The Long Beach Poly Legends 7-on-7 Invitational fit the billing on Saturday as some of the top teams in Southern California convened at 1600 Atlantic in Long Beach. The inaugural tournament saw the host Jackrabbits go undefeated until the championship where they lost to Mater Dei, 12-7.
The Monarchs run included bouncing back from two early losses in pool play to Inglewood and Poly, before winning four straight contests against Mayfair, Muir, Inglewood and Etiwanda. That set up the rematch against Long Beach Poly in the title game.
“I told our guys here last year and this year now, we don’t really go through adversity as much,” Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said in his return to his alma mater. “And I thrive on it, meaning that’s where we learn the most. And today with us being 0-2 and them kind of turning it around a lot. I’m really proud of the kids.”
For Poly, the day was all about improving after a tough outing at Edison during the Battle at the Beach. The Jackrabbits started the day against Mayfair where they scored on their first drive to take a 6-0 lead.
Deuce Jefferson then connected with his top target of the day, Jaden Hernandez, for two touchdowns as Poly defeated the Monsoons 21-6.
“We went into this week with a kind of chip on our shoulder knowing we can be better than what we were, holding ourselves to a higher standard,” Jefferson said. “Coming into this week our preparation was very good. Offense pushing defense, and defense pushing offense.”
In game two of pool play, the Jackrabbits found themselves in a close contest as the defense came up huge in a 13-12 Poly victory. Deon Jackson and company came up with big play after big play throughout the afternoon.
“We just wanted to minimize our mistakes from last week,” Jackson said. “And come together as a team more. After this last tournament, it’s helmets and pads. We just have to come together and get our minds right. We’re trying to make it to the championship this year. We’re trying to rebuild what Poly really is and let everyone know who we really are.”
With the top spot in Pool 1 up for grabs, the Jackrabbits were able to defeat Inglewood 19-13 thanks to a last-second touchdown as Jefferson found Hernandez in the endzone.
After coming away with the top spot in their pool, the Jackrabbits went on to defeat St. Monica, 21-14, to punch their ticket to the title game.
Poly coach Justin Utupo was thankful to all the teams that participated and made the inaugural tournament a success.
“Great event, great teams, great coaches,” Utupo said. “Great community, and that’s what it’s all about. Celebrate the legends that have walked these grounds, players and coaches. It was great to have coach Raul Lara here. He’s a legend here. We got some good work against them in pool play but when we have the opportunity, we have to take advantage when it matters most. Hats off to Mater Dei and all the other seven teams that came today.”
For Lara, walking onto the Poly campus was a walk down memory lane, where he graduated and went on to coach the Jackrabbits to five CIF-Southern Section Division 1 titles during a historic head coaching tenure.
“Coming here, with all the years that I coached and all the players and the administration and the teachers, everybody I met here – it brings back a lot of memories,” Lara said, “The thing that’s funny to me is walking on the campus and seeing (this turf field) you know, we didn’t have this. I’m pretty excited for the school because it seems like they’re doing a lot of reconstruction and remodeling and I’m excited to see what they’re going to have.”
Women’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Lola Gitlin
Lola Gitlin won the 3,000-meter race by more than 12 seconds at Cornell’s Southern Tier Invitational as she clocked a time of 10:37.55. Gitlin’s time is good for 24th nationally.
Women’s Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week – Lily Seyfert
Lily Seyfert placed third in the shot put at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational with a mark of 12.72 meters, which is just shy of her top mark of 12.78 this season (17th in Division III). Seyfert also finished third in the weight throw at 16.20 meters and ranks eighth in the country after that performance.
Men’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Raphael Campanile
Raphael Campanile placed fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50 meters at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational on Saturday and currently ranks 25th in Division III with that performance.
HONOR ROLL
Matthew Zenker totaled 44 points on 18-of-31 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and three steals in a 1-1 week for Ithaca. Zenker netted 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in a 101-72 win over RIT and followed up with 24 points and eight rebounds as he shot 10-of-15 from the floor in a loss to Union.
Junior forward McNamara delivered a pair of strong performances despite setbacks against RIT and Union. Against the Tigers, she was flawless from the floor, going 3-for-3 while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. She carried that momentum into the Union matchup, coming just shy of her first career double-double with nine points and eight boards.
Shenandoah University men’s volleyball freshman Simon Bellenbaum was named the ODAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
The York, Pennsylvania, native accumulated six solo blocks and eight digs in SU’s two matches against Randolph and Regent, with three blocks in each game and five digs versus the Royals.
Boys’ basketball: Sherando 48, Strasburg 44
STEPHENS CITY — Sherando defeated Strasburg for its fourth straight win on Monday. The Warriors are 9-4.
Girls’ basketball: Strasburg 39, Sherando 29
STRASBURG — Strasburg completed a season sweep with a win over Sherando on Monday.
The Warriors (3-11) trailed 18-7 after one quarter, 23-10 at the half and 29-22 after three quarters.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Two Keene State College student-athletes honored by the Little East Conference for their achievements accomplished for the week of January 5-11.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Freshman diver Keegan Johnson (Durham, N.H.) was named the LEC Diver of the Week and the Rookie Diver of the Week from his dives across the Owls’ final two home meets this season over the past weekend. Against Eastern Connecticut State University, Johnson placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 129.75 on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning against Norwich University, he placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 141.38 and first in the 3M diving with a score of 170.31.
Johnson and the Owls return to action for a double-dual meet against Brandeis University and Bridgewater State University on Saturday, January 17 at 12:00 PM.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field
Senior Eden Damis (Nashua, N.H.) was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Week from his performance at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational on Saturday for the Owls. In the long jump, Damis posted a mark of 14.00 in the triple just for a new personal record in his final attempt of the day. His mark became the 21st best mark in NCAA Division III on the season, just one position for qualifying for nationals later this season.
Damis and the Owls return to action at the Panther Invitational I at Plymouth State University on Saturday, January 17, at 10:00 AM.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its women’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LUCIA GARCIA-BELTRAN • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central
Garcia-Beltran earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 60 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior sprinter and Rutgers transfer clocked a time of 7.63 seconds, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division III.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
SARAH SCEPKOWSKI • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson
Scepkowski claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after clearing 1.60 meters in the high jump at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior’s mark ranks 20th in NCAA Division III and stands as one of the top performances in the conference this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
AMELIA VITALE • Farmingdale State College
Freshman • Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge
Vitale was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after posting a time of 2:30.87 in the 800 meters at the Spartan Invitational. The freshman’s performance represents the top mark in the event thus far in the NJAC this season and establishes her as the conference’s early leader in the middle-distance event.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its men’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11.
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
MAXIM RYCHKOV • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville
Rychkov earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 400 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore clocked a time of 47.95 seconds, which ranks sixth in Division III. Rychkov’s record-breaking performance also leads both the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region in the event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
BRADEN PAULMENN • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick
Paulmenn claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after a strong showing in two throwing events at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore recorded a mark of 15.38 meters in the shot put (third place) and 13.98 meters in the weight throw (fourth place). His weight throw mark ranks third in the NJAC and 10th in the Metro Region. Paulmenn also owns the second-best shot put mark in the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region and is 26th in Division III.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
VICTOR AKINBOBOYE • The College of New Jersey
Freshman • Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty
Akinboboye was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after clocking a time of 35.54 seconds in the 300 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The freshman’s performance ranks 18th in Division III and establishes him as one of the top first-year sprinters in the conference.
Oldani had a match-high and career-high 10 digs in BYU’s season opener Friday night in Provo. He added another three digs on Saturday. Oldani also had five blocks over the two matches, as the Cougars started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Oldani is one of three transfers from Grand Canyon on this season’s BYU squad. He was a key contributor as a freshman last season for the Antelopes and has picked up where he left off with the Cougars.
Oldani and the No. 8 Cougars won in back-to-back sweeps last weekend over Saint Francis and have two more home matches this Friday and Saturday, as No. 10 UC San Diego visits the Smith Fieldhouse.
