Early Christmas gifts made their way to a surprised group of coaches this week as Claremont’s Sunrise Rotarians bestowed $8000 to the city’s youth sports.
Santa Claus and a parade of Sunrise Rotarians arrived at the Youth Sports Committee meeting last Tuesday, checks in hand. The unexpected interruption came without any complaint from committee members as members of the service club handed over their largest donation yet to Claremont’s budding athletes, thanks to the success of their fifth annual Turkey Trot charity run
Claremont boys basketball showed composure and a fluid offensive unit at last weekend’s Sonora Tournament, finishing with 2 wins and a loss. First the Wolfpack beat Downey in double overtime 86-80, and then followed up by beating Diamond Bar 44-32. In the Pack’s final game against King, they could not recover from a rough 2nd quarter. Claremont lost 65-61 to close out the weekend. Top performances in the game were from Omar Mahmoud, who had 21 points and 4 assists, and Max Allen, who scored 14 points. The Wolfpack will travel to Ontario on Wednesday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. More sports coverage inside.
Claremont High School midfielder Merin Arft takes a shot on goal late in the Pack’s match against Alta Loma on Tuesday at CHS. Claremont dominated possession of the ball throughout the game and came out on top, 2-1, with Karen Parga scoring both of CHS’ goals on free kicks. The defending CIF champions have gotten off to a good start this season with a 6-1 record overall. More in our next edition. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
The Wolfpack played their second game of the 18th annual Wolfpack Classic Girls’ Basketball Tournament Wednesday night against the Chaffey Tigers of Ontario.
In a fast-paced, physical game, the Pack built a 9-point halftime lead and never looked back winning 48-37. Coach Darryl Kennedy had much to say about the girls’ hustle. “I am happy we are able to play man-to-man defense successfully; we showed big effort today.”
The girls basketball team will return almost their entire starting lineup this season, with juniors Jessica Abrolat, Danna Robles and sophomore Katie Porter mentoring newcomers Heather Hill and Hanna Borooshan. Longtime coach Darryl Kennedy said, “I want the girls to give their very best and always compete at a high level.” Kennedy hopes to improve on last season’s disappointing 7-19 record. Scores from the Wolfpack’s game against Glendora and Garey will be in our next edition. Check out more sports with our entire story link.
Claremont football experienced another frustrating year in the Sierra League, dropping the final 3 contests and finishing 3-7 on the season. One highlight, however, was a shellacking of Damien. Juniors Craig Myers, Cecil Fleming and Baron Franklin will continue into 2013 as senior offensive stalwarts, while Paul Manus and Josh Ferrer will return as defensive anchors for the Wolfpack.
Last week, Jeremy Giles pledged his college future to Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York. The standout Claremont High baseball player will be finishing his senior year this coming spring, and will play for the Division 1 Seawolves in the fall.
Giles waltzed on to the varsity Wolfpack baseball team his junior year and soon cemented his role as their sure-footed 2nd baseman. Giles was quick to praise his teammates and Claremont’s unexpected finish last year. “We were really close as a team; we had each others’ backs."
Comeback of the year:
The boys water polo team made it to the first round of playoffs this year, and set sights on beating wildcard team Thousand Oaks. After a defensive battle produced a 5-5 tie in regulation, the Wolfpack absorbed wave after wave of attack. The Pack broke out on the counter, twice catching the Breakers overcommitted. Claremont scored 2 goals in overtime to win a huge playoff game in their home pool.
The Foothill Storm Under-14 girls club soccer team finished their season atop the Gold League standings this year. Coached by Carlos Conejo and Aron Weaver for the last 5 years, the Storm featured a fluid style of play this season due to their years of playing together. Coach Weaver said, “Though they are not the biggest or fastest, our team ended each game with around 70 percent of the possession and were able to eke out victories from tight games all year.”
Claremont’s last playoff team fell to Laguna Beach 16-4 last Thursday. Claremont was unable to counter the Breakers’ offensive prowess and physical play. The Wolfpack enjoyed a fine season and finish after winning a dramatic playoff game last Tuesday. The team will return a number of important players next fall. College scores listed also.
The Claremont boys water polo team went into Tuesday’s CIF play-in game with high hopes after winning their last 5 games and finishing 2nd place in the Sierra League.
The Wolfpack squared off against the Thousand Oaks Lancers in a Division 2 Wild Card match. After a defensive battle and 2 overtime periods, Claremont emerged as victors by a score of 7-5.
The game started with a roar from CHS supporters. A flurry of shots by both teams quickly followed the opening tip-off sprint, which Claremont controlled.
