Foothills Sentry July 2023

Foothills Sentry Page 14 July 2023 COMMUNITY SPORTS BY CLIFF ROBBINS AND CHAD CLINE Canyon captures California State Baseball Championship Canyon High honors athletes From left, Canyon High Principal Brent McKee joins Head Coach Jason Smith and Athletic Director Nate Harrison in trophy ceremonies. Canyon Head Coach Jason Smith accepts the Division 4 Championship Trophy from CIF’s Jim Perry. Alley Storey from Foothilll leads off with a solid double against Capo Valley in round one of the CIF State Softball Playoffs. Erin Slettvet, Canyon High School, 2000-03, (top right) was inducted into the 2023 Orange County Softball Hall of Fame. Her family shared the moment. Jessee Maracine from Canyon High School finishes a fifth inning rally, driving in his second run against Crean Lutheran. Hannah Vargas from Foothill High broke up the shutout with a solo home run in the sixth inning against Capo Valley. Canyon High School players celebrated after winning the CIF State Baseball Championship, 6-5, in Division 4 against Crean Lutheran High. Eva Marie Penaloza from Foothill High School gets jammed inside, but squeezed out a single against Capo Valley. Foothill’s season ended with a 5-1 loss to Capo Valley in the Division 2 State Softball Playoffs. Canyon High School defeated Crean Lutheran High twice, en- route to a 2023 California State Division 4 Baseball Title. Canyon captured the CIF-SS title, shutting out Crean Lutheran, 3-0, at Blair Field in Long Beach. Canyon entered the state playoffs as the number one seed. Canyon eliminated Sylmar, 3-0, Fallbrook, 5-0, to set a rematch with Crean Lutheran. Canyon jumped all over Crean Lutheran starting pitcher Alex Lida in the first inning. Austin Duarte led off with a double, followed by singles by Cohen Gomez and Johnny Lopez for a 3-0 lead. Crean rallied for four runs to take the lead in the third inning, and Crean threatened again in the fourth with a lead-off walk, stolen base. A sacrifice moved the runner into scoring position, but was left stranded. In the top of the fifth inning, Canyon pitcher Jackson Chastain gave way to Bryce Solinger after a walk. Solinger gave up a single and a walk, scoring a Crean runner charged to Chastain. Down 5-3, Canyon clawed back and got a lead-off single from Christian Tapia. Tapia was erased by a forced out. Cohen Gomez, Johnny Lopez and Jesse Maracine all singled, chasing starting Crean pitcher Lida, after Lopez scored the go-ahead run. Chastain worked 4.1 innings, and was charged with all five runs on five hits. Solinger walked two, and gave up three hits and no runs. Lopez and Gomez led the team, going two for three at the plate, and scoring two runs each. Duarte went two for two, scoring two runs in the 6-5 victory. Jones Scholarship Award. The Bill Hall Award, honoring a senior who excelled in athletics because of their commitment and work ethic, was presented to Pasha Golestaneh for basketball and football; Ivan Chang, track & field; Kailah Peery, water polo and swim; and Lindsay Parsons, lacrosse. The Ironman Award, for students participating in three or more sports, was given to Ashlyn Smith for volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, and track & field; Jonathan Carey, for football, basketball and volleyball; Evie Roach, for basketball, swim, and track & field. Scholar-Athletes of the Year were Steve Nguyen, tennis, 4.85 GPA; Keira Potter, cross country and track & field, 4.52 GPA. Student Athletes with Character Canyon Athletics hosted its third annual Athletic Department Awards and Recognition Ceremony, May 22. Named Female Athlete of the Year was Natrada Pongsasin, golf. Male Athletes of the Year were Kayvon Monfared, soccer and football; Tyler Howard, for volleyball and basketball. Connor Leonard, boys basketball, received the Greg Awards were given to Julia Nagengast, soccer; and Pasha Golestaneh, basketball and football. Sportsmanship and Leadership Awards went to Ben Nguyen, track & field; Andrew Schuerger, lacrosse; Natalie Darling, soccer; Chloe Zaree, lacrosse; Ivan Chang, track & field; and Kailah Peery, water polo and swim.