SPORTS

sports 15 Team dominates local tournaments Flag football captures two championships, takes aim at State

By Alexis Lane

Two tournament trophies earned in dominant fashion. The flag football team won their first State championship last year and are continuing their winning ways with three tournament wins at Shadow Ridge and four victories at Virgin Valley

In Mesquite at the Virgin Valley Invitational, the Gators rode their defense to a title as they finished with three shutouts, including a 19-0 win over Virgin Valley in the championship game on Dec. 7.

The Shadow Ridge tournament took place at Shadow Ridge HS on Jan. 3-4 and the team captured another first place trophy. GV defeated the host Mustangs 20-6 in the title game.

“Our hard work really separates us as a team, plus us all working together,” junior Cuicani Waialae-Munoz said. “Shadow Ridge was very competitive and it just came down to who wanted it more.”

Junior Alexa Mansur has played flag football for three years and made varsity her sophomore year. She explained her bond with her team and how they work together to achieve their goals. Their success comes from individual success and coming together as a team to actively communicate.

“Our weaknesses come from our own mistakes, but that’s when we just We definitely thrive off the high energy of each other during any game or tournament, which allows us to succeed. ,,

Alexa Mansur ,,

pick each other up and encourage each other to keep going which definitely helps us overcome things. We always try to be resilient, and if something isn’t going our way, we just have to remind ourselves that we’re just in our own heads and that it’s okay to make a mistake, because you can always make up for it,” Mansur said. After the team wins a game, they

Thrice as nice - Varsity flag football celebrates capturing their third straight Virgin Valley Invitational title on Saturday, Dec. 7.

sing the school’s fight song to celebrate. They also have a pregame routine of giving each other words of encouragement to help each other focus.

They have team bonding activities off the field that keep them connected as well. After their season ended last year, their coaches took them to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio to learn women’s self defense for a couple of hours. During season, the girls often grab drinks at Dutch Bros. after practice. Being such a close knit group has its benefits on the field.

“We definitely thrive off the high energy of each other during any game or tournament, which allows us to succeed,” Mansur said. “We are a close group and it makes us better.” The girls take the process of winning very seriously with every game, tournament, and practice. They always go over basic fundamentals that are always used in games. Their offensive coordinator tells the girls to play the game the way it is supposed to be played, which is to play to win. The team has demonstrated that one of their key components to success is communication. During games and tournaments, the team has had struggles but they have been able to retaliate and come together as a team to find a way to win.

“Both offense and defense, we always have each others backs. If defense doesn’t make a good play, offense is going out there to make a good play. If the offense doesn’t execute a good play then defense will go out there and get the ball back for us. We just come back stronger, so we all work together as a team and that’s one thing that actually pulls us together,” Waialae-Munoz said.

Between the two tournaments, the Shadow Ridge tournament was the more difficult one because of the competition. Their opponents from Shadow were seen as bigger and very physical, giving the team a different challenge. The team focused on overcoming the physical disadvantage as they progressed through the bracket. “I think in the Shadow Ridge tournament we saw better competi

courtesy of Chris Zinke tion, and we had to play a little more focused to win that tournament over the Mesquite tournament,” varsity head coach David Torrez said.

Last year, the team won their first State championship, defeating Bonanza. The goal for the 2019-20 season is to get back in a position to have a chance to defend their title.

“We don’t look at the State game as the ultimate goal. We focus on the process of getting there so that every game and every practice is part of the process to get where we need to be,” Torrez said. “If we lose sight of that process, which is the present, then the future can’t happen and we won’t do well when we’re there.”

Danger arrives on campus Junior takes leap into world of professional wrestling

Five minutes. That is all Abigail Spencer has to defeat her opponent. Adrenaline is rushing through her veins as she takes the ring with her partner. As she takes her time to enter, she slows down her heart beat and focuses on the match. Spencer is a junior on campus who is a professional wrestler. Spencer has been wrestling for four years now, starting on her thirteenth birthday. She started wrestling by wanting to raise a million dollars for leukemia lymphoma.

“One of the wrestlers Mick Foley, was doing a comedy show and then he invited me and told me that any money that we make from merch was going to help towards the fundraiser,” Spencer said.

From there he talked to Spencer about wrestling and training out in Las Vegas. Since then Spencer has been training and she even dedicated her first match to Foley.

Spencer’s routine consists of her waking up, going to school, finishing her homework after, and going to practice from 5:oo to 8:00. She then she goes home to sleep and repeats the process all over again.

For wrestling, Spencer does not have to be on a diet but she does have to stay in shape.

“Being in ‘ring shape’ is different than lifting weights and getting your body built. Having good cardio for the ring is really important,” Spencer said.

Wrestling is a performance, and it even has a storyline to it. One of the theatrical aspects of wrestling is trash talking. For instance, Spencer was once talked about at a wrestling match but she did not take it personal By Brenna Knight

courtesy of Abigail Spencer because it was all an act. This helps Spencer get into character because it fuels the confidence in her.

“It’s all acting and you’re working with each other. He told me he was going to say some things and I understood what he had to do. So it’s nothing personal and it is like presenting a character,” Spencer said.

With wrestling having a storyline to it, there must be characters. Spencer’s character “Abby Dangerous” is all about being confident with who she is and what she is doing. The word ‘dangerous’ in her ring name is to show that she is there to wrestle and show her opponent what she can offer.

“I play that character because I want young kids, especially girls to know that they can do anything and I want young kids, especially girls to know that they can do anything. ,,

Abigail Spencer ,, to love who they are,” Spencer said.

With being an athlete in a sport, there is always a provoking side to it. “The hardest part of wrestling would have to be when you go into a match, whether it be in state or out of, and you get introduced to someone and have to work with them when you don’t even know them,” Spencer said.

All business - Spencer focuses on an opponent during a wrestling match on July 16, 2017. She has played numerous roles in various events in Las Vegas. Smackdown - Junior Abigail Spencer poses for a picture with famous WWE manager Jimmy Hart. Spencer trained at a class he hosted in Dec. 2017.

courtesy of Abigail Spencer

To help with this difficult task, Spencer has learned that she needs to be able to cooperate with her opponent so that if they mess up, they can learn from each other and bounce back into the match.

“There are times where I can sometimes mess up or my partner can make a mistake but we have to learn how to work with each other and figure out how to get back to the next move we were going to do,” Spencer said. “So really it’s just all about working with each other.”

Communication is key, especially if the wrestlers do not know each other. If there is no communication between the coach, managers and the wrestlers, the match could be ruined. The coach picks who they want to see wrestle because they know who will work well together. Then they will tell the wrestlers who they are going up against and start to go over the moves that the wrestlers will be performing. With the difficult parts there are always good aspects of the sport. For Spencer, she loves to put on the performance for all her supporters and whoever else is watching the match.

“My favorite part of wrestling is just performing for the people and everyone there. It’s really cool,” Spencer

February 2020 said.

Like most athletes, Spencer has many people that inspire her to do her best and push for her goal. Those people would include Mick Foley, some of her instructors such as Jake the Snake Roberts, Sinn Bohdie, D’Lo Brown, and Leon Hater.

Being a girl in the wrestling industry is interesting for Spencer. There are not many female wrestlers, but that does not bring Spencer down.

“I show that I can learn and perform just as good as men and I would never say that I’ve been looked down on because I was a girl, I actually am supported a lot because of it,” Spencer said.

Since there are not many women in the industry, other girls could be striving for the same goal but are struggling due to the stereotype of being female. Spencer wants to serve as a reminder to young girls that they are capable as long as they believe.

“I want to show and remind them that even if you’re a girl wrestling that you can do it. You just need to have passion and believe in yourself,” Spencer said. “So to me I love being one of the few girls because it shows kids who don’t think they can do it that it’s possible.”

18 sports Mamba legacy lives on Athletes pay tribute to basketball legend

photo courtesy of Ryan Anderson photo courtesy of Ryan Anderson

Rep L.A. - Athletes wore purple and yellow laces to commemorate Kobe and his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Moment of silence - The Coronado and Green Valley women’s basketball teams hold hands in memory of Kobe Bryant on Tuesday, Jan. 28 before their conference matchup at Coronado. news 05 Dance team takes on Disney D ance team kicked off their 2019-20 season with a dance showcase in Disneyland during a trip to Anaheim, California for two days. Disneyland hosted a performing art week for young performers from across the country and invited dance teams to perform on Season kicks off with performance on center stage Showtime - The dance team arrives at the main stage at Disneyland ready to perform on Nov. 7. They performed a total of 15 dances at the event. courtesy of Neyta Flores Esquer By Alexis Lane The teams’ energy and their entertainment factors are amazing. Rachel Ostler , ,

, , the mainstage. There were bands, orchestras and choirs from all over the country, but the Green Valley Dance team was the only dance team to perform from Nevada. They were invited when Disney witnessed them participate in a parade last year.

“It’s a fun trip to help team bonding and getting exposure for our program and not only is it California but there are other schools that are really good that are going,” senior Olivia Watson said.

Because the showcase was all the way in Disneyland, they were the only dance team coming from Nevada, giving them recognition in an environment where they are not really known along with several other performing arts groups that came from other parts of the nation. The trip served as both a learning and also a bonding experience for the team for the long season ahead of them with many more dance shows coming up this year.

“The team’s energy and their entertainment factors are amazing. This is going to be a really good experience for us because it’s going to prepare us for our winter show and competition. The team worked so hard and the improvement from the summer is amazing,” captain and junior Rachel Ostler said.

Their contagious energy that they give at school functions all start with team energy. The dramatic change in size has strengthened their bond and how they work together as a team. The Disneyland trip helped the team bond and become closer as a group, and they had a memorable experience with each other during the trip. The extra day in Disney was given to the team to relax and enjoy their trip with their friends and become closer to some they might not know that well and make a bond before coming back to school.

“We have families on the team and we got to ride rides with them and get to know each other more and it was really fun. We also didn’t have our phones on us,” senior Miah Bencich said.

According to the team, the showcase itself was an exciting experience. They had to act quickly because of how fast the show was going and all the fast costume changes, but handled it well and executed an amazing show for the big crowd, being that they performed on the mainstage.

“Performing was stressful but other than that we had a fun time performing and it was an eventful day,” sophomore Emma Rojas said. F ollowing the tragic helicopter incident involving Kobe Bryant and nine other individuals, including his daughter Gianna Bryant, the GV women’s basketball team came together to mourn them. Bryant impacted not only the basketball community, but everyone as a whole. “I watched him growing up. He was my brother and I’s favorite player ever since he was wearing the number 8, and then switched to the 24 jersey,” sophomore Miracle Bird explained. “We always played basketball and wanted to be like Kobe. We’d laugh and every shot was like, ‘Kobe.’ It’s always just been like Kobe.”

For young athletes, Kobe’s passing was a big deal. He brought teams together and sparked that ‘Mamba Mentality’ in athletes and people alike.

“He wasn’t just a great athlete; he did a bunch of stuff with kids, organizations and he was a family person. All sports are about family. When you’re not with family or away from home your team is family,” junior Michelle Lagunas Monroy said.

The varsity basketball team was inspired to do the tribute for Kobe because of his influence on young athletes. They decided to wear yellow and purple laces to represent Kobe and the team he played for, the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I wanted to do something for Kobe because he was a big influence on all of our lives. He was a basketball player and a big supporter of women’s basketball,” Lagunas Monroy said. “I was thinking and the laces just seemed like the perfect idea. Purple and yellow were the Lakers colors, and he played for the Lakers.”

The team’s efforts to honor Kobe gained recognition by the local news. “We got the laces idea from two of our captains, Rian and Michelle. They got the laces and they were like, ‘we should do yellow and purple for our shoes,” Bird said. “At the Coronado game we did the laces and they recorded us. They texted us later that night and told us we were going to be on the news, and then we saw our shoes were on there.”

Kobe gave everyone the motivation to give it your all by showing them that they are all capable of greatness if they put in the effort.

“Mamba mentality is about you going out there and just playing your heart out and leaving everything on the court. That’s what all athletes should do when they play and they do what they love,” Bird said.

Kobe Bryant played a major role in their lives, being a role model that generations of youth aspire to become.

“Kobe was a huge supporter of women’s basketball and that means a lot because a lot of people don’t support women’s basketball so having him do that is crazy,” Lagunas Monroy said.

Kobe’s death was not the only loss that affected students. His daughter, Gianna Bryant, had a bright future as well. There was the expectation of carrying on Kobe’s legacy that she was so determined to oversee.

“Gigi was only 13, and she had her whole life to live. She was a player. She was so good. She was going to be big in basketball,” Lagunas Monroy said.

The team prepared emotionally for their game, by taking a moment of silence in memoriam of Kobe. He was an idol and legend to many, and for the Gators, they wanted to win the game for him. He inspired them to give it their all, and they did. GV wound up winning the important conference matchup by a final score of 50-46. “That game against Coronado was a really good game. We were all excited and prepped for it,” Bird said. “We had 30 seconds of silence after the national anthem. When we did it, everyone was ready and wanting to make that game for him.”

Taking away from this experience, the number one thing the team will remember when playing basketball is the Mamba Mentality that Bryant sparked in others.

“I’m just going to do what I love and I’m going to play my heart out every time I step on the court,” Lagunas Monroy said.

While Kobe’s death is a tragedy in itself, his soul lives on in the hearts of others and especially those who play the game of basksetball. By Shaelyn Gamiao

The InvestiGator t GVHS 191 S. Arroyo Grande Blvd. 702-944-4848 Ventano Italian Grill open at 11 a.m.

By Violet La Mela

Aday that started off like any other, would soon conclude with the death of a widely adored and influential American rapper. The heartbreaking news of Malcolm James McCormick aka Mac Miller’s accidental overdose quickly expanded across the internet, leaving millions of his fans to grieve.

While the news came as a surprise, the reasoning of Miller’s death was a given. He had been struggling with substance abuse, something often referred to within his own lyrics in his songs. “I feel like his music differs from

Circles the responsibility of completing the album in a way they felt expressed Miller’s character and style. Brion used many of his conversations with Miller to complete “Circles” as he thought he would have wanted. A majority of the songs featured on these albums differ from his previous albums such as “The Divine Feminine” and “GO:OD AM”. This is because both “Swimming” and “Circles” really shine a light on Miller’s introspective feelings along with his singing and musical aspects. In their own ways, both albums allow the instrumentals to be heard in a way that makes them stand out like never before, along with lyrics that hit home for himself and many of his fans. While discussing the album “Circles,” many of Miller’s fans feel as if they have been reassured, as they had not been expecting any new music.

“When I found out “Circles” was getting released I didn’t know what to feel,” freshman Mason Whiting said. “It was like a wave of emotions, I was happy to be able to hear his voice singing words that felt reassuring.” Swimming in onstrate a transparent insight as to how Miller hit a personal rock bottom and the vigorous struggle he endures whilst trying to pull himself back together. “Out of all his songs, the one that stands out the most for me would be “Come Back to Earth,” because everything he says in that song feels like it’s coming directly from inside of his mind,” freshman Maria Edwards said. “It’s like he’s talking to me personally. That is why I love him so much.”

In his song entitled “Come Back to Earth,” which is featured on “Swimming,” there were multiple lyrics that stood out and provided a depth into Miller’s personal and emotional thoughts. In the chorus he stated “I’ll do anything to get out of my head,” and “I’d do anything for a way out.” Miller later goes on to sing, “And I was drowning, but now I’m swimming through stressful waters to relief… Grey skies and I’m drifting, not living forever, they told me that it only gets better.” The songs on the “Swimming”

A piece of Mac Miller leaves his fans with reverence

www.discogs.com

most rappers because music now has grown to be really demeaning,” senior Melissa Olvera said, “Everything about Mac is real in a way that lets me connect with his music more.” “Swimming” was Miller’s most recent album that had been released prior to his untimely death, following his breakup with Ariana Grande. He told Beats 1 host, Zane Lowe, that this album was just him talking about the things he’s proud of himself for, things he’s afraid of, and the things that are just purely his thoughts and emotions. Throughout the songs displayed in “Swimming” many dem

album referenced his mental state at the time of the release and explained the internal struggles he had faced alone. Making music allowed Miller to take a “vacation” from himself and the real world.

During an interview with Fender, a media network, Miller explained how it is nice to not have to discuss how he was feeling as well as how he used songwriting and music as his personal outlet. Miller also described how he discovered many new things about himself by just picking up an instrument and playing. An Instagram post made by Miller’s family announced the release of “Circles” an album made to accompany “Swimming” on Jan. 8, 2020. The post read, “At the time of his passing, Malcom was well into the process of recording his companion album to Swimming, entitled Circles. Two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle.”

When an artist passes away, there is no way to know the intent of their plans for their unfinished work. Miller’s family and former producers, along with Jon Brion, had to take on ,, Overall, “Circles” is filled with meaningful lyrics that allow his audience to feel something.

Not only does this album contain

I was happy to be able to hear his voice singing words that felt reassuring.

Mason Whiting ,,

bittersweet lyrics like, “Haven’t seen the sun in a while but I heard that the sky’s still blue.” In this lyric, he speaks on how he was not content but still remained hopeful. Lyrics like these have finally allowed his fans to feel a sort of closure from the artist’s untimely passing.