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Volume 47, Issue 7 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2004 Castro Valley, CA
94546
First line of double headline
By Matt RiceSTAFF WRITER
Anatomy and physiology student Perry Hung dissects a deceased
cat for a hands-on experience in the classroom.
ATHENA GIANOPOULOS / COPY EDITOR
By Yelena TeplitskayaSTAFF WRITER
California State Universities (CSU) and Universities of
Cali-fornia (UC) could possibly take big financial hits if the
governors proposed budget is enacted.
Governor Arnold Schwarzeneg-gers new state budget proposes a
nine percent ($240 million) reduc-tion in CSU funding and a $372
million cut from the UC system.
According to the budget plan, [the state] continues to recognize
the significant contributions and benefits to society from broad
ac-cess to higher education, but finds it, necessary to reduce
General Fund spending in both the CSU and UC [systems].
Student reorganization is also proposed in the budget. The plan
calls for ten percent of incoming CSU and UC students to be placed
in the California Community Col-lege (CCC) system instead of a CSU
or UC.
Students are also facing some tough monetary decisions.
Stu-dents attending CCCs will face a hike in cost per unit to $26
for undergraduates and $50 for graduates.
The plan is met with harsh criti-cism and opposition from most
high school students, the group it would affect the most.
Lower-income students will probably suffer most from the
pro-posed budget. In the plan, financial aid programs in the UC
system are
If you thought that dissecting frogs in Biology was the only
thing gross enough to make you reconsider your position as a
stu-dent, think again. Anatomy and Physiology classes on campus are
dissecting cats to learn about the digestive system, the heart,
blood, arteries and more.
Many of the students taking the class agreed that if you get
past the gross-factor, it would definitely pave the way to an
excellent learn-ing experience.
Its good to explore the natural body, said junior Darwin Tsang.
And the closest thing to the natural human body, that is available
to the school in large numbers, is a cat.
Cats are very similar to hu-mans, said Carol Dixon, Anatomy and
Physiology teacher. Theyre small and easy to manipulate. I think
its an excellent learning experience.
The cats are supplied every year by Wards Bio Supply House in
North Carolina, where the cats are embalmed and injected with latex
into their veins for preservation.
Traditionally, every Anatomy and Physiology class in college and
high school uses cats, said Dixon. Its not my favorite thing to do,
but you dont ever see what tissue is like [without it].
Students taking the class have to slice open a preserved, but
still just as dead, cat and identify whatever anatomical aspect
they are learning that week. The slice can be a mid-line incision
like a two-door refrigerator, explained Dixon, with the flaps held
down by stainless steel T-pins. From there,
students can examine the four chambers of the heart, the lungs,
the liver and more.
Despite the intense sight and smell of a deceased cat in front
of them, students agreed that theres nothing like learning Anatomy
and Physiology first-hand.
Its kind of cool to learn [the anatomy of a cat] hands-on rather
than from a mannequin or some-thing, said Laura Watkins.
Senior Kiran Bal agreed, it makes so much more sense now that
were looking in the cat.
Anatomy and Physiology students dissect cats to explore body
systems
Naturally, there is a substantial amount of doubt about the
ethical prospect of dissecting cats from the students.
I think a few [students] were a little scared and nervous at
first, explained Dixon, but in the be-ginning of the year, its one
of the things I said wed do.
With all the hassle and issues of dissecting cats in the
classroom, teachers still have faith in the process after all this
time.
Its worth it, Dixon con-cluded.
planned to take a dramatic 33 per-cent funding reduction,
decreasing the number of lower-income stu-dents able to attend.
Instead of denying people the right to their education, he
should just raise taxes like any sane per-son would, said senior
Maxine Wiseman.
Other students cite the fact that the budget may have its
priorities in the wrong order.
Education is very important for California right now, having a
balanced budget isnt, said senior Channing Cheng.
CSU and UC officials also take the proposed cuts as a poor
choice for the future of California.
While we continue to share the pain of the states fiscal crisis,
the public must realize that these budget reductions will
negatively impact student access to the Cali-fornia State
University because all qualified students will not be admitted,
said CSU Chancellor Charles Reed.
Fewer students admitted means fewer educated citizens entering
the workforce to stimulate the economy and provide the jobs that
the governor stressed in his State of the State address, Reed said.
Not investing in higher education will have a devastating impact on
the states economic future.
In the end it will come down to the voters to choosing whether
or not Schwarzenegger s plan will be the new standard, or the
memory of a failed plan.
California Governor proposes reduction
of CSU and UC funds
By Haseeb SadatSTAFF WRITER
Girls wrestlers dominate state championshipsCVHS girls wrestling
team cap-
tured the title of State Champions at the prestigious California
Girls State Wrestling Championships on Feb. 7 at Vallejo High
School.
In just two years of existence, the girl grapplers accomplished
something no other Castro Val-ley High team had ever achieved
winning a team championship at a state event. Head coach Steve
Solis says the formula to success was any easy one to follow.
Its a simple formula, said Steve Solis. If [the girls] put the
work in, good things will happen. Set high goals and good things
will happen.
Junior Sharlee Solis (weight class 126) and senior Summer Scott
(weight class 132) led the way with the only individual titles.
Castro Valley also got third-place finishes from Katrina
Dutchover and Danielle Freitas, a fifth-place finish from Gabrielle
Solis and Ashley Mora, a sixth-place fin-ish from Jessica Cleaver
and an eighth-place finish from Jessica Fazzio. The Trojans won by
22.5 points over San Leandro.
Sharlee Solis won her finals match in stunning fashion. Los-ing
by two points with 20 seconds remaining in the final period,
Shar-lee Solis needed a takedown. She shot in and tied the match
5-5 to take it into overtime. Sharlee Solis wasted little time in
the overtime period as she used a counter take-down to win 7-5.
I feel proud because all my hard work paid off, responded
Sharlee Solis when asked about her first-place finish. It was our
goal at the beginning of the season. Im really happy for my
teammates and proud of our ac-complishments.
Scott also overcame a dramatic finish to win her title bout.
Scott got an escape point with 11 sec-onds left to prevail in
double-overtime. Scotts match was particularly special because her
opponent had beaten her at the beginning of the season.
It feels good, said Scott. All our had work paid off.
Scott was also glad to see her teammates do so well.
They really put out, said Scott. They did extremely well at the
tournament.
Steve Solis attributes the teams success to setting goal before
the season began and working hard.
[The girls] put the extra time in. said Steve Solis.
Six CVHS wrestlers qualified for National Championships on March
28 in Detroit, Michigan.
CVHS girl wrestlers competed at the state championships. Shown
left to right: (top) Jessica Fazzio, Jessica Klever, Danielle
Freitas, Stephanie Vossekuil, (bottom) Katrina Ducthover, Summer
Scott, Ashley Mora, and Gabby Solis
MORYAH SCHINDLER / STAFF WRITER
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2 OPINION Friday, February 27, 2004
The Olympian is a publication of the Journalism class, Castro
Valley High School, 19400 Santa Maria Ave., Castro Valley, CA
94546.
Editor-In-Chief.........................................................Hallie
Jaramillo Helene RidellaNews
Editor........................................................................Erin
GaabOpinion
Editor..............................................................Rada
Feldman Feature
Editor..................................................................Susan
SongSports
Editor...................................................................Ben
TopkinsCopy
Editors.....................................................................Laura
Choi Athena GianopoulosPhoto
Editor.......................................................................Sean
RyanSystems
Manager.....................................................Enrique
PedrosaBusiness
Managers.........................................................Ruby
Butler Rachel Huggins Susan Song
Staff Writers: Jordan Bailey, Samantha Basto, Tyler Crabe,
Stephanie De Groot, Randy Eisenberg, Divya Gopakumar, Harris
Hennig, Marie Manuel, Matt Rice, Amrita Sabharwal, Jesse Sabharwal,
Haseeb Sadat, Moryah Schindler, Yelena Teplitskaya, Brandon
Young
Advisor........................................................................Matt
Johanson
By Harris HennigSTAFF WRITER
Editorial:Governor Schwarzeneg-
gers proposal to reduce University of California and California
State Uni-versity admissions by 10% is no good for anyone. Because
of this, more than 20,000 students will be funneled into
Californias already overcrowded junior colleges, rather than going
to a four-year college. To make bad things worse, the junior
colleges will receive no money to deal with the influx of new
students.
With all his babble about recovery, our Governa-tor is
forgetting something important: the college kids he keeps from
getting an education lose an avenue to becoming productive members
of society. A more intelligent populace never hurt anyone.
Unfortunately, money doesnt grow on trees
and in a cash-strapped state with horrible credit like
Cali-fornia, its going to be hard to find the money to fill that
gap. However, this money could be obtained by either making small
cuts to a large number of programs or we could do the unthinkable
(as far as Republicans are con-cerned) raise taxes.
The property tax and Prop-osition 13 are in serious need of
reconsideration. With the current setup locking in taxes, people
who bought their homes years ago pay far less than they should.
Basing the taxes off of cur-rent value rather than what it was
purchased for 30 years ago would bring in extra money that could be
used to fill holes in the state s porous budget rather than taking
the ax to higher education.
Making it harder to go to college is bad for students, and
ultimately bad for Cali-fornia.
What I expected to be a devas-tating and tragic experience
turned out to be a day of victory.
On Feb. 9 I fidgeted and anx-iously made my way through each
class, waiting until the moment I could rush home and turn on my TV
to find out the fate of someone whose life I had been following
very closely Kevin Cooper.When I walked into room 106 at lunch, my
friend Amanda Gelender greeted me with the words I had been dying
to hear all day, Theres still hope for Kevin Cooper. I let out an
ec-static squeal.
Amanda and I have hosted a teach-in on Kevin Coopers case
through Amnesty International and attended a Live From Death Row
event, where we got a chance to hear Kevin Cooper speak.
From the moment I learned about the case, I became attached to
Kevin. Through reading his es-says, going through a numerous amount
of articles about him and having hour-long conversations with
Amanda about him, I have become more devoted to trying to do
something about saving
By Amrita SabharwalSTAFF WRITER
his life.Although I often heard people
tell me, He should be killed so the families can receive
justice, and Its not like you can do anything about it, I ignored
these ignorant comments and did anything I could to vocalize my
feelings about this case. The fact that someone can even talk about
achieving justice through yet another murder is be-yond me, so I
just brushed it off and continued to fight.
Monday night approached with uncertainty about Kevins fate; he
was still scheduled to die on Feb. 10 at 12:01 a.m. Amanda and I
planned to attend his vigil with the American Civil Liberties Union
and decided to go ahead with it, not sure whether we would be
celebrating or in tears by the end of the evening.
As we approached San Quentin, where the vigil was scheduled to
be held, we saw big groups of people walking away. As each group
passed us, they asked if we had heard the good news; Kevin Cooper
had been granted a stay of execution. However, we knew that even at
that moment, although things were looking up, his fate was still
undecided. His life was, at that moment, in the hands of the U.S.
Supreme Court, who were
deciding his fate via the Internet. While people continued to
leave, we decided to continue to San Quentin. When it was confirmed
that Kevins life was spared, at least for the moment, I breathed a
sigh of relief, but I knew that it wasnt over yet.
One or two weeks in advance, we had been warned about how
intense these vigils can get, and I was relieved that we did not
have to experience that. Not only was I relieved, but I was also
as-sured that peoples voices can be heard and the people who told
me otherwise were wrong. Although it was ultimately Kevins lawyers
that fought to keep him alive, it was also the support of those of
us who supported him and I was glad to be a part of that
experience.
Throughout my experience, I have come to despise the death
penalty, but even those who sup-port the death penalty should want
this so-called justice executed fairly. If there are any doubts,
they should be explored because a human life is at stake. While
people like Governor Schwar-zenegger made me lose faith in the
system, it was again restored that moment when I learned that Kevin
Coopers execution would be stayed so that he could have the fair
trial he deserves.
As I look back on my educa-tional career and as the school year
slowly draws to a close, I have noticed one prominent and peculiar
fact; I have always been failing. Seriously, I have never had a
single report card that didnt have at least one F on it, not to
mention the straggling D minuses.
Honestly, I have been a horrible failure as a student, a problem
to teachers and an embarrassment to
my parents.And Ive loved every minute
of it.Grades, school, homework, class
work its not worth doing, re-ally. Its all like some sick
societal game with no ending, a competi-tion with yourself, where
the les-son plan celebrates mediocrity and conformity instead of
the search for actual happiness. Isnt that point of life, really?
Happiness? Of course, if ones sense of accomplishment is acclaim
from teachers (which basically consists of a pat on the back and a
scribbled consonant
on paper), then by all means, they should immerse themselves in
the school system, the testing and the mind-numbing homework.
But it doesnt make me happy. Im actually insulted when a teacher
slips me a handout, filled with blank spaces and a demean-ing slot
for my name. And then everyone else gets the same paper, everyone
else is sitting in rows, doing exactly the same thing I am, trying
to manifest exactly the same answers. How can we not feel like
sheep?
Surfing makes me happy. So does rugby, hanging out with friends,
speeding in a Jeep Cher-okee dragging a trashcan out the window and
then letting it go, observing the awesome power of physical stress
being released as the vehicle passes up the can when its stopped by
a parked BMW. Movies. Watching stars in a sleeping bag on my
roof.
School conflicts with what makes me happy. But thats okay,
because it doesnt really create any inner struggle with me.
Like
LETTERSTo the Editor
Your editorial regarding the ri-diculousness of the vocational
and technical requirements shows me your lack of understanding of
the educational system. Education should enlighten and broaden
peoples knowledge of the world around them. What if you took a
foods class and discovered you re-ally wanted to further your
studies at a culinary academy? Or took
Auto Shop and discovered you had a love for working on cars?
Education is your opportunity to explore and see what the world has
to offer you.
If opportunities to try some-thing different are not available,
then how can people ever expect to achieve their full potential? If
everyone was so sure what path to take for their future there
wouldnt be so many people trying [to fig-ure out] what to do after
they leave high school. Youre nave to think
any well-adjusted individual, I have set my priorities in order
and fun comes first. And my views arent simply disguised
procrasti-nation: I dont intend to work and never do.
Its not being immature or unmotivated; in fact, I consider
myself to be extremely mature, wise beyond my years and mo-tivated
beyond comparison. But sadly, my generation has been brainwashed
and conditioned by parents and teachers, made to think that
happiness can be found in grades that being successful is directly
related to grades, and that character is determined by grades. How
horrible is it that teen society is terrorized like this? Shouldnt
this be some type of crime?
How much drama and strife have we spent on SATs, finals, college
and just everything related to academics in general? Why are they
doing this to us? What have we done to deserve this debasing,
dreary and depressing punishment called school?
Wake up, peers! We are being
controlled! No one considers teens to be victims, because of the
simple fact that we havent realized it yet! Once we begin to speak
out, com-plain and shake up the system, then our grievances will be
heard, then things will begin to change.
A collar is always attached to a leash, and in case no ones
noticed, thats what everyone wears in the work force. All we need
are the panting tongues and the wagging tails and CVHS has done its
job.
Have I lived a full life? No, of course not, not yet, but Im
definitely headed in the right direc-tion. I have my priorities
straight, which is way ahead of most of my peers.
Im fighting back, reclaiming my happiness bit by bit and right
now there is so much joy in my life Im fit to burst. Its so simple
too, so painfully obvious. Next time when youre bent over your
desk, filling out useless answer after an-swer, having your mind
raped of individuality and atypical thought, think about what youd
rather be doing. And then go do it.
that a well-rounded education will hurt you, when in reality it
may only serve to strengthen your resolve to pursue your chosen
path. And as far as what the UCs see, a fantastic transcript is not
a guarantee of success or happiness. Sometimes its nice just to
take a class for sheer enjoyment but Heaven forbid you should
actu-ally enjoy school.
- Sally Fountain
Confessions of a failing student
Terminate Arnold's new mission Executeinjustice
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Courtny Valenzuela and Jennifer Vanderbilt with their dates
(left to right) dress up as Scooby Doo characters for the
dance.
MORYAH SCHINDLER / STAFF WRITER
3FEATUREFriday, February 27, 2004
By Jordan BaileySTAFF WRITER
The Sadie Hawkins dance, which took place on Friday, Feb. 6,
resulted in many girls at CVHS feeling anxious about asking a guy
to a dance.
I was hecka nervous. I was hyperventilating. Just kidding, but
it was scary, said freshman Chelsey Atnip.
To some girls, though, the role reversal was no big deal.
It wasnt hard because the guy I asked was my boyfriend, said
sophomore Jessica Schmidt. I put up signs in his room when he was
sick, asking him to go with me.
A few girls were put off by the concept of the Sadie Hawkins
dance.
I didnt like the pressure of hav-ing to ask someone to the
dance, said senior Christina Palizzolo.
Other girls did not attend the dance for different reasons.
By Brandon YoungSTAFF WRITER
By Stephanie De GrootSTAFF WRITER
Sadie Hawkins dance does not conform to stereotypes
Taking its third swing at bat, the annual DECA Variety Show
rocked the house with a true va-riety of singing, stand-up comedy
and break dancing.
The third annual variety show on Feb. 5 showed the entire Castro
Valley community how much tal-ent really resides within CVHS.
Because we were dividing the $100 between all eight of us,
theres only enough to buy match-ing BIC socks, said James
Aqui-tania, of the first-place winning Breakers Image Crew (BIC)
with its break dancing routine.
Essentially consisting of three main parts, the night contained
a variety show, battle of the bands and a silent auction. Four
teachers judged the variety show: Michelle Lew, Kevin Garcia,
Susanne Holst and Duane Magno. Three prizes were distributed for
the variety show, gift certificates to Stoneridge Mall differing in
value. First place received $100, second place, $50 and third
place, $25.
For the Battle of The Bands section of the evening, a $100 gift
certificate to Stoneridge Mall was given to the winning band,
Sum-merset.
The silent auction, ironically named, showed the lack of
inter-est for auctions as the annex hall was nearly empty. The
auction took place an hour before the
DECA Variety Show rocks the house
Junior Kyoko Utsumi was a mere 20 seconds away from pass-ing her
drive test when tragedy struck. Up to that point she had driven
exceptionally well, only being marked down for two mistakes. As she
approached the final four-way intersection before her destination,
the DMV, her once-promising test turned into a nightmare.
I saw a lady a step away from the curb of one of the
midsec-tions separating the intersection, recounted Utsumi. I
thought to myself, I can go because obviously she will be out of
the intersection by the time I get there and it wasnt like I was
going to hit her.
Apparently her instructor thought differently, failing Utsumi
for making what he considered to be a dangerous maneuver. Talk
about heartbreak.
Many teenagers consider their drivers licenses to be one of
their
most valuable possessions. This three-by-two-inch rectangle of
plastic is the key to freedom for many, and acquiring it is often a
major rite of passage. But for others, trying to get their drivers
licenses can be a stressful experi-ence. It can be a roller coaster
of feelings, ranging from embarrass-ment and anger, to an overall
sense of failure.
Senior Jason Ribeira was un-lucky enough to experience that same
roller coaster of emotions during his drive test. When he first
arrived at the DMV, he suddenly realized he had forgotten his
insur-ance, an element that is required in order to take the test.
However, Ribeira was fortunate enough to have the vital document
faxed to the DMV. That was the only break he had all day.
The reason that I told people I failed was because I had 19
marks, which was true, reported Ribeira. Although the main reason
why I failed is, I turned onto a street right in front of an
ambulance that had
its lights on. The guy in the am-bulance honked his horn loudly
and gave me a dirty look, said Ribeira.
He turned to his instructor for support but all his instructor
could utter was, If there was an officer there, he wouldve given
you a ticket.
Failing the test must feel pretty miserable, but imagine how
pain-ful it must feel to fail twice, as junior Aimee Shin did.
I felt so stupid, said Shin.Materials that need to be
brought
to the test include a learners per-mit, $12, insurance,
registration, proof of drivers education and proof of drivers
training.
Utsumi eventually passed the test, but in a bizarre manner. It
was Halloween, and the instructor was dressed up as a cowboy, and
he kept telling me to go faster, even though it was raining.
This proves Ribeiras belief, The license system is based on
luck. Your score depends on who is grading you.
I wanted to go almost as much as I love Justin Timberlake, said
junior Molly Feeley, but you can only [dress up as] Tom Cruise so
many times.
variety show and was located in the cafeteria annex, which could
appeal to most audiences. Rang-ing from signed football jerseys to
vacations, the auction did its best to attract bidders.
Some of the audience was very enthusiastic for the events of the
evening.
The show was really great! It gave everything a guy wants to
see, sultry dancing, break dancing and rocking bands. Its
definitely something to look forward to next year, said junior
Chris Palia.
Other students felt that the show was good, but lacked in a few
nec-essary areas.
Overall it was good but it could have been better organized. But
in the Battle of The Bands, it was unfair that Summerset got to
play two songs. It also wouldve been better if the other two bands
actu-ally played original songs, stated senior Patrick Wong.
The money raised from the variety show will assist select
members to attend conferences. The international conference held
this year in Nashville, Tennessee will cost a whopping $900 per
student. These proceeds help sub-sidize the cost of the trip,
making it more available to students.
Regardless of the overly used Simon impersonations by Wilkerson
throughout the night, the DECA Variety Show is defi-nitely
something worthy of seeing year after year.
Students strive to drive
NIMA MOGHAREISophomore
I think a girl
asking a guy to a dance is
very sexy.
If you went with a guy, youd
be tied down. You would have to stick with him the whole time,
said freshman Kristen Shew.
Some students are comfortable with the idea of girls asking guys
to the dance
I think a girl asking a guy to a dance is very sexy, said
sopho-more Nima Mogharei. Guys shouldnt be asking all the time.
Its hard to feel devastated about not getting asked to the
[Sadie Hawkins] dance. I didnt even know about it, said senior Renn
Eberle.
The Sadie Hawkins concept was invented by Al Capp, who created
the Lil Abner cartoon strip. Capp created the character Sadie
Hawkins who grew tired of waiting for the fellows to come a
courting. Sadie Hawkinss fa-ther, Hekzebiah Hawkins, wanted his
daughter to marry. He created Sadie Hawkins Day so unmarried girls
could literally race to pursue the bachelors of their town.
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By, Brandon YoungFreshman: Ryan Schilling
S u p e r S a v v y S p o r t s S t a r s
SPORTS Thursday, February 27, 2004
By Jesse SabharwalSTAFF WRITTER
Sixteen teams from California and bordering states will join the
Red Hand, CVHSs Frisbee Team, in a tournament hosted at CVHS this
weekend.
Players from these teams plan to stay overnight in the homes of
players from CVHS.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, the Red Hand will hold the pool
tourna-ment, where they play with the teams from their own pool.
There are four different pools to decide who plays each other. It
will last from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 29, the final
tourna-ment will be held. It will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00
p.m.
Food and music will be avail-able, the team encourages people
from the community to come watch, and they are hoping many will
come.
Frisbee is a lot of fun because you get to know your
opponent,
said sophomore Matthew Sung. Frisbee allows you to balance
social and competitive aspects of the game.
Camaraderie is encouraged between teams apposed to other sports
where winning is every-thing, said Frisbee coach and math teacher
Jesse Woodward.
Watching an ultimate Frisbee match will be totally different
than watching other sports, as there will be no referees. Frisbee
runs off a totally different rule known as the spirit of the game.
This is basically a rule where players determine fouls and almost
every aspect of the game.
Ultimate is not just a sport, it is an atmosphere; you hang out
with your opponents. Nobody really gets paid to play ultimate they
just play it because they love it, said Woodward.
The Ultimate Frisbee Team also plans on going to Oregon and
Grass Valley for tournaments in the future.
CVHS hosts ultimate frisbee tournament
All day I dream about soccer, said Schilling, a defensive player
on the JV soc-cer team.
A lot of skills are involved with soccer. Soccer is all about
the steps before becom-
ing a great player. First you need to know all the moves, the
physical skill. Next, you have to know the game and love it in your
mind. You need to visualize the strategy and play it out. Soccer
doesnt receive enough credit as a thinking sport, said
Schilling.
Wow! With her second year on the Varsity Cross Country team, Ma
has been enjoying it ever since the first practice. Its definitely
a lot more fun than running in circles around the track, at least
theres a slight change in scenery, said Ma.
No one, not even Ma believed that shed be the one to enjoy
long-distance running. In middle school I could barely break nine
minutes on my mile, now I have to run five or six miles just for
practice, said Ma.
Having two school records at CVHS for the 100- and 200-meter
races, Charis Chan runs laps around the competition, both boys and
girls. Chan, a Varsity track runner, par-ticipated in the 2003
Junior Olympics games. Regardless of coming back empty handed, Chan
still kept her hopes up for upcoming races and still dominates the
track here at CVHS.
Now occupying the number two Var-sity Tennis seat, Geoff Lowe
has the fastest serve on the team. Recently topping out at 105
miles per hour, his serve brings fear to the hearts of those hes
playing against. Having been on the Varsity team since freshman
year, Lowe showed promise for being an excellent tennis player.
Sure Im good at tennis, but hacky sacking is my true calling.
Move over tennis, the in thing is hacky sacks, said Lowe.
Kevin Draper and John Brain dive to catch the frisbee during
practice on the soccer field.
BRANDON YOUNG / STAFF WRITER
Many of CVHS swimmers are expected to have a very successful
season, in the eyes of their coaches and teammates.
With the start of a new season, the swimmers are hard at work
practicing, putting in countless hours and swimming countless
laps.
The swim team has two new coaches; Todd Esguerra is the new head
coach, alongside the new as-sistant coach Brian Berry.
This season I am expecting a competitive team that is very
focused and gives 100%, said Esguerra. He also believes swim-ming
is a great sport, because it can be a team sport, as well as an
individual one.
Esguerra and Berry are friends of former CVHS teacher Jeremy
Vaa, and current CVHS teacher Kevin Garcia and contacted CVHS
through him. Both Esguerra and Berry were on the same relay with
them and they all went to CVHS
This is Berrys first year coach-ing and he enjoys it, mostly
be-
cause of its rewards.The most important and ex-
citing thing for me to see is the swimmers progression over the
season. Seeing improvement is the best, because it makes me feel
confident as a coach, said Berry.
Last year the CVHS swim team had an excellent HAAL record, with
the girls winning the League, and the boys coming in second place.
Esguerra is looking to improve this season.
Sophomore Kelly Sykora made the Varsity team last year and has
been swimming for about eight to nine years. She attended a sum-mer
league and two clinics since the end of last season.
Im excited for the meets to see how well we do, explained
Sykora. I like competing, be-cause I feel good when I win, and know
how I need to work when I dont.
I think our new coaches are re-ally nice, prepared, and will
work us hard, said Sykora.
Senior Anthony Atthowe was on the Varsity team last year, and
has been on the CVHS swim team since he was a freshman. Atthowe
is excited about this season, mostly because it is his last
year.
Ive been swimming for as long as there was a life jacket that
fit, said Atthowe. Atthowe s main goal this season is to get a good
time on the 500 yard.
The best part about swimming, is the way you can zone out,
ex-plains Atthowe.
Outside of the League tourna-ment, the swim team plans to attend
the Swim Invitational in Roseville, California. At the
In-vitational, there will be about 20 other teams.
The swim coach believes it is a good opportunity to expose the
swimmers to other swimmers they usually wouldnt come in contact
with.
I do see a few swimmers that will have strong seasons, and there
a lot of swimmers with potential, said Esguerra.
Winning isnt the most impor-tant thing, it s more about personal
achievement, he said.
The swim teams first meet will be on Wednesday, March 10,
against their toughest competition, Bishop O Dowd.
By Samantha BastoSTAFF WRITTER
Swimmers paddle toward an HAAL victory
Dustin Mooneyjunior
Im one of the top junior
prospects
Juniors James Grimes and Dustin Mooney play football well and
colleges like that.
Im one of the top junior pros-pects, said Mooney.
Mooneys and Grimes job is to play linebacker on the Varsity
football team has been noticed by recruiters who have already begun
contacting them.
I get college letters every day and I fill them out, said
Mooney.
Grimes explained that the ques-tionnaires that Mooney speaks of
ask basic questions like name, weight, height and GPA.
They just want to know you and what youre about, said
Grimes.Grimes has already heard from
such schools as Fresno State and the University of Utah. Grimes
is
By Sean RyanPHOTO EDITOR
humbled by the idea of playing college football.
Big definite. Id love to play football at that level, said
Grimes.
Grimes would like to play col-
lege football as long as he can study to be a dentist. A good
dentistry program is a top prior-ity for any college Grimes looks
at. Grimes has been interested in dentistry since he was a child.
Im really fascinated by the mouth, said Grimes.
Mooney would like to remain in the state and hopes to play at
either Fresno State or University of Southern California, unless he
can get a scholarship.
If Mooney can get a scholarship he would like to play at Oregon
State or possibly Arizona State University.
Grimes and Mooney still have some way to go before they are
playing linebacker at college.
They still have their senior year to play football for CVHS.
College scouts fight for CVHS top players
Sophomore: Lauren Ma Junior: Charis Chan Senior: Geoff Lowe
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