Netters ace strong start to season Strong girls tennis teams are not a surprise locally, and that tradition continues this fall. At La Jolla High School, the Lady Vikings under head coach Maggie Mulkins head into action this week with an overall record of 4-2 (3-1 Western League). Key players to date have included Alison Klein, Rozel Hernandez, Nathaly Moungvong and Allie Rubens.  “The season is going well,” Mulkins commented. “We are young and still working on some nuances of the game, but overall a real strong performance. Expectations are high for finishing our season strong.” At The Bishop’s School, the Lady Knights led by head coach Mariel DeYoung headed into play this week at 5-1. Key players to date have been Bianca Pham, Nicole Sadowsky, Amy Hoagland, Camilla Johnston and Rebecca Lass. “So far, we are off to a good start this season,” DeYoung commented. “We had a big win this week (last week) against Francis Parker and it will give us more confidence as we move forward.” LJCD boys cross-country team wins invitational The La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School cross-country teams competed last week in the Small Schools Invitational at Morley Field, with the boys squad capturing the championship. In a race that is often a preview of the Division IV and Division V CIF championships and also includes a handful of smaller Division III schools, the Torreys were led by junior Lee Klitzner (17:26, third), sophomore Noah Wolfenzon (17:43, ninth) and senior Dennis Roth (17:43, 10th). Senior Alex Fleischhacker (18:14, 14th) and sophomore Jake Mack (18:41, 23rd) completed the scoring, while juniors Phillip Poyhonen (19:16, 35th) and Oliver Hamilton (19:37, 41st) rounded out LJCD’s top seven. “Lee, Noah, Jake, Phillip and Oliver all ran personal bests for this course, something we’ll hopefully be able to say again after CIF,” LJCD head coach Scott Sanders commented. The junior varsity boys, missing several runners to illness, also ran well, finishing third overall. On the varsity girls side, LJCD’s young squad continues to gain experience and show promise, finishing seventh overall of 12 teams. Sophomore Sam Staszak (15th, 19:37) bested her CIF time from last year despite missing two weeks with a sprained ankle and a week to illness. Freshman Lily Wolfenzon (27th), sophomores Maggie Taylor (29th) and Alina Wong (49th) and senior Lisa Felber (53rd) also scored for the Lady Torreys. “We’re very pleased with these results, especially given that the entire high school was on experiential education trips last week and very few runners were able to train,” Sanders added.