By Dylan Peyton,
Staff Writer.
While many are happy for the spring season and warm weather, there are also those who are sad to say goodbye to the winter. Winter sports have just ended, so we have to say goodbye to basketball, soccer and wrestling. Each sport had such an amazing season, each with many notable moments. As a final goodbye to the sports for the year, it’s only fair to highlight each sport and their great moments.
The girls basketball team has been putting their all into this season in hopes to make it to playoffs again, and it has paid off. The lady Panthers were the second seed for the playoffs, ending the season with a record of 7-3. The highlight of the season for the team was beating Healdsburg on senior night. In the past five years the team had not been able to pull off a win against Healdsburg, even losing to them earlier in the season by two in overtime. To be able to fight hard and take the win against Healdsburg, especially on senior night, meant a lot to the players and even more to Coach Luis Patrick and Coach Taryn Pearson. “Winning senior night was surreal; we fought hard all season and it paid off. I’m excited to see how far we make it in NCS,” said senior Malaya Edwards. The team competed in NCS on Feb. 18 in a single elimination tournament.
The boys basketball team has had an exciting and tough season. The team has faced a number of talented competitors this season, and each game was very competitive, rarely having a dull moment. But there was one game that stood out this year. Our rivals, the Montgomery Vikings, came into our house and balled out, but we didn’t let them just take the win. Although the game unfortunately didn’t go our way, it is safe to say it was the most exciting game of the season. With triple overtime and every player bringing the hype and aggressiveness, how could it not be?
Our Panthers did the best they could to beat the Vikings and show out for the fans, but in the end, the Vikings pulled out with a five-point lead. Yet to end the season the Panthers won their senior night, beating Maria Carrillo 58-47, a team they had previously lost to this season. Senior Gabe Esparza said it was a “full circle moment” for him; going to school at Carrillo his freshman year made this win even more satisfying. “We can always be better, but it was a great group of guys and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Esparza about the overall season. The team ended with a 2-8 record, beating Maria Carrillo and Analy.
The Panthers boys soccer team has been on a great run this year, with three wins, one tie and four losses. The team has had to build themselves up again after losing important seniors over the years, but it has finally started to click for the boys. The first league game is what changed the momentum for the team. After losing their preseason games, they ended up beating Piner 3-0 for their first league game. The team overall is aggressive and unpredictable; never knowing when they are going to get through and score is what makes the team who they are. Even against tougher teams such as Maria Carrillo, Rancho Cotate and Montgomery that they played during preseason, our Panthers were able to put up a good fight, never making it easy for the other team. “The season is going really well. Even if we lost, we held our own against big teams. I think we have a solid run ahead of us,” said senior Jason Dennis. The team is hoping for a good chance at state, which Dennis believes they will do well with.
Girls soccer has had a good year with a 3-4 record, improving after having to build up their team the last few years. An exciting game this year was against Healdsburg, winning 2-1 against their rival Greyhounds. With a great goal by freshman Paisley Kelsey and the winning goal by junior Tiare Sarraf, the game was hard fought and well earned for the Panthers, an extremely satisfying first home game. The team had some tough opponents throughout the season but managed to hold their own against them. The team is still young, with new coaches as well, and are sure to grow stronger over the next couple of seasons.
Wrestling had a solid season with great athletic performances at multiple tournaments. At the Puma Classic on Jan. 24, senior Antonio Garaventa placed first in the 122 weight class; he won all five of his matches, earning him the title. Garaventa is a NCS- and state-ranked wrestler in the 113 weight class, ranked 24th in state and first in NCS. Another great athletic performance was seen from junior Abryanna Alfaro at the Cougar Kickoff on Nov. 29, placing third even with a sprained ankle she got from a match earlier that day. Although there were amazing performances from many athletes, the wrestlers’ record was 1-3. “Our season was rough for all of us, but we pushed through it. We only had four people left for the season but it was all worth it to make it to NCS,” said Alfaro. The four wrestlers going to NCS are Garaventa, Alfaro, junior Logan Garthwaite, senior Nathan Romero and sophomore Will Lyon. Each athlete is wrestling in a different weight class and will face opponents from across northern California. There are high hopes for Alfaro, Garaventa and Romero to go far in the tournament and hopefully place well. NCS is going to take place throughout the later weeks of February at various bay area high schools. Be sure to wish your fellow Panthers luck!
