The past 365 days have featured
plenty of memorable moments on
the field, court and mat. The accomplishments
of those currently in Claremont
and lifetime Claremonters show that
the city is not only a place to earn PhDs but
also a town where sports dreams can be realized.
With so many great moments to
count, here are 10 highlights from 2011. Column by Landus Rigsby
Every December thousands
flock to the annual
performances of Disney
on Ice to watch as fairy godmothers
help make the dreams
of figure skating princes and
princesses come true. For Claremont
newlyweds and former
Disney on Ice pair Junichi Takemura
and Kelly Everett Takemura,
that world was their
reality. “We never realized that in 20 years we’d
meet the person we were going to marry and
still have skating be such a huge part of our
lives,” Ms. Everett-Takemura said. “We are
so grateful for what the sport has given
us....we want to give it to others.”
The Claremont High School freshman,
junior varsity and varsity
girls basketball teams teamed together
for a cause more important than the
sport itself on Sunday.
Joining together faith-based groups in Claremont
such as the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and Our
Lady of the Assumption Church, the girls helped to
prepare and serve holiday meals to more than 150 people,
who were from low-income families or homeless,
at Sumner Elementary School. Parents and coaches
were also involved in the outreach. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
The NBA season is back, high school
basketball is beginning and college
basketball is just starting to hit its
stride. The orange ball is in full effect, making
this my favorite time of the year to be a
sports fan. This week as I looked into how the high school and college
basketball teams in and around Claremont were faring,
I came to the conclusion that this is going to be a fun
season to watch and for good reason.
The Vista del Valle intramural flag football team was
the best unit on the field in last Wednesday’s 28-7 win
over Oakmont Outdoor School. But all of the participants
were winners in the first annual flag football contest
between the 2 schools.
Vista del Valle Principal David Stewart and his wife,
Oakmont Principal Stacey Stewart, are using friendly
competition to link the 2 schools together, improve student
attendance and help foster the various interests of
their students.
Geoff Ranney took his last
swing as a member of the
Claremont High School varsity
baseball team before graduating
in 1991. Twenty years later, Coach
Ranney and CHS are reunited.
The former head coach of the Upland Christian
varsity baseball team was appointed as the
new head coach of the CHS baseball program in
August and hopes to bring stability to the position
that has been subject to plenty of turnover
within the past several years.
The Claremont High
School Wolfpack boys
soccer team has so far
shown no signs of resting on its
laurels after winning last year’s
CIF Southern Section Division
II championship.
The Pack improved to 2-0 on the
young season after defeating Rancho
Cucamonga in the first round of the
Rancho Cucamonga Tournament on
Wednesday, 3-2. CHS is currently
ranked first in the CIF Division II polls.
First year UNLV men’s basketball
coach Dave Rice can check off defeating
a No. 1 team on his to do
list.
The former CHS basketball coach and his team
shocked the nation on Saturday as the Runnin’ Rebels
defeated top ranked North Carolina in the championship
game of the Las Vegas Invitational, 90-80.
It was just 3 weeks ago when the Claremont
High School varsity girls cross
country team finished 2nd place just behind
Ayala in the Sierra League Championship.
At last Saturday’s CIF Southern
Section championships, the Wolfpack was
the better team on the Mt. SAC course.
Claremont High School girls cross country team members Julia Cantrell, left, Megan Renken and Merin Arft run intervals during practice on Wednesday in and around Claremont. CHS will send 10 girls to the CIF tournament this weekend at Mount San Antonio College where they need to get at least 7th place in order to advance to the state championships. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Claremont has opted to bow out of the 2012 AMGEN Tour of California, an 8-day cycling race that takes place in May. Host to the race’s seventh stage last year, a route that takes riders from Claremont through Mt. Baldy, city officials decided not to participate again because of the amount of work, time, and finances needed to pull off the event, according to Mayor Sam Pedroza.
The Claremont High School doubles team of Drew Spinosa, below, and Megan Huang emerged as the new Sierra League doubles champions during the Sierra League Girls Tennis Finals on Tuesday. The CHS duo defeated St. Lucy's tandem of Danielle Cooney and Alekya Tummala in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4. COURIER photo Steven Felschundneff
Even if the Claremont High School
football team had its best offensive
outing of the season, the inability
to stop the surging Charter Oak
Chargers would still have been the Wolfpack's
Achilles heel.
CHS could not keep pace with Charter Oak in Friday's
homecoming encounter as the Chargers scored
on 7 of 11 possessions to send the Pack to its 4th
straight loss and keep Claremont winless in Sierra
League play, 49-12.
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