Newbury Park Athletes Wrap up the Year
When 2:05 p.m. rolls around and the final bell rings, most students bolt off campus. However, for athletes, this is not the case. During this past spring, athletes stayed long hours in the pool, on the field or on the courts practicing their skills, leading to a very successful season for all our spring sports.
Girls’ and boys’ lacrosse brought their regular seasons to a strong close. Boys’ lacrosse had an overall record of 12-6 and league record of 6-4. Girls’ lacrosse had an overall record of 16-5 and a league record of 6-2. Although boys’ lacrosse was able to beat Westlake in their first round of the playoffs, they fell to Palos Verdes in the second. Girls’ lacrosse had a similar playoff run, winning against Crescenta Valley in the first round but losing to Chaminade in the second.
Baseball had a successful season this year. The team achieved an overall record of 21-9 and a league record of 12-3. They had great talent on their team with 12 players committed to colleges. Zach Nissim commented on the team’s strengths.
“The strengths are chemistry, talent, and having the same goal to win a championship,” said Zach Nissim, senior on Varsity baseball.
Nissim believes that his team is doing so well because they work together as a unit. The teammates all have a common goal: to push each other to be better. Their hard work paid off during the season.
Softball also had a successful season. The team achieved an overall record of 24-6 and a league record of 12-3, earning the number one spot in Marmonte League for the regular season. The team defended their home turf, losing only one home game the whole season. Unfortunately, they eventually fell short to Fullerton in the first round of the playoffs.
Although swim is more of an individual sport, rather than a team sport, a team mindset is still necessary for everyone to do well and support each other. Everyone on the team did their best, with some athletes even making it all the way to the finals.
“Our season went really well. Every swimmer on the team improved and I couldn’t be more proud of them. I don’t think anything could’ve gone better. The practices went smoothly and the meets did as well,” said Olivia Yokas, senior, on Varsity swim.
Improvement is important for every team, in some cases more than winning, and it is why our sports teams do better each time they play.
Volleyball was phenomenal this season, tying for second place in the league. Their overall record was 21-9 and their league record was 7-3. The team was quite talented but lost to Burroughs in a close match in the first round of the playoffs.
“We just need to work on us. Sometimes we get too wrapped up in what the other team or crowd was doing and forgot about our own responsibilities,” said Luke Hetherington, junior on Varsity.
Hetherington believes he knows what his team needs to do to do better next time and that next year will be a promising year for volleyball.
Boys’ tennis had another great season this year earning an overall record of 9-5 and a league record of 6-4. Their biggest opponents were Westlake and Calabasas, but the team powered through and secured their spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were pitted against one of the best teams and lost in the first round. With the seniors, some of the key players, leaving, the team will have to practice even harder next year.
Although the athletes ran individually, they all represented Newbury Park High School together.
“Our strengths were consistently having great workouts. Our weaknesses were having several injuries,” said Olivia Diliberti, senior on Varsity track.
Even though the team worked hard and improved through the season, they could not prepare for injuries, but they still pushed ahead to the end and a lot of the athletes made it far into the postseason, including Jillian Kolarik, freshman, Gino Cruz, sophomore, and Ethan Duffy, senior, who all advanced to the CIF Masters Meet.
Boy’s golf is another individual sport but at the end of the day, they still play as a team.
“One of the team’s strengths was definitely our ability to play well when we needed it. On the teams we knew we could beat and in the league matches our team stepped up and played really well,” said Camden Sander, a junior on Varsity Golf.
The golf team faced some internal problems but was able to come through crucial moments. When it counted, the problems were put aside and the team played well.
The spring sports athletes have received well deserved praise for their hardwork and talent. Unfortunately, our teams are saying goodbye to a lot of important seniors. But with hard work and determination, our sports teams will be even better next year.
