The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/297834
Page 7 April 17, 2014 Sports partan ound S off How will you stay active over Spring break? Mr. Gleason teacher "By going to the rodeo and playing golf" Brittany Manner (11) "Ride, rodeo, and hang out with friends" Mrs. DiSibio teacher "Hopefully riding my horse and gardening" Sean Derby (10) "Play a lot of video games" Luis Perez (12) "I guess I'll start running." Sound Off/Molly Shea Rylee Dufrain (9) "AAU Basketball" Spartan's Coach of the Issue Dave Michael Track & Field The coach of this issue is Mr. Michael. Mr. Michael is one of the track coaches at Red Bluff High School. He is very proud of how the track team has been doing and all of the effort they have expended at practices and track meets. When interviewed, Mr. Michael in regards to the team said, "They're a great group of hard working athletes who are getting ready for the second half of the season." The track team this year has more than eighty athletes. Track members excel at their events because of such wonderful coaches. Thank you, Mr. Michael! Coach of the Issue/Molly Shea The track team is getting ready for their second half of the season. Sean White, senior said, "Our track team is competing very well and training is fantastic." Sean was originally a cross country member and this is his first season of track as a long distance runner. Sean likes that track is more competitive and that people have an edge in their events for which they represent their school. White commented, "First season is really good and eye opening. To be able to see everyone else's abilities and all events are appreciated. Everyone has a different skill." Mike Stone and Austin Torres do the four by one, four by four, 100, 200 and 400. Mike's favorite part of track is the four by four with Austin Torres, K.J. Hinkston, and Jordan Johnson. They have the fastest time and are leading sections. Austin Torres would like to add that he loves winning the four by one. There have been some major setbacks and they are trying to rebuild. Mike and Austin added that, "We wouldn't give up anything for our senior year of track season unlike some people." Adrienne Hinkston likes the group thatshe runs with because "They are good at motivating and bumping each other up." Adrienne feels that everyone definitely has potential. Softball team had three games and one invitational over the past few weeks. They were against tough opponents, a double-header at Enterprise, playing every team in their division three times and even at the Wolfpack Invitational at Shasta High School, a division set of games lasting two days. Another one of those opponents was West Valley. "West Valley is one of our toughest competitors, but it should be a good game," commented third base, shortstop, and pitcher McKenzie Colgate, freshman, before the games. Most of their other games before these ones have been tournaments, and at Anderson where they placed third. "We did well in that particular tournament, it was a good game," said shortstop, center, left, right, first, and second base Michaela Mason, freshman. Another thing that helped them build up confidence for the invitational was their new coach, Jenny Caylor. All the players like her, "She helps us out a lot. Jenny is nice, understanding, and sports-minded," said first base and pitcher Morgan Waddell. The other teammates are consistent with their own opinions and thoughts on these games they have played. All have said that Enterprise should have been good games, while West Valley was believed to be a close game, and the Wolfpack should "Be close but very good games," according to outfielder, second base, and pitcher Sydney Adams. Overall, though, they believe they should do well in the games and possibly bring home a few wins, if the rain doesn't cancel their games. JV softball aims toward Red Bluff High School's Varsity Softball Team has been putting up a fight this year with a season record of 16-6, and a league record of 2-3. The team has been doing well lately, as they have been improving as the season progresses. The team has been in league for about two weeks now. They've recently played against Enterprise and West Valley. Their last game was a tournament at Shasta, in which they won the tournament in the last game against Corning High School. This win was good for the team's morale. Stefanie Brunello, a sophomore on the team, responded to the team's recent triumphs. "We've done really well," Brunello said. "We played Foothill twice [in the Shasta tournament] and beat them twice. It was a good confidence booster." Brunello, who has been playing softball since around age 8 in Red Bluff Little L e a g u e , reflected on the team's o v e r a l l perfor mance. "I think we've done pretty well. W e recently got swept by Enterprise, but we've overcome that and are doing better." Lately in practice, the team has been doing a lot of hitting drills, running, and conditioning. According to Brunello, they have no major strengths or weaknesses. "I think we're pretty well rounded," she stated. "We have good defense, and we've been hitting pretty well lately… We do pretty much the same stuff. Mainly, we just have to practice." According to Brunello, the team's only difficulty has been adjusting to different pitchers, particularly Foothill. Red Bluff's team has good defense, but hitting against different pitchers still needs some work. However, in the tournament at Shasta, Red Bluff's team was able to adjust to Foothill's pitcher and score two wins. In Brunello's opinion, the team members get along really well. They are cohesive, and are able to function well together as a team. This would lead to a solid defense on the field, as softball as a sport demands for a team to work together. The team has high expectations for this season, and they have set goals to motivate themselves to be successful. Last year, the Red Bluff Softball team was able to make it to sections. After last year, they know that they are capable of going that far and they intend to do even better. Like last year, the team is expecting to be successful. They are looking forward to doing well in the league and ranking higher later in the season. Varsity Softball players aim to improve rank The Red Bluff High School boys' tennis team had four games over the last two weeks. Those games were against Enterprise, West Valley, Foothill, and at Shasta. Before the matches, they were 4-2. The boys are somewhat confident that they will do well and bring back a few wins from these matches. While there are no foreseen tournaments or anything besides matches coming up, some of which are league matches, there are many games yet to be played in the season. The boys expressed several strengths and weaknesses they will use to their advantage in those games. Junior Nathan Fritz explained that the team very clearly has a knack for forehand swings, but they need to work harder on backhands. "Backhands and serves are a bit rough," said Fritz. Another strong point is that they all enjoy the game and put their all into it. Not only that, but almost all of the juniors and seniors have been playing the sport since their freshman year, meaning that they know a lot about how to play the sport and some techniques to pass down to the freshmen. One of their weaknesses, however, is that there are many new faces on the team. "We need to learn the game first, before we can play in the matches," said Conner Browning, a freshman on the team. Kaden Barriga, another freshman on the team, commented that these games could be difficult because they lost to Enterprise before and are top due to the Austrian exchange, where a few of their players have been during those games. They should be back by the time spring break arrives, though, meaning that this loss of players is only somewhat temporary. Most, or at least half of these games were at home, so there wasn't much done in terms of traveling for matches in those recent games. rivals with West Valley. There are a total of five freshmen on the boys' team this year, which is about a third of all fifteen of the team members. They are looking forward to participation in the games in the future, though. Another weakness pointed out by teammate Cory Twitchell, junior, is that they have been down a few players Red Bluff's boys tennis team starts off season with a struggle Track team prepares for second half of season William Yates, junior, practicing for another tennis match. Brianna Tackmier Staff Writer Jeff Mandolfo Staff Writer Molly Shea Staff Writer Brianna Tackmier Staff Writer success in future season The spartans fight their way towards hopefully another triumphant season "It was a good confidence booster." -Stefanie Brunello