Despite a break in the action from the devastating wildfires, high school sports has come back in a big way for some units as the postseason nears.
On the hardwood and soccer field alike, both Samohi and Saint Monica squads were forced to take a weeklong break as the Palisades Fire raged to the north. The delay in game action almost immediately followed winter break, causing some teams to go nearly a month with only a couple of games under their belts.
Samohi soccer squads impressed in the regular season, with the boys wrapping up competition on Tuesday and the girls team ending its campaign against Centennial Jan. 29.
The Vikings boys outfit is 17-2-1 on the season, including an undefeated 8-0 Ocean League run. An experienced squad, the Vikings are led by four stud seniors: Leon Ivanov, Miguel Cano, Gabriel Sherman and Felipe Martini.
Ivanov leads the squad with 12 goals in 8 games tracked by MaxPreps, while Cano (11) and Sherman (10) follow right behind. Martini has blessed the team with a multi-skilled offensive array, racking up 8 goals and 18 assists in 13 games. Juniors have joined in producing as well, with Nahom Kinfegbriel scoring 7 goals and Decon Miller scoring 5 and dishing out 13 assists.
The Lady Vikings record, while 8-8-1 overall, was boosted by going 6-1 in the Ocean League and will be headed to the postseason. A 5-game win streak earlier in January was bookended by two league routs, a 14-0 victory over Inglewood and a 12-0 win over Lawndale. In the Lawndale victory Jan. 22, junior Nyla Ryf led the way with 2 goals and 2 assists, while seniors Marisa Melendez and Ruby Winn joined Ryf in having multi-goal games.
Saint Monica’s soccer squads have also performed well, with the Mariners boys team going 6-3-2 on the year so far and an undefeated 6-0 in Santa Fe league play heading into two final league matchups against Bosco Tech and Mary Star of the Sea.
A duo of juniors, Ben Elmaleh and Nicholas Barillas, kept the Mariners offense in sync with 13 combined goals. The Lady Mariners unit stands at 6-4-1, 4-2 in league play, with the final regular season matchup played against Ramona Convent after press time.
In basketball action, the Samohi Vikings sit at 13-11 overall and 4-3 in Ocean League play, still fighting for playoff positioning in the final regular season week. The Lady Vikings are in the same boat, sitting at 9-13 overall and 4-3 in Ocean League play.
While both Mariners basketball squads have good records, 18-8 for the boys and 18-5 for the Lady Mariners, both have come down to Earth in Del Rey league play. The Mariners are 5-5 against Del Rey competition, while the Lady Mariners are 2-3.
The Lady Mariners have been carried by the dynamic trio of Kim Macias, Sydney Ghobrial and Bailey Prewitt. Macias, a senior guard, has scored the rock at a high clip, including a 20-point night in a Nov. 26 win against Highland, and 28 points in a Jan. 7 loss to Bishop Montgomery.
Ghobrial and Prewitt have filled in the blanks, with Ghobrial filling the stat sheet on both ends. The junior guard had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals in a Nov. 18 win over Serra; followed by 8 steals in the Highland victory. Prewitt, a junior forward, had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in a Dec. 5 victory over Burroughs.
