Previewing Menlo’s 2022-23 Basketball Seasons

by LEXI FRIESEL

Boys Girls

The Menlo Boys basketball team ended their 2021-22 season as Central Coast Section champions for the first time since 2017. During last year’s season, the team maintained a winning record of 21-8 over the year. That record included their CCS victory over Manteca High School and the NorCal Div. III quarterfinals loss against Pleasant Valley.

This season, the team looks forward to continuing their success under secondyear head coach Ben Batory. “Coach has built a really good team culture, and he looks to continue building on that,” senior Lucas Vogel said Vogel played a key role in last year’s offense. He led the team in points (17.7), rebounds (5.7) and steals (1.9) per game last season in his junior year. In total, he scored 496 points for the Knights. Senior Robby Enright also played a crucial role in Menlo’s defense, leading the team with eight blocks.

Other notable returners include senior Will Eggemier and junior Sam Reznik who contributed to the team’s success throughout the year. Eggemeier had 16 points, five assists and five rebounds in the CCS championship game against Manteca. Reznik added an additional eight points in the same game.

Looking forward, the team will face a difficult schedule, tipping off in their first scrimmage at Saint Ignatius on Nov. 17th in a non-league matchup. Saint Ignatius also finished their 2021-22 season with a winning record, which included wins against Serra,Valley Christian and Bellarmine.

“I think we have a really hard schedule and we play a lot of really good teams,” Vogel said. “But we have a really good group of guys, so I think we’re going to have a successful season.”

The 2019 State Champion girls basketball program also looks to have a successful season this winter. Last year, head coach John Paye coached the team to a second place finish in the West Bay Foothill league with a winning 18-8 record. The Knights had a very successful run in February, winning seven straight games.

In the 2022-23 season, the Knights will face the crucial loss of several graduated seniors including center and power forward Sharon Nejad, who led the team in rebounds, blocks, steals and assists last season. “We had a lot of

Other notable players include Jensen, who fell right behind Nejad with 1.6 steals per game. “This year we’re going to have a lot of JV players coming up so it’s important that we have a lot of hard work and dedication to have a somewhat successful season.” senior graduates last year, so we’re now a young team with a lot of underclassmen,” senior Riley Jensen said. “We’re hoping to get everyone that played JV last year accustomed to varsity.”

Many talented athletes are returning to play this year. Sophomore Karen Xin, free throw and point leader, will be back on the court at guard for her second varsity season. Senior Jordan Brooks will join her; Brooks led the team with a 47% field goal and 42% three point accuracy.

During the off-season, the team has continued to get in shape and build chemistry for the upcoming season. “A lot of us have been going to the offseason lifts and running,” Jensen said. “We’ve also had dinners for team bonding.”

The girls’ season will begin on Nov. 17 as they play Menlo-Atherton for the CCS Sportsmanship Game. The Bears ended their 2021-22 season with a 1213 record. The game will take place at Menlo-Atherton High School. The Menlo team will head to Mills High School for a tournament the following week.