Spring Sports Thriving—Individual Team Reports

Boys Lacrosse: The boys lacrosse team is off to a great start with an 8-2 overall record, 3-1 in the VVAL. Coach John Murray, in his 3rd season at the helm, had this to say about the season so far, “After dropping our first game on a last second goal, we have turned things around.  We have a great senior class and their leadership and determination has really been the difference this year. We are holding each other accountable and demanding that we come to practice every day to get better. We also have had some freshmen be key contributors right from the start.  They have done a great job buying into our culture since day one. We are looking forward to building off our earlier success and making a strong push in both VVAL and NCS playoffs.

Baseball: The baseball team approaches the season's midpoint at 6-6 overall and 1-3 in VVAL play.  The season got off to a good start with an exciting extra inning walk off win at home over Piner and the team has also beat local foes St Helena (12-2) and Napa (6-3).  As the season heads into the thick of league and section play the team hopes to see the results of a tough rain-riddled schedule that has seen them play only 3 games at home thus far.

Softball: The softball team is off to a great start this year, sporting an 9-2 record overall, 0-1 in the VVAL. They are led by a strong group of seniors including captain Clare Garcia who is leading the team with 20 hits, 7 doubles and 3 wins in the circle, Victoria Politz is leading the team in batting with a .600 average, and playing a solid centerfield, Melissa Lozano is leading the team in putouts with 23 out of 32 playing 2nd base, and her sister Michelle Lozano is batting .400 and playing a solid left field. Coach Tim Garcia said of the season so far, “This is a great group of girls that have bonded well from the beginning. We have been able to win the close games when we need to, and I don't see any quit in this group of players. The team's biggest comeback win so far this season was playing at Drake and being down 9-2 in the 3rd inning and battling back to win the game 18-11. That gave them the confidence to realize they can play with any team.”

Boys Tennis: The boys tennis team has an overall record of 4-4, 3-4 in the VVAL. The Braves started slow, but traditionally the tennis team finishes strong. The team got a boost when Jakob Schultz cleared NCS a week ago and started at #1 singles. Captain Jose Antonio Chopitea has provided senior leadership to a young team that will grow stronger through the remainder of the season. The goal of securing an NCS invitation is within reach.

Swimming: The swim teams have competed 5 times this season, with the boys sporting a 2-3 record and the girls still looking for their first win of the season. The Boys have taken first place in 31 of their 44 total team swims, while the Girls relays have steadily dropped time taking 5 first place finishes. Coach Monica Linn had this to say about the team, “No one gets to swim the same events each week.  Our squad is small and everyone steps up and fills in for the good of the team. The overall growth of these swimmers has been phenomenal.”

Track and Field- The Justin Siena Track and Field Team is having a great season thus far, with wins for the Varsity Boys over Napa, and the Varsity girls over Sonoma.  The JV Boys are currently impressively undefeated in VVAL action, having beaten four teams. On a larger scale, the team has competed to a very impressive level at Invitationals all around the bay area, and as far as Santa Barbara.  Landon Mispagel (110 hurdles), Conrad Say (100m), Gianna Troppy (Discus and High Jump), Sydney Thweatt (400m), varsity boys and girls 4x100 relay, and the Varsity Girls and Boys sprint medley relays all have won Invitational Championships, while all three of our 4x100 relays teams currently have the VVAL leading times.

Boys Golf- The Boys golf team has a strong overall and VVAL record of 12-6 so far this season. They came in third place on Tuesday at Sonoma Golf Club carding a 5 score total of 442. Dominic Lee led the Braves for the second match in a row with a strong round of 8 over par 80 each of the last two matches. The Braves hosted the league in a match at Chardonnay Golf Club this past Wednesday.