The Week in Sports

September 27, 2019

A warm and sunny mid-September greeted our athletes upon their return from Outings Week; however, that has not stopped our teams from getting off to hot starts. Cate teams have combined for an 18-10 start to the season, highlighted by the girls cross country team taking home the win at the Brentwood Invitational this past weekend.

The cross country team has started their season with a bang. The girls team took home first place in the Brentwood Invitational with the boys finishing in a very respectable third racing against 13 other schools. Aside from winning the race, the girls had three top-10 finishers. The dominant duo of sophomores Anna DiSorbo and Meena Baher crossed the line in first and second place, respectively. This was Anna’s second win of the season in as many meets—she also took home the top time at the Carpinteria “city championship” earlier this season. Ella Gardner ’22 rounded out the top three Rams with a tenth place finish. The boys were led by senior co-captain Tesfa Asmara, who finished in fifth place. Harry McAdam ’23 and co-captain Dylan MacFarlane ’20 were the second and third place runners for the Rams. Harry finished 24th overall, while Dylan crossed the line in 32nd. Said Coach Karl Weis, “It’s been at least five years since Cate has competed at the West L.A. layout, and given today’s results, it won’t be another five before they run there again.”

Girls volleyball is one team that has been particularly exciting to watch. Their two statement wins against Foothill Tech and La Reina have them out front in the Tri-Valley league early on in the season. A very talented group is led by four year stalwarts Maya Blattberg, Grace Blankhorn, and Kenzie Davidson. The contributions have been wide ranging, as juniors Riley Borchardt and Grace Johnson, along with sophomores Elise Guerrand-Hermès, Chidera Chukwumerije, and Charlotte Weis, are all playing inspired volleyball. This past weekend, the team hosted three very good teams—Bishop Diego, Laguna Blanca, and Oaks Christian—in the 5th annual Mesa Mixer. The girls took home third place with a competitive showing that easily could have gone in their favor at any point.

The football team began their season with two dominant wins against Santa Clara and Sage Oak. Led by quarterback Will Bouma ’22, running backs Will Deardorff ’21 and Khadim Pouye ’20, the Rams offense has been clicking early on. On the defensive side of the ball, Callum Casey ’20, along with a stout defensive line, has anchored a tough group holding teams to very few points. The Rams faced a slight hiccup with a loss in a tightly contested game with Orcutt Academy last weekend but are staying focused to get back to their winning ways. The team will have a few more games, starting with Flintridge Prep on Saturday the 28th, before they begin league play next month.

On the “other side” of campus, the tennis courts have not seen much action just yet. The Division 1 girls tennis team, however, has made their mark locally by knocking off two powerhouse programs in Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos. Said Coach Trevor Thorpe, “I think it’s been 10 years since we last played DP, and I remember the last one not going so well for us, so this was a good win. They’ve got a very balanced team and with this being our first week of match-play, they really had us on our back foot in that first round.” The team, led by #1 singles player Grace Fuss ’20 and the #1 doubles pair of Carol Cai ’20 and Fritze Mayer ’21, showed they can compete with anyone. The girls look forward to their first home match, and Tri-Valley league opener, against La Reina.

In the pool, the Rams have faced some very tough competition early in the season. Senior Peter Bulkley-Armas has been instrumental in leading a young group, including freshmen Emmet Mack, Cyrus Symington, and Wade Nieman. They have all seen significant playing time, with Emmett sharing time in net with Senior Ethan Ha. The highlight of the season to this point was a convincing 16-5 win against Hueneme. Emil Strauss ’21 and Lukas Hendriks ’22 netted multiple goals in that game, along with contributions from many others. Although the boys have suffered some difficult defeats, the effort has never been missing. They are a young group learning quickly to ready themselves for a heavy stretch of competition in the Citrus Coast League.

For all post game recaps, please go to Game Recaps in the Media Hub section on the school website. You may also click on the link below.

https://www.cate.org/category/athletics/