Sports Update | Cross Country, Tennis, Water Polo
September 15, 2017
Cross Country vs Carpinteria
The Cate cross country teams opened their seasons with solid performances at the Carpinteria Valley Invitational at the Carpinteria Bluffs on Wednesday, September 13. In fact the girls’ performance was much more than solid; they won the meet behind a championship performance from co-captain Isabela Montes de Oca ’18, who had a strong second half to her race and won in a time of 21:20. Teammates Zoe Hale ’19 and Bella Hillyer ’19 weren’t far behind, finishing in 5th (22:53) and 6th (22:59) respectively. Jailer Moes ’21 had a very strong debut, finishing 8th in 23:55. Another newcomer, Ariana Sterling ’21, rounded out the scoring for the Rams by finishing 16th in 25:20. Isabel Sorenson ’18 was right on Ariana’s heels in 25:21.
In the boys’ race, Cate was third behind strong Santa Paula and Carpinteria teams. With a couple of returners sick, the Rams were led by Tesfa Amara ’20, 11th in 19:27. John Rookie ’21 had an auspicious debut, right behind in 12th (19:36). He was followed closely by senior Ian MacFarlane ’18, 13th in 19:45. Banner Olivares ’18 placed 18th in 19:55, while Carlo Jacobsen ’20 (23d, 20:20), Sean Busse ’20 (29th 20:52) and Pierce Thompson ’20 (35th, 21:19) rounded out the Cate scoring.
“Of the thirteen names mentioned above, only three are seniors, with three juniors. With four sophomores and three freshmen scoring for the combined teams, the future looks bright for the Rams,” said Cate head coach Karl Weis.
Cate’s next meet is Saturday, September 16 at home against Viewpoint at 1:30.
Girls Varsity Tennis vs Santa Ynez
The Cate girls varsity tennis team moved to 2-0 on Wednesday, September 13 after a comprehensive 16-2 win over Santa Ynez. “I’m very pleased that we were able to essentially pick up where we left off before they headed out on hiking and backpacking trips for our Cate School outings trips. Just one practice day after a 10-day layoff, we had to get back down to business and the girls came up with the goods,” said Cate head coach Trevor Thorpe.
Cate’s doubles was really solid throughout, with the senior/freshman combo of Janice Ng ’18 and Fritze Mayer ’21 leading the way; the two won their sets 6-0, 6-0, 6-1.
“I’m sure we’ll have to step it up another notch to get a win at Santa Barbara High on Friday, but over the last few years there has never been a time when the team hasn’t responded to a challenge. We’re looking forward to competing against them again after seven seasons since our last match,” Thorpe added.
The Rams will take on the Santa Barbara Dons on Friday, September 15 at Santa Barbara High School. That match will start at 3pm.
Boys Varsity Water Polo vs Malibu
The Cate boys water polo team suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday, September 13. After upending Pioneer Valley in the season opener, the Rams lost to visiting Malibu by a margin of 14-4.
Goalkeeper Cullen Barber ’19 didn’t have much help in transition the first half, but slowed Malibu’s offensive efforts with several big blocks in the first half. The Rams, coming off a 10-day break in practice took a while to knock the rust off, ceding a 10 goal lead before stringing a great passing sequence together with a strong finish from Parker Matthews ’18 at the 2:19 mark.
Malibu countered back with another goal, followed by a well placed shot from Peter Firestone ’19 with under ten seconds remaining in the third quarter. Nick Carlson ’18 struck first in fourth quarter action off a solid fake, proceeding to float the ball into the far corner. Touted returner Sebastian Sak ’19 had his hands full on defense throughout the game, but got the final goal of the match, rising up and threading the needle over the goalies head to bring the final score to 14-4.
“It was a great effort from the guys coming off a long break. The first half of the game we had some communication breakdowns and Malibu took advantage in transition. Doing well to eliminate repeat mistakes, they played better every quarter and finished the game on a positive note which is all we wanted to see early on,” said Cate head coach Max Bergeson.
The Rams will take on Nordhoff in Ojai on Wednesday, September 20 at 3:15 pm