The 2020-2021 athletics season has wrapped up for many of the Orange Lutheran sports programs. Below is a synopsis of the season for each program.
Baseball
It was another amazing year for the Lancers baseball program. OLu finished the regular season with a 26-4 overall record and a 13-2 league mark. The season included a 17 game win streak that stretched from mid-April to late May. They earned the #3 seed in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs where they played Aliso Niguel in game 1 and won 11-0. In game two the Lancers used a 4-run 3rd inning to slip past Mira Costa 5-1 and book a spot in the CIF Quarterfinals where they will host Bishop Amat on Friday, June 11 at Hart Park.
Senior Matthew Polk led the Lancers with 23 RBI’s and a .375 batting average. Senior Justin DeCriscio batted leadoff and hit .355 with 24 runs scored. Sophomore Casey Borba batted .354 in the middle of the order with 21 RBI’s. Finally, senior Max Andeel batted .333 with 9 doubles.
On the mound, Chris Canada was a perfect 7-0 with an ERA of 1.63. He included 62 strikeouts. Junior Louis Rodriguez was 6-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 62 K’s. Senior Connor Patty had a 1.27 ERA over 33 IP and struck out 21.
Softball
On the diamond, the softball team won their 15th overall league title and 2nd in a row. The girls finished 17-10 overall and 5-3 in the Trinity League. They qualified for the CIF-SS Divison 1 playoffs where they played California (Whittier) in the first round. The Lancers won 7-2 in the opener before falling to Norco to end the 2021 season 10-0.
Offensively, junior Kiki Estrada led the way with a .420 batting average and 19 RBI’s. She added 5 home runs to her name. Junior Tianna Poole had 4 home runs and 12 RBI’s. Senior Venizia Robles led the way on the basepaths with 6 steals.
On the mound, senior Lexi Lacy had a 2.00 ERA while winning 9 games and striking out 62. Freshman Brianne Weiss had a 1.31 ERA, 5 wins, and 109 strikeouts.
Boys Volleyball
It was a record-setting year for the boys volleyball team. The Lancers went 13-2 overall and 9-1 in the league. On the final night of the regular season, the Lancers beat Mater Dei 3-1 to earn a share of the Trinity League title. It is the team's first league title since 2006 and their 5th overall in program history. For their efforts, they earned the number 7 seed in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs where they fell in 3 sets to a strong Mira Costa squad. The squad only lost 8 total games across 15 matches on the season.
Senior Connor Bloom led the Lancers with 251 kills. Senior Grant Oh had 26 aces to lead the pack. Bloom also led the way in blocks with 26 while senior Riley Oh had 24. Senior Brayden Whitmore had a team-high 117 digs in 15 games.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team finished the season with a 12-9 overall record and 4-6 in the league. OLu notched a sweep over Servite and beat JSerra and Santa Margarita. The Lancers received an at-large bid to the Division 2AA CIF-SS playoffs. They made a run to the quarterfinals following victories over Cerritos and Westlake. They fell in the quarters to Long Beach Poly. This was the Lancers 2nd trip to the quarterfinals in the past 3 seasons.
Senior Denim Dawson led the team with 16 PPG. Senior Yigit Arcan and junior Seth Brown each shot 40% from behind the arc. Junior Nik Flores led the way with 4.0 APG.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team finished the season with an 8-8 overall record and a 3rd place finish in the Trinity League at 4-4. They earned an auto bid into the CIF-SS playoffs where they fell to Leuizinger in the first round 59-49.
Freshman Shea Joko averaged 7.1 PPG while junior Talia Sonsma averaged 7.5. Freshman Sheridan Kennedy led the Lancers on the boards averaging 6.4 RPG. From the charity stripe freshman, Princess Cassell and junior Mya Rodriguez were perfect from the line. Sophomore Madi Bogan was 82% from the line. Rodriguez also led the Lancers from downtown shooting it at a 36% clip.
Hockey
It was back-to-back state titles for the Lancers hockey team. It is the team's 4th overall since the inception of the program. Their state title victory helped them advance to the High School Hockey Nationals tournament in Omaha Nebraska. They went 1-2 and were eliminated in pool play. In the Anaheim Ducks high school hockey league, the Lancers went 3-4-1. They finished in 5th with 11 points.
Individually, sophomore Christian Kim led OLu with 9 goals and 5 assists. Max Fenne had 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 total points. Luke Anthony had 8 goals and 3 assists. In net, Caleb Martinez went 3-4 with 1 shutout and an .851 save percentage.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team finished the season with a record of 6-9 overall and 2-6 in the Trinity League to finish 4th. The teams performance earned them an at-large berth into the CIF-SS playoffs on Tuesday, June 8.
Individually, OLu was led by sophomore Riley Shin who finished 3rd overall in Trinity League Finals. She was named to 1st-Team All-League for her performance. Shin moved onto the CIF-SS Prelims where she shot an 83 which was good enough for 29th overall. The result meant she advanced to the CIF Finals on Thursday, June 10. Fellow sophomore, Stella Fergin, finished 13th overall in Trinity League Finals which was good for 2nd-Team All-League.
Boys Golf
The Lancers finished off the season with a 7-8 overall record and 4-6 in the Trinity League. OLu jumped out to a terrific start of 6-2 with wins over JSerra and Santa Margarita. Their performance was good enough for 4th overall in the league which earned them an at-large berth into the CIF-SS Playoffs to take place on Monday, June 7.
Individually, sophomore Ian Shawhan finished in the top 8 to be named 1st-Team All-League. Ian’s top 8 finish enabled him to compete in the CIF-SS Prelims on Wednesday, June 2. He shot an 80 and finished in a tie for 59th place out of 107 golfers. Freshman Cooper Nelson was named to 2nd-Team All-League.
Girls Tennis
Girls tennis finished with a 7-8 overall record and 2-6 in the Trinity League. Their two league wins came against Rosary.
In Trinity League finals the Lancers had two doubles pairings advance to the 2nd day of the tournament. Seniors Grace Fenton and Emily Thinnsen were defeated in the championship of the doubles competition. They finished 2nd in the league. Their performance was good enough for a 1st-Team All-League honor. Junior Kate Harnack and senior Isabella Jackson finished 4th and were recognized as 2nd-Team All-League
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team finished the season with a 3-10 record and 3-7 league record. They got a league sweep over Mater Dei and also beat St. John Bosco.
Individually, junior Michael Ishizaki finished 3rd overall in the singles division of the Trinity League tournament. He lost in a 3 set match in the semifinals. He earned a 1st-Team All-League spot for his performance.
Boys Soccer
The Lancers were led by first-year head coach Jon Spencer. They finished the season with a 1-12-3 overall record and 0-7-3 in the league. The lone victory of the year came against Whittier Christian 3-0. They tied 3 of the last 4 games in the Trinity League. Two came against Santa Margarita while the other came against St. John Bosco.
Sophomore Ashton Miles led the Lancers with 4 goals. Junior Will Volner and freshman Jimu Lee each had 2. Senior goalie Jude Jones made 72 saves on the season for an average of 5.1 a game.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team finished 4-7-2 on the year and 1-6-1 in the Trinity League. The Lancers beat Rosary, Esperanza, Pacifica Christian, and La Habra for their 4 wins. The victory over Rosary was the team's first in the league since 2015.
Sophomores Sophia Tagge, Tessa Bloom, and Morgan Goehring each had 3 goals to lead the way.
Girls Lacrosse
In their second full season as a program, the girls lacrosse team finished 5-13 overall and 2-6 in the Trinity League. They swept Rosary for their two league wins. Their most memorable victory was their 7-6 overtime win over Woodbridge early in the year. They finished the season ranked #3 in the Division 3 CIF poll.
Boys Lacrosse
The boys lacrosse team finished out their 2nd year of full competition with a 3-12 record. They earned a two-game sweep over El Dorado and beat El Modena 16-3.
Wrestling
Senior and captain Zack Stone went undefeated in the Trinity League and was named 1st-Team All-County. Junior Dominic Lobo was named 2nd-Team All-County. Both Stone and Lobo were ranked in the top 50 statewide at their respective weight classes.
Swim & Dive
In the pool the Lancers had 4 girls advance to CIF Individuals:
Rachel Gazzaniga
100 & 50 free
Anna Pearson
200 Free
100 Back
Girls 4x100 free relay
Kira Anderson
Delaney Palmer
Anna Pearson
Rachel Gazzaniga
Senior diver Gaby Russell finished 24th in the Division 1 diving competition.
Track & Field
The Track & Field program had several members of the team get through to the CIF Prelims on Saturday, June 5th at Estancia HS. Below is the list:
- Amelia Trautman: 200, 400
- Nicole Meyer: 1600, 3200
- Logan Mills: TJ/HJ
- Hannah Wons: HJ/LJ
- Connor George: Discus
- Jason White: Shot Put
- Rebel Tuinukuafe: Shot Put, Discus (Rebel is currently 8th/Shot Put and 37th/Discus in the state! She is eligible for the state meet being held at Arcadia HS on 6/25)
- Pesi Tauaika: Shot Put, Discus
- Leah Gilmore: Discus
- Girls 4x400: Amelia Trautman, Sophia Gibson, Ishani Hansji, Nicole Meyer
- Tayne Patel: 3200
- Lauren Landrith: 3200
- Caroline Kargenian: 3200
- Tristen Webb: Shot Put
- Carter Bruning: High Jump
- Kennedy Cunningham: High Jump
The following Lancers advanced to the CIF Finals on June 12 at Estancia HS.
- Rebel Tuinukuafe: 1st in shot put & 4th in Discus
- Carter Bruning: 1st in High Jump
- Amelia Trautman - 3rd in 400
- Nicole Meyer - 5th in 3200 & 5th in 1600
- Logan Mills - 8th in Triple Jump & 9th in High Jump
- Hannah Wons: 8th in High Jump & 9th in Long Jump
- Connor George: 8th in Discus
- Pesi Tauaika: 5th in Discus
- Leah Gilmore: 8th in Discus
- Sophia Guitterez: 9th in 3200
- 4x400m Relay: Sophia Gibson, Amelia Trautman, Nicole Meyer, Ishani Hansji
Surf
Out in the water, the Lancers surf team finished 3rd in the league this year. Olivia Roberts finished 2nd overall in the girls longboard event at the league finals. Aidan Murphy took 3rd and Andrew Urian 4th in the boys bodyboard finals. Holly Byun finished 6th in the girls shortboard.
Girls Volleyball
Lancer Girls Volleyball added their 14th league title in school history and their first since 2013 with a 3-1 league record in the shortened season. OLu beat Mater Dei (3-1), Santa Margarita (3-0), and Rosary (3-0) en route to the title in head coach Henry Valiente’s first year at the helm of the girls program.
In the truncated four-game slate, the Lancers were led in kills by senior Mia Jerue with 57 and sophomore Paige Buzzerio with 30. Junior Mya Rodriguez had 64 assists in 4 games while senior Riley Ananias added 30 of her own. Defensively juniors Sophia Zazueta and Emily Birrell led the way with 48 and 35 digs, respectively. At the net juniors, Lexi Dennick and Claire Underwood were the leaders in the blocks with 9 and 7.
Girls Water Polo
In a 3 week sprint to the finish, the girls water polo team finished with a 6-2 overall record and 3-1 in league. OLu won a thriller in the second game of the season against Mater Dei in double overtime 13-11. Their lone losses came in triple overtime to Santa Margarita and to #1 ranked Laguna Beach.
Offensively, the girls were led by junior Anna Pearson with 41 goals while Grace Cuozzo had 16 steals on the defensive end.
Boys Water Polo
The boys water polo team finished their seven-game season with a 2-5 overall record and 2-3 in league. OLu notched league victories over Servite and St. John Bosco.
Senior Andrew Barneuvo led OLu with 15 goals. He was followed by junior Reed Pantaleon, who netted 10, and senior Seth Kacura who had 8. Sophomore Wade Sherlock dished out 7 assists to lead the way with junior Donnie Robertson nabbing 6. Defensively, Panteleon had 13 steals while fellow junior Leo Geissmann had 9. In the cage, senior Brennis Lidecis had a total of 39 saves across 6 games.
Football
The Lancers played a shortened four-game schedule for the 2021 football season. OLu went 1-3 on the season with a resounding 52-20 win in the season-ender against JSerra.
In the season finale, junior quarterback Logan Gonzalez threw for 348 yards and six touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Malik Blackmon led all receivers with 191 yards receiving and 3 scores. Defensively, senior Jacob Hernandez led the Trinity League with 48 tackles, 35 solo, over four games.
Cross Country
The cross country teams had a shortened season that consisted only of dual meets against Trinity League opponents. The girls XC team went 2-2 on the short season with victories over Rosary and Santa Margarita. The boys varsity squad went 0-4 in the compact season.
Individually, senior Nicole Meyer had the fastest time for the Lancers this season with a 17:50 time against Rosary. The boys had two crack the sub-16-minute mark this season. Junior Noah Lockwood ran a 15:58 in the opening meet of the year versus Santa Margarita, while sophomore Tayne Patel ran a season low of 15:53 in the final meet versus JSerra.
Meyer was named a 1st-team all league selection for her overall performance this season. The Lancers put 8 more runners on the 2nd-team including Tayne Patel, Noah Lockwood, Joseph O’Donnell, Sophia Guiterrez, Sophia Gibson, Lauren Landrith, Caroline Kargenian, and Amelia Trautman.