With winter sports playoffs underway in the San Diego CIF Section, it’s the girls at Point Loma High who are making the most headway while one team won its first league title in many years.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
In girls basketball, head coach Curtis Norwood’s team swept through City League play with a perfect 8-0 record that also earned them the No. 1 seed in CIF Div. III playoffs.
At press time, the girls, led by senior Sadie Heckman’s 18.9 points per game, have defeated No. 16 (lowest) seed Maranatha Christian 70-16 and No. 9 seed Sage Creek 52-47. They were scheduled to host No. 5 Mt. Carmel in a quarterfinal game Tuesday with the other semifinal pitting No. 3 Foothills Christian against No. 10 Madison. The championship game will be played at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at Montgomery High School.
GIRLS SOCCER
Outdoors on the soccer pitch, head coach Jose Garcia’s PLHS girls finished the season with an overall record of 11-5-4, taking second place in the Western League to Cathedral Catholic’s 8-0 finish. The Pointers’ record earned them a No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the Div. II tournament.
At press time, the girls have defeated No. 11 seed San Diego 1-0 and are were scheduled to host No. 7 Mt. Carmel in a semifinal match at 7 p.m. Wednesday night. The other semifinal saw No. 8 Escondido Charter face No. 12, Francis Parker. The finals are set for Hilltop High in Chula Vista Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.
BOYS WRESTLING
On the mat, Pointer wrestlers, under head coach Beth Piner, went 5-0 in Eastern League with dual match wins against, Madison, Morse, Cathedral Catholic, and San Diego High. This is the first league win by the Pointers in over 25 years.
Austin Tran (108 pounds) won the Pointers’ first CIF title in five years. A total of nine PLHS wrestlers qualified for the CIF meet held in Brawley. Placing were Danny Sosa (fifth, 126), Jack McDonnell (fourth, 142) and Thor Willink (third, 172).
Qualifiers for the Masters Tournament held in El Centro were Willink, McDonnell, Sosa, and Tran.
Piner’s assistants include Shad Olvera, David Jauregui, and Tony Dorn.
GIRLS WRESTLING
Freshman Eve Norman (118) competed in CIF, placing fourth and upsetting the No. 2 seed wrestler from Brawley at the historic first-ever girls Masters Tournament in San Diego. Dave Medel is the head girls’ coach and is assisted by Dan Thomas.
BOYS SOCCER
The Pointer boys soccer team achieved the highest playoff ranking, being selected for the “Elite Eight” Open Division, made up of the strongest programs in the section. They earned a No. 5 seed only to fall to No. 4 Del Norte in a hard-fought 3-2 match on Feb. 18.
Head coach Elliott Savitz’s team, annually one of the county’s best, finished 4-3-1 in Eastern League contests and 11-8-2 overall.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Pointer boys basketball team had perhaps the greatest thrill so far in playoff action. They were the No. 16 (last) seed in Div. II playoffs, forcing them to play their first game at the No. 1 team’s gym, almost assuring a loss and elimination from the tournament.
That top seed was Bonita Vista, and the Pointers traveled to the South Bay Feb. 18 for what the home crowd thought would be an easy first-round win. Instead, the Pointers played perhaps their best game of the season, eliminating the top-seeded Barons in a tense 58-57 victory.
That upset win sent the Pointers to the quarterfinal round against No. 8 Orange Glen. The Patriots ended the Pointers’ season by a close 54-51 margin.
For the season, the boys finished at the bottom of the Eastern League with a 3-5 record (13-14 overall.
GIRLS WATER POLO
In girls’ water polo, the Pointers finished 11-15 overall and 3-7 in Central League play. They were seeded No. 11 in Division II playoffs. In a first-round match against No. 6 La Costa Canyon, the girls lost a close 6-4 game that ended their season.
Spring sports (boys baseball, girls softball, boys golf, competitive cheer, boys and girls lacrosse, swimming and diving, boys tennis, track and field, and boys volleyball) are now underway following pre-season tryouts.
