­­High school sports roundup: week of May 31, 2024 | Claremont COURIER

by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Claremont High School

Baseball (12-14 ; 4-11 league)
At Glendora, Claremont beat the hosts, 5-1, on March 22.

Lions Tournament results: play resumed March 25 with a 2-0 win against McQueen at Brookhurst Park, which was followed by a 4-3 win at home over Canyon Springs on March 26. CHS then lost at Ramona, 9-4, March 27.

Saints Tournament results: play began with a 7-2 win over Chino on March 28, but was followed by a 4-0 loss at Valencia the next day.

Palomares League action was not kind to the Pack, which included three loses to Colony, 9-5 away April 8, 6-5 at home on April 10, and 15-4 away on April 12. Three more losses came against Bonita, a 2-1 home loss on April 15, an 11-1 away loss on April 17, and a 2-0 home loss on April 19. Three more came against Ayala, a 4-2 away loss on April 22, a 4-2 home loss on April 24, and a 14-4 away loss on April 26. The fourth place Palomares League team did not make the playoffs this year

Softball (10-13 ; 7-8 league)
CHS traveled to and shutout Glendora, 8-0, on March 25, thrashed hosts St. Lucy’s, 16-2, on March 27, beat Glendora, 3-2, at home March 28, and then was shutout, 5-0, at home to Bonita on March 29. A fruitful 22-5 win at Colony came on April 8. An April 10 trip to Ayala yielded a 7-3 loss, and Alta Loma hosted and beat the Pack, 5-4, on April 12. The team then hosted and beat Colony in a doubleheader on April 15, 4-1 and 12-2. A home contest with Glendora resulted in a 16-5 win on April 17, followed by a 14-5 away loss at Bonita on April 22. Ayala beat the Pack, 3-2, at home on April 24 to cap a third place Palomares League finish.
The team lost, 2-0, at West Torrance on May 2 in the first round of the CIF-SS Division III playoffs.

Boys golf (12-4 ; 10-0 league)
The team hosted and beat Glendora, 197-216 on March 21, which was followed April 9 with a 184-238 win over Colony at Marshall Canyon. At Los Serranos on April 10, Claremont fell 210-211 to Damien and 204-211 to Chino Hills, but bounced back the following day with a 194-231 win over Colony at Whispering Lakes, 192-201 over Bonita at Marshall Canyon on April 17, and a 195-204 win again over Bonita on April 18. Claremont then won, 189-198, over visitors Ayala on April 23, followed by an April 25 win over Ayala, 203-211, to win the Palomares League.

CHS junior Will Middleton finished second overall at the Palomares League Individual Tournament and senior TJ Holstrom finished fourth overall. Results from that tournament were not made available to the Courier. Both earned first team all-league honors and qualified for the May 8 CIF-SS Individual Boys Southern Regional finals at Los Serranos where Will Middleton shot 79 to place 62nd and senior TJ Holstrom hit an 85 to claim 97th.

Results from the May 13 Division III CIF-SS team playoffs at Los Serranos: out of 20 teams, CHS took 16th with a combined score of 402.

Boys tennis (15-7 ; 10-0)
Claremont went to and overcame Alta Loma, 12-6, on March 21, won, 11-7, at Diamond Bar, on March 25, beat hosts Glendora, 17-1, on April 9, shutout Colony at home, 18-0, on April 11, defeated Bonita at home, 16-2, on April 16, and edged hosts Ayala, 11-7, on April 18, to claim its ninth consecutive Palomares League title.

On April 24 at The Claremont Club, Claremont sophomore Caleb Fong and junior Mateen Ghafarshad defeated their teammates, freshman Liad Geldwert and senior Josh Bonner, 6-0 and 6-1, in the doubles final of the Palomares League tournament. Preliminary results were not made available to the Courier.

Results from the 122nd Ojai Tournament, boys under 18 doubles, at Libbey Park: senior Caleb Settles and junior Mateen Ghafarshad swept their first-round opponents, 6-0 twice, and beat their second-round opponents, 6-4 and 6-1, on April 25. Then, on April 26, the boys beat their round of 16 competitors, also 6-4 and 6-1, and their quarterfinal opponents, 6-2 twice. Caleb and Mateen fell in the first set to their semifinal opponents, 6-4, then bounced back to take two tie-breaking sets, 7-5 and 7-5, on April 27. In the final versus Caden Lee and Tyler Lee of Beckman later that day, the CHS duo lost both sets, 6-2 then 6-3.

The team opened the CIF-SS Division I team championships with a 13-5 win over San Marcos at home May 3, but fell in the quarterfinals, 12-6, at Oak Park on May 6.

Results from CIF-SS Individual Doubles Sectionals: after a first-round bye, senior Caleb Settles and junior Mateen Ghafarshad, the Palomares League first seed, swept their second round opponents, 6-0 and 6-0, and sunk their third round competitors, 6-1 and 6-1, on May 16. The doubles team then swept their next opponents, 6-0 twice, and upset their quarterfinal matchup, 6-3 and 6-2, on May 22. They then fell, 6-4 and 6-3, in the semifinal the following day. On May 16, freshman Liad Geldwert and senior Josh Bonner, the Palomares League second seed, dumped out Webb’s duo of Isaac Nicolosi and Larry Zhou, the San Joaquin first seed, in the first round, 6-3, 7-6 (after a tie-breaker), and 10-4 after a first to 10 point game, won their second round match, 7-5 after a tie-breaker, 6-1 and 10-3 after a first to 10-point game, then lost, 6-2 and 6-0, in the third round.

Boys volleyball (27-9 ; 10-2 league)
At Los Osos, the Wolfpack shutout the hosts, 3-0, March 21.

Result from Claremont tournament: Play began March 22 with two 2-0 shutout wins over Redlands and Murrieta Valley, and was followed March 23 with two additional 2-0 shutout victories over Riverside Poly and Santiago Corona. Play capped with a 2-1 win over El Dorado to take the tournament title.

Claremont shutout hosts Damien, 3-0, on March 26, beat visitors Santiago, 3-1, on March 27, hosted and beat Chino Hills, 3-1, on April 9, lost 3-0 against Upland at home on April 10, shutout hosts Rancho Cucamonga, 3-0, on April 11, beat hosts Etiwanda, 3-1, on April 12, defeated hosts Los Osos, 3-0, April 16, overcame Etiwanda at home, 3-1, on April 18, and beat Bellflower, 3-0, at home on April 19 to take second in Baseline (yes one word) League play.

Claremont hosted and beat Valley Christian Cerritos, 3-0, on April 25 to begin the first round of CIF-SS Division IV playoffs. A 3-1 away win at Westlake on April 27 followed before their momentum ended with a 3-2 May 1 loss at Pasadena Poly in the quarterfinals.

Swim and dive, boys (4-5) and girls (5-4)
With a score of 154, the boys claimed third overall at the Palomares League relays at Glendora High on February 24. The girls also took third with 190 points.

Covina came by March 26: the boys won 124-46, and the girls won, 112-58. Against Colony, the boys won, 139-31, as did the girls, 136-25, at home April 10. Both teams fell at home to Ayala, the boys, 107-63, and the girls, 101-69, on April 17.

Claremont’s boys took fourth overall, out of six teams, with a score of 287 at the Palomares League Championships from April 23-25 at Glendora High School. The girls placed third with 308 points.

Highlights from the April 24-May 3 2024 CIF-SS Division II meet at Mt. SAC: senior AliMarie DePrez took 16th in the girls 100-yard freestyle qualifier (0:55.5), and 13th in the event’s finals with a time of 0:55.14. Sophomore Olivia Savage placed 17th in the girls 100-yard breaststroke qualifying event (1:09.12), and took 15th in the events finals at 1:08.66. Full stats are available on the Meet Mobile application, search “Palomares.”

Track and field, boys (2-1) and girls (1-2)
Results from the March 23 Azusa Meet of Champions at Azusa Pacific University and the March 29-30 Covina Invitational at Covina District Field are at athletic.net, search “Claremont.”

Highlight from the April 5 Tiger Invitational at South Pasadena HS: senior Eric Ott placed second in the varsity triple jump finals. Full results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the April 5-6 Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia HS: senior L’Mio Edwards took second in the girls 800-meter invitational finals at 2:10.09, and the girls 4×800 relay team placed second in the seeded finals with a time 9:33.60. Full results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the April 9 Glendora, Claremont and Colony meet at Colony: For the boys, sophomore Lyle Mideiros placed first in the varsity 3,200-meter race at 9:50.01, the varsity 4×100 relay team beat Colony’s team with a time of 0:43.67, and sophomore Kingston Fajardo placed first in the varsity long jump, as did senior Eric Ott in the varsity triple jump. For the girls, sophomore Annika Graham-Scanlon placed first in the varsity girls 200-meter dash at 0:26.44, senior L’Mio Edwards took first in the 400-meter finals at 0:59.40 and also took first in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 5:07.24, junior Kaitlyn Smith placed first in the varsity 800-meter at 2:27.32 and first in the varsity 3,200-meter dash at 12:20.15. Senior Katie Ray took first the varsity shot put event, freshman Declyn Fisher took first in the varsity long jump, and senior Beverly Be took first in the varsity triple jump. Full results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the 64th Mt. San Antonio College relays from April 19-20: Claremont’s girls varsity 4×400 relay team placed first overall at 3:56.12 in the seeded high school heat. Full results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the April 26 Palomares League Finals at Ayala HS: for the boys, senior Eric Ott took first in the varsity long jump finals. For the girls, senior L’Mio Edwards took first in the 800-meter varsity finals at 2:16.45 and first in the 1,600-meter varsity dash at 5:03.3. The boys score of 71 was enough to place third overall, and the girls score of 93 also carried them to third. Full results are at athletic.net. Preliminaries held on April 16 at Ayala are at athletic.net.

Results from the 11th annual Ayala Last Chance Distance Carnival on May 4 at Ayala are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the May 11 CIF-SS Division II Finals at Moorpark HS: senior L’Mio Edwards captured second in the girls 800-meter dash at 2:10.01. She also took second in the girls varsity 800-meter race preliminary with a time of 2:11.15. Finals results are at athletic.net. May 4 preliminaries at Ontario HS are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the CIF-SS masters meet: senior L’Mio Edwards placed second in the girls varsity 800-meter dash at 2:07.11, and the girls 4×800 varsity relay team took second with a time of 9:13.10. Results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the May 24-25 CIF State meet at Buchanan HS: senior L’Mio Edwards placed fifth in the girls varsity 800-meter finals at 2:09.06, while the girls 4×800 varsity relay team took fourth with a time of 9:08.76. Results are at athletic.net.

Honors for winter athletes of the season at CHS went to senior boys soccer forward and Palomares League offensive MVP Miguel Rodas and senior girls basketball forward and Palomares League MVP Maryah Anderson. Spring athletes of the season honors go to boys senior volleyball player Caleb Sapp, who is part of the Division IV all-CIF-SS team, and girls track and field senior L’Mio Edwards.

The Webb Schools

Baseball (15-7 ; 11-6 league)
Webb nabbed an 11-1 home win over Southlands Christian on March 22, lost twice to Western Christian, 7-2 at home on March 25 then 12-5 away on March 27. They bounced back with a 4-3 home win over Calvary Chapel Downey on April 16, lost 18-1 at home versus Capistrano Valley Christian on April 18, fell 14-1 at Western Christian on April 19, then beat San Jacinto Valley Academy twice, 7-3 there on April 25 and 3-0 at home on April 26, and finished fourth in the San Joaquin League.

The team capped the season at Edgewood on April 30, losing 9-8 in the CIF-SS Division VIII wildcard match.

Softball (1-15 ; 1-15 league)
The team ended up forfeiting its March 18 and its April 18 games against Southlands Christian, as well as its March 20 and March 26 contests with Samueli Academy, its March 22 test with Vista Meridian Global Academy, its March 28 matchup at Calvary Chapel Downey, its April 20 home contest with Capistrano Valley Christian, and its April 22 away game at Western Christian. Vista Meridian Global Academy forfeited its April 24 game at Webb.

The team finished eighth overall in San Joaquin League play.

Boys golf (9-4 ; 6-4 league)
The Gauls overcame hosts Western Christian, 215-226, on March 21, beat visitors Samueli, 207-261, March 26, fell at Avalon, 179-191, March 28, edged Western Christian, 205-221, at home on April 16, and bested hosts Samueli, 214-235, on April 18. Webb faced off against Vista Meridian and Avalon on April 22, beating Vista Meridian by an unknown score, but losing 186-191 to Avalon. The team wrapped San Joaquin League play with a 187-202 loss at Fairmont Prep on April 24 to take third place in league.

Webb junior Emrick Dammeier and freshman Matthew Hao were given first team all-league honors after a good showing at the San Joaquin  League individual tournament earlier in May. Results were not made available to the Courier. At the CIF-SS Individual Northern Regional contest, Emrick tied for 44th overall with a score of 74 while Matthew tied for 94th overall with a score of 84.

The team did not make the playoffs this year.

Boys tennis (15-1 ; 8-0 league)
The Gauls kept their perfect season going by beating Fairmont Prep at home, 14-4, on March 22; hosts Pacifica Christian, 16-2, on March 25; visitors Western Christian, 17-1, March 26; hosts Fairmont Prep, 17-1, March 28; hosts Western Christian, 16-2, April 16; visitors Tarbut V’Torah, 18-0, April 18, to claim the San Joaquin League title.

Webb sophomore Larry Zhou and junior Isaac Nicolosi would claim the San Joaquin League doubles title on April 25 during league finals at Webb, but full results were not made available to the Courier. No Webb player claimed the singles belt.

The Gauls hosted West Torrance on May 1 and thrashed them, 15-3, in the first round of the CIF-SS Division III team tournament. On May 3, Notre Dame Sherman Oaks welcomed and dealt the team its sole loss of the season, a 13-5 result in the second round.

Results from CIF-SS Individual Doubles Sectionals: On May 16, Webb’s doubles team of Isaac Nicolosi and Larry Zhou, the San Joaquin first seed, lost against Claremont’s Liad Geldwert and Josh Bonner, the Palomares League second seed, in the first round, 6-3, 7-6 (after a tie-breaker), and 10-4 after a first to 10 point game.

Boys volleyball (10-9 ; 2-6 league)
Webb sunk Newport Christian twice, at home 3-0 on March 25 then 3-2 on March 27. Hosts Southlands Christian beat the Gauls, 3-1, on March 28, before Delphi Academy was shutout, 3-0, by Webb at home on April 17. Education First Academy was shutout by Webb, 3-0, April 19, capping the season for the fourth place Academy League finishers.

Coed badminton (5-10 ; 2-8 league)
The Gauls fell at home to Wilson, 11-10, March 21, then to visitors Redlands East Valley, 15-6, March 26. Webb beat Wilson away, 14-7, March 28, but then lost three straight, 19-2 at home to Walnut April 16, at Rowland, 12-9, April 18, and at Diamond Bar, 18-3, April 19, to place fifth in the Valle Vista League.

The team beat Citrus Valley, 14-7 away, in the first round of the CIF-SS Division II playoffs on May 3, but then fell at Mark Keppel, 15-6, in the quarterfinal round on May 6.

Swim and dive, boys (2-1) and girls (2-1)
Highlights from the second San Joaquin League cluster at Webb on March 28: For the boys, junior Erik Sun got first in the varsity 200-yard individual medley at 2:07.92, the varsity 200-yard medley relay team took first with a time of 1:51.60, and the 200-yard freestyle relay team also took first with their 1:44.71 finish. For the girls, sophomore Maya Chin placed first in the varsity 200-yard freestyle at 1:58.41, freshman Qier Wang captured first in the 100-yard butterfly stroke race at 1:13.10, junior Kate Alvarez got first in the varsity 100-yard backstroke timed at 1:08.23, and the varsity 200-yard medley relay team got first with a time of 2:03.64, and the varsity 200-yard freestyle relay team got first with a time of 1:49.95. Full results from this meet are at swimphone.com. Results from the first league cluster on March 14 are also at swimphone.com/meets.

Highlights from San Joaquin League finals at Webb on April 25: For the boys, junior Erik Sun got first in the varsity 100-yard backstroke at 0:56.21, the varsity 200-yard medley relay team took first with a time of 1:51.60, and the 200-yard freestyle relay team also took first with their 1:44.71 finish. For the girls, sophomore Maya Chin placed first in the varsity 200-yard freestyle at 2:03.44 and first in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:20.14, senior Emily Li placed first in the varsity 100-yard freestyle at 0:59.99, junior Kate Alvarez got first in the varsity 100-yard backstroke timed at 1:09.22, and the varsity 200-yard freestyle relay team got first with a time of 1:47.78. Full finals and April 24 preliminary results are at swimphone.com. The boys and girls swim teams both captured first place in league.

Highlights from the CIF-SS Division IV finals at Mt. San Antonio College on May 2: junior Erik Sun secured second in the 100-yard backstroke at 0:54.91 after he qualified with a second-place finish with a time of 0:54.34 on April 30, and the boys 400-yard varsity freestyle relay team secured second with a time of 3:29.01 after their third place finish, at 3:30.36, during the April 30 preliminary qualifier.

Highlights from the CIF-SS Division III finals at Mt. San Antonio College on May 3: sophomore Maya Chin placed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:13.25 following her 5:11.06 fourth place qualifying finish on May 1.

Full final and preliminary results are on the Meet Mobile application, search “CIF.”

Track and field, boys (0-0) and girls (0-0)
Highlights from the 78th Pasadena Games on March 22-23 at South Pasadena HS: the varsity boys 4×100 relay team captured third at 0:44.47. Full results are at athletic.net, search “Webb.”

The boys placed first overall with 222 points while the girls came second with 144 during the March 26 San Joaquin League cluster at Webb. Full results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the March 29-30 Covina Invitational at Covina District Field: sophomore Nicole Samson took first in the girls 800-meter invitational race at 2:15.46. Visit athletic.net for full results.

Highlights from the April 5 Tiger Invitational at South Pasadena HS: senior Jordan McCray took third in the boys 400-meter sprint at 0:50.07 while sophomore Nicole Samson placed third in the girls 800-meter race at 2:16.30. Results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the 64th Mt. SAC Relays from April 19-20: sophomore Nicole Samson placed seventh in the girls 800-meter seeded high school race at 2:14.70. Results are at athletic.net.

With 224 points gained at the San Joaquin League finals at Webb on April 24, the boys captured the league title. The girls gathered 147 points to place second. Full finals and preliminary results are at athletic.net.

Highlights from the May 11 CIF-SS Division IV Finals at Moorpark HS: For the boys, senior Jordan McCray captured second with a time of 0:22.21 in the 200-meter sprint and third in the 400-meter dash at 0:50.23. Jordan previously placed seventh with a time of 0:22.63 in the 200, and with a fifth place, 0:50.19 finish at the May 4 preliminaries at Carpinteria HS. The boys varsity 4×400 relay team secured first overall with a time of 3:25.87, after a third place qualifying finish at 3:30.33. For the girls, sophomore Nicole Samson placed second at 2:14.89 in the 800-meter race. On May 4, she took second in the 800 with a time 2:16.22.

Honors for winter athletes of the season at Webb went to boys senior goalkeeper Lam Tran, who helped the Gauls secure a second place San Joaquin League finish and a playoff appearance, and senior girls basketball guard Xajani Badkar, who also helped her team to a second place Academy League placement and playoff appearance. Spring athletes of the season honors go to boys track and field athlete of the year Jordan McCray, who was part of the CIF championship 4x400m relay team, and girls sophomore swimmer Maya Chin, the San Joaquin League swimmer of the year.