Ventura High School boys varsity volleyball falls to Dos Pueblos High School

Josh Woodworth is already making a name for himself

Only a sophomore, Woodworth already shows promise to bring many wins to VHS

On March 28, the VHS boys varsity volleyball lost to the Dos Pueblos High School Chargers in a best of five game with DPHS winning the first three sets. The first set had a final score of 7-25, the second set ended 14-25 and the third ended 17-25.

Volleyball games are played in the best of five matches. The first team to reach 25 points in a set wins, unless it reaches the fifth set. In the fifth set, a team only has to reach 15 to win. The team must also have at least a two point advantage before the set can end.

Assistant Coach

Edward Pacula said, “I thought [the game] was good. I thought the boys played really well. [DPHS] is a really good team and I thought the boys competed against them. … In the first game I would say [they could improve] their hitting and they did improve on that in the second and third set.”

Head Coach Tim

Mays said, “I thought [the team] fought valiantly against a very tough Dos Pueblos team. And I’m really proud of how they had a great time while fighting hard. We need to improve on communication … hitter coverage…servereceive passing.”

Dos Pueblos High School has a record of 16-7 and are ranked third in the Channel League and had many strong hitters. Many of DPHS’ points came off of spikes that VHS was unable to make passes off of.

Middle blocker and defensive specialist, Max Mechtenberg ‘25, was in VHS’ starting lineup and remained in the game for the entirety of the game. Mechtenberg has some special rituals he does to prepare for volleyball games. He said, “I listen to music and I stretch out my legs just to get warmed up.”

Mechtenberg said, “We could have done better, but then again they’re a good team.

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Anthony Fast Horse gallops past the finish line

Fast Horse was one of two VHS students to make it to cross country nationals this year

Kinda Mehael

Anthony Fast Horse

‘24 has been running since the third grade. He ran for De Anza Middle School and the Ventura Tigres, a youth track and field and cross country club. Now

Fast Horse has been running for VHS track and field as well as cross country on varsity since he was a freshman; he is currently a junior. VHS track and field and cross country coach Tyree Cruz said, “It is not typical for a boy to be on varsity as a ninth grader. They have to develop baseball,” said Woodworth. The USA Baseball played Cuba on June 11, 2022, in the championship game in Mexico. Woodworth said, “The last inning was great, bases loaded three, two and two out and we ended the game striking each other out. And we all dog-piled and were celebrating by swinging the [U.S.] flag around. After that we got ready to leave back home to the [U.S.], but we are still a family, and we still communicate.”

‘25 has been playing varsity baseball at VHS for the entirety of his high school baseball career. He received Player of the Game for baseball on Feb. 14 because he pitched for four innings and was able to strike out seven. In the 202122 season, as a freshman, Woodworth earned All County Baseball First Team, an award from the Pacific View League. He also plays football for VHS, and this fall season, he earned the Channel League Honorable Mention award for his performance.

Anthony

Horse ‘24 running at the

University Meet of Champs. Fast Horse placed third in the boys one mile run finals, with a time of 4:10.16. Photo by: Raymond more and get stronger. [Putting Fast Horse on varsity as a freshman] was all based on times and educated guesses.”

Fast Horse runs a variety of different events for VHS. This year Fast Horse went to the NikeCross Nationals along with Sadie Engelhardt ‘25. The two were the only students from VHS to qualify for this meet.

Fast Horse said, “The [events I run in track are] the two lap race called an 800 –which is my second best event, and then we have the mile, which is 1,600 meters, and then the 3,200. In cross, we run 5,000 meters, which is 5k, we have an event for that on the track for some of the club races. I made the state meet, placed fourth for all state, then went to nationals to compete in Portland.”

In the cross country nationals this year in Portland, Fast Horse placed 60th during his 5k race against 198 other male runners. Fast Horse had a time of 15:53.8.

Cruz said, “[Fast Horse] runs about 65 miles a week. He does a long run of about 12 to 15 miles once a week. One day of faster pace intervals at 1600 pace or 800 pace. He does another day of longer/slower intervals of 1000m, 1600m, 3200m or a tempo run of up to six miles. He does drills and strides as warm up on harder days and lifts weights Mondays and Thursdays. [Fast Horse] is better than most any other athlete I have coached. He’s focused on a goal and what it will take to get there. That often means running when you do not feel like it. It can also mean hitting the correct paces in workouts. Mostly young fast runners want to train fast, often times, in order to get the most out of themselves, they have to slow down.”

Nationals was Fast Horse’s last meet of the Cross Country season, and he is now going on to the Track and Field season for 2022-23.

“This season we have a lot of really fast guys, so we’re thinking about a national team qualifier, and then for just individually in track I’ve been trying to make the state meet, possibly one of the national meets. And then I ran a mile last Saturday,” said Fast Horse.

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Woodworth has been playing baseball since he was four, and his inspiration comes from his dad and watching the game. His love for the game increased when he actually began playing. Woodworth was also granted the opportunity to play with USA Baseball last year. USA Baseball is an organization that governs amateur baseball. Woodworth was invited to the 15U National Team Training Camp by USA Baseball, located at the Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona taking place August 14 to 23. Woodworth attended the camp following National Team Championships Arizona, which took place at the Peoria Sports Complex.

“There is a lot that I love about baseball, but some of my favorite things about playing baseball are being able to have fun, compete, play on different fields and just playing

“It was amazing because we all bonded great and were close together like a family. We all enjoyed and still enjoy being around each other,” said Woodworth.

Not only is Woodworth recognized at the nationwide scale but also at VHS with his teammates that enjoy playing with him. Jon Gurrola ‘24 said, “He [Woodworth] can be productive on both sides of the field.”

“My favorite thing about Josh is his passion for the game. [He is] emotional, explosive and active,” said Gurrola.

The varsity VHS baseball team is currently 4-9, advancing in wins over FTHS and other schools. Woodworth said, “One thing I would add to VHS baseball is some supplies to help keep the field and program great. And continued support from this amazing community to continue the program.”