Big Red End of Year Edition Cover 1

Athletes of the Year

BIGRED BIG RED VOLUME 9 • NO. 4 • YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

Courtney Corrin p. 14

BIG RED

YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • VOLUME 9 • NO. 4

THEPlaybook Big Red Editors: LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

3

Our senior editors say farewell and reflect on the year in sports.

Big Red Staff: AWARD NOMINEES

10-11

See the full list of nominees for Big Red’s “End of Year” awards, which includes a first-year coach who led his team to a title, a Hail Mary and a record-breaking swim.

Juliana Berger: BEST MALE ATHLETE

12-13

This year’s Best Male Athlete has not only commited to Stanford but led his team to rank among the best in the country during his four years on varsity.

Emily Rahhal: BEST FEMALE ATHLETE

14-15

You already know who it is. After winning for the fourth year in a row, we’ve renamed the award in her honor. It’s only fitting for one of the greatest in Wolverines’ history.

In his first year as head coach at Harvard-Westlake, the Coach of the Year not only led his team to a state championship, but reinvigorated the program around him.

Dario Madyoon and Connor Reese:

BREAKOUT ATHLETES

20-21

These breakout players have stepped up to become stars on their teams, as well as leaders on the field and in the pool.

22

Bennett Gross: BEST MOMENT

Tied going into the last play of regulation, an injury fill-in and a record-breaking sprinter still had a long way standing between them and victory. Then, magic happened.

Zac Harleston: BEST GAME

23

This back and forth slugfest ended with a miracle heave.

Cameron Stine: BEST UPSET

24

They shocked a perennial powerhouse. Movie coming this fall.

Jake Liker and Carina Marx:

BEST FRESHMAN ATHLETES

16-17

He dunked his way onto SportsCenter’s Top Plays and won a state title, too. She netted her share of goals for the soccer team.

Joe Levin: BEST TEAM

19

Rian Ratnavale: BEST COACH

18

They went viral and won state. But even more impressive, they captured the hearts of their entire school, one win at a time.

Elly Choi: BEST COMEBACK

25

This player didn’t let a hip injury ruin a sensational senior year.

Big Red Staff: ROUNDTABLE

26-27

Staff members discuss current teams and star players, and they also make predictions about the future of Wolverine sports.

Who will be the black and red’s future stars and champions?

theStaff editors-in-chief Bennett Gross, Jonathan Seymour, Henry Vogel adviser Melissa Wantz

2 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

assistant editors Juliana Berger, Zac Harleston, Joe Levin, Jake Liker, Dario Madyoon, Carina Marx, Emily Rahhal, Rian Ratnavale, Connor Reese, Cameron Stine, Bryant Wu

BIG RED is a publication of the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle, the upper school newspaper at Harvard-Westlake School, 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604, produced as a part of Advanced Journalism classes. The school has 1,500 students in grades 9-12. For any questions, or to purchase a subscription or to advertise, please contact us at chronicle@ hw.com or at (818)487-6512. Copies of BIG RED are distributed free on campus to students and faculty and are mailed to friends and family by subscription at $15 per year. Letters to the editor can be sent to editor-in-chief Bennett Gross, at bgross1@hwemail.com. BIG RED is a general interest magazine about athletics, including teams and individual athletic pursuits of Harvard-Westlake students and faculty, as well as health and fitness topics. For seasonal coverage of Wolverine teams, see The Chronicle or www.hwchronicle.com.

On the cover: Ben Hallock ’16 or Courtney Corrin ’16 , our athletes of the year for 2016, pose with symbols of their various achievements throughout the years. There are two covers for this edition of Big Red.

Cover Image by Liz Yount

Letter From the Editors

JULIANA BERGER/BIG RED

BY BENNETT GROSS AND HENRY VOGEL

Big Red, and the sports section of the Chronicle as a whole, like all of the sports we diligently cover, is built on culture and legacy. As Head Boys’ Basketball Coach David Rebibo notably preached to his team before its state championship run, “heroes are forgotten, but legends never die.” With that same attitude, we as a staff foster a team atmosphere that rewards selfless hard work, teamwork and innovation. So first and foremost, we would like to congratulate our staff on another year of successfully upholding the Big Red legacy with edgy design, in-depth coverage and thoughtful dedication.

With that being said, none of our positions would exist if not for the effort put forth day in and day out by every Wolverine. From practice to games at Copses Pool to Ted Slavin Field to Taper Gym, all athletes that compete for Harvard-Westlake show a tremendous amount of courage to put in the work that the athletic department necessarily requires from its participants.

Keeping that in mind, this year we made a push for wider coverage, recognizing that a girls’ softball game a few miles away, for example, required the same amount of preparation and perseverance as a boys’ basketball game on campus in Taper Gym. So while there was a rift amongst the Fanatics about unequal

distribution of fan attendance, we as a staff did our best to cover each and every sport in all of our four issues.

With that out of the way, we’d like to give a special shout out to our predecessors, who taught us the way of Big Red and invited us into the culture known as the Chronicle sports section. When we were sophomores, we witnessed Grant Nussbaum ’14, along with support from Sam Sachs ’14, Patrick Ryan ’14 and Eric Loeb ’14, lead the revolution of the Big Red magazine into the modern era with fresh designs and creative storylines. We spent that year familiarizing ourselves with the process as those upperclassmen took us under their wings and guided the way.

Last year, Tyler Graham ’15, Audrey Wilson ’15 and Elijah Akhtarzad ’15 invited us to take a bigger role on staff as juniors on our way to editor positions. They carried on the legacy that Nussbaum introduced and molded us into the editors we are today. Also, last year wouldn’t have been complete without rookie sensation Cole Jacobson ’15, who joined as a senior but embodied hard work and effort to claw his way to our number one staff writer position.

This year, we dedicated our time to instilling these values in the underclassmen that have begun to understand the pride we take in putting out Big Red. Every page is

designed with care and each staffer deserves recognition. With so many juniors, we have given them ample opportunities to take on as many stories and designs as they wanted.

They were up to the task.

Carina Marx ’17 and Juliana Berger ’17 were staples of every after school layout, trailblazing the push for the most innovative designs we could come up with.

Joe Levin ’17 and Jake Liker ’17 led the way on the writing frontier with their longform accounts and personal narratives.

Emily Rahhal ’17, Dario Madyoon ’17 and Rian Ratnavale ’17 were our all-around five-tool players. They worked on layout, wrote stories, covered games on Twitter and provided invaluable assistance anywhere it was needed.

Cameron Stine ’17 provided a spark for live coverage, consistently taking pictures and going to games when others were busy. It’s an underrated task that deserves credit.

Connor Reese ’17 was our computer specialist, helping anyone with photoshop edits and tricky redesigns like the last page of our monthly Dsections in the Chronicle.

Bryant Wu ’17 gets the award for most improved player, as he went from a reserved presence in the back of the room, to a speed designer who can knock out a page faster than almost anyone else on staff.

Finally, when Zac Harleston ’17 wasn’t repping the Big Red staff out on the field during football and lacrosse games, he was in the newsroom writing columns and profiles that we could count on for an alternative viewpoint.

Another shout-out goes to the athletic department for enabling us to get close to players and coaches, creating relationships and bonds that led to the inside knowledge for all of our stories. Athletic Director Jason Kelly specifically has been integral in developing the HWTV side of news coverage and for helping us gain closer access to all of the sports teams on campus.

We’d also like to give a big thanks to our adviser Melissa Wantz.

Rather than taking time to acclimate to the school, she made her presence felt right away by anchoring our staff with experience and judgment. She has turned us into more thoughtful reporters both among our in-staff conversations and during interviews, and we thank her for guiding us through another year of great Wolverine sports coverage. Though she won’t be joining us next year, we wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.

That’s all she wrote for Big Red Volume Nine. The legacy continues as we move off to college and pass the torch down to the rising seniors.

As always, thank you for reading.

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 3

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

ADAM YU/BIG RED

TAKE A SWING Left: Varsity golfer Chantalle Wang ’17 winds up before a tee-shot against Marymount in a Wolverine victory.

WINDING UP STRONG Top: Hailey de la Vara ’17 winds up for a pitch during the Wolverines’ 12-2 victory over Windward on March 3.

DINNER IS SERVED Bottom: Xander Klein ’18 serves during the Wolverines’ 3-0 loss to Notre Dame on March 3.

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

RED

JULIANA BERGER/BIG RED

FINDING SKYWALKER NEMO

Right: Jenna Moustafa Junior ’17 swimmer rallies with her ’17 Izzy Wiesenthal opponent at in a a race participates preseason during a meet practice. against Flintridge Sacred Heart.

PHILLING THE PRESSURE

DARIO MADYOON/BIG RED

Phill Thompson ’16 prepares to attack during the Wolverines’ 16-4 victory over Crespi on Apr. 30.

SWING FOR THE FENCES

AARON PARK/BIG RED

Matt Thomas ’17 gears up for a pitch against Westlake High School during the first round of CIF Playoffs. In this game, the Wolverines won 6-4.

2015-2016 BIG RED AWARD NOMINEES Male Athlete of the Year Ben Hallock Mike Mapes Cassius Stanley Jake Suddleson Philip Thompson

Past Winners 2013: Chad Kanoff ’13 2014: Jack Flaherty ’14 2015: Johnny Hooper ’15

Female Athlete of the Year

Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Male

Jesse Bergin Zac Harleston Noah Rothman Henry Vogel

Female

Carolyn Kim Courtney Nunley Jayla Ruffus-Milner Claudia Wong

Freshman

(Courtney Corrin Award)

Athlete of the Year

Courtney Corrin Hannah Eliot Paige Howard Jenna Moustafa Josie Treadwell

Male

JP Corrigan L Simpson Cassius Stanley

Past Winners 2013: Courtney Corrin ’16 2014: Courtney Corrin ’16 2015: Courtney Corrin ’16

Chloe Beardmore Annabelle Heisel Chloe Mueller

10 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

Female

At the end of the year, the Big Red staff nominates and votes on the top-performing athletes and coaches, along with the best plays and best games of the year. Listed below are the nominees for each category, and winners are profiled on the following pages.

Moment of the Year

Coach of the Year

Noah Rothman’s Hail Mary Zac Harleston’s Triple OT game-winner Nathan Yeh’s three Fanatics Facebook Fight

David Rebibo Scot Ruggles Brian Flacks Christie Gipe

Game of the Year

Comeback Athlete of the Year

Boys’ Baskeball State Championship Football at St. Paul Girls’ Basketball vs. Windward Boys’ Water Polo at Mater Dei Field Hockey vs. Newport

Wolfgang Novogratz Montana Reilly Andrew Vanderschans Marshal Cohen

Upset of the Year

Team of the Year

Boys’ Basketball at Crespi Field Hockey vs. Newport Girls’ Basketball vs. Windward Softball vs. Chaminade

Boys’ Basketball Girls’ Swimming Boys’ Tennis Boys’ Water Polo Girls’ soccer

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 11

BIG RED . MALE

ATHLETE of the YEAR BEN HALLOCK

WATER POLO

HENRY VOGEL/BIG RED

BY JULIANA BERGER The selection of Ben Hallock ’16 was based not only on his athletic performance this year, but an assemblage of all four years he spent as a starter for the varsity water polo team.

Despite losing in the CIF Division I Championships his final season, he was able to accumulate championship wins in his sophomore and then junior years, become a member of the senior national team and, according to Aquatics Program Head Brian Flacks ’06, was widely hailed the number one water polo recruit in the United States.

He averaged 4.6 goals per game his senior year, even as he battled with a torn ligament in his right thumb. The injury kept him out of play starting from about three quarters of the way into the season until only a few days before CIF. But even with his injury, Hallock managed to stay a leader on the team.

12 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

“You have to be hands on with everything other than water polo,” Hallock said. “I would sit down and go through a lot of the film with the guys before practice, sometimes after practice. Once I was able to swim I would just float, be in the water, try to help the guys, almost being like another coach in the water helping some of the younger players, the more inexperienced players. A lot of just trying to lead by example and do everything I could to help the team.”

Flacks has been coaching Hallock since he was about 10 years old and has watched his evolution from just a player to a leader in the pool. He also sees the way Hallock’s role on the team has changed as he aged.

“He has almost grown, in a lot of ways, into a fourth coach for us,” Flacks said. “He is one of those guys who will come in eighth period and we will discuss water polo tactics and skills. He is the guy that

will text me at three in the morning, he’s watching a YouTube clip and wants me to watch it. Those stories, you read about those great athletes, and you rarely get to experience that type of player because that player comes around only once in awhile in a coach’s career. He was one of those guys.”

Hallock, in turn, credits Flack’s coaching for his evolution as an athlete.

“I think I’ve become a much more assertive player,” Hallock said. “When I came here, in ninth grade, I was super small, not the most confident in my abilities, but by the end I think [Flacks] has done an awesome job teaching me what it means to be a leader of a team of 15 guys and having the confidence to step up and make big shots.”

With their relationship going back as far as it did, coach and player have seen each other change over the years outside of the pool. Flacks’ favorite memories

come from seeing how Hallock has grown not only as an athlete but as a person.

“I drove him to the CIF banquet after our season this year, and it was just me and him and he was getting honored for Player of the Year,” Flacks said. “And just being able to drive him there, it was just me and him one-on-one and what a great young man he’s become, an ambassador for our program and our school. For me, just to be a part of that and to be lucky enough to know a kid like that and coach a kid like that I feel really grateful.”

Despite being a two-time CIF Division I Player of the Year and two-time Division I First Team All CIF, among other acknowledgements, Hallock said he does not to spend much time talking about his personal achievements. This trait is one that Flacks said he admires in the player.

“The best thing about him is that anyone that knows [Hallock]

knows that he’s humble, nice, supportive, respectful, polite young man, and when you look at the list of things he has accomplished, you think he has every right to not be that,” Flacks said. “But I think that the reason he is the player and the young man that he is today is the fact that he’s such a good young man, both in and out of the pool.”

Hallock will play water polo for Stanford University this fall.

He will spend his summer practicing with the United States Men’s National Water Polo team, including a potential trip to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games.

“That’s the thing that’s not just the next four years but could possibly be the next eight years or 12 years,” Hallock said.

“As long as he keeps doing what he’s been doing and continues to mature and keep his head and stays humble as he’s been, he’s got a lot of great things ahead of him,” Flacks said.

By the Numbers 2 x CIF Division I Player of the Year 2 x All CIF Division I First Team All CIF 2 x All Mission League First Team 2 x Mission League Most Valuable Player Member of the Senior National Team 4.6 goals per game senior year 81-6 three-year record BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 13

BY TH

BIG RED . FEMALE

ATHLETE of the YEAR COURTNEY CORRIN

SOCCER, TRACK & FIELD

HENRY VOGEL/BIG RED

BY EMILY RAHHAL For the fourth year in a row, Courtney Corrin ’16 finished the year on top as an All-American athlete, a CIF champion for track, a soccer powerhouse and Big Red’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Corrin holds the school records for the long jump, 800-meter relay and the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.41 seconds as of 2015 for the latter. She set the record for the long jump in 2013 with a 21’6 1/4” jump, and beat her own record in 2015 with a 22-foot jump. She won the CIF state finals with these jumps in both 2013 and 2015.

Corrin represented the United States in 2013 at the World Youth Track and Field Championships.

She was able to accomplish the most she could at the time, which is one of the most important

14 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 20166

things she will take away from her high school career, Corrin said.

This year Corrin injured her ankle, restricting her competition this season. “[My injury] built character,” Corrin said. “It made me step back and examine what I’ve done so far and what I can continue to do if I let my body heal.”

Despite injury, though, Corrin was able to step up as a leader of the squad.

“I really look up to her as an athlete and also as a leader of our team,” two-year teammate Danielle Spitz ’18 said. “[Corrin] is always there to support us and she always shows up ready to compete; I have learned a lot from her.”

Corrin joined the varsity girls’ soccer squad as a freshman, and finished this season with a 7-1

league record. This year, she was invited to the CIF-Southern Section Division I All-League girls’ soccer team.

“Courtney is a once-in-ageneration athlete. She is lightning fast, strong and determined,” girls’ soccer program head Richard Simms said. “As a teammate, she always led by example with a phenomenal work ethic.”

Corrin excelled as a midfielder on the varsity girls’ soccer squad because of the speed she acquired through track. Corrin is a consistent performer: she is determined and leads the team by example, Simms said. For example, her goal in the Orange County showcase earlier this year not only brought the team up from a 1-0 rut, but raised their spirits so they could pull ahead and win the game.

The squad was united by a love for the game, and Corrin was able to experience a leadership role as she entered her senior year and stepped back from competing due to her injury.

Corrin will be attending the University of Southern California in the fall. She committed there to play soccer and compete in track and field. Corrin is excited to have the freedom and time to enjoy school and a high-level athletic department.

While the professionalism of college athletics is inviting to Corrin, she will miss the joyful nature of playing in high school.

“High school was the one place where I got to love, have fun and be a kid,” Corrin said. “That’s the most important thing: to play because we love to play.”

THE NUMBERS “COURTNEY IS A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION ATHLETE. SHE IS LIGHTNING FAST, STRONG AND DETERMINED.” -RICHARD SIMMS

2015

2013

Corrin sets school records for the 800m relays, 300m hurdles and breaks her own long jump record.

Corrin is invited to represent the United States in the World Youth Track & Field Championships.

Corrin makes her first appearance as a doublevarsity athelete on the track and soccer teams.

2012

Corrin sets record for long jump, claiming a CIF championship with a 21’6 1/4” jump.

Corrin officially commits to the University of Southern California for track.

2016

2013 BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 15

BIG RED . MALE

FRESHMAN of the YEAR CASSIUS STANLEY

BASKETBALL

CAMERON STINE/BIG RED

BY JAKE LIKER Cassius Stanley ’19 already has a long list of awards and accolades to throw on a resume: state champion, 1st Team All CIF Division 4AA, viral sensation, etc.

Now he can add another title: Big Red Male Freshman Athlete of the Year.

After a season in which he averaged 20 points, four assists, five rebounds per game and played a crucial role in bringing a boys’ basketball state championship to Harvard-Westlake for the first time in nearly 20 years, Stanley was given the award by a unanimous vote from the Big Red staff. “[Stanley] really grew as a player this season,” Head Coach David Rebibo said. “Learning about preparation, scheme and the various other components that go into high school game prep. He also developed his practice habits, learning what it means to practice hard and maintain the mental fo-

16 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

cus you need to be successful at this level.”

He showed versatility in his ability to defend in addition to his offensive prowess, averaging 1.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

Stanley feels as though he’s progressed in that area of the game.

“I think I improved the most in my defense this year,” Stanley said. “I really had to crack down and take defense [seriously].”

Rebibo was hoping that this would be the case, citing defensive improvement as one of his goals for Stanley coming into the season.

“My goal for him was for him to create a great work ethic and habits; that was most important to me,” Rebibo said. “Next, I wanted him to become an elite defender, something I think he really took pride in as the season went on. The ability to score and make plays was always there, I wanted to challenge

him to work on other facets of his game. I thought he did all of the above and continues to grow as a player.”

While he succeeded in achieving his coach’s goals for him, Stanley had personal goals, as well.

“My goal was to improve as a basketball player and as a leader,” Stanley said. “Do as much as I can for the team so that we can win games.”

There were already high expectations for Stanley, who had received offers from UCLA and USC before he played a high school game. Rebibo praised Stanley for the manner in which he handled those expectations.

“What impressed me most is how he handled the attention and expectations set forth on him this season,” Rebibo said. “It’s not easy to play and practice daily with that kind of pressure and expectation.

I thought he handled himself very

well and showed what he is and will be going forward for HarvardWestlake hoops.”

The season had its fair share of high points, including a sweep of Loyola and a win on the road at Crepsi. In Stanley’s mind, one moment stands out from the rest.

“Highlight of the season was definitely winning the state championship and celebrating on the court with my teammates,” Stanley said.

Of course, the season wasn’t always smooth sailing; there was adversity to overcome, struggles to get through, Chibueze Jacobs (three times) and a concussion that kept Stanley on the bench for two games in the playoffs. All in all, it was a learning experience.

“The lesson I’d take away from this season is that heroes die, legends live forever,” Stanley said.

Forever, like Stanley’s name on the championship banner.

BIG RED . FEMALE

FRESHMAN of the YEAR ANNABELLE HEISEL

SOCCER

CARINA MARX/BIG RED

BY CARINA MARX It’s Dec. 2, and the varsity girls’ soccer team is playing their first game of the season against Newbury Park. At halftime, no one has scored a goal yet. They needed someone who could pull them out of their slow start and put them on the path to success for that year.

The second half started, and Annabelle Heisel ’19 took the field nervously.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous to do anything in my life,” Heisel said. “I had butterflies from the moment I woke up that morning till the second the game started, then they completely disappeared.”

Once she got comfortable with the atmosphere, she dominated.

She flew past defenders, using her ultra-refined footwork to shoot the ball.

The first goal of the 2015-2016 season was scored by a freshman.

Heisel was an integral part of

the hugely successful varsity girls’ soccer team this past season, helping carry them to the CIF playoffs with her impressive offensive skill.

“I didn’t expect to play much my freshman year, so everything came as a surprise,” Heisel said.

“It was exciting to be an important part of the offense, feeding players and attacking when there was an opening. Everyone out there worked really hard, and I was proud to be apart of it.”

The team had a league record of 7-0-1 and an overall record of 16-4-3. They were ranked 46 in the nation and 18 in the state. Much of this was thanks to Heisel, who was the second leading scorer on the team with 8 goals and 11 assists all season. “[Heisel] did a great job for us on offense this year,” Head Coach Richard Simms said. “She was a consistent threat and scored a lot of key goals. As a freshman, we were

still able to count on her to contribute every game.”

One of Simms’ favorite memories of Heisel was a free kick in the first half against Chaminade Feb. 3. The ball sailed into the top right corner. They won 4-2.

Heisel started playing soccer young, entering AYSO Region 69 at age five and playing for AYSO AllStars until she was nine. She moved on to Breakers until she was twelve, and she now plays for Real So Cal in the Elite Club National League.

This is the highest level a girl can be in for club youth soccer. Her extended time on club soccer teams has helped enhance her dexterity with the ball, making her a powerful player for the high-achieving soccer team.

Over the course of the season, Heisel has become very close with her Wolverine teammates, saying they have special bonds that they are lucky to have.

“I feel my role on the team will change in the years going forward, because I will need to be a role model and a leader to the newer and younger players on the team,” Heisel said. “All of the older girls this year were great leaders and role models to me, and I want to make sure I have the same impact as they did to the incoming players next year.”

In the years to come, Heisel will be very important to the team’s success. Next year, the team loses top players Courtney Corrin ’16, Courtney Gazmarian ’16, Montana Reilly ’16 and Quinn Frankel ’16.

The year after that, they lose leading scorer Paige Howard ’17 and superstar goalie Lindsay Avant ’17.

“We’ll need [Heisel] to continue to be one of our top scorers with goals and assists,” Simms said.

“She can play anywhere in the front row, so we’ll expect her to keep doing that.”

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 17

BIG RED .

TEAM

of the YEAR BOYS’ BASKETBALL

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

BY JOE LEVIN A few days into March, I was standing in line at the cafeteria when my friend Andrew Berg ’17 walked by.

“Hey,” I said. “If the basketball team goes to State, we’re road tripping up to Sacramento.”

He laughed. “Yeah…if.”

Who can blame him for laughing? At the time, the Wolverines were coming off of their third loss to Notre Dame, which eliminated them from the CIF Playoffs. Freshman wonderkid Cassius Stanley ’19 had just stormed off the court, and we all assumed the season was over, until the team received an at-large bid to the Division IV state playoffs.

And then, they started winning again. They crushed Porterville, beat Chaminade next, and, even with Stanley injured, the Wolverines upset Serra on the road.

Whenever Berg and I would see each other during those weeks, the word “state” somehow slipped into every conversation.

18 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

After the Serra game, Viewpoint was the only team left in the way of a trip to Sacramento. Eating lunch one day, Berg and I agreed that we had to make the Saturday trek to Ontario for the game. Our friend Justin Ciccone ’17 said he wanted to come too.

Justin pulled up a map. “Hey,” he said. “There’s a Chick-Fil-A right by the gym. Like right down the street.”

“How the hell do you know where the Chick-Fil-A is in Onatrio?” I asked.

“I just…” He shrugged. “That’s just one of those things I know.”

So out of our love for chicken nuggets, the idea to tailgate was born. We started making a list of what we would need. “Table, chairs, cooler, drinks, football, speakers, chips, chicken, A WIN!” I bring this up not to show how ridiculous my friends and I are. I bring it up to show how incredible this year’s basketball team

was. Wolverine sporting events aren’t known to have the highest attendance or most spirit. Football games, with the exception of homecoming, are normally quiet.

The water polo team is the best in the country, and I’ve never been to a game. But this basketball team sold out Taper Gym regularly this season. They made their way onto SportsCenter. They made three buddies pile into a car and sit in traffic so they could tailgate for a high school basketball game.

“The team unified the school,” Alex Reiner ’17 said. “Every game had hype this year, not just the good ones.”

So, on Saturday afternoon, we parked outside Colony High School and started unfolding chairs and tables and cracking open drinks.

The school was next to a farm, and it reeked of manure. We didn’t care.

We tossed a football, queued up Spotify, and dipped our chicken nuggets into some Chick-Fil-A

sauce. When Harvard-Westlake’s security guard Sanders Jackson arrived, we told him to come join us.

He just stared back confused – why would anybody tailgate for a Wolverine game? He’d never seen that kind of excitement before. Nobody had.

Eventually, we bought our tickets and went inside. It was a slow slog of a first half, as more and more fanatics who’d been stuck in traffic trickled into the arena, but the second half was pure Wolverine domination. The outcome was never in doubt. “We’re going to state!”

“SAC-RE-MENTO!” we chanted, and when the buzzer sounded, we ran down the bleachers and mobbed the players.

We peeled out of the parking lot, the table and chairs bouncing around in the trunk. I blared the horn over and over again. We couldn’t stop yelling, “We’re going to State! We’re going to State!”

We did. And we won it, too.

BIG RED .

COACH of the YEAR DAVID REBIBO

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

BY RIAN RATNAVALE A third consecutive loss to Notre Dame would have made any other coach falter, or just throw in the towel. boys’ basketball Head Coach David Rebibo is Big Red’s 2016 Coach of the Year not only because he didn’t throw in the towel, but because he used it to wipe away the blemish inflicted on them by their Mission League rival, and win a state championship.

Rebibo deserves credit primarily because he changed the culture of basketball played in Taper Gym right away in his first year. That’s not to say that the 30 years of basketball played under former head coach Gregg Hilliard was not successful; the Wolverines won two state titles under coach Hilliard, and sent multiple players to the NBA. Rebibo, however, has put the Wolverines on the map right away as a premier basketball hub in Southern California.

The former University of San Francisco assistant coach reigned

in young talents like Cassius Stanley ’19 and L Simpson ’19, and got the most out of veterans this year such as Henry Vogel ’16 and Ali Iken ’17. In order to get the program to the place it is at today, Rebibo knew he had to makes changes. “[There was] change for me as a coach and change for our players and their families,” Rebibo said. “But everyone embraced the change while we had our ups and downs. Our program and culture was established and grew stronger.”

Another key element of the team’s success under Rebibo was their late-blooming cohesiveness.

At times at the beginning of the season, many players would play “hero ball” and try to bail the team out of bad situations. Sometimes, it worked, because this year’s Wolverines team happened to be one of the most talented teams in school history.

Yet, in the middle of the season, it was clear that the team went

into too many lulls. Rebibo fixed this in two ways: he made his team more detail oriented, and made them play for each other.

“There are so many factors that played into the success of this team,” Rebibo said. “We really came together in the latter part of the season and bought into the concept of doing it for the guy next to you.

Becoming much more detail oriented is always vital to your success as a coach. When you can get the players to hold themselves to that level of detail, it has the makings of something special.”

Although Rebibo certainly had a big mark on the team this year, he credits a lot of his success to the great community around him.

“Harvard-Westlake is a special place, unlike any school I have ever been a part of,” Rebibo said.“The sense of community is something that I really embraced and enjoyed as a new faculty member. The entire community played a major role

with the success of our boys’ basketball program and we couldn’t be more appreciative of every member. Harvard-Westlake is unmatched as a school and provides all of its students the opportunity to not only leave school a better and more equipped student, but a better person and athlete should they decide to be involved in athletics. The commitment to excellence both academically and athletically is unmatched, and only here do you have the opportunity to succeed at the highest levels both academically and athletically. Not to mention it is an unbelievable place that truly surrounds you with amazing people.”

Through all of the crazy highlights and the return of the Fanatics like never before, it’s clear that Rebibo has built something special.

As the Coach of the Year, he should have more masterpieces in store for future Fanatics for a long, long time.

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 19

BIG RED . MALE

BREAKTHROUGH

PLAYER

of the YEAR ZAC HARLESTON

LACROSSE

DARIO MADYOON/BIG RED

BY DARIO MADYOON Midfielder Zac Harleston ’17 entered his junior season without much of a reputation on the field outside of the tight-knit HarvardWestlake lacrosse program. Twenty-two goals and 13 assists later, Harleston’s outstanding play this season has earned him recognition from both lacrosse fans and the Big Red staff.

“It feels really good to get recognized for my improvement because I worked really hard this offseason,” Harleston said. “The hours I put in on my own time don’t show up on the stat sheet, so it’s nice to be able to see that they have had some payoff.”

After racking up just two goals and three assists last year, Harleston came into this season with a strong desire to make his mark from the first day of offseason practice.

“This season, I just wanted to do my part and contribute to the winning culture that is such a huge

20 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

part of Harvard-Westlake lacrosse,” Harleston said.

This summer, Harleston worked with former Wolverine coach Christian Pastirik to completely revamp his shooting mechanics in order to make him a bigger goal-scoring threat—and a more technical one, too.

“Zac improved the most this year as a shooter and with his understanding of how to run the offense,” teammate Phil Thompson ’16 said. “He always had the physical tools but he worked very hard this summer to add speed and accuracy to his shot and truly become a deadly shooter. That coupled with his already elite athleticism made him very difficult to defend.”

While he made major contributions in almost every game he played, Harleston’s vast improvement as both a scorer and playmaker was never more apparent than it was against an early-season victory

over Agoura High School.

“The moment I really knew Zac was going to be dominant this year was late in our game against Agoura,” Thompson said. “The game was very tight, and their defense had shut us down for most of the game.

They scored late to go ahead by one and we needed someone to step up and make some plays. He not only had the confidence and skill to score and send the game to OT, but he also was able to score the game winner three overtimes later.”

However, Harleston’s improvement this year has been more than just technical, as he has also matured into more of a leader for the team. His progression in this regard contributed heavily to the team’s deep playoff run, which came to an end with a 10-8 loss in the Regional Semifinals against the rival Loyola Cubs.

“In the playoffs, [Harleston’s] intensity and experience really

helped our team,” Thompson said.

“The stage is never too big for [Harleston], and that mentality really spread throughout the inexperienced players on the team. He also brought a lot of toughness and played a hard-nosed game, which made a huge difference in crunch time.”

This year’s playoff run marked a significant improvement for the squad as a whole, which failed to make the playoffs last season after going 11-8.

Now, Harleston will have an even bigger role to build on this year’s success, as the team will lose three starting seniors, including Thompson, a 2015 U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American.

“I want to follow up next season with progression similar to the one I had this season,” Harleston said. “Even though I’ve come a long way, I’m nowhere near where I want to be as a player yet.”

BIG RED . FEMALE

BREAKTHROUGH

PLAYER

of the YEAR CLAUDIA WONG

SWIMMING

COURTESY OF HW ATHLETICS

BY CONNOR REESE AND BRYANT WU Surprising even herself, Claudia Wong ’17 broke the school record for the 100-yard butterfly on her path to the state championship.

This record was set by Dara Torres ’85 and had been standing for 30 years.

Wong shattered this record with a lightning-quick time of 55.62 seconds.

Not only did Wong break the record once, but she also broke it again during the CIF State Qualifiers.

Wong shattered her own record once again by .32 seconds, coming in at 55.30 seconds for the 100 fly.

Torres is considered one of the greatest female swimmers in American Olympic history.

She is the only member of the United States swim team to represent her country in five Olympics—1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008. In the 2008 games in Beijing, at age 41, she became the oldest

competitor to make the American swim team, where she medaled in three events: the 50-meter freestyle, the 4x100-meter medley relay and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. In all three events, Torres won the silver medal.

During her prolific career, she set three world records and won 12 Olympic medals, including four golds.

“I was pretty surprised, going into the season, I wasn’t really planning on focusing on that particular event,” Wong said, “My coach just signed me up for that event for fun, and obviously after that race we started focusing on it more. I really wasn’t really planning on doing any 100-yard fly rounds

during this season.”

The state tournament had a cut-off time of 57.50 for Division I. State includes all divisions from the regular season.

“We would also be competing against Division IV players who [can be] good swimmers on bad teams,” Wong said.

Wong’s relay team broke the previous record last year. This year, the same group beat their own record.

“This year’s team is basically the same team, and we improved on the time,” Wong said. “Our relay made State, and it’s the first time any Harvard-Westlake relay team made state.”

Wong also qualified for the state championship for the 200 freestyle.

“Only three Harvard-Westlake students qualified for individual state events: me, Alex Tsing ’16 and Wesley Chang ’17,” Wong said.

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 21

BIG RED .

MOMENT of the YEAR NOAH ROTHMAN’S

HAIL MARY

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

BY BENNETT GROSS With the game clock stagnant at 1.3 seconds and the Wolverines and Golden Knights knotted at 21, nearly every person at Friedman Field on Oct. 15 thought that both teams’ second Angelus League contest of the season was headed to overtime.

Head Coach Scot Ruggles called timeout and drew up a play for his offense to run in hopes of pulling off a miraculous Hail Mary.

The Wolverines were situated at the St. Francis 47-yardline. Just before the snap of the ball, quarterback Noah Rothman ’16 took one last glance over at the three receivers lined up just to his left.

Rothman quickly hiked the ball and launched it as far as he could toward the goal line.

22 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

“During the play, I was just hoping for the best, I wasn’t really thinking that it was going to work out, I just threw it as far as I could, and next thing I knew, it ended up in a touchdown,” Rothman said.

The ball was intended for leading receiver Cameron Jones ’18, who was unable to come down with the pigskin, as it was tipped by two Golden Knights’ defensive backs.

However, much to their chagrin, Alex Barnum ’16 was smartly positioned just behind them and watched the ball fall gently into his arms.

“The play was to line up in trips and have Rothman throw it as far as he could,” Barnum said.

“The receivers were just trying to

go up and make a play on the ball.

I figured that I should just go in the back and hope that I could get it off a tip, and sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.”

He calmly made sure he had possession then began to celebrate, realizing that he had just caught the game-winning touchdown to the Wolverines’ first road win against St. Francis in decades.

“My initial thought was don’t drop it,” Barnum said. “It was right there. It was so easy to catch. Anyone could have come down with it.

Once I caught it, I knew right then and there that it was game over. We won.”

The game ended up being a turning point in the season for the short-handed Wolverines’ squad.

After rattling off three straight wins to begin Angelus League play, the Wolverines ended up as co-champions of the league with Cathedral.

“The St. Francis game gave us a confidence that we could fight,” Barnum said. “Even if we were down early in the game that we could come back and pull the games out. We obviously didn’t want every game to come down to a Hail Mary, but we knew we could tough it out and beat teams late in games.”

In the playoffs, Harvard-Westlake defeated Mayfair on the road in the first round of the CIF-SS Southeast Division playoffs. The Wolverines’ run eventually ended in a second round defeat to La Serna at home.

BIG RED .

GAME of the YEAR FOOTBALL VS.

ST. PAUL

BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

BY ZAC HARLESTON The walk from the field to the locker room felt extra long this time. The score was 21-0, and it was not in our favor. People have always told me that the game is not over until the clock reads four zeros. I wasn’t sure if I believed them, but that was before that night.

We were set to open our Angelus League play against St. Paul under the Friday night lights, Oct. 10.

When we piled in for a two-hour bus ride, we felt ready to compete.

But then we came out a little flat.

Things got ugly—quick. St. Paul scored and our field goal was blocked. The scoreboard went from 7-0 to 14-0 to 21-0. Then, we were making that halftime walk.

This was my first year playing varsity football and my first league

game. My energy was down, but when I looked at our seniors, it came right back up. They weren’t worried. They were focused. Being around such determined people reminded me that there was still a fight to be had. And I wasn’t going to tap out.

We learned to push through adversity since the very first practice. Halftime was a testament to that. Nobody was giving in; we were ready to win.

We played better when we came out again, more focused. We didn’t let them score the whole third quarter. Still down by three touchdowns going into the fourth quarter, we weren’t about to let them cruise to a victory.

We got our first chance with

eight minutes left. Thomas Glover ’18 got us down the field, and quarterback Noah Rothman ’16 scampered into the end zone.

21-7. Seven minutes left.

We couldn’t grab the onside kick attempt, so our defense had to get a stop. They did, and Max Robertson ’17, who I’ve played with since seventh grade, blocked their punt.

We didn’t waste any time.

Rothman threw Cam Jones ’18 a bomb, 45 yards all the way to the end zone.

21-14. 6:15 left.

We needed another stop, and that’s what we got, 4:00 left.

We stepped up, and everybody remembered to do their jobs. That’s what football is about: everybody

doing their part for the team.

Before I knew it, I was watching another Rothman pass fly to Jones in the end zone.

Tie game. 21-21. 3:00 left.

St. Paul was trying to win the game now, but unfortunately for them, so were we. On their drive’s second play, Robertson stepped up again and returned an interception all the way for a touchdown.

28-21. 1:30.

In football, things have a way of working themselves out, the better team normally wins.

Walking back to the locker room after that fourth quarter, I knew what made our team great. We kept trying, no matter how much the odds were stacked against us.

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 23

BIG RED .

UPSET of the YEAR SOFTBALL

VS. CHAMINADE

RIAN RATNAVALE/BIG RED

BY ELLY CHOI AND OLIVER AKHTARZAD Going into the May 5 game against Chaminade, the softball varsity squad was expected to lose.

Not only had the team lost 2-1 to Chaminade at a home game this year on Apr. 19, but there was only one senior to lead the team, infielder Kelly Loeb ’16.

Last year, the squad had several seniors that they could look to, but had lost to Chaminade twice, 18-2 on Apr. 21 and 3-1 on May 7. That year the squad went on to accumulate a league record of 0-8.

However, this year was different. The squad was able to prevail against Chaminade 3-2 and improved to a 5-3 league record.

Beating Chaminade not only signaled one of the biggest upsets of the year, it proved the team was capable of reaching the CIF play-

24 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

offs.

“Our coach really motivated us to not dwell on the past, but to look to the future,” right fielder Princie Kim ’18 said. “I think that because we learned from what we lacked in previous games, [we became] so much stronger against Chaminade and all of our games after that, we were able to make playoffs.”

Leading up to the Chaminade upset, the team had won six consecutive games from Apr. 21 to Apr. 30. During that time, the squad worked on specific skillsets to improve its play on the field.

“We definitely can improve at coming out strong in the beginning to give our pitchers a cushion,” Head Coach Melanie Williams said. “Making the big

plays with two outs to shut the opponent down which helps get the momentum in our favor when we are up to bat. Also, thinking about the defensive/offensive situation before it happens, for example, the speed of runners, where the play is when the ball is hit in the air or on the ground, knowing the outs as a base runner, etc.”

Although Alemany snapped the team’s win streak in a loss May 3, the team continued working to reach the CIF playoffs.

“In the Mission League, Alemany is our ‘biggest competitor,’ but realistically it was only a competitive game because we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Williams said. “My guess is, we’ll face our biggest competitor in playoffs who at this point re-

mains unknown.”

Instead, the team focused their effort on winning their next game against Chaminade, eventually reaching the league finals and becoming the CIF Champions.

“When we played against Alemany we were pretty disappointed that we lost,” Kim said. “We’ve really been training hard, but we still weren’t able to beat them. Despite that, I think our loss made us even more determined to win the next games. At every practice, everyone constantly has a positive attitude, always motivating each other to do our best. Knowing that Chaminade is a pretty good team, we didn’t look at our loss to Alemany as a sad thing, but as something we could learn from.”

BIG RED .

COMEBACK ATHLETE of the YEAR MONTANA REILLY

SOCCER

CARINA MARX/BIG RED

BY ELLY CHOI During the first half of the Dec. 8 soccer game against Oaks Christian, Montana Reilly ’16 fractured her hip while sliding to try to save a ball from going out of bounds.

“As soon as I slid I felt a pop in my hip and couldn’t move it,” Reilly said. “I thought I was going to miss the rest of my last year of high school soccer, and it was completely unexpected.”

She later learned that it was an avulsion fracture, which is where the muscle tears away from the bone, while pulling a piece of the bone off with it.

This injury caused Reilly to be out of the season until the last league game where she was able to play against Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and two playoff games against Villa Park and Santa

Margarita.

“Reilly is a dynamic, fast and hard-working player,” Head Coach Richard Simms said. “Not having her affected our depth and our speed on the field. It forced us to play a lot of younger players more than we had initially planned.”

After three weeks on crutches, she began going to physical therapy twice a week with a laser treatment on her hip to speed up the healing process. She then began to practice light drills with the team and play club soccer once again.

“When Reilly was on the team and when she wasn’t, there was clearly a huge difference in the level of play and leadership there was on the field,” midfielder Bridget Stokdyk ’18 said. “It was really sad when she wasn’t on the team because she was a huge part of the

team. When she was able to come back for the last few games it really made a difference, and the team dynamic was really great.”

Reilly has been playing soccer since she was four and has been playing left midfielder or back since then.

“My parents made me try every sport when I was a kid, but soccer was the only one I liked and continued with,” Reilly said.

Next fall, Reilly will join the Beavers’ soccer team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Before I took my official visit, I was unsure if MIT was my first choice, but after that weekend I fell in love with the school and Boston and knew that it was the place for me,” Reilly said.

She began talking to the MIT coach the summer before her ju-

nior year, visited the campus and watched the team play in September. Because MIT is a Division III school, Reilly did not commit, but told the coach that she was applying Early Action there.

With technical work and shooting and passing drills, Reilly believes she is back at her original level of play.

“I think that I am finally back at the level of play I was at preinjury,” Reilly ‘16 said. “When I came back from my hip injury, I struggled with other injuries because my legs just weren’t as strong, and I kept pulling my right quad muscle as a result. However, now, five months later, I feel fully recovered and have been having a successful club season, and am excited to play another four years in college.”

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 25

Wolverine roundtable

Members of the Big Red staff give their take on key issues in current Wolverine sports.

Q: Who do you predict will be the Big Red Male and Female Athletes of 2016-17?

Marx: Coming off of a dominant freshman year, Cassius Stanley ’19 looks to expand his role on an ever-improving team. This upcoming year, Stanley will look to take on a larger leadership role in the absence of starting point guard Wolfgang Novogratz ’16, and will hopefully lead the team to a second straight championship this year.

Rahhal: BENNETT GROSS/BIG RED

POWER THROUGH Cassius Stanley ’19 goes for a dunk during the Wolverines’ 76-59 victory over Heritage Christian at home.

Claudia Wong ’17 has had a breakout performance in this swim season for the Wolverines. In particular, Wong shattered a 30-year school record held by Olympian Dara Torres ’85 in the 100yard butterfly. Wong was also part of a relay team that set the new record for the 200-yard freestyle race. Wong has been able to take an ever-expanding leadership role on the swimming team as a junior.

Next year, Wong will look to expand her role even further on the Wolverine swim team.

Q: Which team, player or moment was the biggest surprise of 2015-16?

Reese: Brandon Kewalramani ’17 rose above expectations to win the Oak Park Invitational for the Wolverine golf team. He faced two opponents ranked among the top 10 players in the nation, and was able to put out a strong showing despite the competition. Matt Wolff and Spencer Soospin were fierce competition for Kewalramani, as they are both dynamic players who have each won many national tournaments.

Kewalramani shot two under for the tournament, and won the entire tournament by seven strokes.

Madyoon:

The girls’ tennis team, under first-year coach Gipe, made a deep run into CIF playoffs and ended up as the runner-ups.

Jenna Moustafa ’17, Amanda Chan ’18 and Juliana Simon ’16 both played key roles in helping the team live up to their high potential.

The team was able to bond and improve over newly-instituted summer workouts. These workouts allowed the team to come closer together and gain chemistry. This chemistry was a major key in both the regular season and the postseason playoff run. The team also received valuable contributions from Madison Foster ’16 and Elizabeth Kim ’17.

ELLY CHOI/BIG RED

IT’S A TOSS UP Amanda Chan ’18 prepares to serve the ball during the Wolverines’ 13-5 victory over Notre Dame on Oct. 1.

26 • BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

Stine: Despite having a change in coaching leading into this season, the Wolverine basketball team was able to overcome three hard losses to Notre Dame and won the state championship in Division IVAA. The team managed to win state despite losing senior standouts Alex Copeland ’15, Noah Gains ’15 and Spencer Perryman ’15. Gabe Jenkinson ’16, a player on last year’s squad, was ineligible to play this season. Ray Mueller ’17 and Ali Iken ’17 embraced their larger roles and helped aid the team on the road to the state championship with three-point shooting and rebounding.

Conn Assist

Jake Liker Connor Reese Dario Madyoon Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Assistant Editor

Carina Marx Cameron Stine Juliana Berger Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Assistant Editor

Joe Levin Assistant Editor Bennett Gross Jonathan Seymour Henry Vogel Zac Harleston Rian Ratnavale Bryant Wu Emily Rahhal Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Assistant Editor

PATRICK RYAN/BIG RED

Q: Which team will surpass media expectations the most in 2016-17?

Q: Which athlete is primed for the biggest breakout season next year?

Gross: The addition of Johnny Juzang ’20 and the improvement of

Levin: Russell “Wrassle” Davis ’17 will be the wrestling team’s

Cassius Stanley ’19 will put the Wolverines as not only favorites to repeat as Division IV-AA State Champions, but as serious contenders to make and win the CIF-SS Open Division. Head Coach David Rebibo will look to win his second state championship behind the leadership of Ali Iken ’17, Carter Begel ’17, Aaron Glazer ’17 and Ray Mueller ’17.

Vogel: With Courtney Corrin ’16 leaving for the University of Southern California, it might be easy to write off the girls’ track and field team. Don’t. The junior class is filled with talented long distance runners that will take the place as leaders on the team next year. They will be setting the tone for younger runners, leading by example as much as anything else. London Alexander ’18 will also provide a spark.

Seymour:

The boys’ soccer team, despite losing Jadon Yariv ’16, Max Rolnick ’16 and Andrew Vanderschans ’16 will surpass preseason expectations. With the addition of a new coach and a fresh playstyle, the team will be able to capitalize on the chemistry that exists between the centre-back partnership of Ethan Blaser ’17 and Jeremy Yariv ’18.

In addition, Michael Gaven ’18 has been a solid stopper for the team, often bailing out the defense with heroic saves in times of need.

sole senior next year. He’ll have big shoes to fill with Ryan Ruiz ’16 graduating, but if anyone is up for it, it’s Davis. Don’t let his size fool you; he’s tough. He’s strong as can be and has grit enough for two. Nobody is going to outwork him. In wrestling, a sport that is so reliant on brute strength, both physically and mentally, Davis is the total package. Some free advice: don’t pick a fight with this guy.

Wu: Pria Pant ’18 will be a newcomer on the girls’ water polo team

to watch because, even though she started last year, she never was able to showcase her skills, but always seemed to have a lot of potential. This year, she will get more playing time and really showcase her skills. Especially with the injuries of this year’s projected starters, Pant will be a force on the varsity squad and a big scorer.

Harleston: Courtney Nunley ’17 may have been nominated for best female breakout this year, but we haven’t seen the best from her yet. As a senior next year, the starting setter will dominate. She showed extreme skill and prowess this year, especially on Nov. 10 against St. Joseph in CIF playoffs, a game they won 3-1. Watch out for this powerhouse blocker, we haven’t seen the best of her yet.

BIG RED YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 • 27