Boys wrestling starting fresh

The CHS wrestling team, led by 4th-year coach Gerald Escalante, begins this season with a young team after losing a number of top performers from last season. Escalante will “use the first scrimmage as a gut-check” to determine which wrestlers are ready for head-to-head competition, and to develop signature moves for individuals.  Escalante is confident his team can compete in league this year, with CIF contenders Gabe Vigil, Malik Webster, and Sam Pilbe leading the ranks. The Wolfpack have their first tournament next Friday and Saturday, December 7-8, at 3 p.m. and 10 a.m. at Gabrielino High School.

Boys basketball off to quick start

Wolfpack boys basketball began the season 2-0, picking apart Sierra Vista 86-42 and handling Baldwin Park 79-59 in tournament play. Point guard Korey Hackett led with 23 points and 11 assists in an MVP performance against Sierra, while 2-guard Brandon Brown was selected as man-of-the-match in the Baldwin game. Coach Stan Tolliver, in his 5th season as coach, looks to keep an “up-tempo style and convert opportunities in transition.” Claremont will lean on guard Omar Mahmoud and center Chris Edward, and turn to up-and-comers Quincy Hailes and Noah Daniel for inspiration. Scores from later tournament games will be posted online and in our next edition.

Familiar faces fill girls team

The girls basketball team will return almost their entire starting lineup this season, with juniors Jessica Abrolat, Danna Robles and sophomore Katie Porter mentoring newcomers Heather Hill and Hanna Borooshan. Longtime coach Darryl Kennedy said, “I want the girls to give their very best and always compete at a high level.” Kennedy hopes to improve on last season’s disappointing 7-19 record. Scores from the Wolfpack’s game against Glendora and Garey will be in Wednesday’s COURIER.

Water polo has young team with new coach

New head coach Tamara Perea leads Claremont’s girls water polo team into final fitness preparations for the 2012-13 season. “We are a young team, so the things I want to see are better fundamentals like body position and shooting form.” Experienced utility player Jessica Carmody will lead the Wolfpack with the likes of Tiana Wilson in defense and first-time goalie Morgan Stockham. The Wolfpack play their first game against Temple City this Tuesday, December 4.

Girls soccer has big act to follow

The CHS girls soccer team won the Division 3 CIF title last year, but 12-year coach Tim Tracey won’t rest unless they defend their championship. Claremont graduated only 3 starters, and senior leaders Amanda Garvin, Ariana Holmes and Haley Arft expect to replicate the success they had last year. “Our chemistry and athletic style of play will allow us to take the game to our opponents and keep the ball in our attacking one-third of the pitch,” said Tracey. The Wolfpack are off to a rough start, losing 1-0 to Diamond Bar in their first match. Claremont is in action again Tuesday, December 4 at 3:15 p.m. away at Glendora.

New faces dominate boys team

For the boys soccer team, only 4 players from last year’s 20 plus roster are returning for coach Fred Bruce-Oliver. The Wolfpack lost in the quarterfinals of CIF last season. They are confident that their returners Cassidy O’Reilly-Hahn, Jason Newmansi and Kelly Collins, can blend with Ben Santia, a player who left the team 2 years ago due to a technicality with his club and is finally back. Head coach since 1986, Bruce-Oliver said, “if we can win the possession battle, we can create more goal-scoring opportunities and combine that with pressuring the opposition high up the pitch.” Claremont lost its first game 2-1 to Etiwanda, and the score from the remaining Rancho Cucamonga Tournament matches will be online and in Wednesday’s COURIER.

—Chris Oakley

sports@claremont-courier.com

Citrus Hall of Fame football coach John Strycula dies at 86

John Strycula coached the Citrus Owls football team from 1967-1985, and led the team to 120 wins and only 60 losses in that time. Mr. Strycula died this weekend, leaving behind a legacy as the team’s most successful coach in history. From 1973 to 1976, Citrus captured 4 straight Mission Conference titles. Mr. Strycula was inducted into the California Community Colleges Football Coaches Hall of Fame upon his retirement. Memorial services will be held today, December 1 at Beaumont Presbyterian Church in Beaumont, CA at 11 a.m.

Former CHS standout honored for teaching expertise

William “Bill” Magnusson, a Claremont High School and Citrus College standout, was named as one of Fresno County’s top educators this month. Mr. Magnusson teaches industrial arts, or woodshop, at Firebaugh High School in California’s Central Valley.

Mr. Magnusson also coaches the football and wrestling teams at the school, where students and athletes must pay for travel costs to wrestling meets or academic events. Mr. Magnusson will be put up for the California Teacher of the Year Award, to be presented in March 2013.