With the holiday season in full swing, scholastic winter sports are not taking a back seat to all the holiday decorating, shopping and more.

The varsity winter teams at Patrick Henry High School are keeping busy as the semester winds down and holiday break creeps closer and closer.

In girls’ water polo play, the Lady Patriots under head coach Charlie Equels went 16-10 a season ago and were number one in their league.

According to Equels, some key members of this year’s team look to include Malaia Benadicto (Junior, attacker), Sam Alfaro (Senior, attacker), Addie Shea (Senior, attacker) and Maya Yayne (Senior, goalie).

“I would like to see these talented young ladies become a group with a common goal (AKA a team) to be reckon with,” Equels stated. “They can have fun via winning both in and out the the pool. They will find a way to succeed, I believe in them.”

In boys’ rugby action, head coach Tai Tuisamoa noted the team has an exciting group of core players returning.

According to Tuisamoa, that group includes Quan Nguyen, Adrian Pham, David Jetter, Kaeden Kliffe, Jacob Ghitman, Cameron Geiselman and Parker Elliott. “This will be group that will be leading the pack this season,” Tuisamoa remarked.

Tuisamoa went on to note, “We are excited to transition from 7s last year to competing in the 15s format this season. We have over 30 players with a mixture of experience and new talents so it’s a lot of excitement within the camp and the boys are ready to have fun. It is a goal of ours to put Patrick Henry High School on the map as a powerhouse of rugby in all of San Diego.”

On the girls’ rugby field, Tuisamoa noted, “Comparing this season to last season’s record speaks volumes of how far they have come since then. We have a significant amount of girls that turned up this season so we’re still going through the development phase.”

According to Tuisamoa, some key seniors include Bella Garcia, Natalie Le, Camille Underwood and Aidan Bertschart. “We have a group of young guns in our freshmen and sophomore classes,” Tuisamoa added.

When it comes to goals this season, Tuisamoa pointed out, “Our goal is to improve our rugby every week and aim for that goal of finishing in the top five in this new league. There are talented high school teams across the league; its very competitive week in and week out. Our focus is making sure we’re one percent better every week so we put ourselves in a situation to win games. The future is bright for our girls’ program.” 

In boys’ basketball play, the Patriots went 18-13 a season ago and head coach Kenny Caesar is expecting good things this year.

According to Caesar, key players look to be junior center Alex Newlands, junior guard Issac Weatherred, senior guard Tyki King, senior guard Jacob Baker and senior guard Damien Carmichael.

“We are a Division II team and we have also been moved up from the City League to the very competitive Eastern League,” Caesar commented. “We are looking forward to competing this year and giving our best effort.”

In girls’ basketball action, head coach Derrick Carter leads the Lady Patriots into action in Division IV.

A season ago, PHHS finished 9-20 and lost in the opening round of the CIFs.

“Everyone on our team is a very important piece of our puzzle,” Carter stated. “A few pieces to spotlight would be 2025 (graduation year) forward Kimora Nears (pictured above), 2026 point guard Ally Mangahis and 2026 point guard Ayla Collins.”

When it comes to having a successful season, Carter noted a few goals would be, “To get one percent better every day, win our League and win the CIF championship.”

As of this week, the team was at 5-1 with more action to come before the holiday break.

“It’s truly a family atmosphere with our team and I think that’s a big reason for the hot start,” Carter added.

In boys’ soccer play, the Patriots under head coach Seth Tunick went 12-4-3 (8-1-1 in league play) a season ago. Patrick Henry lost in overtime in the first round of the playoffs.

According to Tunick, key players this season include senior center midfielder Cody Luna, senior center back Ryan Lembke, junior winger forward Julian Lee, junior goalkeeper Trenton Mikulanis, and senior center midfielder Gaizka Aldana.

“The team is very experienced this season and has much more depth than we’ve had in quite a few years,” Tunick stated. “We are solid at every position and can throw out multiple different lineups and still be strong. The seniors have been working very hard in the off-season to help change the culture a bit and come up with some key core values for the program that will help the team be more focused, disciplined, and successful. The feeling among the players is that we have a team this year that could make a run for a championship as long as we stick with what we know is right and don’t get distracted from our objective. It’s a very talented group of players and will be fun to watch as they play with lots of high energy, impressive skills, and some occasional flair.”

In girls’ soccer action, the Lady Patriots had a stellar 18-2-3 overall mark last year, going 6-1-1 in league play. PHHS had the top ranking in the Open Division, losing in the first round of the playoffs.

Head Coach Jason Renfro noted some key members this season look to be senior center midfielder Naima Castro, senior forward Briahna Gieger, senior Kathryn Mokhov, junior center back Elizabeth Barefoot, junior forward Zoe Wehrman, and sophomore center midfielder Emma Cunningham.

“We have a great group returning for another run deep into the playoffs,” Renfro remarked. “Last year was amazing and we exceeded our goals except the ultimate winning CIF and State. We have an amazing schedule that will push the team each game to their limits. It will be interesting to watch these amazing Lady Patriots being challenged and overcome obstacles along the way.”

On the wrestling mats, Patrick Henry High continues to grow its roster now up to 36 wrestlers, and increase from 24 last season and 17 the year before.

“Last year, Patrick Henry finished with a record of 5-8 with four placers at CIF and four qualifiers for Masters,” Head Coach Sam Litvin said. “We had an inaugural girls’ wrestling team with freshman Aubrey Lund placing fifth at CIF and becoming Patrick Henry’s first alternate at Masters.”

This year, Patrick Henry expanded the girls’ team to seven girls. This includes Teagan Samimi and Maverick Hamel who wrestled in the San Diego Middle School program.

Patrick Henry held its first tournament in over 40 years in honor of alumni Peter Gidlund who wrestled at the University of Oregon. The tournament was well-attended with over 500 spectators. It was for Novice wrestlers only and was dedicated to spreading mental health awareness. The action brought many alumni back to Patrick Henry to view the event.

Patrick Henry was seventh out of 20 teams with Avery Barbour, Cole Stephenson, and Alejandro Rodriguez taking second. Gabriel Deeb took third place for the Patriots. The tournament included two new wrestling programs in a sport that has seen a resurgence with the addition of girls as a CIF sport.

The PHHS varsity took first in Liberty Bash, a Quad that included Madison, Hoover and Lincoln High School. It was a rotating quad that features a Patriotic theme.

The PHHS junior varsity team is coached by Jores Peters and George Ly, respectively and competed at Eagle Rumble, taking third place of 23 teams. Freshman Caleb Arenz and junior Dominic Avila took first place, sophomore Justin Willard took second and Alejandro Rodriguez placed seventh. A notable wrestler was 175-pound freshman Arenz. He wrestled up at 190 pounds and pinned all of his opponents on his way to first place.

PHHS is currently 5-0 in duals.

“We have a young team after losing six seniors but it is likely to do well with a returning State Qualifier, Ethan Vinoray, who is ranked Top 30 in the state and Top 3 in San Diego at 126 pounds,” Litvin stated. “Also slated to do well are seniors Hondo Hamel, CIF placer and senior Reid Muscat, and two-time Masters qualifier 120-pound junior Abdullah Alshami. Boys Middle School Champion Caleb Arenz is also expected to do well.”

The Patrick Henry girls are led by Coach Mia Hamel who expects big things from Masters qualifier sophomore Aubery Lund and team captain sophomore Violet Gray. Freshman Maverick Hamel is also set to do well with a win by pin in a junior varsity boys match against Steele Canyon and a win at Liberty Bash.

According to Litvin, the team works hard, has a great team dynamic and they are excited for the prospects of every single wrestler.

“Our goals are simple: be healthy, do well in school and have fun. Success on the mat is a byproduct,” Litvin noted.

(Courtesy photo)