy of the end zone, where Retzlaff was able to punch it in from one yard out.

However, seven points was not enough for the win and Claremont needed at least a field goal which Retzlaff delivered, plus some, with another rushing touchdown.

Retzlaff’s stats for the game were 11 carries for 115 yards and 10 complete passes out of 27 attempts for 100 yards.

The Pack is now 2-2 and will face in an away game on Friday.

Girls volleyball wins, loses

The girls won their Palomares League opener against South Hills, 3-0, on September 5. It was a close match but the Pack held on, winning each set by a handful of points, 25-21, 25-20 and 26-24.

They followed up with a non-league match against Chino Hills that went to five sets. Claremont won the first set, 25-23, but lost the second 15-25 and won the third, 25-21. Chino Hills won the last full set at 25-23 but the Pack won the tiebreaker, 15-12.

It wasn’t all good news however, as Claremont lost their second league game on Wednesday to Glendora, 3-0, in another close match that unfortunately went the other way. Set scores were 25-23, 25-21 and 25-22.

—Steven Felschundneff

steven@claremont-courier.com

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