The Mt. SAC Sports Blog

The JAMESY AWARD WINNERS

2008-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

The following is the WINNERS for all the student-athletes of Mt. SAC that have participated in Spring sports of 2008.
For all questions and comments reply here or email at James909@gmail.com.

MOST INSPIRATIONAL ATHLETE

WINNER: Megan Hill
RUNNERUP: Jazlyn Davis

Kadie Baldwin
Blaire Egardo
Carmen Deal
Andrew Roque
Matt Morse
Francesca Gonzales
Aiona Key

BEST MOMENT IN A GAME/EVENT*

WINNER: Baseball - Mt. SAC come-from-behind win on Pasadena with Walker Moore's grand slam 14-13 - Mar 8
RUNNER UP: T & F - Megan Hill breaks Mt. SAC record vaulting 11'9" - Mar 27

Golf - Andrew Roque shooting 3-under-par 69 & 4-under-par 68 - Apr 28
WHoops - Jazlyn Davis' 44 pts, 5 rebs, 3 steals against Fresno - Mar 15
T & F - The Track and field progam's record-breaking 12th consecutive South Coast Conference Championship beating El Camino 234-135 - Apr 26
Softball - Mt. SAC beating Cerritos 3-0 on final game of conference - Apr 22

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A GAME/EVENT (Statistically)

WINNER: Megan Hill - T & F - Mar 27 - Vaulting 11'9" to break Mt. SAC record
RUNNERUP: Daniela Coria - T & F - Apr 12 - 51.74m throw in Hammer Throw

Jazlyn Davis - Wbasketball - Mar 15 - 44 pts, 5 rebs, 3 steals
Brian Nicholson - Baseball - Mar 27 - 5-for-6, 4 singles, a double, walk, 2 RBIs
Shelair Rowell - Softball - Date Unknown - 9 strikeouts
Walker Moore - Baseball - Mar 8 - 4-for-5, 2 singles, triple, walk, grand slam
Versia Hodges - Basketball - Date Unknown - 32 points
Andrew Roque - Golf - Apr 28 - 4-under-par 68
Matt Morse - Baseball - Feb 8 - Complete Game 8K's

BEST DUO

WINNER: Jazlyn Davis, Carmen Deal - WBasketball
RUNNERUP: Stephanie Tingle, Kadie Baldwin - Softball

Randie Baldwin, Kadie Baldwin - Softball
Andrew County, Matthew Todd - T & F
Richie Escalera, Corwin Kim - Baseball
Shane Hurter, Jason Tsai - MSwimming
Versia Hodges, Gary McNellys - MBasketball
Versia Hodges, Aiona Key - MBasketball
Keyshawn Ross, Aiona Key - MBasketball
Adrienne Lewis, Danielle Lewis - T & F
ZsaZsa Lawson, Blaire Egardo - WBasketball
ALexsis Brown, Zsazsa Lawson - WBasketball
Jazlyn Davis, Blaire Egardo - WBasketball
Mandy Pongs, Shelair Rowell - Softball
Mandy Pongs, Francesca Gonzales - Softball
Francesca Gonzales, Shelair Rowell - Softball
Heather Ortiz, Liz Javier - Softball
Lucia Rodriguez, Shelair Rowell - Softball
Walker Moore, Chris Carrico - Baseball
Gregg Winger, David Ricker - Baseball
Shane Hurter, Travis Loie - MSwimming
Travis Loie, Jason Tsai - MSwimming
Nicole Han, Kristen Garlick - WSwimming

BEST DEFENSIVE TANDEM
WINNER: Blaire Egardo, Jazlyn Davis, Carmen Deal - Wbasketball
RUNNERUP: Randie Baldwin, Kadie Baldwin, Lucia Rodriguez - Softball

Shelair Rowell, Mandy Pongs - Softball
Ben Arlon, Brian Nicholson, Chris Carrico - Baseball
Aiona Key, Keyshawn Ross, Versia Hodges - Mbasketball
Carmen Deal, Janae White, Jazlyn Davis - Wbasketball
Randie Baldwin, Kadie Baldwin, Missy Mendoza - Softball
Zsazsa Lawson, Blaire Egardo, Jazlyn Davis - Wbasketball
Versia Hodges, Gary McNellys, Keyshawn Ross - Mbasketball
Liz Javier, Heather Ortiz, Alycia Romeo, Francesca Gonzales - Softball
David Ricker, Richie Escalera, Walker Moore, Gregg Winger - Baseball
Versia Hodges, Julian Reyes, Isiah Whitfield - Mbasketball

BEST OFFENSIVE TANDEM

WINNER: Jazlyn Davis, Carmen Deal, Blaire Egardo - Wbasketball
RUNNERUP: Kadie Baldwin, Francesca Gonzales, Stephanie Tingle - Softball

Walker Moore, Corwin Kim, Richie Escalera - Baseball
Shane Hurter, Travis Loie, Jason Tsai - MSwimming
Randie Baldwin, Kadie Baldwin, Stephanie Tingle - Softball
Versia Hodges, Gary McNellys, Keyshawn Ross - Mbasketball
Mandy Pongs, Francesca Gonzales, Shelair Rowell - Softball
Versia Hodges, Aiona Key, Gary McNellys - MBasketball
Gregg Winger, David Ricker, chris Carrico - Baseball

BEST GOLFER

WINNER: Andrew Roque

Brendan King
Robert Zibell
Reilly Breaux

BEST BASEBALL PLAYER

WINNER: Richie Escalera

Corwin Kim
Walker Moore
Matt Morse

MOST UNDERRATED BASEBALL PLAYER

WINNER: Brian Oda
Brian Nicholson
Kyle Smith
Gregg Winger
Richard Martin
Kyle Barton
Ricky Chavarria
Erik Vandenakker

BEST SOFTBALL PLAYER

WINNER: Kadie Baldwin

Mandy Pongs
Francesca Gonzales
Stephanie Tingle
Shelair Rowell
Randie Baldwin

MOST UNDERRATED SOFTBALL PLAYER

WINNER: Alycia Romeo
Liz Javier
Missy Mendoza
Heather Ortiz
Shelair Rowell
Diane Ortiz
Lucia Rodriguez

BEST TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE (W)

WINNER: Christine Cortez
Megan Hill
Daniela Coria
Tanya Brammer
Adrienne Lewis
Danielle Lewis

BEST TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE (M)

WINNER: Nate Koch
Matt Todd
Franklin Robinson
Josh Bethal
Djan Caldwell

BEST ALL-AROUND TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE (W)

WINNER: Tanya Brammer

Adrienne Lewis
Danielle Lewis

BEST ALL-AROUND TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE (M)

WINNER: Nate Koch

Franklin Robinson
Josh Bethal

BEST TENNIS PLAYER (M)

WINNER: James Ho

Eric Kao
Brian Ho
Akira Sawada

BEST TENNIS PLAYER (W)

WINNER: Jackie Sanchez
Jessica Suegami
Valerie Perez
Veronica Enriquez

BEST SWIMMER (M)

WINNER: Shane Hurter

Travis Loie
Jason Tsai
Joel Poole
Jeremi Arellanez
Armand Saliu

BEST SWIMMER (W)

WINNER: Kristen Garlick

Nicole Han
Andrea Louie
Valerie Hernandez
Rebecca Edwards
Danielle Stewart
Jessica Webb

BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER (M)

WINNER: Versia Hodges

Aiona Key
Gary McNellys
Keyshawn Ross

BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER (W)

WINNER: Jazlyn Davis

Blaire Egardo
carmen Deal
Zequoia Williams
Alexsis Brown

BEST ROLEPLAYER BASKETBALL (M)

WINNER: Chason Woods

Isiah Whitfield
Julian Reyes
Deilonzo Board

BEST ROLEPLAYER BASKETBALL (W)

WINNER: Alexsis Brown

Janae White
Sahfiya Brown
Zsazsa Lawson
Zequoia Williams
Amber Scruggs
Kendra Hill

BEST OVERALL ROLEPLAYER

WINNER: Blaire Egardo - WBasketball
RUNNERUP: Stephanie Tingle - Softball

Randie Baldwin - Softball
Brian Nicholson - Baseball
Chason Woods - MBasketball
Kyle Smith - Baseball
Gary McNellys - MBasketball
Sahfiya Brown - WBasketball
Alexsis Brown - WBasketball
Brian Oda - Baseball
Liz Javier - Softball
Lucia Rodriguez - Softball

BEST OVERALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER

WINNER: Jazlyn Davis - Wbasketball
RUNNERUP: Kadie Baldwin - Softball

Richie Escalera - Baseball
Mandy Pongs - Softball
Versia Hodges - Mbasketball
Aiona Key - Mbasketball
Francesca Gonzales - Softball
Corwin Kim - Baseball
carmen Deal - Wbasketball
Walker Moore - Baseball
Brian Nicholson - Baseball
Stephanie Tingle - Softball
Blaire Egardo - WBasketball

BEST OVERALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER

WINNER: Carmen Deal - Wbasketball
RUNNERUP: Jazlyn Davis - Wbasketball

Mandy Pongs - Softball
Matt Morse - Baseball
Versia Hodges - MBasketball
Heather Ortiz - Softball
David Ricker - Baseball
Shelair Rowell - Softball
Walker Moore - Baseball
Aiona Key - Mbasketball
Keyshawn Ross - Mbasketball
Alycia Romeo - Softball
Liz Javier - Softball

BEST ASSISTANT COACHING STAFF

WINNER: Crichlow, Armstrong, Williams, Sears - Wbasketball
RUNNERUP: Gomez, Valdez, Mossadeghi - Softball

Hollimon, Roderick, Curry - Mbasketball
Escalera, Urabe - Baseball
Plutchok, Petta, Thompson - Golf
Lepp - MSwimming
Lepp - WSwimming
Goff, Clacken, Kamaka, Gregorie & Co. - Track & Field

BEST COACH

WINNER: Laura Beeman - WBasketball
RUNNERUP: Kelly Ford - Softball

Criss Freeman - MBasketball
Stacy Parker - Baseball
Mike Green - Golf
Marc Ruh - MSwimming
Chris Jackson - WSwimming
Doug Todd - Track & Field
Sophie Salvador - WTennis
Joe Alayra - MTennis

BEST SPORTS TEAM

WINNER: W Basketball
RUNNERUP: Softball

M Basketball
Baseball
Golf
M Swimming
W Swimming
Track & Field
W Tennis
M Tennis

MOST UNDERRATED ATHLETE

WINNER: Alexsis Brown - WBasketball
RUNNERUP: Chason Woods - MBasketball

Josh Bethal - T & F
Lance Lutz - Baseball
Missy Mendoza - Softball
Nate Koch - T & F
Shelair Rowell - Softball
Danielle Lewis - Track
Valerie Hernandez - WSwimming
Jeremi Arellanez - MSwimming
Tanya Brammer - T & F
Armand Saliu - MSwimming
Liz Javier - Softball
Kyle Barton - Baseball

BEST FRESHMAN ATHLETE (M)

WINNER: Shane Hurter
RUNNERUP: Corwin Kim

Walker Moore
Bryan Nicholson
Versia Hodges
Andrew Roque
Jason Tsai
Travis Loie

BEST FRESHMAN ATHLETE (F)

WINNER: Christine Cortez
RUNNERUP: Stephanie Tingle
Blaire Egardo
Alexsis Brown
Kristin Garlick
Nicole Han
Heather Ortiz
Alycia Romeo

BEST SOPHOMORE ATHLETE (M)

WINNER: Matt Todd
RUNNERUP: Richie Escalera

Nate Koch
Aiona Key
James Ho
Matt Morse
Djan Caldwell
Franklin Robinson

BEST SOPHOMORE ATHLETE (F)

WINNER: Jazlyn Davis
RUNNERUP: Daniela Coria

Danielle Lewis
Adrienne Lewis
Mandy Pongs
Kadie Baldwin
Francesca Gonzales
Carmen Deal

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE

WINNER: Christine Cortez
RUNNERUP: Jazlyn Davis

Mandy Pongs
Daniela Coria
Kristin Garlick
Kadie Baldwin
Francesca Gonzales
Megan Hill
Carmen Deal

BEST MALE ATHLETE

WINNER: Matthew Todd
RUNNERUP: Richie Escalera

Shane Hurter
Versia Hodges
Travis Loie
Jason Tsai
Aiona Key
Corwin Kim
Walker Moore
Matt Morse
Brian Nicholson

JAMES' FINAL TOP 10 POWER RANKINGS*
10 - Shane Hurter - Swimming - A coach's favorite student; great personality guy; obedient and great in the waters; One to watch next year.
9 - Megan Hill - T&F - She had to accomplish one thing; the Mt. SAC Record ... that alone put her on here at the top of the rankings.
8 - Francesca Gonzales - Softball - Longball smasher; offensively was demolishing pitchers at every chance at ripping the ball; Indestructible batter.
7 - Richie Escalera - Baseball - Good numbers offensively at the end; satisfying 1st baseman; very low-key personality guy with an ability to smash the ball; consistent
6 - Mandy Pongs - Softball - Carried a heavy load of the team; took them on her shoulders during her years on offense and defense; future is bright for her.
5 - Kadie Baldwin - Softball - Offensively dependable; defensively sound in right field; stats across offensively are noticing; passionate and dedicated player.
4 - Matt Todd - Number 1 in the state in his event; competition doesn't touch him nor comes to what he's done.
3 - Carmen Deal - Whoops - MVP of state championship game; clutch player at the end and stepped up totally.
2 - Jazlyn Davis - Whoops - MVP of conference; of league; of California; of nation; of world; of galaxies etc.
1 - Christine Cortez - T&F - Dominated and destroyed her competitors almost every single time.

MVP

MVP (W): Jazlyn Davis
RUNNERUP (W): Mandy Pongs

MVP (M): Matt Morse
RUNNERUP (M): Matt Todd

Richie Escalera
Carmen Deal
Blaire Egardo
Francesca Gonzales
Kadie Baldwin
Corwin Kim
Daniela Coria
Stephanie Tingle
Shane Hurter
Kristin Garlick
Versia Hodges
Andrew Roque

FOR ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS EMAIL ME AT JAMES909@GMAIL.COM.

SAC Sports Show - New York Giants Linebacker Antonio Pierce

2008-05-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

ALL PHOTOS BY JAMES CHOY / WEEKLY NEWS & MOUNTAINEER

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

25 Minutes with New York Giants Linebacker & Mt. SAC football player Antonio Pierce.

Super Bowl Champion New York Giants Linebacker Antonio Pierce speaks to Strength & Conditioning Coach for Women's Soccer Jeff Gilbert about playing sports at Building 50G at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA.

Antonio Pierce converses with Mounties football coach Bob Jastrab (Left) and (Right) Tony Rodriguez at Building 50G at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA.

SAC Sports Show hosts Podcast Editor James Choy (Top Right), Mountaineer Sports Correspondent Darryl DJ Fuller (Middle Right) and Mountaineer Sports Editor Jordan Takeyama (Bottom) interview Antonio Pierce (Left) days at playing for the Mounties during a podcast.

Jordan Takeyama and Darryl Fuller laugh as Antonio Pierce humorously speaks of his internship working at the Howard Stern Show.

Antonio Pierce speaks during the SAC Sports Show podcast at Building 50G talking about his future and his next goals in the NFL.

Choy's Power Rankings 3: Tie at #3? Baldwin up to #2? Davis gets the #1!

2008-03-06T00:40:00.000-08:00

Effective up to Mar. 6, 2008

Power Rankings Top 10

10 Richie Escalera
9 Becca Edwards
8 Corwin Kim
7 Shelly Rowell
6 Shane Hurter
5 Carmen Deal
4 Francesca Gonzales
3 Mandy Pongs
3 Matt Morse
2 Kadie Baldwin
1 Jazlyn Davis

NOTE: Mar. 8, 2008 is the explanation post of why these rankings are what they are.

Jazlyn Davis Plays Like A Number One Player

2008-02-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

If there was any doubt to why sophomore Jazlyn Davis should be the number one player in Mt. SAC, you wouldn't hear it after her performance against Compton on Feb. 22.

OK, so it was Compton--a team that is not close to a top-ranked team but as you trace back to all the games previous --- Davis was the nuclei in bringing about the team to where it is.

The Mt. SAC women's basketball team end the season having only one loss to their record--the first game of the season.

All that was wondrous of how they would do after that first game is a distant memory now.

Head coach Laura Beeman is no stranger to winning and for six of the last seven years, the team is headed to yet another journey to Fresno.

But let's set aside all the team effort, the coaching and the fact that the women's basketball team is the number one ranked team in the state.

Let's set aside the other elements that made up of a flawless Mountie season.

Let's take a look at Ms. Jaz Davis.

She's consistent, she's physically in tip-top shape and her courageous ability to dribble-drive to the basket tells much about who she is and what she's about. Her demeanor is quiet and her body language is one of, well her posture shows a relaxing way about her movement.

She's a visualizer, a product of seek and destroy. Her handles are second to none and her way about responding to adversity is almost to the point of, "I'm going for the kill so try and stop me."

There hardly is a symptom of flaw in her overall makeup. Her leadership and her unselfish ways intoxicates her teammates---if not on-court she quietly stands aside Captain Beeman laying out adjustments and ways to attack on the offensive end.

The numbers have been steady all year long.

Her supporting cast all bring a role and a helping hand when things go wrong.

But in Davis' world, not much to see in what goes wrong.

She scored 27 points against Compton in an almost-effortless manner and her intensity sometimes can be deceived as either nonchalant or vigorous.

The Mounties are headed to the post-season once more. With every season, there is always that one leader that is molded, nurtured and schooled in the ways of the Beeman way. Last year we saw the emergence of Tay Hester lead the squad to a championship.

This year, we can look forward to Davis carrying that tradition ...

a tradition to lead and to win.

Women's Softball officially 7-10 Due to Forfeiture

2008-02-21T22:38:00.001-08:00

The following information was taken from the Mt. SAC Athletics Department:

NOTES: Mt. SAC defeated El Camino, 15-8, in a South Coast Conference game at Mt. SAC. Shelair Rowell was the winning pitcher and the top Mountie batters were Mandy Pongs (3-4, 2B), Francesca Gonzales (3-4, 2 2B), Randie Baldwin (3-3, 3 2B), and Lucia Rodriguez (2-4, HR). Mt. SAC, following the forfeiture of its first nine wins, is now 7-10 overall and 3-0 in South Coast Conference play. The Mounties will face Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m., and Cuesta at 5 p.m. Both games will be played at Bakersfield College.

Rodriguez Leads the Mounties Over El Camino In a Big Way

2008-02-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

"Lucia! Lucia! Lu-ci-a!!"

Mountie outfielder Lucia Rodriguez, with the help of relief pitcher Diane Ortiz helped to keep El Camino away from any attempt in coming back as the Mounties beat the Warriors by a score of 15-8.

Mounties pitcher Shelair Rowell took control on the mound early against each Warrior that came up to bat for the first few innings. By striking out a number of the ladies and holding the Warriors scoreless, the Mounties lineup responded by putting on a clinic with their numerous base hits, especially in the second.

The quartet of Mandy Pongs, Francesca Gonzales, Rowell and Rodriguez instigated the first few runs of the game and took a 3-0 lead before more runs from the Mounties came about later during the next couple innings.

With Rowell taking control most of the way, left-handed pitcher Lisa Hernandez relieved Rowell midway thru the game but unfortunately had trouble with control against the first few Warrior batters. Hernandez resulted in giving up one run in the fourth inning, two runs in the fifth and five in the sixth.

With two women on-base for El Camino, the next Warrior batter smashed a shallow texas-leaguer towards center field when Rodriguez made a stomach-first dive and caught what could've been a much closer end-result from a eight-run attack by El Camino.

The comeback from El Camino led to Mountie head coach Kelly Ford in bringing in Ortiz for Hernandez to help close out the Warriors once and for all.

With additional runs needed to ward off another El Camino comeback in the seventh, Ortiz came at-bat and smacked a liner to the outfield bringing in Gonzales, who hit a base-hit earlier and provided the extra insurance run.

However, Rodriguez came after another Mountie made on-base and unleashed a right-field bomber out the park for a home run thus closing the book on any chance for El Camino to comeback as the Mounties held off the Warriors with Ortiz finishing the pitching job for the win.

Thanks to Rodriguez's late-game actions and the contributions of the ladies, the Mounties are back in their winning streak since their loss to Sacramento City last weekend.

POWER RANKINGS 2: Pongs Still Tops; Davis Falls?

2008-02-20T15:50:00.001-08:00

The following is a bi-monthly list of the top 10 current Mt. SAC athletes during the winter-spring season till Feb. 16.

With another week and-a-half gone by, three Mt. SAC athletes come into the rankings making a sudden impact to their respective programs. The surprise of the ten comes from Jazlyn Davis, who previously was ranked second the last time around—has fallen to third. Teammate Carmen Deal takes over the second spot.

Other names to note making a climb along with Deal is Kadie Baldwin up one with her recent offensive production during the past week.

RANK-NAME-LAST RANKING-SPORT-HIGH SCHOOL

10 Aiona Key (10) / M Basketball / Mesa Verde HS ---Key has a 46% field goal percentage but his talent and ability is what stands out the most about his game.

9 Versia Hodges (7) / M Basketball / Don Lugo HS---Hodges has the identical field goal percentage as Key but averages 2 turnovers a game.

8 Richie Escalera (8) / Baseball / South Hills HS---Gradually he’s beginning to pick up on the offense, but a bit too early to pinpoint where he stands at this point.

7 Corwin Kim (-) / Baseball / Arcadia HS--- Despite the 0-for-4 outing in Fullerton, Kim is batting .500 and continuing to impress with his number of runs scored.

6 Francesca Gonzales (-) / Softball / Arroyo HS---16 games in and ‘Frenchy’ is fifth in RBI’s (11), third in home runs (4), second in triples (3) currently in the state; It was a matter of time before we see her murderous longballing

5 Matt Morse (-) / Baseball / Glendora HS---Arguably one of the best pitchers in the state. His experience will only make him effective as the season goes by.

4 Kadie Baldwin (5) / Softball / Santiago HS---Top hitter in the team (.500), fourth in the state with most hits (18), eighth with most RBI’s (10), and second as the toughest to strikeout (38 at-bats), that will get it done.

3 Jazlyn Davis (2) / W Basketball / E.L. Bowsher HS---This was tough to drop ‘Jaz’ seeing that her leadership holds the team together, but production-wise I had to take the comparisons in stats and make that out as the deciding factor.

2 Carmen Deal (4) / W Basketball / Desert Pines HS---She averages 64% field goal, 16 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals a game. Her presence in the low-post is important to compliment Davis’ backcourt abilities.

1 Mandy Pongs (1) / Softball / Ayala HS---Without her 46+ innings pitched this early in the season, where would the team be? With an 8-2 record and fifth in the state with the most strikeouts (42), Pongs also ranks in the top 7 with hits and RBI’s.

WHY DAVIS FELL TO #3?

Jazlyn Davis is rightfully as better as Mandy Pongs. The fact that both sports have different assignments, tasks and circumstances that makeup of what a great/productive athlete one is, statistics play a part in defining how good an athlete is.

I know it's unfair and unjustified to not mention the intangibles and the things you don't see in stat sheets. Davis is a leader; she exhibits a professional attitude on and off the floor and has a very low-key but friendly personality and we also know that in necessary situations she comes through and produces when needed ... and while that is a significant thing to note, Pongs is equally the professional herself and is in more of a dire situation taking the role as a pitcher for many of the games the Mounties played early in this season.

Pongs has a more all-around performance that shows--hitting and pitching. Especially since she is the ace pitcher of the team, teammate Shelair Rowell is the next in the rotation to step up and since then she has pitched little in comparing to what Pongs has done.

Pongs' consistency in hitting is also another factor. Her batting behind teammate Kadie Baldwin has been one of the big strengths in the Mounties' offense. The one-two punch of Baldwin-Pongs has been a measurable part of the runs that have been produced when looking at both of their offense so far.

This discredits nobody else in the batting rotation --- but in the sense of 3-2-1 rankings, then why is Carmen Deal #2?

Deal is a sizeable low-post offensive/defensive presence that is every bit important in the lineup. Her lengthy arms and adept ability to dribble the ball down court also makes her a multi-dimensional type player. With leaping ability to block and rebound is essential to any team that has a low post player. Deal has that. When you intermix Deal and Davis side-by-side, you have the makings of two big elements important to set the tone of the scoring.

Deal's consistency (Davis does also) in her stats prove that she is far more the necessity on court however, Davis facilitates and creates looks.

Statistics alone can determine the makeup of a player but agreeably they don't make up the complete player. I'm sure Davis has the every necessary thing in considering her the MVP of the team, but both are complimentary to one another and are every bit a must in being seen with high regard - but hey, I sought them to be so equal that someone had to unfortunately take the lower slot.

Pongs in conclusion has her own and does her own thing and is moreover the top; and may be there for quite some time if this does not let off.

FRENCHY RIPPIN; MORSE SHOWING NO REMORSE; KADIE KILLIN

It was just a matter of time before we see the beast in 'Frenchy' let loose in the offensive side. I personally set myself to high of expectations in getting her to start and produce immediately, so I let that go. Gonzales is doing what she does best and that's smash the ball and rip it. As good as the first three-four names are in the batting rotation, practically the entire lineup is deadly at the plate. ORTIZ, JAVIER, RODRIGUEZ, NIETO are definitely no 'lightweights' with the aluminum for sure.

On the baseball side, Matt Morse is horsin' the ball ... and with authority. His last three outings have been damn good and if this continues to be, you can definitely stamp him as one of the easily first-team players to be heard of come end of the season.

Although I may be way premature in declaring this, his experience and composure is well, and hopefully will carry over to the rest of the pitching staff.

Lead-off hitter Kadie Baldwin has had several bad at-bats in the last week. But memories of woes and hardships soon became just that--memories when she recently came through with some serious hitting during the Sac City Tournament. Baldwin is lead hitter of the team and has the highest batting average---reports are that she has moved into third as lead hitter in the state.

If this continues, the rankings will be every bit more complicated to determine as it's been now.

CORWIN & THE HOOPSTERS

Corwin Kim is maintaining and hitting well. You can say he's the replica of Kadiee Baldwin. Both have impressive hitting since the start of the season--both have had there share of unproductive at-bats, but both are doing it despite what the other teammates have done.

Kim has had a good deal of production on-base with the number of runs scored almost on a game-to-game basis, well almost-almost. By coming into the power rankings, Kim's presence is definitely felt and is definitely one to watch.

In basketball, the one problematic thing that is obvious with the lineup is the consistency and turnovers.

Versia Hodges does commit turnovers. But so does everyone else in the team. At times when the game is late and the team is in need of a go-to guy---Hodges is the man to call.

But do not forget Aiona Key.

Both Hodges and Key are essential in keeping this team neck-to-neck with opposing teams. Both have the quickness, leaping ability and the will to lead and to takeover.

Key notably has shown so many signs of scoring in the clutch and in during necessary moments.

The problems of the team may be one particular element that distracts the chemistry of the team flow, but sometimes a hero in need is what the Mounties got to have.

Key or Versia is a good option in those situations ...

but Key has the size, the courage and the hops to make that happen.

Truth be told.

My letter to UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel and his reply of Kevin Craft!

2008-02-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

Photo Courtesy of Mt. SAC Athletics

I sent an e-mail to UCLA football head coach Rick Neuheisel in regards to Kevin Craft. I figured he needed to know a bit more of what Kevin is about. So I decided to take my journalism hat off and put on my fan cap on and send him what I wanted to say and this is what I said:

from James Choy
to rneuheisel@*******.***
date Feb 6, 2008 9:41 AM
subject An Email Regarding KEVIN CRAFT
mailed-by gmail.com

Coach Rick Neuheisel,

First off, thanks for taking the time in reading this email.

Secondly, Congratulations on being UCLA head coach.

My name is James Choy. I was formerly the sports editor of the Mountaineer newspaper here in Mt. San Antonio College during the fall of 2007. I am currently the sports editor of a small newspaper in the city of Walnut called the Walnut Weekly.

I have spent the entire semester in the fall following Mt. SAC football and have also done 'research' of the team during their season.

At this point I want to STOP speaking as a journalist and speak to you not as a fan but more as an informer/scout.

I have talked to, hung out, spent time with Craft just to get to know him a little more. I went to practices and had casual conversations and there are certain things I can say most definitely of him.

OFF THE FIELD:
- The most down-to-earth person you'll ever know.
- Seemingly shy but extremely passionate of football from A-Z.
- He's very family-oriented and not really the outspoken, rowdy type.
- A dedicated person and very low-key.

ON THE FIELD:
- He's friendly as you can see anyone to be; he unifies with this teammates well and builds a chemistry instantly with his quiet personality. Everyone at Mt. SAC really looks up to him.
- During pressure situations when opponents were threatening to score on the Mounties with time running out, Craft is great ... he's very composed and mindful of the situation at hand. A couple of games when the Mounties were down, Craft was real efficient in the short-game pass and sometimes the 15-30 yard passes. Him and receiver Aiona Key would be a deadly go-to combo with Aiona's height and his spectacular vertical leap.
- Craft loves to pass. His first two games were so impressive, I wrote an article seeing as how bizaare he was assimilating his style of play much like Peyton Manning.
- On some games during the season, he would do a little rushing and scrambling to show some extensive abilities as QB.
- As long as the O-line is stable, Craft is good at catching his teammates and targeting his passes with accuracy--much different from other quarterbacks. I spent extensive time checking out some other quarterbacks from opposing schools at how they play their game and I just notice the difference of Craft's style a bit more.
- He makes other players better PERIOD.
The Mt. SAC unit were all 'pretty good' players but Craft did such a good job at distributing the ball to receivers and backs .... on some research, I saw in two-three weeks straight, there were about 3-4 receivers each ended the game with 70-80 yards receiving and a couple with 1 or 2 TD's in the process.

You may know most of this stuff already - but from someone else's eyes, I figured with what I reiterate to you might be something you can obtain as what to remember and note.
Kevin is a professional. He has great coaching from his father and from Coach Jastrab --- his way of life outside the gridiron is equally as great.

On my final interview with Coach Jastrab *during a home playoff game* , he pointed to both Tom and Kevin walking off the field and he told me, "Those two ... I really don't know what what we'd be without them ... I mean what can you say."

I hope this email provided some deeper insight and understanding of what Kevin's about.

He told me he's willing and ready to be nurtured under yourself and Norm Chow ...
And I'm downright proud of him ...

Thanks for taking the time in reading this.

Sincerely,

James Choy

PS - Good fortunes to you and the team!

In response to this email --- Coach Neuheisel replied to me and said:

from Rick Neuheisel
to James Choy ,
date Feb 18, 2008 7:20 PM
subject Re: An Email Regarding KEVIN CRAFT
7:20 PM (1 hour ago)

James, Thanks for your insight. We are very excited to have Kevin coming to UCLA!

Let's hope we're both right! All the best, RN

All eyes on Craft who will be headed to UCLA this spring. He has told me during a phone interview that he's ready for the quarter to begin with his classes and that, 'he was pumped up.'

Good luck Kevin ... the whole eastside is standing behind you man.

THE BAD: Men's Hoops ... THE GOOD: Women's Softball

2008-02-12T21:26:00.001-08:00

The men's basketball team of Mt. SAC is slowly losing ground.

THE PROBLEM?
At this point, the Mounties are losing ground (9-15, 1-5) and are falling deeper in the pit. The continuous problem of turnovers and careless passing is causing opponents to fast break against the defense and force the Mounties to give up many offensive rebounding.

THE ANSWER?
Aiona Key. If there is any sense of positive outcome, it is him. His jumping ability, quickness and ability to easily move to the key and lay it up for two is becoming a regular thing and opponents require double coverage to disrupt Key's play.

The strategy of the Mountie offense must change. Much of the offensive setup in getting the open shot has continuously been disrupted by hard defense and/or careless turnovers. Mounties coach Criss Freeman has emphasized and worked very hard in getting the team to pass efficiently and to move.

So far, the flow is very raw and while several players like Keyshawn Ross, Versia Hodges and Key are showing spurts of interest, the inconsistent drive to a perfect play has not appeared for the Mounties offense.

Defensively, the Mounties are doing ok. By missing a number of low-post players to provide defense it has not been easy for Freeman to get what he needs to make this lineup flawless. Instead, he has to play the hand that's dealt to him.

Key is the one bright spot that's at all shown some light of hope for the team. His physical ability and body control is more fluid than last year's state-leading player Rishawn Norwood--only Norwood has the more consistent high-percentage shot.

Key is raising interest to many who have watched him in the past few games. What's mystifying is why he is not inserted in the starting rotation yet?

The key is Key.

He must be sought after as the first option to the team to show any signs of getting over the hump of a .500 overall record. The 1-5 record in the conference has the Mounties at the bottom and with no immediate improvement, they may just remain there.

Without the Key, there is no open door for the Mounties to go through.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MOUNTIES' SOFTBALL TOO OVERWHELMING

Last week, Mounties outfielder Kadie Baldwin was batting at a stunning .775. Against the last two teams, she has gone hitless possibly due to a problematic shoulder soreness. During her game versus Long Beach City, Baldwin went 0-for-3 but twin sister Randie has gone 3-for-3 including a double included with a Shelair Rowell's solo home run before Francesca 'Frenchy' Gonzales blasted one in left center.

As of late, Gonzales has been on a hitting spree. As more at-bats come, Gonzales is starting to get back to her old self last year when she had 20+ home runs and a hoard of runs batted in.

Pitcher Mandy Pongs has continued her pitching dominance overtaking opponents in the count, striking out batters and rely/trust on her Mountie defense to control the opponent's offensive spurt.

Other batters like Liz Javier, Lucia Rodriguez and Heather Ortiz have provided extra runs and production with runs scored and runs batted in. Their first conference win against Long Beach is only the beginning of what this fully stacked lineup will show as their 10-0 record not only astounds but amazes many.

The Mountie dominance led by head coach Kelly Ford is becoming a traditional pattern. The recruiting has become a very successful feat for the coaching staff and the loose yet educational provision that the girls receive makes it look as if the season is not just a serious conquest to another state championship but more like a fun journey to a destination too familiar and possible.

As the conference resumes, we will know more at how good these girls are.

How good will these girls be compared to as opposed to the teams from previous years.

Stay tuned.

POWER RANKINGS: Why Mandy Pongs is #1

2008-02-07T08:19:00.001-08:00

Choy’s Mt. SAC Power Rankings
By James Choy
The following is a bi-monthly list of the top 10 current Mt. SAC athletes during the winter-spring season effective till Feb. 4.

10 Aiona Key / M Basketball / Mesa Verde --- His vertical leap is jaw-dropping but his body control and intelligence is something to see.

9 Keyshawn Ross / M Basketball / El Camino Real --- His low-post presence is vital to the team but his ability to rebound and score is an asset without another big man to help him.

8 Richie Escalera / Baseball / South Hills --- He led the team in home runs and RBI’s last year and will be every bit as important in leading the team not with his talent but with his overall makeup.

7 Versia Hodges / M Basketball / Don Lugo --- Hodges is a leader and the true facilitator of the Mountie offense. His adept ability to bob and weave allows him to be one of the quickest but also one of the deadliest guards in the conference.

6 Liz Javier / Softball / Warren --- Javier had a eight-for-11 outing in a two-day doubleheader this past weekend. She’s already making a name for herself as a freshman phenom.

5 Kadie Baldwin / Softball / Santiago --- Coach Kelly Ford shouldn’t think of ever taking Kadie out of the number one slot. She’s 10-for-12 right now and is leading the team in batting average. She and Javier are killing the baseball right now.

4 Carmen Deal / W Basketball / Desert Pines --- Deal recently was injured and possibly might affect the team tremendously. Her 16.0 point avg. 8.9 rebounds a game may hurt if no one fills her shoes.

3 Gregg Winger / Baseball / Canyon --- The past weekend had Winger batting .450 with three RBI’s and three runs scored. His hitting is impressive as of late.

2 Jazlyn Davis / W Basketball / E.L. Bowsher --- Davis has a 51.1% field-goal pct. averaging 17.8 points a game. She’s undoubtedly the MVP of the league right now.

1 Mandy Pongs / Softball / Ayala --- Three games of outstanding pitching in two days plus an astounding batting performance has her as the #1 player right now in Mt. SAC undoubtedly.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:
Gary McNellys
Chris Carrico
Francesca Gonzales
Sahfiya Brown
Matt Morse
Shelair Rowell

+++++++++++++++

The argument of who is #1 between two athletes, Mandy Pongs and Jazlyn Davis can easily be decided on amount of play alone.

Davis is already 20+ games into the season having already produced stats good enough to be noted as the obvious #1 player.

So why does Pongs get the #1 ranking?

Both the basketball and the softball team are coming into the season as defending state champs. Davis has become the go-to player in the times when the Mounties are looking for a leader. However, Pongs is also a leader in her own right taking the mound a number of times--recently pitching three straight games and striking out 17 batters already early in the season with only four games played. But also including the post-season last year--Pongs was awarded All-Tournament MVP not just from pitching alone but also her ability to hit the ball as well. Pongs' batting average currently is at .417 having already hit a home run and 4 RBI's. Only Francesca Gonzales, Kadie Baldwin and Liz Javier is higher. Pongs' performance has continued to carry over from last season into this season and pretty much seems to remain consistent.

Mandy's pitching aside from teammate Shelair Rowell is at the top. She ranks #2 currently in the conference in pitching in all categories and is on pace to possibly being a two-time MVP considering if all goes perfect for the Mounties---but that's premature for now.

Davis was a factor in last season's run to a championship however with her company, she's had the presence of Chari Smith and Tay Hester who were the primary go-to players during the season. Davis provided a backup role in which her presence became significant to maintaining the Mounties' stability during games that were close. The numbers for Davis are much higher this year but not so high from last year obviously from not being the first option player.

The impact from last season carries weight to declare Pongs as the #1 player currently. However within the two weeks that surpasses, anything can happen and could happen resulting in a much different outcome.

OTHER INFORMATION ON OTHER PLAYERS:

Carmen Deal's MCL sprain is sought to be not serious and is on crutches for precautionary reasons. Basketball coach Laura Beeman has specified that Deal is fine and is just taking necessary steps in recovering progressively.

Baldwin and Javier are producing well amongst both of them when combining team stats with the rest. Both together are 16-for-23 in at-bats and are showing early signs of power and production for the team.

Surprisingly, Gonzales is coming through but in a more gradual sense. I was looking to see an instantaneous start from her with a combination of longballing and power-hitting. Despite that in 12 at-bats, she's come through with 5 hits, one RBI, one run scored thus far. She'll definitely be looked at as the games go on.

On the men's side, Gregg Winger has had a great past weekend producing hits and runs scored and is bringing his hitting ability into the limelight.

Alike Gonzales, Richie Escalera is gradually making his production known from the past weekend. Despite the 0-for-4 day against Riverside, Escalera has had a great freshman season and very likely will bring it through as the season goes on for him.

One name to really look at is Corwin Kim a freshman left-fielder, who currently has brought some lift in his hitting and is a name not mentioned in the rankings but is one to look at as weeks go by.

In men's basketball, Versia Hodges, Keyshawn Ross, Gary McNellys and Aiona Key all are showing promise as their team slowly begins to develop through each game. Despite a 9-13 record, the vibe amongst the teammates is growing postively and under the watch of Coach Criss Freeman, in due time you may see two of these four climb in rankings as well. All eyes will be on them.

For comments, questions --- send emails to James909@gmail.com.

Nominations for THE JAMESYS ARE HERE!

2007-12-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

THE NOMINATIONS

NOTE: The winners will be revealed at Friday's women's basketball game!! - If you are not able to attend --- results will be submitted Saturday night Dec. 15!!!!!

MOST INSPIRATIONAL
- Norma Vazquez -- WSoccer
- Luis Medina – MX-Country
- Ashley Aizumi – Golf
- Christine Cortez – WX-Country
- Kevin Craft – Football
- Aiona Key – Football

BEST COMEBACK
- Mt. SAC vs Chaffey 14-13 DOT & SD – Oct 10: Mwpolo
- Mt. SAC vs Pasadena 26-25 – Oct 13: Football
- Mt. SAC vs Bakersfield 47-42 – Dec 1: Football
- Mt. SAC vs Solano 4-3 – Aug. 31: WSoccer

BEST UPSET
- Mt. SAC vs Pasadena – Football
- Mt. SAC vs Long Beach – Wsoccer
- Mt. SAC vs Cuesta - Wwpolo

BEST PLAY
- Matt Escobar final shot to beat Chaffey – Oct. 10: MWpolo
- Cameron Sims’ winning goal to beat Santiago Canyon – Nov. 20: MSoccer
- Alicia Gutierrez’s 30 foot shot to the goal to beat East L.A. – Oct. 9: WSoccer
- Falisha Ramirez’s 20 foot ricochet goal to beat Bakersfield – Nov. 17: WSoccer
- Aiona Key’s 38 yard TD to beat Pasadena 26-25 – Oct. 13: Football

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A GAME
- Cameron Sims’ 3-goal performance vs Compton – MSoccer
- Kevin Craft’s 452 total yards, 6 TD’s vs Cerritos – Football
- Matt Austin’s 9 receptions 142 yards, 2 TD’s vs MSJC – Football
- Mikey Edwards‘ 9 goals against L.A.Valley – Mwpolo
- Kelsey Duling’s 26 kills, 17 digs against Orange Coast – Volleyball
- Lori Magnusen’s 37 digs against Cypress – Volleyball
- Falisha Ramirez’s 1.4 goals a game average during the Fall - WSoccer

BEST DUO
- Julio Soria & Cameron Sims – Msoccer
- Tosha Davda & Falisha Ramirez – Wsoccer
- Michelle Purper & Kelsey Duling – Volleyball
- Kevin Craft & Aiona Key – Football
- Lori Magnusen & Brianna Fischer – Volleyball
- Michelle Lutz & Becca Edwards – WWpolo
- Matt Escobar & Mikey Edwards – Mwpolo
- Kevin Craft & Matt Austin – Football
- Karlos Gonzalez & Cameron Sims – Msoccer
- Julie Rizo & Tosha Davda – Wsoccer
- Shani Ibarra & Falisha Ramirez – Wsoccer
- James Um & Mikey Edwards – Mwpolo
- Juan Jacinto & Luis Medina – MX-Country
- Andrew Romero & Mikey Edwards - Mwpolo
- Cameron Sims & Karlos Gonzalez - Msoccer

BEST DEFENSIVE TANDEM
- Veronica Wilhelm, Alicia Gutierrez & Tati Gutierrez - Wsoccer
- Andrew Swink, Brandon Johnson, Eugene Germany, Bernard Afutiti – Football
- Gabriel Tinoco, Jose Osorio, Cruz Hernandez, Luis Ocampo – Msoccer
- Lori Magnusen, Valerie Varela, Pamela Walker – Volleyball
- Andrew Romero, Will Brown, Shane Hurter – Mwpolo
- Andrew Romero, Matt Escobar, Mikey Edwards – Mwpolo

BEST OFFENSIVE TANDEM
- Kevin Craft, Matt Austin, Aiona Key – Football
- Kelsey Duling, Michelle Purper, Jennifer Goodsell – Volleyball
- Matt Escobar, Shane Hurter, Will Brown, Mikey Edwards – Mwpolo
- Valerie Hernandez, Michelle Lutz, Becca Edwards – Wwpolo
- Brianna Fischer, Michelle Purper, Jennifer Goodsell – Volleyball
- Falisha Ramirez, Tosha Davda, Crystal Lizama – Wsoccer
- Cameron Sims, Julio Soria, Karlos Gonzalez - Msoccer
- Eric Walker, Lester Thomas, Kevin Craft – Football

BEST WRESTLER
- Cecil Sebastian
- Nick Cardoza
- Sam Gaxiola

BEST GOLF PLAYER (FEMALE)
- Veronica Cortes
- Gwen Bolton
- Ashley Aizumi

BEST VOLLEYBALL ROLEPLAYER
- Pamela Walker
- Lori Magnusen
- Valeria Varela
- Kimi Hunt
- Jennifer Goodsell

BEST OFFENSIVE VOLLEYBALL PLAYER
- Kelsey Duling
- Brianna Fischer
- Michelle Purper
- Kimi Hunt
- Jennifer Goodsell
- Pamela Walker

BEST DEFENSIVE VOLLEYBALL PLAYER
- Kelsey Duling
- Pamela Walker
- Lori Magnusen
- Valerie Varela
- Kimi Hunt
- Michelle Purper
- Brianna Fischer

BEST VOLLEYBALL PLAYER
- Kelsey Duling
- Brianna Fischer
- Lori Magnusen
- Michelle Purper
- Jennifer Goodsell

BEST WATER POLO ROLEPLAYER (MALE)
- James Um
- Will Brown
- Shane Hurter
- Joseph Sutandyo
- Steven Munoz

BEST WATER POLO ROLEPLAYER (FEMALE)
- Valerie Hernandez
- Kristin Garlick
- Jessica Webb
- Danielle Stewart
- Amber Fonseca

BEST WATER POLO PLAYER (MALE)
- Matt Escobar
- Mikey Edwards
- Will Brown
- Shane Hurter
- Andrew Romero

BEST WATER POLO PLAYER (FEMALE)
- Michelle Lutz
- Allison Lucas
- Becca Edwards

BEST X-COUNTRY RUNNER (MALE)
- Luis Medina
- Ryan Frost
- Juan Jacinto

BEST X-COUNTRY RUNNER (FEMALE)
- Celia Amaya
- Christina Cortez
- Maria Soria
- Virginia Cain
- Angelica Juarez

BEST DEFENSIVE SOCCER PLAYER (FEMALE)
- Veronica Wilhelm
- Krystal Lizama
- Alicia Gutierrez
- Tatiana Gutierrez

BEST DEFENSIVE ROLEPLAYER (FEMALE)
- Grecia Vargas
- Crystal Lizama
- Mallory Todd
- Norma Vazquez
- Veronica Wilhelm

BEST OFFENSIVE ROLEPLAYER (FEMALE)
- Julie Rizo
- Shani Ibarra
- Cyla Hopcus
- Cassie Molinari

BEST OFFENSIVE SOCCER PLAYER (FEMALE)
- Tosha Davda
- Falisha Ramirez
- Cyla Hopcus
- Crystal Lizama
- Alicia Gutierrez
- Cassie Molinari
- Julie Rizo

BEST SOCCER PLAYER (FEMALE)
- Veronica Wilhelm
- Krystal Lizama
- Falisha Ramirez
- Tosha Davda
- Alicia Gutierrez
- Tatiana Gutierrez

BEST DEFENSIVE SOCCER PLAYER (MALE)
- Luis Ocampo
- Cruz Hernandez
- Scott Moll
- Jose Osorio

BEST DEFENSIVE ROLEPLAYER (MALE)
- Gabriel Tinoco
- Cesar Barajas
- Cruz Hernandez
- Christian Alvizar
- Alfonso Ayala
- Francisco Yepez

BEST OFFENSIVE ROLEPLAYER (MALE)
- Gabriel Tinoco
- Cesar Barajas
- Aldo Luna
- Mauricio Barrett
- Gilbert Navarro
- Alfonso Ayala
- Tyler Wilson

BEST OFFENSIVE SOCCER PLAYER (MALE)
- Karlos Gonzalez
- Julio Soria
- Gabriel Tinoco
- Cameron Sims
- Aldo Luna
- Chad Vargo
- Victor Cardenas

BEST SOCCER PLAYER (MALE)
- Karlos Gonzalez
- Julio Soria
- Cameron Sims
- Luis Ocampo

BEST DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL ROLEPLAYER
- Tyrell Irvin
- Dominick Gaisie
- Mike Williams
- Andrew Levea
- Samuel Levea
- Johnny Sione

BEST DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYER
- Andrew Swink
- Eugene Germany
- Bernard Afutiti
- Brandon Johnson

BEST OFFENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYER
- Matt Austin
- Aiona Key
- Kevin Craft
- Eric Walker
- Eunique Williams
- Lancer Iosefa
- Lester Thomas
- Wiliam Woods

BEST FOOTBALL PLAYER
- Aiona Key
- Kevin Craft
- Matt Austin
- Andrew Swink
- Bernard Afutiti
- Eugene Germany
- Lester Thomas
- Lancer Iosefa
- Brandon Johnson

BEST SPORTS TEAM
- Volleyball
- W Soccer
- M Soccer
- W Water Polo
- M Water Polo
- M X-Country
- W X-Country
- Football
- Wrestling
- W Golf

BEST OVERALL ROLEPLAYER
- Veronica Wilhelm
- Crystal Lizama
- Matt Escobar
- Lori Magnusen
- Julie Rizo
- Michelle Lutz
- Karlos Gonzalez
- Alicia Gutierrez
- Julio Soria
- Brandon Johnson
- Lester Thomas
- Eric Walker
- Eunique Williams
- Eugene Germany
- Lancer Iosefa
- Shane Hurter

BEST OVERALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER
- Andrew Swink
- Bernard Afutiti
- Luis Ocampo
- Tatiana Gutierrez
- Alicia Gutierrez
- Veronica Wilhelm
- Crystal Lizama
- Cruz Hernandez
- Andrew Romero
- Lori Magnusen
- Brianna Fischer
- Michelle Purper
- Allison Lucas
- Mikey Edwards
- Matt Escobar
- Becca Edwards

BEST OVERALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER
- Julio Soria
- Cameron Sims
- Karlos Gonzalez
- Falisha Ramirez
- Kevin Craft
- Aiona Key
- Matt Austin
- Eric Walker
- Tosha Davda
- Crystal Lizama
- Becca Edwards
- Michelle Lutz
- Kelsey Duling
- Brianna Fischer
- Michelle Purper

BEST ASSISTANT COACHING STAFF
- Craft/Chiaverini/Johnson/Loo/Pedrola/Purcell/Rodriguez/Torres/Uiagaleilei – Football
- Ramirez/Mendoza/Bustos/Salazar – Msoccer
- Hansen/Huber/Wilson – Wsoccer
- Mukai/Tan/Masters – Volleyball
- Rieven – Mwpolo
- Rieven – Wwpolo
- Rivera – Wrestling
- Gonzalez/Kamaka/Yokoyama – X-Country

BEST COACH
- Jastrab
- Sanchez
- Bowen
- Goff
- Todd
- Green
- Ruh
- Jackson
- Dennis

MOST UNDERRATED ATHLETE
- Lester Thomas
- Gilbert Navarro
- Mallory Todd
- Shane Hurter
- Jennifer Goodsell
- Julie Rizo
- Mauricio Barrett

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
- Christine Cortez
- Becca Edwards
- Falisha Ramirez
- Kelsey Duling
- Michelle Purper
- Brianna Fischer
- Lori Magnusen
- Ashley Aizumi
- Veronica Wilhelm
- Crystal Lizama

BEST MALE ATHLETE
- Aiona Key
- Kevin Craft
- Cameron Sims
- Luis Medina
- Andrew Swink
- Mikey Edwards
- Matt Escobar
- Bernard Afutiti
- Karlos Gonzalez
- Nick Cardoza
- Cecil Sebastian

MVP
- Aiona Key
- Kevin Craft
- Cameron Sims
- Luis Medina
- Mikey Edwards
- Falisha Ramirez
- Becca Edwards
- Brianna Fischer
- Michelle Purper

FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS --- email to mtsacsports@gmail.com!

NOTE: The winners will be revealed at Friday's women's basketball game!! - If you are not able to attend --- results will be submitted Saturday night Dec. 15!!!!!

WHO WILL THE WINNER BE????????

The Jamesys!!!

2007-12-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

Spread the word!

This Monday I will be bringing out categories and nominations for those athletes who been a part of Fall semester 2007!

Stay tuned and check out Monday all the names to be stated!

Friday night ... Dec. 14 I will announce winners!!

Check back here!!!

The best of Mt. SAC Fall Semester Style

2007-12-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

Why has this been the best semester for sports at Mt. SAC? What is the reason that Fall 2007 has been a good year for the athletics program? Well, allow me to share:

1. Three sports programs are still currently in progress, football, wrestling and men's soccer. By the way, all are headed to Fresno this weekend for the state championships.

2. Volleyball, women's soccer, men's water polo all have made it to the post-season qualifying for the playoffs unfortunately to be eliminated but nevertheless setting the tone for a great season next Fall.

3. Men's X-country won the state championship. Women's X-country took third in the state.

4. Ashley Aizumi, women's golf competitor placed fifth in the state during the championships with the accompaniment of newly acquired golf coach Mike Green ... first time coming in--first time heading to state.

5. Women's golf, X-country, football, men's soccer all are conference champions.

6. Six of the Mt. SAC coaching staff have been crowned coach of the year awards--the coveted official coach of the year award to women's softball coach Kelly Ford.

7. The baseball and softball programs played a number of games in the fall and have obtained great experience to prepare for the upcoming season. Both programs are on the direction towards a better season from the previous year--given the softball squad came off being state champions.

8. The fans have grown in numbers in practically all the games.

9. Women's basketball suffered a loss during their season but are currently destroying their competition ... maybe by a margin of 17 points?

10. Men's basketball is performing better than expected with a brand new coaching staff, brand new roster.

If these aint the reasons to signify why the Fall semester hasn't been the best -- then name a time and year when it was any better previously. Then contact me and see if I stand corrected -- till then I don't.

Mt. SAC athletics moving about the internet

2007-11-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

There are many outlets of Mt. SAC athletics being seen on the internet.

One of those places is at our website, http://themountaineeronline.com.

Everything with sports is now inserted there. We are currently meandering around the internet with different things pertaining to Mt. SAC sports at this time.

The second outlet, for those of you who log to myspace.com, is http://www.myspace.com/mtsacsports.

A good number of athletes as well as fans log on daily and most of the things on the myspace page are photos and also utilized to bring a fellowship to fans and athletes to communicate one-on-one.

At this time, the blog has been utilized as a third outlet but for the remainder time, I will submit other entries of sports currently.

With the ending of the semester, most of the sports stuff is done ... however, football and men's soccer is still in progress.

I will come back and speak more regarding this.

P.S. - All audiocasts are now at http://themountaineeronline.com.

To avoid the slow loading of the page, we will have all audiocasts in the SPORTS section of the Mountaineer website and written/photographic information will be submitted here.

- James.

The MSV Audiocast #8 - 10/17

2007-10-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

Featuring Lauren Cudahy

The off-campus segment PT 1.

Featuring Lauren Cudahy

The on-campus segment PT 2.

**** We apologize for the problems with our audiocasts. Our server suffered a bandwidth problem and as time goes by, we will be one by one fixing the audios and will have it back ASAP -- please bear with us - Thank you.

The MSV interviews Falisha Ramirez ....

2007-10-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

Listen to Falisha Ramirez on the MSV ... as well as
reports on the women's volleyball team and also from men's and women's water polo team!

Logon to hear this podcast at:

http://themountaineeronline.com
http://themountaineeronline.com
http://themountaineeronline.com
http://themountaineeronline.com
http://themountaineeronline.com

*SEEK THE SPORTS SECTION*

AUDIOCAST: The MSV - 10/12

Send emails for comments and questions at mtsacsports@gmail.com.

The MSV - Audiocast #6 (10/10)

2007-10-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

To hear the latest audiocast on:

Women's soccer report
Men's soccer report
Men's football preview

log on HERE: http://themountaineeronline.com

(SEE THE SPORTS SECTION) --- AUDIOCAST: The MSV - 10/10

The MSV - Audiocast #5

2007-10-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

Interview with Women's Basketball Coach Laura Beeman
Bio/Women's basketball/3-on-3 tournament Fundraiser
Intro produced by Kit Kutz

Sound-off and express your thoughts and feelings here or email us at mtsacsports@gmail.com.

**** We apologize for the problems with our audiocasts. Our server suffered a bandwidth problem and as time goes by, we will be one by one fixing the audios and will have it back ASAP -- please bear with us - Thank you.

The MSV - Audiocast #4

2007-10-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

Interview with Coach Marc Ruh - Talking Water Polo/Heritage Hall

Women's Soccer Report - Mt. SAC VS Pasadena, Players Talk

SEGMENTS:

1. Intro
2. Marc Ruh Interview
3. Women's Soccer

Sound-off and express your thoughts and feelings here or email us at mtsacsports@gmail.com.

MSV (Audiocast #3) The Off-Campus News

2007-10-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

MSV (Audiocast #3) - The On-Campus News

2007-10-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

SEGMENTS:

1. Intro
2. 3-on-3 Tournament Fundraiser: Oct. 12-14 (featuring Playstation tournament, Celebrities game, vendors, giveaways!
3. Jeff vs Da Brat 1-on-1 callout!?
4. Announcements
5. Football talk vs Orange Coast Report
6. Women's Soccer talk vs L.A. Harbor Report
7. Men's Soccer talk vs L.A. Harbor Report
8. Outro

Sound-off and express your thoughts and feelings here or email us at mtsacsports@gmail.com.

The MSV (Audiocast #2)

2007-09-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

MSV, otherwise known as the Mountaineer Sports Voice (The 30 Minute Experience) features random talk of everything going on in and outside of Mt. SAC sports. Strength & Conditioning Coach Jeff Gilbert and Mountaineer Sports Editor James Choy discuss random topics ranging from:

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST OF YOUR CHOICE

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

MOUNTAINEER SPORTS VOICE (Off-Campus News)

Interview with Giovanni Lanaro

News on Mt. SAC Women's Soccer & Football

MOUNTAINEER SPORTS VOICE (Off-Campus News)

Jeff's Big 5 Stories of the Day

Marion to LA for Odom/Cook?

NFL Picks - Jeff, James, Gio

Send an email to mtsacsports@gmail.com for comments/remarks/questions.

The Mountaineer Sports Voice (Audiocast)

2007-09-25T03:16:00.000-07:00

The first audiocast of the semester is finally here!

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOCAST

(Please consider using QUICKTIME as your audio player)
Click HERE to download QUICKTIME.

MSV, otherwise known as the Mountaineer Sports Voice (The 30 Minute Experience) features random talk of everything going on in and outside of Mt. SAC sports. Strength & Conditioning Coach Jeff Gilbert and Mountaineer Sports Editor James Choy discuss random topics ranging from:

SEGMENTS:

1. Intro - Introduction of the show
2. Blogs - What is it?
3. Who is Jeff Gilbert? - Identifying with Jeff of his life and his job at Mt. SAC
4. NFL: The New Orleans Saints - Jeff's analysis on the team, Drew Brees, what next.
5. Mt. SAC Women's Soccer Team: Coach Melinda Bowen, Falisha Ramirez, The Cerritos Game, Veronica Wilheim, Alicia Gutierrez
6. The Los Angeles Lakers - Mitch Kupchak - Should he be fired, Andrew Bynum - Good enough?, Lamar Odom - His mentality + his ability?, Kevin Garnett - The failure to acquire him, Boston Celtics - Rulers of the Eastern Conference, The Showtime Lakers - Identifying the ultimate team, Jerry Buss - DUI? Hawaiian Tropics' Judge?

Sound-off and express your thoughts and feelings here or email us at mtsacsports@gmail.com.

The Ultimate Test Begins for Women's Soccer

2007-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'd like to assist in giving the women's soccer team some added motivation in staying focused against Cerritos on Tuesday, Sept. 25. I have some suggestions that I hope will help the players from reading this entry:

1. Never make the coach angry. You wouldn't like it when she's angry.

2. This is the first conference game. Starting the conference in the loss column wouldn't look pretty. Added that, you're going against probably the best team out there in Cerritos.

3. Lob the ball to Falisha Ramirez. Ramirez's size and quickness can overwhelm the Cerritos' defense. Get the wings and the midfielders up at the center when Ramirez passes it over. If the women can force the Cerritos' defense to scramble.

Mounties Julie Rizo skies in the air veering her head towards the net for a goal against Santa Monica, Fri. Sept. 21. (James Choy / Mountaineer)

4. Keep Veronica Wilheim healthy. She's the X-factor. If she's able to hold off the Cerritos' offense, it'll be a close one but advantageous to the Mounties.

5. If the ladies play the way they did against Santa Monica, nobody will stop them. It was a total team effort and the onslaught never let up throughout the entirety of that game.

6. The fans/family who come to cheer for you at an away game want to keep the hometowners quiet by screaming when you score.

7. I did some research: http://www.cerritos.edu/hpea/athletics/sports/w_soccer/2007/releases/sept_07/sept_17_07.asp
Read all about them, if this helps at all.

A winning streak is a very good thing. Over-confidence from the winning streak could be a bad thing. I hope the women aren't feeling that way at all.

Kill 'em.

The El Camino 'Rain' That Never Should've Came

2007-09-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

What can we say and feel about the Mounties losing a heartbreaking game against El Camino this past Saturday?

Was it the turnovers, fumbles that cost Mounties' coach Bob Jastrab his first conference win? Was it the defense in the backfield at times seemed lost in position (two occasions where an El Camino receiver was left wide open)?

Or maybe did the El Camino defense do a good job denying Mounties' receivers Matt Austin and Aiona Key to get their two or three combined touchdowns that they're succumb to getting since the beginning of the season?

Or should we revisit the famous words of Milli Vanilli, "Blame it on the rain?"

Before the beginning of the season, the Hilmer-Lodge stadium was a pretty sight. It was nothing but greenery seen from one end zone to the other. The once scorching 100+ degree heat beared its rays down on the fluffy grass, hot but healthy.

Then Mother Nature decided to soak us all, soak our hair, our clothes, our players, our field, in an unfortunate way.

At 6-0 in the first quarter, Mounties quarterback Kevin Craft was at the El Camino four-yard-line and had a rusher approaching on the right side. Craft turned to veer away from the rusher and went to toss a floater over the opponent's head, but oh Mother Nature ... she came, soaked the football and caused Craft to lose grasp of it, landing in the hands of the El Camino rusher, and intercepting it for big yardarge.

At times, the rain came down pretty well and seemed the game would turn into a frenzy of turnovers, a true messy football game.

But it was more exciting than expected, but sadly not in the Mounties' favor.

Realistically, the Mounties should have won this game. If Mother Nature had not brought us the much needed rain that Southern California needed, the Mounties would've won. If only the rain had come down later in the afternoon or some other time than during the game, it might've been a different story.

But oh what about the penalties? Penalties were rampant back and forth. But penalties are always a part of the game.

Nevertheless, it stands as it is ... a loss for the Mounties.

Here's something interesting, Craft switched his repertoire from a Peyton Manning type player to a Vince Young type? Craft rushing downfield? Craft scrambling left and right downfield like a slick Steve Young for a first down?

A side note: Craft had 215 total yards passing in the first half.

Despite the loss, Craft showed poise during the closing seconds of the game and had the offense prepared to shock the stadium with a come-from-behind win ... a pass that would hopefully hit either Austin or Walker or Key.

Sadly, it floated a tad too high .. a tad too far.

31-26, the final score.

After the game, I stepped out onto the field to feel my feet sink into the smushy grass, and I discovered the thick soil dried up, caused from the second-half disappearance of the rain and the sun shining through the moving dark clouds.

Credit to El Camino for capitalizing on the Mounties threat to score at the end, but they were the ones that should've lost.

As for the coaching staff, its back to the film room to see and fix what was broken on Saturday. With another home game coming next weekend, let's hope Mother Nature don't spoil the game again.

The Men and Women of Foot Power

2007-09-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Sept. 21 VS Orange Coast

Sophomore Aldo Luna kicks the ball from the left wing and lifts it to the center in hopes of an assist vs Orange Coast. (James Choy / Mountaineer)

Freshman Gilbert Navarro has some nice speed. He also comes from my alma mater, Walnut High School. He was pretty much all over the field yesterday against Orange Coast and was both passing well and lunging for the net also.

His teammates Karlos Gonzalez and Cameron Sims happened to be at the right place with their goals. It seems when the ball airs to the center from the wings, there's a certain spot where Sims is at that routinely has him scoring, or it could be just plain coincidence.

Freshman Cesar Barajas maintains control of the ball and scurries past the Orange Coast defender in hopes of kicking it to the center. (James Choy / Mountaineer)

It's amazing to see the passing and the moving of the ball flow so efficiently with the Mounties. The players seem to know their spots and at times know their spacing and zone. The one-on-one matchups are always fun to watch. You always want to see how badly an opponent's ankles' snap as the dribbler coasts by them.

The defensive protection and the ability to control the tempo was significant to the Mounties' win and as long as this stays as status quo, they won't be stopped.

-------------------

Sept. 21 vs Santa Monica

Women's Soccer Coach Melinda Bowen, otherwise known as Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, led her Amazon Mounties to an overwhelming 8-1 win.

Sophomore forward Falisha Ramirez once again goes terminal and handles the Santa Monica defenders like flies smothered flat from a flyswatter.

Forward Falisha Ramirez leans into the ball and moves to get by her in hopes of scoring a goal. (James Choy / Mountaineer)

How does a woman with her height (is she six feet?) run so fast and move so quick?

Her two goals, one coming from a corner kick assist and the other, a perfect header straight into the net was almost uncontested at the time. It's like the goalie just froze and didn't know where she was.

Bowen made sure to use her bench frequently to keep the ladies fresh and to give reserves a chance to show their stuff.

Like the men's team, the women have good passing flowing around. The defenders did well on keeping the backfield protected, especially from co-captain Veronica Wilheim. Her fundamentals are solid and her one-on-one abilities are nice. She pretty much held ground for the defense and for facilitating the midfield.

Teammate Shani Ibarra, who played left wing in the first half, came in the second half with the job to help dish out passes in getting the midfielders to move the ball.

The little things that roleplayers do to help get the offense moving is often overlooked, but in this case appreciated and noted. It's these little things that help players like Cassie Molinari, Tosha Davda and others to do their part in attacking the goal.

Let's make a bold prediction ... Mounties win by two against Cerritos. That's my call.

The Mounties, at this point, are averaging almost six goals per game. As long as the defense stays protected, Cerritos will have a hard time getting setup in the offense. Most of the time it could be the constant passing from the Mounties that disrupts Cerritos' ability to gain control. When the weak spots are exposed and pressed against, watch out ... Bowen will make sure that the ladies take full advantage of that.

If I'm wrong of this outcome - I will humbly say I was wrong.

Till then, let the women of Mt. SAC do what they do best, win.

The Weekend Thoughts

2007-09-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

After the heartbreaking loss against Orange Coast in which the women's volleyball team went to five games, they make a statement and win beating Rio Hondo only allowing them 28 points in the first two games and then finishing them off in the third with a 30-27 win on Sept. 14. This was a much needed win after Coach Maria Dennis left the gym after the Orange Coast match seemingly angry. But with back-to-back games, how do these ladies stay so well-conditioned? With the volleyball season just getting underway in conference play, you have to admire the tenacity and the hard work these athletes put in day in and day out.

Men's water polo coach Marc Ruh has to be feeling very optimistic this season with his new squad comprised of 14 freshmen and six sophomores.

The two freshmen, William Brown and Mikey Edwards are giving the Mounties good offensive production with sophomore returners Matt Escobar and James Um providing the experienced play.

Despite the loss in the final match of the Mt. SAC tournament, the team is now 7-2 overall and so far looking good as the next conference match versus Cerritos awaits followed by the Cal Baptist tournament Fri., Sept. 21-22.

Men's soccer coach Juan Sanchez has to be pleased with the furious offensive onslaught his Mounties are displaying scoring an astounding 11 goals in their game against Feather River.

The passing and distribution of the ball continues to flow as the secret of the Mounties' success. Provided that, the offensive attack of Victor Cardenas and Gabriel Tinoco aids firepower in the midfield and the forward spot including the always-dangerous Julio Sora and Cameron Sims.

Credit goes to Goalkeeper Luis Ocampo and the Mounties' defenders for preventing any goals scored against them having only given up as much as only one goal since the start of this season.

Not allowing Richland, last year's number one team, to score a single goal is a sign that this squad that Sanchez has gathered is indeed a much poised and well-rounded team than last year. Taft and Orange Coast awaits.

Despite only 14-of-28 passing, sophomore quarterback Kevin Craft threw for two touchdowns and passed for 242 total yards for the Mounties after having to leave the game with a cramp muscle. The fumbles and the team defense however couldn't shake off the Palomar offense as they controlled the tempo for most of the first and second quarter.

This is not the way the Mounties would like to start their football season with an 0-1 record after pushing through the two previous opponents with an average of 60 points produced.

Hopefully, the offense will be ready for El Camino this Saturday at the Hilmer-Lodge Stadium as they resume their interdivisional play.

The Cellphone Charger Mystery

2007-09-14T01:25:00.000-07:00

Sept. 14, 2007

I took a brief day off from sportstalk for today's entry--so I thought I share with you all a day in the life of me, Mr. Sports Editor ... enjoy!

Wednesday, I took my charger for my cell phone to the newsroom because I needed to get my battery restored. I brought it to work, forgot to attach it to my cell and left it somewhere ...

I spent the whole day consumed working on the paper, thinking about my next blog entry, ad invoices to fill out, assigning photographers to the games and assigning stories to my wr-- wait, I'm the only writer for sports! ARGH!!

So I ran about campus the whole day distributing the recent issue that came out and running here and there ... getting food, meeting with folks at different locations doing the daily business that I normally do.

Later after finishing my campus chores, I settle back in the newsroom having brief discussions with my adviser, my editor-in-chief, and my other co-workers all of the upcoming issue info.

(Sighs) Too much going and doing during the day.

The day grew on and day soon began to turn early evening, I decided to retire and go home for the night. I come home and I look at my cell and see my battery life at 22%.

I gasp. I totally had forgotten ... What did I do with it? I get my keys, leave the house, take off back to campus and run back to the newsroom--WHERE'S MY CHARGER AT? How do I get back in the newsroom?

At 10:37 pm, I called security to get me back inside the newsroom to search frantically for my charger ... nothing. ARGH!!! No cell phone contact!!

The night ends and nothing is successful with the search.

I sleep ... I wake up.

Thursday morning.

I look at my battery life at 11%.

I slowly stroll back for another day at work on campus.

I go to the Marie T. Mills Aquatic Center to check the pool to see if I misplaced my adapter there. I might've misplaced it there from swimming during the day before .... As I gaze at the pool, I see how refreshing the water looks and how all the fortunate swimmers happily and gaily swoosh through the blue water. I stand there momentarily thinking how good it would be to dip and take a swim.

But all I could think about was my charger. Phone life now at 9%

I talk to Coach Doug Todd (who was coaching his folks in the pool) ... he seen nothing. I talk to Coach Mike Goff, he tells me nothing. He refers me to go see Gabe, the supervisor of the pool facility at his office to find my charger.

I turn back and I see the remaining athletes swimming about and exiting the pool.

I look at the water again ... I miss the water.

I realize that I have an editorial board meeting today -- so no swimming for me scheduled.

I spend two hours that morning searching, looking, scanning, scavenging ... but to no success, I could not find my charger.

I met with one of the runners during the finish of cross-country practice and she referred to me to one of the athletes on the team who has a human interest story for my forthcoming issues.

So I tell my acquaintance, "Get me his name, number, email and I'll get with him soon."

I gain a little something good at least for my search of my charger, a possible story pitch.

I spent the rest of the day doing my usual errands, meetings, work in the newsroom.

There was a big crash/accident today off Bonita/Temple involving two vehicles. I was rushed over to the scene to cover the story and get interviews for it. Wow, breaking news story soon to be recorded and posted! (Stay tuned). For an hour I'm at the scene getting all the info I can.

I trot back to the newsroom to go back to my usual agendas but now with this accident report, I'm immediately re-organizing my notes/facts to get this story prepared for the weekend. Then I forget about my things-to-do for the day and exhausted go through that.

The afternoon wears on and the night approaches. I'm feeling somewhat weary ... probably from being in the newsroom too long.

After phone calls, tasks to take care of and cleanup of the newsroom, I'm ready to exit campus for the night and go home. I figure I go see Coach Sanchez or Coach Bowen at soccer practice to see what's happening with the soccer folks this evening.

I get ready to leave the newsroom and decide I'm a little hungry so I go into the editor's room to get my day-old teriyaki rice bowl I left in the fridge and lo' and behold ...

... my cell phone charger!

It was inside the refrigerator--how in the world did that happen?

I smile as I take it out of the refrigerator and happily wrap up my day headed into a restful weekend.

Ahh... the life of a sports editor has many interesting discoveries.

I'm looking forward to the men's water polo tournament to see how well the guys do--kill em guys!

I'm mindful also of all the programs with their away schedules this weekend as well.

My battery life on my cell phone is at 1% ... and I go home now ... happy.

Players will Develop Despite Volleyball Loss

2007-09-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Sept. 13, 2007

If I'm Coach Maria Dennis, I shouldn't be angry or mad.

The women's volleyball team lost their match to Orange Coast 30-27, 28-30, 30-26, 21-30, 11-15 on Sept. 12.

It was indeed a heartbreaking loss. The ladies played hard and showed flashes of brilliance.

However, there were many instances of miscommunication and unforced errors. Some plays in which players didn't respond instantly after the defensive digs and also some plays in which the formation on the floor during a Orange Coast attack was seemingly out of place. There were some inexcusable mistakes that was committed during the game, but something each of the girls need to work on and handle by themselves individually.

At least that's the way how I seen it.

But did you see the Orange Coast women? You have to admit they were beatable but on the offensive attack they seemed pretty good. They have size and the ability to spike on a low soft set.

I knew everytime when they tapped a light and low set, their front court would leap and bomb on their overhand kills, and they did just that.

A few questions that I have is:

1. Why didn't they have both Brianna Fischer and Michelle Purper together playing the two front and keep Kelsey Duling, Valerie Varela and Lori Magnusen in the back? Having the two giants on the floor simultaneously would've been both a formidable offense and defense as well.

Putting Jennifer Goodsell with the twin towers would've provided an offensive front court that would've made Orange Coast cringe.

2. How come the Mounties don't work on executing the soft sets with the hard spike provided from both Fischer and Purper?

Purper dismantled the opponents when she repeatedly ran that setup play in the home opener match. Pretty much whatever Purper threw down Chaffey wasn't able to return.

The Mounties all throughout the match had no defensive return/response when Orange Coast let their two giants ran the play all night ... in some instances the Mounties defense seemed ... defenseless.

But then again that was Chaffey and this was Orange Coast.

Orange Coast was great but their defense was not superb.

The ladies are a team still developing at this time but this loss I believe was a humbling one. The expression on the girls' faces after the match was of disappointment and of anger, very obviously shown.

4/5 of the team is comprised of freshmen. I'm not going to hold that against them. Coach Dennis and their coaching staff are good at what they do and will eventually get over this hump.

Keep your head up ladies, everything will be alright.

I'll make the call right now ... Mounties will win their next match.

Destination: Rio Hondo.

Kill 'em girls.

Who Gets the Shine for Mounties Football?

2007-09-12T04:07:00.000-07:00

Sept. 12, 2007.

Yes, they're 2-0 and so far everything is everything with the big, bad boys.

But it's extremely hard to determine who or what it is that's keeping Mounties football clicking in all cylinders.

You could say that the coaching staff is solely responsible in tuning up the guys and maintaining them well--showing them the way, feeding them the proper lessons, polishing them in shape, raising the volume of toughness in their mental mind, chiseling them to physical perfection.

Yeah you could say that.

But what about Johnny Sione's boys? Should we credit those big burly guys who represent the first line and last line of defense for the team?

If anyone, they sacrifice their lungs, their bodies, their legs ... everything they do, the defense ... the job they do is, "We fight so that they'll cease to fight."

Let me tell you, I have the utmost respect for people who play defense and who's jobs are to defend and hold down the opposition---especially on behalf of not just the team they play for, but also for the many that sit in the stands cheering, ranting, screaming and shouting sharing that same pride ... people that want to be out there in the gridiron once again ... and those up in the press box who dream of one day being out in the field for one moment, just once, to be there taking one for the team.

What's the saying, "The best offense is a good defense ..." (Is that correct?)

Yeah you could say that.

Then you walk on down the lineup and you see the offensive line, the people who sacrifice themselves play-by-play fighting every down to protect the players 'chosen' to lead the way and take the ball to the touchdown destination. These guys who breathe, pant, sweat, hunch over in labored pain surpass all that keeps them down. These guys in the offensive line are the ones who show us, "We'll go down for you so that you can go do your job and help us to win."

To the average novice fan who knows nothing about football they might say a lineman is characterized as massive, extremely large, (for some) overweight, slow, dumb.

To my eyes, a lineman is passionate, devoted, heroic, sacrificial, loyal and obedient. They let the leader take charge of him and he trusts the leader.

You scan around the offense and you see the tailbacks, the ends, the receivers and you say, "Yes. Those are the ones who are responsible for the Mounties' success." Head Coach Bob Jastrab says the receiver core is deep and any from the group can step in and give you what you need in the scoring department.

But when you have guys like Aiona Key and Matt Austin or Eric Walker and Lester Thomas, who fly, shift, turn, weave, shift and then flee ... these are the ones who are given ... to take the ball and run. They're the soldiers who are responsible in performing the mission of seek and score. Each of these guys are there to say, "I will score or die trying."

Yeah you can say that.

SIDE NOTE: A little recognition and special thanks to Asst. Coach Iona for doing his job ... assisting ... in helping to lure Aiona Key from Boise to Mt. SAC. Good gosh that guy has Reggie Bush-esque moves when he runs with the ball!

The question though is, "How can you have everything if you don't have someone to lead the fleet of troops?"

Mr. Kevin Craft, front and center.

Who in the world is this guy? Where does he come from?

I can tell you what Mr. Craft isn't. He's not some fresh-outta-high school American pretty boy that walks around boasting and grinning how great he is. He's not the stereotypical figure you'd see in movies, TV shows with limited intellect and gets all the girls he feasts his eyes on.

Kevin Craft is the leader. He is the one that tells the team, "I'll take you there." He's the guy who will find his freedom, pass it on (to the receiver, tailback etc) and say, "I facilitated this plan, now you lead us to our destination."

He completes 31 passes of 45 attempts for 415 yards passing throwing four touchdowns in his debut as a Mountie.

A week later, he completes 28 passes for 35 attempts for 392 yards passing this time throwing six touchdown passes.

So the question to you readers is ...

Who is responsible for the success of this team? The coaching staff? The defense? The receivers, ends, tailbacks? The quarterback?

Who?

When you have all the elements coming together and staying well connected, who cares? If this is the status quo to the team, keep it at that but slowly and steadily stay tuned up and be prepared at anytime to unleash the beast.

You have to love Mounties' football ...

Yeah you can say that.

But be warned oh happy fans.

One loss could submerge the positivity that's flowing around the squad. Maybe not.

But who is praised for this recent success?

What can you say?

A Day With Coach Bowen & the Women's Soccer Team

2007-09-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Mon, Sept. 10, 2007

I took a visit to go see Coach Melinda Bowen for a brief interview regarding the women's most recent win against Richland that took place yesterday.

I visited her office at about 3pm to be introduced by her two assistant coaches. With Coach Bowen out on an errand, I sat and waited momentarily but then was visited by three of the captains, Falisha Ramirez, Veronica Wilheim and Crystal Lizama came (thanks for the interview) along with Coach herself.

We introduced, sat down and I was gladly invited to sit and see the conversation between the coach and the captains regarding soccer business

By recording this session, it was interesting to sit and hear the many different conversations and to just witness the things that go on with soccer. In one discussion, there was talk of the status of one of the players who had suffered a head injury in Sunday's game against Richland. The injury was in actuality more vicious than what it sounds. The player went to get a CT scan and it showed that there was no signs of any serious injury. I happened to see her that afternoon and she seemed fine. The Mounties' handled Richland by the way, 4-2.

For about 15-20 minutes we stuck around in Coach Bowen's office listening to preparations. The coach decided first to do a chalk talk session, then some light jogging to keep the legs rested and conditioned for the ladies and then some drills for the goalies and the red shirts.

During the chalk talk session, the coach went over some formations, gave some lessons on finding open paths to the goal, and how to utilize the field during forward approaches.

Emotions ran deep later in which news of one of the players' mom was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Thoughts and prayers go out to that player and the family. My heart went out to her seeing her tear up ... All was quiet after the news of this announcement. I don't know what to think about what was going on through the players' minds, but I wonder if this somehow ignited a sense of drive or a reinforcement in going out tomorrow and winning. I looked around and this silence was ... I really don't know.

The one thing I found interesting leaving the interview is when Coach Bowen explained to me about life and soccer. She explained how life consists of many ups and downs and by identifying with some of the problems that her players are going through, there are ways in showing how to appreciate and to view their lives in a different perspective with sports. For a couple minutes, the interview just turned into a real deep conversation ... and I just sat there nodding my head, gazing and digesting her wisdom ...

I felt good leaving the facility meeting the team for a day and seeing what it's like being at practice. Added that, envisioning a group of beautiful women clad in uniform, training and conditioning and preparing for war is intriguing. Some sharing laughs with others to lighten the mood while others with their gamefaces silent and focused. I tend to think of Amazon women ... warriors prepared for battle ... Coach Bowen as Athena, Greek goddess of war and wisdom directing orders with her two assistant coaches, holding fort like war captains.

Off to Rio Hondo!

Kill em.

- END.