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December 3, 2009
Kaylee Miu
The MVAL schools met at Coyote Hills Nov. 12 for a final race, as runners double-knotted their shoe laces and prepared themselves to fight for the the 2009 cross country league title. Washington, James Logan and Mission San Jose dominated this season and all three were determined to secure the title for their own school.
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November 10, 2009
Rico Donelson Jones
After first round of league play, the girls volleyball team looked unbeatable.
They played well as a team and defeated Mission San Jose in three games, placing them first in league. However, while on their way to league title with a 10-2 record, the girls were defeated by James Logan, resulting in a tie with Mission San Jose. A tie-breaker for league title took place Oct. 30 against Mission San Jose, but was played on neutral grounds–Kennedy High School. That way, neither team could have home court advantage. The Huskies lost, 0-3, making them league co-champions with Mission San Jose.
Home court would have definitely helped the lady Huskies considering they were 8-0 at home and 4-3 on the road.
Without the “Argus player of the week,” junior Konami Yokoyama, in the lineup, the lady Huskies struggled and lost to Irvington High School, ending their 2009 season.
However, the North Coast Section (NCS) committee held a meeting Nov. 8 about extending the amount of teams entering in the playoffs this year, and the Huskies got lucky.
The first game, round one of NCS playoffs, will be held Nov. 11 against James Logan at home.
With Yokoyama back on the court, with 193 kills season kills and senior Cody Bates’ season average of 139 digs, the Huskies will be well off.
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October 14, 2009
Kaylee Miu
1. 53 runners; 14 varsity
Cross Country is one of the largest sports teams at Washington, with 14 varsity runners. Though there has been a shortage of girls on the team in previous years, this season it is evenly split, creating a solid girls team. The JV girls defeated Mission San Jose Oct. 7.
“Our girls are stronger than ever this year,” junior Jessica Gerards said. With all returning runners, the girls varsity team continues to grow as a team.
2. Varsity Boys have won the league title for the past 3 years in a row.
For the past three years, the varsity boys’ team has had a perfect season; undefeated and owning the league title. In 2007, the boys’ team placed 4th at the North Coast Sectionals, and in 2008, they took 2nd, only 4 points shy of making it to state. 4 varsity runners graduated, but a strong team continues with new incoming runners.
With a tough loss of graduating 4 of the 7 varsity runners, most teams would be set back in league. However, the impact isn’t as bad for the huskies, especially with fast incoming freshmen and upperclassmen stepping up their game to fill in their shoes.
“Running varsity is a lot more fast pace than racing for CYO. Everyone is really focused and serious about running in general,” freshman Jessica yee said.
3. Roaming Practices
There is no set practice location for the cross country team. They typically run from school to Quarry lakes, approximately 3 miles round-trip, then once at Quarry Lakes, they then take a run around either “big lake” or “baby lake.”
“We easily run over 500 miles a season,” senior Ben Rich said.
4. More injuries than football!
Cross Country is classified as a non-contact sport, yet many runners every year are put on the injured list. So what’s going on? According to team members, calf, hamstring, quadricep, and shin injuries are frequent every season and require weeks to recover. So why run?
“I run because i love the exhileration and feeling of it,” sophomore Sameed Siddiqui said.
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September 22, 2009
Rico Jones Donelson
Girls volleyball started early this season, as the Huskies played their first league game Sept. 17 away at Newark Memorial High. The Huskies started out strong in the first game, winning a close match 25-21, but started losing focus soon afterwards. Losing the next two games to the Courgars 20-25, 17-25, the Huskies were not playing their best game. However, the girls rallied back the next game winning 25-20, and pushed through the tie breaker 15-6, to a final victory. Junior Konami Yokoyama had 8 kills, 3 blocks and 5 digs.
“It was pretty evenly matched between the two teams, going all the way to game five,” sophomore Chessie Santeramo said.
The next game is against last years league champions, Mission San Jose, Sept. 22.
