‘We’ve kind of turned into the school of tournaments’

The previous weekend, on Saturday, Sept. 6, Hillsdale hosted the Junior Varsity Days and Knights Challenge volleyball tournament, as well as the Battle of the Bay Girls’ Water Polo Tournament, both held on campus.

“I don’t know how many more tournaments we’re going to be able to take on, but we’ve kind of turned into the school of tournaments,” Madison said.

Jousting at Crystal

Hillsdale cross country head coach Chris Lucey hosted 24 schools at Crystal at Saturday’s Fighting Knights’ Joust, with representation from 11 of the Peninsula Athletic League’s 17 cross country programs. The 24 total schools present spanned the Central Coast and North Coast sections.

Over 450 athletes who finished through the eight total races, with events organized by virtue of academic grade.

“It’s a really fun part,” Lucey said “It’s a real low stress way to start the season for those kids.”

The four upperclassman races — 11th and 12th grade for each boys and girls — were held on the standard 2.95-mile Crystal Springs Cross Country Course. The four underclassman events raced on a shorter 2.13-mile course.

“It’s a nice bridge because the middle school kids do an even shorter distance,” Lucey said. “So, for the middle school kids ... it’s right in that middle. It’s a half mile shorter of the full distance at Crystal and gives them a taste without having to go full bore until later on in the season.”

Leigh-San Jose juniors Gelila Hailu and Timothy Sandholm were the top runners of the meet. Each set meet records for the 11th grade division. Hailu won the 11th grade girls’ race in 18 minutes, 15.7 seconds, finishing over a minute faster than the second-place time of Monte Vista Christian’s Finley Castro at 19:34.2.

Sandholm dominated in similar fashion, setting the meet record for 11th grade boys with a first-place time of 15:42.3, topping the second-place time of Santa Cruz’s Nico Van Der Meer at 16:13.7.

Half Moon Bay freshman Lilah Tomatis set a meet record in the shorter girls’ 9th grade race in 13:17.6.

Two other meet records fell, with Monte Vista Christian sophomore Anna Conca winning the girls’ 10th grade race in 12:48.6; and Monte Vista Christian freshman Owen Beckmen winning the boys’ 9th grade race in 11:25.5.

“Across the board it was a fast competition,” Lucey said.

In the girls’ 12th grade race, Mills senior Chloe Amayun took the title in 19:53.1, ahead of Aragon’s Dylan Lee in second at 20:09.6. Mills senior Janelle Pantilon took fifth (22.08); San Mateo senior Michelle Wilding seventh (22:54.9); Mills senior Kaelyn Chan eighth (23:05.4); Carlmont senior Kiana Chen ninth (23:08.6); and Carlmont senior Katelyn Lorilla 10th (23:40.8).

In the boys’ 12th grade race, Leigh senior Ethan Garner took firth place in 16:11. San Mateo senior Adwaiy Ambardekar was second (16:18.5); Aragon senior Luke Novak fourth (16:49.7); Aragon senior Suma Otsuka fifth (16:51); Mills senior Kaden Ren sixth (16:55.7); Mills senior Ethan Cabrera eighth (17:10.4); and Mills senior Kevin Ren 10th (17:17.4).

Two weekends of volleyball

Dwight Crump, Hillsdale’s head varsity volleyball coach, had high hopes for his underclassman teams Saturday, Sept. 6, at the the Junior Varsity Days and Knights Challenge. The junior-varsity Lady Knights advanced to the Gold Division championship match, but it could have been an all-Hillsdale party — until Riordan-SF knocked off Hillsdale’s freshman team, coached by Della Trimble, former Aragon standout and daughter of Aragon head coach Annette Gennaro-Trimble, in the tournament semifinals.

“We were all hoping it was going to be Hillsdale vs. Hillsdale, but Riordan spoiled our party,” Crump said.

Riordan went on to capture the Junior Varsity tournament championship, but it was still a banner day for Hillsdale’s underclassman teams in showcasing the program’s depth.

“They were the only freshman team in the tournament,” Crump said. “Out of 15 schools, they were the only freshman team. They ended up playing in the Gold bracket. They ended up finishing fourth in the Gold bracket, which is amazing.”

In Saturday’s Varsity Days and Knights Challenge, it was an all-San Francisco party as Lincoln-SF won the Gold Division championship, knocking off Sacred Heart Cathedral-SF 25-23, 24-26, 15-8. Soquel took third place, closing the tourney with a 25-20, 25-21 win over Design Tech.

Enterprising student

The Battle of the Bay Girls’ Water Polo Tournament entered its second year, but its first as a dual tourney featuring both varsity and junior-varsity brackets. Last year, it debuted strictly as a varsity tournament.

The Battle of the Bay is the brainchild of Hillsdale senior Vanessa Vieira, who last year proposed the idea of Hillsdale forgoing an early-season weekend road trip by hosting a tournament of its own.

“She wanted to have a tournament that was completely hosted by Hillsdale, so she took the initiative to do everything,” Hillsdale head coach Shannon Taliaferro said. “So, she is the whole reason why this thing happened.”

The idea of the school hosting yet another tournament was met warmly by the Hillsdale brass.

“She totally deserves credit on the vision of the tournament,” Madison said. “The legwork in tandem with her coaches, and every step of the way where myself, an AD, and coaches needed to be involved, we were involved, but she was driving it.”

The tournament featured six varsity teams and four for JV. Gunn-Palo Alto won the championship in the varsity tournament, defeating Moreau Catholic-Hayward 15-8 in the finals. In the JV finals, Lick-Wilmerding-SF defeated Carlmont 18-9.