thesportsedition BEVERLY HILLS HIGH SCHOOL
HIGHLIGHTS · VOLUME II, ISSUE SIX · DECEMBER 16, 2011
Boys’ basketball wins battle, loses at tournament Arman Zadeh
Nick Reskin shoots a lay-up against Leuzinger 5during the Sax Elliot Invitational tournament. ARMAN ZADEH
On Saturday, Dec. 10, the boys’ basketball team suffered a 55- 51 loss against Leuzinger in a neck-and-neck game during the Sax Elliot Invitational tournament championship held at Beverly. The Norman’s last win at the tournament was in 1984. In the Sax Elliot tournament, the Normans played four games over the span of a week, from Dec. 5 to 10. The team stayed undefeated until their championship game against Leuzinger. Beverly’s first game was against Shalhevet. The Normans were victorious, 75- 48. The team moved on to the next round where they played Hamilton, and won 66-57. Point guard Austin Mills led the team with 31 points. Guard Frank Brown and center Ronan Massana both contributed ten points. The team moved on to the semi-finals where they faced Fremont. The team was successful, winning 80- 72. Mills led with 26 points, followed by Brown with 20 points. Massana believed the team played hard for all four quarters, leading to their success. “We gave great effort on the defensive end, which allowed us to get a lot of easy points in transition,” Massana said. Following the win, the Normans progressed to the championships, where they faced Leuzinger. Top scorers for the team included Mills, with 27 points, Brown, with eight points, and
guard Mike Lanier, with seven points. Head Coach Jarvis Turner said that the team had an “emotional overload” following the win against Fremont, contributing to players performing sub-par. Turner believed that the team did not play up to expectations. He believed the squad came in feeling prepared, but was unsuccessful when executing key plays. “We could’ve came out with better energy. I felt that they played harder than we did, and that was the difference in the game,” Turner said The Normans found their spark in the third quarter after trailing 25-23 at halftime. Mills lifted the team’s spirits after dropping two deep 3-pointers late in the third, contributing to the squad’s 15-11 run. The team found themselves ahead 40-36 by the end of the third quarter. Leuzinger quickly recovered, starting the fourth quarter with a quick 15-2 run. Beverly began to fight back, slowly closing the deficit. With 20 seconds left in the game, the Normans found themselves down 5549. Mills converted on two of his three free throws, bringing Beverly within four points of a tie. Unfortunately, the team failed to score for the remainder of the game. “We gave [Leuzinger] too many lay-ups in the fourth quarter forcing us to play from behind,” Massana said. The team next participates in the Windward Tournament beginning Monday and continuing throughout next week.
Girls’ and boys’ soccer win in recent games Ryan Feinberg Girls’ varsity soccer beat North Torrance on Wednesday, Dec. 8, with a final score of 4-3. The Normans were down 0-2 at halftime but found enough energy with enough time to recover and snatch the victory. “We got stronger and stronger and ended up with a great win,” forward Kaela Reisfelt said. Forwards Tylor Fields and Ashley Aviram each scored two goals for the team. Aviram is currently the leading scorer with nine goals. The squad now has an even record of 4-4. The team has had trouble adapting to the lost seniors from last year. “We have not really adapted too well because we basically lost our defensive line,” Reisfelt said. “We have really been struggling.” Reisfelt also feels that the team can work on other areas of play to make up for the loss of defenders. “We are all trying to improve on having better chemistry off the field,” Reisfelt continued. Injuries have plagued the team, with goalie Kylie Colvin and Ellie Dubin out with concussions. Having an even record of wins and losses, the team does have strengths to outweigh their weaknesses. Although Reisfelt believes the team is “very good at putting passes together to go toward goal,” Aviram wants to the squad to get “stronger in the air and establish a rhythm.” The team’s next game is on Saturday, Dec. 17 against Louisville.
Chanan Batra On Tuesday, Dec. 13, boys’ varsity soccer defeated Crossroads 1-0. The win was a team effort and improves Beverly’s record to 5-1-1. In the first five minutes of the game, forward Nick Marmureanu scored a goal with a one-touch volley off a cross from midfielder Bryan Khalilirad. Beverly used the momentum of that goal to push them through the rest of the game. “The offense played efficiently and the team chemistry was great,” forward Gefen Laredo said. “The first goal by Nick [Marmureanu] really kept our confidence level high for the rest of the game, and though there were some tough stretches, we were able to pull through.” In addition to a strong showing by the offense, Beverly’s defense held Crossroads scoreless. Defender Josh Horowitz credits the strength of the defense to a solid game plan created by coaches Steve Rappaport and Darren Davies. “We stick to Coach Darren’s game plan of playing quickly and moving the ball around as much as possible,” Horowitz said. “The defense swung the ball very effectively, and it led to a victory.” Beverly’s win did not come easily, though. Crossroads seemingly dominated the ball for a 25-minute span, and a few big plays were needed for Beverly to keep their lead. “Our goalie Adrian Spitz had a very nice diving save off the fingertips from a corner kick late in the first half,” Horowitz said. “It was a pivotal play in the game, and it helped us get the push we needed to get through a tough 25 minutes.” Beverly has success on the soccer field despite the absences of forward Caio Carvalho, who is in Brazil, and midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez, who is out with a torn
Right midfielder Ryan Khalilirad gains possession of the ball at a game against Crossroads. OLIVER GALLOP
MCL. “Losing Caio and Ignacio have definitely been two big losses for the program,” Laredo said. “Hopefully we get them back as soon as possible because we are going to need them as the season progresses.” With the win at Crossroads, Beverly’s record improves to 5-1-1, with its only loss to Loyola and its only tie with El Segundo. Right-bench Ryan Feinberg looks forward to
the team improving as they continue to play together. “Although our record is strong, we still have a lot to improve on,” Feinberg said. “We need to master one-touch play and keep building our team chemistry, which will only get better as we play together more.” Beverly played another game at Mira Costa on Thursday, Dec. 15, but results were not available as of press time.
thesportsedition
HIGHLIGHTS · VOLUME II, ISSUE SIX · DECEMBER 16, 2011
Strong start for wrestling, anticipates greatness
Senior Dylan Lojac wrestles with South Pasadena during a home tournament. GINELLE WOLFE
Benjamin Hannani After sending wrestler Armand Farroukh to Masters last year, a feat which had not been accomplished in 40 years, the Normans have approached this season with high expectations. The squad hopes to win two league matches, develop two league champions, qualify half the team for the CIF tournament and send two wrestlers to Masters. Captains Dylan Lojac, Ralph Yun and Matthew Kohanbash are well on their way to eclipsing last season’s 11-5 record, as they have guided the squad to 10-3 record so far. Aside from the captain, the team
has also benefitted from the “outstanding wrestler” of Marshall Stevens, according to Coach Mark Mead. “Ralph Yun, Dylan Lojac and Matt Kohanbash are wrestling well,” Mead said. “They’ve earned medals at every tournament. The most noteworthy player of our team, apart from these captains, has been the outstanding wrestling of Marshall Steven. He has earned a silver [medal] at every tournament and has been key to our success.” Mead is proud of his squad, which has faced difficult competition. Among the team’s past opponents are St. John Bosco, Harvard-Westlake, Westlake and
Rosemead. After three tournaments, the Normans have won three gold medals, 15 silver medals and 13 bronze medals. “We have not performed quite as well as we hoped in two of the tournaments we attended, but nevertheless we have come away with two team trophies from three tournaments,” Lojac said. The squad will be tested further during Ocean League play, which begins with a home match on Jan. 5 against South Torrance. The team finished fourth in league last season after years of finishing dead last in fifth. Despite the squad’s struggle to improve in the standings, Lojac noted that the team encounters unusually
tough opponents. “Although our league performance may seem pitiful, we wrestle in an incredibly tough league, and when we wrestle nonleague teams we are generally successful, as demonstrated in our record,” Lojac said. “We also wrestle in the toughest section in California, the Southern Section. California is also widely considered to be among the five toughest wrestling states in America.” The Normans’ momentum continued on Wednesday, Dec. 14, when the team won ten of its 14 matches at home against South Pasadena. The team’s next match is at The New Community Jewish School on Dec. 20.
Segal flaunts ‘God-given’ athletic abilities Ryan Feinberg For a first-year cross-country runner, going to Nationals isn’t too shabby. Junior Sydney Segal recently represented the Normans in San Diego for Nationals. Segal had a successful season, breaking a school record for every course she competed on. Still, Segal was thrilled to make it to Nationals and represent the Normans. “I was part of the 80 best cross-country runners in the entire nation,” Segal said. “I was treated like a princess…and given clothing, shoes, etc.” Fortunately, Segal’s lack of downtime did not stop Segal from performing at her best, or as she describes, “a level that [she] did not even know existed.” Segal placed 32nd out of 40 girls with a time of 18:21 while competing in the Nationals race at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. Natural talent is obviously a factor in Segal’s recent success, but she has another hidden feature: confidence. “My confidence is such a blessing and it
brought me all the way to Nationals,” Segal said. “Nothing could ever break me and I was able to set crazy goals that I was not scared to tackle because I knew that anything I set my mind to I could accomplish.” Although she finds the training to be agonizing at times, Segal sustains that the races and success are well worth the struggle. “I love distance running and I love to win so cross-country is perfect for me,” Segal explained. Segal was originally opposed to running cross-country in college’ however, she now is sure she wants to. Segal has received letters of interest from Lipscomb University, University of Tennessee, University of North Carolina, Syracuse University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a combination of emails, calls and visits from Loyola Marymount University, Arizona State University and University of California Riverside. “I initially did not [want to run post-high school], but when God gives you such a talent, there is no way you could put it to waste,” Segal explained.
thesportsedition staff Chanan Batra, Ryan Feinberg, Benjamin Hannani, Danny Licht, Mallika Sen and Arman Zadeh
advisers Gaby Herbst and Katie Murray
beverly hills high school
241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Sydney Segal poses for the camera at the Foot Locker Nationals race. COURTESY OF SYDNEY SEGAL
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