La Jolla’s week in sports: Torreys win tournament in Phoenix

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By Phil Dailey

Staff Writer

After notching a win against Santa Fe Christian last week, the Country Day volleyball team headed to Phoenix to participate in the National Nike Tournament of Champions.

At the two-day event, the Torreys were perfect, earning three wins the first day of the tournament followed by two more wins that vaulted the team to the finals. In the championship match, the Torreys took on St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Louis, Mo.), a team that had been ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation this season. Country Day edged out a win, winning the first and third games.

Chloe Mathis led the team in assists as well as the offense. Sheridan Rice and Mollie Rogers were also effective in leading the team to the tournament title. Maggie Whitney, Kendal Peterkin and Mathis were named to the all-tournament team.

Up next this week for the Torreys are matches against Bishop’s and Parker.

LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY

Football

The La Jolla Country Day football team took to the desert last week and faced Calipatria. Despite a 14-14 score at halftime, the Torreys (5-2 overall, 4-0 league) won their fourth game in a row as they outlasted the Hornets (4-3), 28-14.

Cornerback Anthony Torres ran back an interception 90 yards to get the first TD of the night for Country Day.

The win in part was because of the stout Torrey defense, which was led by sophomore linebacker Colin McMahon (12 tackles), senior linebacker Junior Togiaso (13 tackles) and junior linebacker Bernardo Bustamonte (11 tackles).

On offense, senior quarterback Ruben Pena who had 14 carries for 69 yards and one touchdown led the team again. He also completed 5-of-9 passes for 59 yards and another touchdown through the air.

The Torreys, tied for first place in the Pacific League, take on Holtville at home Friday night.

JV football

The JV team also won their game against Calipatria, a 21-6 win. The team moves to 4-3 on the season.

Cross Country

The cross-country teams competed last week at the Mt. SAC Invitational with more than 750 high schools.

The boys varsity team competed with some of the top teams in the state and were able to place fourth with a combined time of 1:22:04. Leading the charge for the Torreys was senior Lee Klitzner, who finished third with a time of 15:35. Noah Wolfenzon placed 13th with a time of 16:06, while teammate Josh Pooley placed 23rd with a time of 16:19.

Sam Staszak, who had a time of 21 minutes, 42 seconds, which was good for 57th place, led the girls team.

As for the boys JV team, it competed in the Division IV JV sweepstakes, which includes many of the top high schools in the state. Wes Taylor paced the Torreys with a time of 18:18, which was good for 29th place. Darin Wong and Ariel Smotrich both finished with a time of 18:28, while Max Gruenberg came in right behind them with a time of 18:43.

Paolucci earns honor

LJCD golfer Anthony Paolucci was named the 2010 boys Rolex Junior Player of the Year this week. The award, which has been given out since 1978, goes to one boy and girl who each have the most outstanding year in junior golf.

For Paolucci, he finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings and won the Thunderbird Invitational, the Rolex Tournament of Champions as well as placing second at the FootJoy Invitational last summer.

Kristen Park, of Buena Vista, was named the girls winner of the award.

LA JOLLA HIGH

Football

The Vikings (1-6, 1-1) squeaked out their first win of the season last week against Hoover, 21-20. In the win, quarterback Bobby Schuman, who threw for 99 yards and a touchdown, led La Jolla. Billy Walters also helped as he ran for 65 yards on 12 carries to go with two touchdowns.

Up next for the Vikings is a against game Serra on Friday night.

JV football

The junior varsity team beat Hoover last week, 50-20. The win improved the team’s record to 4-3 on the season.

Freshman football

The freshman football team beat Hoover, 28-0. It was the team’s first shutout of the season as well as the team’s first win on the road.

Volleyball

The Vikings had a big win last week against Point Loma, an epic that was won 15-11 in the fifth game by La Jolla.

The team will take on University City this week before heading to the Redondo Tournament. On the season, the Vikings improved to 10-10 with the win over Point Loma.

Water polo

The Vikings ended their three-game losing streak last week with a 10-8 win over Santana. The team will take on Bishop’s this week, a rematch of a narrow 10-7 loss on Oct. 6.

THE BISHOP’S SCHOOL

Football

The Bishop’s School remained perfect this season with a win over Parker last week, 28-14. With the win, the Knights move to 2-0 in the Coastal League and 7-0 overall on the season. The Knights take on Riverside Christian on Friday night at home.

Water polo

The Knights topped Coronado last week, 8-7, to remain perfect at 4-0 in City Western League play; Drew Hoffenberg, who netted three goals to go with two steals, aided the win.

During the weekend, the team traveled to Palo Alto to play in the North vs. South challenge, which pits California’s top 8 teams from the north against the state’s top 8 teams from the south. During the first day of action Bishop’s won both matches, the first, a 13-7 win over Sacred Heart, and the second, a 10-7 win against St. Francis. The team lost Saturday, 12-6 to Mater Dei and again to Loyola, 8-5, to place fourth in the tournament.

Volleyball

The Knights (12-8, 2-2) lost their lone match of the week, a 2-1 setback against Desert Vista. This week the team takes on Country Day at home followed by a road trip to Tri-City Christian.