It was an exciting fall season of sports at JSerra with many accomplishments to be proud of and celebrated -- including 26 student athletes selected to receive All-Trinity League Honors!  There were too many successes to list in their entirety -- following are just some of the highlights from each fall sport's season. Congratulations to all!

FOOTBALL

The Lions played a stellar season with a final record of 9-3 and a MaxPreps National ranking of 17. The Lions placed 3^rd in Trinity League, 6^th in Division 1, and advanced to the quarter finals of CIF playoffs against Oaks Christian. With JSerra leading much of the game, Oaks Christian narrowly won in the final seconds with a score of 34-35 in favor of Oaks Christian.

Throughout the season the Lions played their heart out away and at home with several games won by a substantial lead including Calabasas (49-21), Pinnacle of AZ (42-35), and Corona Del Mar (49-7), as well as Trinity League rivals Orange Lutheran (56-21), and Santa Margarita (42-17). The Lions also came out on top for a second year in a row in a close contest against Bishop Amat (21-20).

Six Lions are committing next week during the Football Early Signing Period to continue their athletic career and education at the next level. Signees include Munir McClain – USC, Caden Bell – Columbia, Grant Ristoff – Penn, Shawn Nielsen – San Diego State, and Calvin Mouisset – UC Davis.

Recognition is due to the JSerra Football Parents for hosting Oaks Christian families at a pre-game tailgate as an act of Christian kindness following the devastating wildfires impacting many in the community.

Under Armour All-American Jersey Ceremony

Senior Seth MacKellar received his Under Armour All-American Jersey in a ceremony with his teammates, coaches, and parents in attendance. MacKellar, ranked as the #2 long snapper in the country, is the second student from JSerra to be selected to play in the All-American Game. JSerra alumnus Luke Wattenberg, currently playing offensive lineman for the Washington Huskies, was selected in 2016.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Girls' volleyball kicked off their season winning 3^rd place at Queens Court in the Elite Division. Finishing their season 3^rd in the Trinity League with a record of 3-6, the Lady Lions captured notable wins against Orange Lutheran (3-0) and twice against Rosary (3-1)(3-0).

In one of the most exciting matchups of the season, the Lady Lions put on a solid display of effort and teamwork in a playoff game against Orange Lutheran for a wildcard spot in CIF Southern Section Playoffs. With the score tied up numerous times throughout each match and fierce volleying for every point, the girls came up shy of the win.

Two Lady Lions committed to play volleyball and continue their education in college including, Peyton Dewers - College of the Holy Cross and Caitlin Mueller – Liberty University; and committing to play beach volleyball at the collegiate level, Shayne Francisco – University of Utah. Three Lady Lions will be playing D1 Volleyball next year.

"I'm so proud of these seniors," exclaimed Head Coach Mike Murphy. "They were an integral part this season on varsity. I'm confident they'll go accomplish great things. We are grateful for them." With the sport's growing popularity at JSerra, the future is looking bright for girls volleyball.

BOYS WATER POLO

Boys Water Polo ended their year with a record of 11-13 and placing 4^th in the Trinity League. Notable wins of the season for the Lions came against Ocean View (18-7), Valencia (16-5), La Costa Canyon (7-6), Monte Vista (23-6), and Trinity League rival St. John Bosco (14-3).

But the numbers don't tell the whole story. First Year JSerra Head Coach Brett Ormsby was brought on this past spring bringing a wealth of experience matched with success as both a collegiate athlete at UCLA and 2004 Olympian. As a high school coach, he built the powerhouse program at Cathedral Catholic where he led the program to five section titles in a nine-years.

This past season at JSerra, with a young team consisting of 50% freshmen and only two seniors, the emphasis was on developing skills and building a culture as a foundation for the future success. The gains here, were the true wins of the season.

"After countless opportunities for our young team to learn and grow throughout our first season together, we really look forward to a full off season of training. We have a comprehensive program in place, and while we know it will take more than a year to reach the level we ultimately want to be at as a program, we know that we can make major improvements in key areas during our first full year together."

GIRLS TENNIS

JSerra and Orange Lutheran tied this past season in league dual matches, forcing a 3rd place Trinity League playoff to determine which team advanced to CF playoffs. The Lady Lions fought hard and ended up in a 9 to 9 tie, which was broken by total game count of JSerra 68 to 72.

With a season record of 10-14, the Lady Lions garnered wins against Mission Viejo (13-5), Laguna Beach (9-9), Laguna Hills (7-2)(17-1), Trabuco Hills (11-7), Capo Valley (10-8), El Toro (10-8), as well as Trinity League schools Rosary (16-2)(15-3), Orange Lutheran (9-9).

Sophomore Taylor Barnes advanced to CIF Tennis Championships at the Claremont Tennis Club. After defeating her first opponent (6-0), (6-0), Taylor unfortunately had to play the #1 seed in the draw - a 10+ UTR rated senior from the CIF championship team of La Canada.

GIRLS GOLF

The Lady Lions placed 3rd out of 5 Trinity League teams at the League tournament with a record of 4-4 for the year in matches.

Junior Krystia Wilson advanced to the 1st round of CIF-SS Individuals at Western Hills finishing just outside the individual cut line of 81 with an 84. Wilson is the second JSerra golfer ever to go to CIF-Individuals.

In a huge step for the program, JSerra Girls Golf made their first appearance at CIF-SS Team Playoffs. The girls finished 10th out of 22 teams in the first round of playoffs with a score of 446. Cut-off for the top 3 teams was a 391.

CROSS COUNTRY

Both the girls and boys teams won Trinity League this past season with Nadia Tabrizi and Anthony Grover placing first overall. The wins bring the teams' combined total to 20 Trinity League Championships.

The boys team placed 2^nd at CIF Finals with Peter Herold placing 2^nd and Anthony Grover placing 4^th. The girls team placed 7^th and both teams advanced to the state meet.

Defending state champion junior Anthony Grover won his second Individual Championship at the CIF State Cross Country Championships and Senior Peter Herold placed 5^th overall with both achieving All-State honors. The boys team narrowly missed the podium, placing a close 6^th. The girls team placed 10^th with Nadia Tabrizi placing 14^th overall.

Anthony and Peter raced at Foot Locker Western Regional following the State meet. Anthony placed 4^th and moved on to the prestigious Foot Locker Nationals at Balboa Park where 40 of the top high school distance runners from across the nation gathered to compete. Peter placed 11^th at Foot Locker Western Regional, missing the cut for Nationals by a mere 11 seconds.

Senior Nadia Tabrizi committed to run and continue her education at Cal Berkeley.

 

ALL-TRINITY LEAGUE HONORS

Football:

1st Team: Munir McClain, Senior; Tarik Luckett, Senior; Christopher Street, Junior; Jack Harlow, Senior

2nd Team: Tyler Shimomura, Senior; Ryan Suliafy, Senior; Caden Blyth, Senior

Girls Volleyball:

1st Team: Shayne Francisco, Senior

2nd Team: Peyton Dewers, Senior

Boys Water Polo:

1^st Team: John Rydell, Senior

2^nd Team: Ryan Harding, Senior

Girls Tennis:

1^st Team: Taylor Barnes, Sophomore

2^nd Team: Kaley Houshmand, Sophomore

Girls Golf:

1^st Team: Krystina Wilson, Junior

2^nd Team: Mollie Owan, Senior; Heejo Hyun, Sophomore

Boys Cross Country:

1^st Team: Anthony Grover, Junior; Peter Herold, Senior; Matthew Burkhardt, Senior; Brennan Foody, Freshman

2^nd Team: Luc Bragdon, Senior

Girls Cross Country:

1^st Team: Nadia Tabrizi, Senior; Isabella Abusaid, Senior; Emilie Dufault, Senior; Madison Brough, Senior

2^nd Team: Lauren Viola, Freshman