Braves Report: Winter Season

Winter Sports Review- February 2020 BRAVES

As the weather was unseasonably warm, it signaled not only the start of Spring Sports, but also the winding down of the Winter Sports season. Currently, our Braves are 4th in the VV AL Commissioner’s Cup. Points are awarded based on where teams finish in the standings so despite being a small school, the Braves have shown to be consistently competitive across all sports and seasons. Outside of league play, our teams remain consistent contenders and qualifiers for North Coast Section postseason play as well. However, the true measure of our teams is their experience, their improvement, and their commitment to each other, and by those metrics we are surely a success. We cannot wait to see what spring sports are up to!

Girls Soccer-The girls continued building this season and were led by a pair of sophomores in first team All-VV AL Tessa Salvestrin and second team All-VV AL Jillian Fischer. Also playing well for the Braves were Anjali Monteverdi and Oliv Janerico, among others. The team has found ways to stick together and improve their camaraderie with one another and have shown great improvement in the second half of the league season.

Wrestling- The Wrestle Brave movement made some big leaps this year as they continue to grow in numbers and spirit! The team took home an impressive 3rd place finish in the NCS Division 3 Team Dual Championships. In the VV AL Postseason meet, Jacob Guiducci, Cooper Cohee, and Ya-Ya Martinez all took home first place medals and senior JP Negueloua, Guiducci; sophomore Cooper Cohee, and freshmen Brandon Guiducci and Kai Hoffmann all qualified for the NCS postseason meet. Other highlights for the team included defeating St. Pat’s of Vallejo in the annual Catholic Cup 78-0; going 3-0 to win the Foundation Cup Duals beating Division 2 Jesse Bethel of Vallejo 36-34; and winning the Vine Cup over Upvalley rival St. Helena 46-28.

Boys Soccer-The Boys Varsity Soccer team qualified for the postseason for the first time in over 10 years and has continued to be competitive against higher division schools in the league despite the final score not always reflecting that. Justin-Siena scored against Napa High (4-1 loss) and only narrowly went down to Casa Grande (2-0) after previously being beaten by them (5-0). Progress in the second half of the season in developing a new style of play is evident in this young team by being able to score on schools who previously held them scoreless at the start of the season (Napa & Vintage). A few of the team members and their accomplishments include: Most goals–Jacob Smith; MVP ’s Josiah Gutierrez (also earning first team All-VV AL honors) and Kevin Sosa; ALLHEART Award–Jordon Wright; Most improved Wyatt Pitts.

Boys Basketball-The Boys Varsity Basketball team had an extremely competitive season and earned a berth in the Division IV North Coast Section Playoffs. With a roster that consists of 2 seniors and 9 new players there has been tremendous growth throughout the season. Defensively they have held their opponents to 37% shooting and only 44 points per game. Liam McDevitt led the team on both sides of floor, earning VV AL First Team, Defensive Player of the Year honors. Freshman Vincent Jackson was named as a VV AL Honorable Mention while finishing third in the team in scoring. The Braves closed out league play strong with a win over second place Petaluma. With a total of 40 kids in the program from Freshman, JV, to Varsity, the future is bright for the Braves as they continue to build and develop for years to come.

Girls Basketball-The Braves have had some good highlights this season, topped by winning a home game over the team currently in 2nd place in their league, Petaluma. They honor their seniors who have been dedicated and great leaders, Karlie Wells and Gabi Richardson. Leading the team this year in scoring and rebounding was second team AllVV AL sophomore Isabella Wright. Also leading the team were Lexi Rosenbrand, Charmaine Griffin, Alyssa Curtola, and Mary Heun. With 9 of the 11 players returning next season and continued improvement from the JV team, the future looks bright for the Braves as they head into an important off-season that will be focused on improvement.