With the holiday season here, schools will be going on break soon. That said, the winter sports season is fairly active this month at Patrick Henry High School.

On the girls’ soccer front, the Lady Patriots under head coach Jason Renfro had their most successful season in the program’s history a year ago.

Patrick Henry won two tournaments (Holiday Jubilee and Parker Cup) a season ago. The team then went on to win the Eastern League and captured the very first CIF championship in program history by defeating Francis Parker 2-1. The Lady Patriots ended the season losing to Portola from Irvine in the quarterfinals of the State Regional tournament.

“This season we have been moved up to the top league (Western),” Renfro commented. “We have some amazing returning student-athletes that will play a huge role in our season.”

According to Renfro, senior goalkeepers Grace Miller and Kendall Baldwin will be a huge piece to the success. The team also has a great group of seniors (Alex Wehrman, Katy Hinkin, Caitlin Cogan, Avery Slinger, and Zoe Crickard) that will need to fill a few graduating senior’s roles. This will reportedly be the key to success to find a group that will prevent the oppositions attack.

A few dynamic players that will play an important role according to Renfro are juniors Naima Castro, Emily Guerra, Chloe Tran, Kathryn Mokhov, Risa Soto-Webster, and Briahna Gieger. Sophomores to look to are Amanda Bear, Abby Weiss, Elizabeth Barefoot, and Zoe Wehrman. Freshmen Aleda Urbina, Emma Cunningham, and Coral Castro are three solid players that are reportedly the future for Henry soccer.

“Like every year, we as coaches have to turn the page and realize last season’s success was amazing, but a new season will provide many obstacles,” Renfro went on to say. “How we as a group manage the ups and downs will eventually come to the surface. At the end of the season, we will look back to early November when we put this group of talented athletes together and assess the journey. The hopes are we win our tournaments, league, and CIF back-to-back titles. The ultimate goal is to allow these amazingly talented student-athletes to enjoy their high school years playing an amazing game with all their friends and being the face of the school and community.”

* In boys’ soccer action, the Patriots under head coach Seth Tunick finished 5-9-4 last season, losing in the first round of CIF.

According to Tunick, key members of this year’s team include midfielder Cody Luna (junior), center back Braden Sclipei (senior), center back Abraham Estrada (senior) and forward Bryan Pelaez (sophomore).

“This year we have a much more experienced team as the team consists of almost completely upperclassman with the exception of one sophomore,” Tunick commented. “The hope is that our experience and maturity of the players will lead us to a league championship and a successful run in CIF. The team is very capable as we have depth in almost every position. We also have some very good players waiting in the wings on our frosh and JV teams and are hoping that this year will start a run of good years to come for the program.”

* The girls’ basketball team under head coach Derrick Carter went 17-14 a season ago, finishing 8-2 in league play. The Lady Patriots made it to the semifinals of the CIF Division IV playoffs.

“Everyone plays a key role for our team’s success,” Carter commented. “A few key members are Cecelia Parker (Senior, guard), Maddox Weisskopf (Senior, forward), Ally Mangahis (Sophomore, guard) and Taylor Perry (Sophomore guard).”

According to Carter, goals for this season are having fun, winning league and being crowned CIF champions for Division 3.

“Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself,” Carter added. Mangahis noted, “It’s just work.”

* In boys’ basketball play, the Patriots with head coach Kenny Caesar at the helm look to rebound from last season.

“Last year was a tough season,” Caesar commented. “We had a first-round playoff exit.” Now in Division II and in the City League, Caesar feels the team can be competitive.

According to Caesar, key players look to include Kenneth Klu, Derek McBride (pictured above in a recent game) and Issac Weatherred.

* On the rugby scene, the program under former head coach Greg Chronopolos looks to be going in the right direction for both the boys and girls teams.

In boys’ action, last season was a rebuilding campaign. Having only graduated one returning senior, the Patriots had a tough, but hard-fought year, finishing just out of the playoff picture.

According to Chronopolos, coaches Tai Tuisamoa (head coach) and Marcus Tupuola are putting together a well-rounded and disciplined squad who will shake up the top sides in the very competitive Southern California High School 7’s Division.

Top players look to include seniors Conner Nicks and Ethan Tomosovic providing steady leadership and solid play. Chronopolos noted sophomore Adrian Pham, the team’s playmaker, will continue to dazzle his opponents with his intelligent play. The coaching staff is also reportedly bullish on first-year player, Kaeden Kiffe (junior). He is described as a quick study of the game and looks to be a spark the team is looking for.

For the Lady Patriots, after a three-year absence, PHHS returned to action this past season.

“Though the win/lose ratio was not in the team’s favor, the team finished last year’s campaign with a pair of impressive wins in the final weekend of play,” Chronopolos noted.

According to Chronopolos, players to watch include junior Bella Garcia, poised to have another impressive year as the physical leader of the team. Junior Keila Tolentino and sophomore Ally Kesling are back for their second year with the club and are expected to add leadership and experience to a very raw but talented group of ruggers. Newcomer Jenna Roback looks to add a veteran’s presence and a strong rugby IQ to the program.

* Editor’s note: All varsity winter head coaches at PHHS were asked to provide information for this article. A separate story on the varsity wrestling program ran at: sdnews.com/patrick-henry-high-wrestling-pins-down-success-girls-team-seeing-beginnings/. (Photo credit: Tovy Ordonez)