TRITON REPORT

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

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Boys Distance Relay Teams Set 3 School Records at Arcadia Invitational

The San Clemente boys distance running team hasn’t lost any momentum from its cross country dominance in the fall.

The Triton harriers set three school records in three events run at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, at Arcadia High School.

In the 4×800-meter relay on Friday, San Clemente posted a time of 7:48.34 for third place in the invitational race. The Triton team of junior Taj Clark, junior Jackson Brownell, senior Grant Sestak and junior Brett Ephraim ran the fourth-fastest time in the state this season and eighth-fastest in the nation.

Later on Friday, the Tritons broke another school record in the 4×1760yard relay (or 4×1-mile relay) with a time of 17:34.69. The team of UC Berkeley-bound senior Juan Chantaca, UC San Diego-bound senior Rory Catsimanes, Sestak and Ephraim finished fifth in the invitational event with the top time in California this season. The relay time was actually faster than that of the shorter 4×1,600-meter relay school record broken earlier this season.

On Saturday, San Clemente posted its third school record of the weekend with a second-place finish in the distance medley relay. Catsimanes ran the 1,200-meter opening leg, Brownell ran the 400-meter second leg, Clark ran the 800-meter third leg, and Ephraim anchored again in the 1,600-meter closing leg for a time of 10:13.86, which is the fourth-fastest in the state this season.

The San Clemente distance runners will test their mettle again in the Orange County Championships on Saturday, April 15, at Mission Viejo High School.

Girls Lacrosse Continues League Domination in First-Place Fight

Entering Tuesday, April 11, both the San Clemente and San Juan Hills girls lacrosse teams had rolled over their South Coast League competition.

San Clemente posted a 20-1 win over Aliso Niguel, a 19-2 win over Trabuco

Hills and a 22-7 win over El Toro for a collective 61-10 league score. San Juan Hills earned a 17-9 win over El Toro, a 23-2 win over Aliso Niguel and a 19-9 win over Trabuco Hills for a collective 59-20 league score.

Something had to give when the Tritons and Stallions met at San Juan Hills on Tuesday, and it was San Clemente that broke down the home team.

San Clemente obliterated San Juan Hills, 24-8, to gain sole control of first place in the South Coast League. The Tritons (8-3, 4-0) led by eight at halftime, 13-5, and dominated the Stallions (8-3, 3-1) in the second half, 11-3.

It was the first game in nearly two weeks for both teams following Spring Break.

San Clemente, ranked No. 7 in the CIF-SS Division 1 and 2 combined poll, has one more nonleague game on its schedule at Newport Harbor on Thursday, April 13. The Tritons then charge through the second half of the league schedule, finishing up at home against San Juan Hills on April 26.

Both Newport Harbor and San Juan Hills are among other schools receiving votes but not ranked in the CIF-SS Division 1 and 2 poll.

Baseball Returns to League Play After Spring Break

The San Clemente baseball team won 13 of its past 16 games entering Wednesday, April 12, including a four-game tournament win streak over Spring Break last week. However, the break for the Tritons was bookended by league losses that stopped the hot San Clemente bats cold in their tracks.

After winning their first two Sea View League games, San Clemente’s eightgame win streak was snapped in an 11-1 loss at San Juan Hills on March 25, and following that four-game win streak over the break, the Tritons returned to league play with a 5-0 home loss to Aliso Niguel on Monday, April 10.

San Clemente (13-5, 2-2) played at Aliso Niguel (8-11, 2-2) on Wednesday, but results were not available at press time. The Tritons close out the three-game set against the Wolverines on Thursday, April 13, at San Clemente High School.

The Sea View League standings are incredibly close, with El Toro on top of the league at 2-1, San Clemente and Aliso Niguel in the middle at 2-2 and San Juan Hills in fourth at 1-2. As the early-season deluge of rainstorms canceled or shifted many games, the standings are likely to change quickly as the teams play condensed league schedules down the stretch.

After a nonleague game at Mission Viejo on Saturday, April 15, San Clemente will host two of three against San Juan Hills next week. The Tritons will host on Monday, April 17, and Friday, April 21, and the Stallions will host on Wednesday, April 19.

Boys Lacrosse Finds Hot Form

It’s a three-game win streak that has pushed the San Clemente boys lacrosse team into sole possession of second place in the South Coast League.

The Tritons (6-8, 2-1) responded to a three-game losing streak with a key league victory over Tesoro, 10-4, on March 30, and Spring Break didn’t slow San Clemente down, as the Tritons won a nonleague game at Santa Barbara, 13-3, on April 8, and put up a big league showing over Mission Viejo, 12-3, on Tuesday, April 11.

San Clemente’s next game comes at heavy South Coast League favorite Trabuco Hills on Tuesday, April 18. The Mustangs trounced the Tritons, 21-4, in their first meeting at San Clemente High School on March 23. Trabuco Hills (10-2, 3-0) is ranked No. 9 in the CIF-SS Division 1 and 2 poll.

Beach Volleyball Rounds Out Second Place in League

The San Clemente girls beach volleyball team has danced through the rainsoaked sands of this season, but once again, the Tritons couldn’t spin out of a tight loss against Aliso Niguel.

For the second time in South Coast League play, Aliso Niguel edged out San Clemente, 3-2, to clinch the South Coast League title for the Wolverines on Tuesday, April 11, at the Great Park in Irvine. San Clemente clinched second place.

San Clemente (9-4, 6-2) had won four league matches in a row, dropping just two games in the four matches.

The Tritons closed out the regular season against Tesoro on Wednesday, April 12, at Lasuen Beach, but results were not available at press time. The South Coast League Finals, a pairs tournament for CIFSS qualification, will be played Friday and Saturday, April 14-15, at Tesoro. SC