The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/434552
Page 5 December 17, 2014 Sports What is your favorite part of Holiday Classic week? Mrs. Young (Assistant Nurse) "The dress up days, because I like to see how creative everyone can be." Thomas Cantrell (11) "The basketball games, because I can watch my boy Knight play." Mr. Mathisen (Teacher) "The hospitality, because the whole campus gets involved and it's a really nice feature." Shelby Dreisbach (10) "The dress up days, because I like the spirit." Samantha Winning (12) "Seeing everyone's face when all the other players come to school." Sound Off/Jay Boone William Nelson (9) "The slam dunk contest, because I am short." Brianna Tackmier A&E Editor Hailie Willey Staff Writter Red Bluff High School's Varsity girls soccer team gains player growth battling against tough teams Junior, Autumn Poole, kicking the ball during Varsity soccer's first game at RBHS's campus. Photo by Tymberlyn Bealer The Red Bluff High School varsity girls soccer team has had a strong start to their season, with many returning players adding to their experience on the field. The team recently beat Shasta High School in a league game. Senior Mikenna Corry said she felt confident about their season, saying "We have a lot of players returning after two years of varsity. Our defense is really strong with Ceighlee Fennel and Aislynn Lair, who both started playing varsity as sophomores. They're both pretty great." When asked about the teams new league competitors, Mikenna said "The new league competitors will make a big challenge for us, especially Chico and Pleasant Valley, their games always force us to play our very best and result in a lot of player growth." Mikenna also noted that the teams practices were going well, and the team is quickly getting better and better. "Team practices are always fun and productive," she said. "Mondays are conditioning days, where we get in really good shape, and the rest of the days are devoted to tactical skills. When asked about upcoming games, Mikenna said "I'm looking forward to playing Anderson, and pulling out a win. And West Valley, because we almost matched up with them last year, but we lost in the end." Andrea Martinez, a junior, is also confident in this year's team, saying "We just had a tournament in Oroville, and we got first place." Andrea said she felt the team had the same strengths as Mikenna mentioned, saying "Our senior players and our defense are really strong. Aislynn Lair and Ceighlee Fennel are great players." Ceighlee and Aislynn were often mentioned as particular strengths of the team. Returning senior Lilly Taylor admitted that the team is still perfecting some aspects of their play, but she felt that the team would soon improve. "We have to work on communication and getting to the ball first," she said. Andrea also admitted that she was looking forward to the teams upcoming match with Corning. "I'm actually really excited for the Corning game, because I hate Corning," Red Bluff High School's Varsity girl soccer team will be matching up against Anderson today, December 17. From their comments, our girls sound very determined that they will pull out a victory. Boys Varsity soccer started off their season with a tie against Shasta on December 3. They also had a tournament on the 6 and 7 at the Redding. They took second place only losing to Pleasant Valley 7-0. Lee Jauregui, junior, was asked about how he feels about the upcoming season and he said, "I feel like we have a good team this year and we are going to try our best to get to playoffs this year." Varsity has kept the same coach again this season, but there was a change. A JV team was made for the underclassmen. Since the new team was added, the Varsity coach moved down to JV and Varsity has taken on a new coach. Jauregui shared his thoughts on this new development, he said, "I feel it is a great opportunity for the lower class men to get playing time, have a team they can play with, and have a team they can develop with over the years." Also, the captain of Varsity was interviewed about having a JV. Mario Zepeta, senior, said, "It is better to have a JV because it is going to be more competitive this season." This season, Varsity team drew in fresh talent from an exchange student. Karam Al-Shargabi, junior, tried out for the team and made it onto Varsity. To find out some differences between playing soccer in Yemen compared to playing soccer in America, was questioned and he said, "Here you have bigger fields, really big fields. Everything else is the same." This year the Varsity boy's soccer team will be participating in Holiday Classic. This will be the first time soccer has become part of the Holiday Classic tradition. They have a tournament against many different schools. Jauregui said, "It is a good opportunity to have high schools all compete in one tournament, because it gives us a chance to compete on a different level." who used to do track when she was in high school. "The most challenging thing that I go through during a race is at the end, sometimes I can't catch my breath and I have to keep trying to get air into my lungs. The most challenging while practicing is trying to run up and down Noble Hill." To get prepared, Renfroe does a lot of core, arm, and upper body workouts. She, also, does a lot of long distance running and hill running. "My biggest fan is AJ Poni. He always encouraged me and he kept telling me he believed in me," Renfroe said. Mr. Hendricks, Naomi's coach, was very happy when he found out she got fifth place in sectionals. "I have known Omi had the ability to race at state level since last year. The key was for Omi to stay healthy," Mr. Hendricks said. Mr. Hendricks also received the Coach of the Year award. "I felt uncomfortable when receiving it because I don't do well at the receiving end of something. Like most coaches, I prefer most attention on the athletes." Mr. Hendricks said. Naomi Renfroe won fifth place in sectionals and is now able to go to the state competition. Her goal was to make the top twenty-five, and she was very excited that she got fifth place."I was so happy when I found out that I was going to State. I was crying tears of joy, and jumping up and down," Naomi said. Renfroe started running when she was in fourth grade. She was inspired to participate in track by her mother their offensive rebounding with the ball." Said wing Wesley Clawson, sophomore. Despite how short their season has been so far, the boys already know what they need to work on and what some of their strengths are. That first game, for the most part, was tied until the last minute of the game, and then an aggressive rebound from the opponent caused West Valley's at- the- end win against Red Bluff High's Junior Varsity boys. They have also noticed definite growth from last year to this year, but a lot of their strategy is still the same. According to sophomore point guard Dillon Garcia, the team still has very defensive plays, but they have also been working on their variety of defensive plays. "We definitely have more plays than last year, and we also are trying to make sure we are more offensive whenever we can get a rebound from opposing teams." Said Garcia. These boys have also been making sure to keep connected with each other, admitting that they have great team chemistry, good defense that they are constantly working on, and they play well together as a team. However, this first game did not result in a one-sided loss. "For the most part, we were actually very evenly matched against each other and the score was so close until that last minute when West Valley got the ball." Said Clawson. Also, work at practices are paying off, but each game shows definite differences form their practices. According to Clawson, "Games are much more intense and high-energy than practices. The atmosphere is lighter at practice, but we still focus because it's not as stressful as games can be, since focus is vital in games." This year the boys are striving to get in good plays and rebounds, while keeping their defensive ways of playing this game. They won't play in the ever so famous Holiday Classic Tournament until their junior and senior years. They will be on the Varsity teams, and they are really making sure to keep working on all their plays, rebounds, defense, and just about all other aspects of being basketball players. Their already strong bonds are included. One of these sports is boys' Junior Varsity Basketball. This year, they've started their winter season with a loss against West Valley on Tuesday, December 2, 2014. "One of the main factors of our loss against West Valley was due to With the closing of the Red Bluff High School's fall sports seasons came the high school's winter sports. JV basketball starts off their season focusing on their strengths and admiring their growth Varsity boys soccer starts their season off strongly Naomi Renfroe places at state Eric Spencer, handling the ball during the RBHS JV basketball game December 2, 2014. Photo by Ryan Fisher Ceighlee Fennel Features Editor Renfroe's medals she won while at RBHS. Josiah Vasey Opinions Editor partan ound S off Photo by Tymberlyn Bealer