La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School athletes have their sights set on a strong season this spring.
In golf, the Torreys, under head coach Bill Cahoone, finished last season with an overall mark of 21-5. LJCD won the Coastal League South title, finished 13th overall and was fifth in its division.
“We return all of our players from last year and expect another fine year,” Cahoone noted. “We are led by senior James Davis, juniors Connor Alan-Lee, Bryan Sheridan and Will Marinovich, and sophomores Grant Alter and Sam Rogers.”
Sheridan is the defending Coastal League champion and Davis and Alan-Lee were also first-team selections last year.
“We expect strong competition from Bishop’s and Francis Parker in league play,” Cahoone added.
In swimming, the girls team is coming off a 5-3 dual meet season for head coach Nate Heppner.
This year’s squad is led by a strong contingent of seniors, including Karisa Karlovich (sprint free), Fran Halleman (distance free), and Hilary Sluis (fly).
In addition, sophomores Melanie Kaplan (free, I.M.), Chelsea Burns (sprint free), and Caroline Acheatel (breaststroke) will reportedly play important roles in the team’s success. New freshman Melissa Berkay (fly, I.M.) could be a key CIF qualifier this season as well.
The boys’ team also finished 5-3 last year. According to Heppner, the team has only one senior, team captain Kai Altree (backstroke, I.M.). He will be surrounded by a strong contingent of juniors, including Chris Vorlicek (distance free, breaststroke), Ronny Clausner (free), and Vivan Suri (fly). Sophomore Ryan Frace (backstroke) looks to build upon an outstanding freshman season.
New swimmers include JiHoon Yoon (breaststroke) and sophomores Owen Qi (back) and Justin Pierson (sprint free).
“Both teams look to finish in the top third of the Eastern League standings,” Heppner said.
In lacrosse, the Lady Torreys start their first-ever season.
According to head coach Leslie Hunt, some key players will include senior Claire Eliasberg, and juniors Tatiyana Young, Alyssa Newman and Caitlin Bonacci. Netanya Gelfand is slated to see action in goal for the team.
“It’s hard to access key players currently because I have some awesome athletes, including four players from the CIF Section championship varsity soccer team who, with a couple games’ experience, I’m expecting to emerge as good players who will be a threat in the near future,” Hunt said a week ago.
She also noted that with only two girls having ever played lacrosse, this will be a learning year.
“I expect to be competitive with the younger programs and hang with some of the more established ones as well,” she said. “My expectations include the girls learning the game, improving as a team and as individuals as the season progresses, and establishing a good foundation to build a competitive program over the next three years.”
A new team is also on the field for the boys this spring.
According to head coach Michael Tobey, key players include junior Jon Volfson (midfield), freshman Eric Blodgett (midfield) and junior Collin Tuck (defense).
“We expect to build the foundation of the program this year,” Tobey commented. “Our team is extremely young (eight of 19 players are freshmen) and only five players have played lacrosse before this year.”
In track and field, the Torreys under head coach Kevin Reaume finished a combined 16-1 a season ago (girls 8-0, boys 8-1), with the girls winning their fifth consecutive championship.
Key members this season figure to include Anna Blumenfeld (discus top 5 in county, shot put top 10 in county); Valerie Christy (distance top 10 in the county); Lauren Pischel and Hana Justice (great girls distance team); and Jacquelyn Vanderlip (hurdles).
On the boys side, LJCD will look to Alex Maire (100, 200, long jump) and Lance Rutledge (400, top 10 in county).
“We’re a young team good with good senior leadership,” Reaume said. “The expectation is to have everyone improve on their personal best and the points will come.”