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A YEAR TO REMEMBER: Prep season was full of memorable moments

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By Michael Bower

Every high school athletic year seems to produce moments The Bench will never forget.

Sometimes it is a team or individual reaching the pinnacle of a sport, and other times it is just watching a program take a giant leap forward.

This past sports year produced both and many other note-worthy achievements, including broken records and historic victories. There is no way to list every standout moment, but The Bench has plucked 10 out of the bunch to share in this column.

Before the list, though, The Bench would like to say thank you to all those coaches, athletes and athletic directors in the local area. All of you have been outstanding with providing highlights and information to The Bench, which in return has helped the amazing athletes in the area gain recognition.

And to those recent graduates: it has been a pleasure. The Bench wishes you nothing but the best in your future. For the rest of you, enjoy the summer, and The Bench will see you in late August.


  1. A high school football kicker does not get a chance at the spotlight very often, but Poway High senior Jordan Choukair grabbed hold of the opportunity this past season. The right-

footed, recently graduated kicker booted a record-breaking 50-yard field goal against Mt. Miguel in early October. The kick broke the school record of 47 yards, which was held by three different people (Dennis Miller, Bryant Edelson, Marcus Diaz). “I knew the school record was 40-something yards, but I wasn’t thinking about any of that when I was going out there,” Choukair would later say. “I was just making sure my steps were good, but once I hit it and made it I was just really excited. It was a big accomplishment.”

  1. The Del Norte High football team will move to the Avocado East League next season, but the Nighthawks made their last season in the Valley League count. Del Norte executed a hook-and-lateral play in the final seconds against Mt. Carmel to earn a piece of its first Valley League title in school history. The play started at the Sundevils’ 45-yard line. Del Norte quarterback Parker Lappin completed a pass to junior Quenton Meeks 10 yards down the field. Meeks then lateraled to Patrick Zeller, who raced 35 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds to go. The 35-28 win for the Nighthawks created a three-way tie for first between Mt. Carmel and San Marcos.
  2. Del Norte High senior Peter Thrac was mobbed by his teammates after he clinched the school’s first section championship in boys tennis this past season with a 6-3 win over Canyon Crest Academy’s Evan Sheng. The win gave the No. 2 Nighthawks a 10-8 victory over the No. 1 Ravens in the Division II championship match at Barnes Tennis Center
  3. You don’t need to win it all to create a memorable season. The Del Norte High boys volleyball team proved that this past spring. The Nighthawks, seeded No. 8 in the San Diego Section Division I tournament, were at one point 8-10. But they turned it up a notch in the playoffs, defeating No. 9 St. Augustine, No. 1 Scripps Ranch and No. 5 La Jolla to get to the championship match for the first time in program history. There, Del Norte fell in a five-set heartbreaker to Mt. Carmel. But the Nighthawks finished with a 21-14 record and nothing to hang their heads about. “We don’t get to raise a banner in our gym, but our guys played like champions,” Del Norte coach Kyle Campana said after the loss in the title game.
  4. Life after longtime girls basketball coach Peggy Brose stepped down in 2006 has been tough at Rancho Bernardo High. Entering this year, there have been three coaches, no playoff victories and no winning seasons since. But

third-year coach Kai Harris and the Broncos took a major leap forward. Rancho Bernardo went 13-12 and scored two playoff wins, including one over top-seeded Calexico to reach the Division III semifinals. The Broncos lost to La Jolla there, but had already accomplished more than any team in at least the past 10 years had at the school.

  1. Poway High is notorious for its wrestling program, but this was something new. Junior Alyssa LaFrancis, who transferred from West Covina this past school year, became the first female in CIF history to capture three state girls wrestling titles. The 162-pounder pinned Hayward’s Niauni Hill in 1-minute, 59-seconds to cap a perfect season and claim another state title. LaFrancis, who is considered one of the best female grapplers in the nation, said she is on a mission to become the first to win four state titles. There has only been one boy to do it (Darrell Vasquez). “That is actually my main motivating factor in wrestling in high school,” she said this past season, “because that is a goal that has not been achieved by anybody else. I want to be the first one to do it. I want to end my high school career with four state titles.”
  2. The Rancho Bernardo boys tennis team stunned No. 1 Torrey Pines in the Division I championship match and then went on to collect its first win in school history at the SoCal Regionals. The Broncos met the Falcons for the sixth straight year in the section title match. Torrey Pines had won the last two titles and looked poised for a third straight, having already defeated Rancho Bernardo twice in league play. But the Broncos won eight singles matches and took the title with a 9-9 (72-63 games) win at Barnes Tennis Center. Rancho Bernardo beat Oaks Christian 5-2 in the opening round of the SoCal Regional before losing 6-1 to Palos Verdes.
  3. Rancho Bernardo High baseball player Alex Jackson, who was selected with the sixth overall pick by the Seattle Mariners in this year’s MLB First-Year Player Draft, wrapped up his illustrious career at the top of the San Diego Section record book. The right-handed slugger smashed 47 home runs in his prep career, 11 coming in his senior season. The 47th long ball came at rival Poway High’s field. Jackson’s record-tying shot went over the trees and football bleachers beyond the left-field wall. He joined former Bronco John Drennen (2002-2005) at the top of the all-time list.
  4. The Rancho Bernardo High boys golf team turned in a historic season. The Broncos reached the state golf championships for the first time since 1999 and Franklin Huang became the school’s first individual San Diego Section

champion. The Broncos finished in second place at the state championships, the SoCal Regional and the section tournament. Huang fired 8-under-par for the two rounds in the section tournament to claim the individual championship. “I feel like at every tournament the kids did rise to the occasion,” Broncos boys golf coach Rich Deem said after the season. “Every tournament the kids stepped up and played as well as they could and kept us in it. They never played themselves out of anything and had a chance to win everything we have been in.”

  1. Colt Doyle entered the state wrestling championships ranked No. 6 in California. But the 160-pound Poway High grappler proved that rankings do not matter. He conquered the bracket and became the first Poway wrestler to win a state title since 2009, when both Henry Yorba and Ian Daube won crowns. Doyle, who will be a senior next year, beat Oakmont’s Kaleio Romero 8-5 in the championship match in Bakersfield. “People keep calling me state champion and saying that I am a state champion, but honestly it has not really hit me yet,” Doyle said the day after winning the title. Poway coach Wayne Branstetter was happy to see Doyle power through the bracket for the championship. “You just never know when it is going to happen,” Branstetter said. “And him being an underdog and not suppose to win just makes it that much more special. You just never know. Colt stayed focused and didn’t let anything get in the way.”
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