Girls Basketball
For the 6th time in program history, the Lancers captured a CIF-SS TItle beating Sage Hill 66-61 on Saturday night.
The Lancers and the Lightning meeting was the 2nd of the season. Sage Hill won by 5 in the VP/Portola Tournament earlier this season.
In front of a raucous crowd in the Ellwein Center, the game got off to an even start, with the Lancers leading 14-11 after 1. Behind hot shooting, though, Sage Hill fought back in the second, taking a 3 point lead into the break.
But much like Wednesday night’s win at Crean, the Lancers came out on fire in the 3rd. Shea Joko hit a deep three early in the quarter to lead a 7-0 run out of the break. And the Lancers kept at it. Joko had three 3-pointers in the quarter, and just as time expired, Mikayla Holmes knocked down a three right in front of the Lancers bench to extend the lead to 11 points. OLu ended the quarter on a 10-0 run and outscored the Lighting 24-10 in the frame.
In the fourth, Sage closed the game to 3 in the final minute before Kelly Garrity hit two critical free throws to ice it.
Sophomore Sheridan Kennedy was dominant in the post leading the Lancers with 18 points and ten rebounds. Joko and Garrity each had 11 points. The Lancers hit eight 3-pointers in the game.
The Lancers won’t have much time to celebrate as they are right back on the court on Tuesday night in the first round of the CIF State Tournament against Brentwood. Tip time is 6 pm at home.
Coming off the program’s 6th CIF-SS Title, the Lancers were right back in action on Tuesday night when they hosted Brentwood. The Lancers came into the state tournament as the #5 seed.
It was a back and forth affair all night long as Brentwood led by three at the break. The Lancers fought back to lead by one into the 4th. With 5 minutes remaining, Shea Joko hit a 3 to give OLu a 2 point lead, but that would be their last lead as Brentwood closed well down the stretch. The Lancers fell 60-56.
OLu finished the season with a 24-9 overall record and a CIF Title!
Hockey
The Lancers opened up the CAHA State Championship weekend looking for a 3rd straight title. To advance to the title game, you have to finish in the top 2 of the standings out of a four-team pool. Each team will play each other once.
The Lancers took on Tahoe Prep to open the tourney on Friday morning. Senior Patrick Liu scored two goals, and junior Brendan Bosca scored the game-winner with 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd, giving the Lancers a 4-3 win. Caleb Martinez got the win.
Game 2 was later on Friday, and the Lancers beat Bellarmine 2-0 behind a 34 save shutout from Martinez. Matthew Mendez and Kyle Isenberg had the goals. Due to results in the other contests, the Lancers clinched a berth in Sunday’s title game with this victory.
But they had one more pool play game against Santa Margarita on Saturday morning. The Lancers and Eagles went to a shootout where Caleb Martinez saved the final Eagles shooter to secure the victory 3-2. The Lancers finished with 8 points out of a possible 9.
In the final on Sunday, the Lancers faced Tahoe Prep. Behind goals from 6 different players, the Lancers beat Tahoe 6-4 to secure the program’s 5th State Championship and the team’s 3rd straight. Caleb Martinez was again excellent in goal as he went 4-0 on the weekend.
The Lancers have qualified for their 6th USA Hockey National Championship appearance. The tournament will be held in Dallas, Texas, from Thursday, March 24 to Sunday, March 27.
Before that, OLu will play in the Anaheim Ducks High School hockey league playoffs beginning on Wednesday, March 9, against Damien.
Baseball
This past week, the Lancers only had one game against Carrol High School from Texas. OLu won 2-0 behind another stellar pitching performance from the one-two punch of Oliver Santos and Louis Rodriguez. The two combined for a 13 strikeout three-hit performance. Mikey Romero and Gabe Miranda had the lone RBIs.
OLU opens up Trinity League play against JSerra on Tuesday, March 8.
Softball
The softball team is off to a 6-3 start after concluding play in the SoCal’s Best Tournament late last week.
OLu went 1-2 in the final three games of the tournament. Their win came against Yucaipa 10-2. Freshman Kai Minor continued her torrent start going 3-4 with an HR, 2 doubles, and 4 RBIs. Brianne Weiss won her 4th game of the season, striking out eight batters.
The girls are off until the Dave Kops Tournament in Bullhead City, Arizona, the weekend before spring break.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team is off to their best start in school history with a 4-0 record following two more wins this past week. They knocked off El Dorado at home last Thursday 5-3. On Tuesday, OLu flew past Centennial 17-2.
The girls have a busy week ahead, starting with the Rose Bowl tournament this coming weekend.
Boys Lacrosse
The Lancers went 1-1 over the past week. OLu beat Woodbridge in their home opener 7-6 last Friday. On Monday, they fell in a tight battle 10-9 to Mission Viejo. OLu is currently 2-1 overall.
Girls Beach Volleyball
OLu got their first win in program history 4-1 over Corona del Mar on Thursday. OLu is now 1-2 overall and will be back on the court against Rosary and Mater Dei next week.
Boys Tennis
Boys tennis went 1-2 over the past week. They fell in tight matches to Villa Park and Cypress 11-7. They beat El Dorado 13-5. OLu is 2-2-1 on the season.
Track & Field
This past weekend, the Lancers track & field team competed in the Corona Relays. Below are a couple of the notable performances:
Boys 400 Relay | 46:47 | 1st place
Girls 3200 Relay | 11:17 | 3rd place
Boys 800 Relay | 1:37 | 2nd place
Boys 4000 Distance Relay | 11:24 | 2nd place
Boys 1600 Relay | 3:34 | 2nd place
Kennedy Cunningham | High Jump | 5’0” | 2nd place
Hannah Wons | High Jump | 4’8” | 3rd place
Sampson Seyler | High Jump | 5’8” | 2nd place
Nicolas Ling | Pole Vault | 11’ 6” | 2nd Place
Hannah Wons | Long Jump | 15’ 9 ½” | 2nd Place
Kennedy Cunningham | Long Jump | 15’ 5” | 3rd Place
Samson Seiler | Long Jump | 21’ 0” | 2nd Place
Rebel Tuinuknafe | Discus | 118’ 2” | 1st Place
Pesi Tauaika | Discus | 103’ 3” | 2nd place
Leah Gilmore | Discus | 93’ 1” | 3rd Place
Pesi Tauaika | Shot Put | 35’ 4 ½” | 1st Place
Leah Gilmore | Shot Put | 33’ 4 ½” | 2nd Place
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team opened the season with two sweeps over Malibu and Crean. Last weekend, they also competed in the Foothill Tournament and went 4-1. Overall, the Lancers are currently 6-1, heading into a three-match week.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team opened the 2022 season with a win over Marina 211-221. Cooper Nelson shot a team-low 39. They shot a 208 against Yorba Linda on Thursday but fell by five strokes. They are 1-1 overall and will play two matches next week and in the Aliso Niguel 2 Man Scramble.
Social Media
Follow Lancer Athletics all season long on social media:
Twitter: @OLu_Athletics
Instagram: @olu_athletics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oluathletics