From the Bench: No shortage of amazing moments in 2014-2015 prep athletic season
Another high school athletic season is in the books, which means The Bench had the tough task of picking out the top-10 most memorable moments.
No question this year was the most difficult to do so. In fact, consider the 10 choices below to be just a sliver of how many amazing achievements and accomplishments there were in the area.
Before The Bench gets to those, it would like to thank all the coaches, athletes, parents and athletic directors for providing scores and highlights from games.
It’s because of you the spotlight shines on the achievements of the many outstanding programs and athletes in the area.
Now on to the top-10:
1. Doyle, PHS wrestling turn in record-breaking year: Colt Doyle grabbed the most memorable moment with his first state title last year. Now he and the Poway High wrestling team earned the top spot this athletic season.
The 160-pound Doyle went a perfect 46-0 en route to his second straight state championship, becoming just the third Titan to accomplish the feat.
Doyle capped his illustrious career with a school-record 51 straight wins. That was just part of what made Poway’s season the best in its history.
Also winning a state title was senior Ralphy Tovar, who will wrestle at Grand Canyon University next year.
The Titans won every tournament it competed in except the state tournament, where they finished in second behind Clovis.
Still, Poway set school records for state placers (nine) and points scored at state (189.5).
“You can’t ask for more than what they did,” Poway coach Wayne Branstetter said.
2. Broncos’ football is back on the map: The Rancho Bernardo football team went from back-to-back one-win seasons to within eight points of being San Diego Section Division II champions last fall.
The Broncos fell 14-7 to El Capitan in the title game, but they won their first Palomar League championship since 2004 and finished with a 10-3 record after going a combined 2-19 the two previous seasons.
It was also the schools first appearance in a football section championship game since 2001.
“There is no shame or embarrassment here,” Broncos coach Tristan McCoy said after the loss to the Vaqueros. “There was zero expectation for us to go this far.”
Now the high expectations are back at Rancho Bernardo.
3. PHS baseball’s amazing postseason run: The Titans produced a playoff run that will never be forgotten.
Poway fought off elimination six times — one of those after being down to its final strike — and eventually claimed the San Diego Section Division I title with a 10-6 win over top-seeded Eastlake in the championship game.
The sixth-seeded Titans had plenty of dramatics on the way to their first section championship since 2009 and sixth in school history.
Blake Wageneseller had a huge swipe of home to tie a game late and Tyler Nevin hit a solo home run to tie a game with the Titans a strike away from elimination.
“It just seemed like it was meant to be for us,” Poway first baseman Kevin Bristow said. “After Blake stole home against Rancho Buena Vista and then Nevin hit that home run against La Jolla Country Day, we just felt like it was supposed to be us.”
4. Winter to remember for RBHS: There was a bunch of winning going on at Rancho Bernardo during the winter athletic season.
The roller hockey team went a perfect 20-0 en route to capturing its second straight Metro Conference championship.
The highlight of the title game was the amazing play of goalie Josh Christie, who made 25 saves in the 3-1 win over Cathedral Catholic.
Then there was the girls basketball team. The Broncos won the San Diego Section Division III title, beating Kearny 53-44 in the championship game. It was the first girls basketball title at the school since 1997.
“This is probably the greatest moment of my life,” said the Broncos’ Aly Murray. “We were ready to bring back the legacy of Rancho Bernardo and win a CIF title.”
Perhaps the most exciting winter championship at Rancho Bernardo came in girls water polo.
The Broncos overcame a five-goal deficit to beat Granite Hills 9-8 in overtime for the San Diego Section Division I crown.
Ana Walker and Taylor Brown scored two goals each in the final minutes of regulation to tie the game. Hayley Parkinson’s buzzer-beating goal in the first of two overtimes gave Rancho Bernardo its first section championship since 2003.
5. Poway softball wins it all: The Titans had been close to capturing a section crown in recent years, but were unable to seal the deal. That was not the case this year.
Kourtney Shaw capped her prep career with a one-hit shutout and Poway beat Cathedral Catholic 1-0 to capture the Open Division championship.
It was Poway coach Jim Bennet’s first section championship as a head coach and the program’s first since 2002.
It was all part of a phenomenal season for the Titans. They won their second straight Palomar League title and finished in second place in the prestigious Michelle Carew Classic.
Junior Malia Martinez broke the single-season home run record with seven, while Shaw set school records for wins (22) and shutouts in a season (10).
6. RBHS baseball back on top: The Broncos became the first two-time Open Division baseball champions by beating No. 1 La Costa Canyon 3-2 in eight innings for the title.
Rancho Bernardo won the inaugural Open Division championship in 2013. This one was a little different, though, considering the Broncos had five sophomores, two juniors and one freshman in the starting lineup for the title game. In 2013, it was more of a senior-laden team.
The road to the 2015 championship had its ups and downs. The young Broncos failed to win the Palomar League title for the first time since 2010, but they put it all together for the postseason for the bigger prize.
“The difference of this team from the beginning of the year to now is like night and day,” said Rancho Bernardo ace Drew Finley.
7. Young Titans win boys lacrosse title: Poway boys lacrosse coach Zack Burke facing the crowd and letting out a scream after his team captured the Open Division title will be one of those moments that sticks with anyone who was there to witness it for a lifetime.
The passion Burke has for the program is undeniable and his young stars grew up quick to win the school’s first crown in the sport since 2002.
“When the first whistle blew, we had four freshmen on the field,” said Burke after Poway defeated Torrey Pines 8-7 for the championship. “It’s not normal to have young guys rise up like this.”
Poway went 17-6 and captured the Palomar League title en route to the Open Division championship.
8. Jameson has senior year to remember: Del Norte High runner Evan Jameson became the first in school history to win a cross country section championship.
Jameson, who will run at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo next year, captured the Division III title at Balboa Park’s Morley Field. He finished in 16-minutes, 14.95 seconds.
In the spring, Jameson led the Nighthawks’ boys track team to a third straight Division II section championship.
He qualified for the state meet with a second-place finish in the 3,200 at the section championships.
9. Eagles’ football team wins league crown: Maranatha Christian went from 8-man football to 11-man football in 2012. The Eagles had not had much success until this last fall.
Maranatha turned in its best season at the 11-man level in school history, going 7-2 and capturing the outright Ocean League championship.
That earned the Eagles their first 11-man playoff game, which was held on their home field. Maranatha ended up losing to La Jolla Country Day, but it was still a special year that brought out new fans.
“We have people coming to our games now that didn’t even know there was a school here,” Eagles coach Michael Cole said during the year. “Now they are all buying our shirts and sweaters.”
10. RB girls golf snaps long streak: The Broncos ended Torrey Pines’ match-winning streak at 117 last season with a 183-187 victory at Bernardo Heights Country Club.
It was the first win for Rancho Bernardo over Torrey Pines for 12th-year coach Tim Steigerwald.
“It was just awesome,” he said. “No team has beaten them in five years...”
Rancho Bernardo would go on to produce its best season in school history, winning the Palomar League title and reaching the state championships for the first time ever.