Last year, three girls’ teams claimed league titles at Christopher in golf, swimming and track and field. There were two other Cougar teams, boys and girls water polo, who were close to hanging their own banners up and they are determined to take their rightful places in the gym this season.
“We want to be the first in league,” sophomore sprinter Malaya Santos said. “We’re pretty confident right now, we’re keeping the hope up. We’re working hard so hopefully we can do it.”
Both the girls and boys teams have the talent to do so. The girls will be led by Santos, who earned the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division’s Freshman of the Year honor—despite it being her first season playing the sport. Senior Gordy Papalias will take charge of the boys, especially on defense. He was named First Team All-League last season for his efforts at 2-meter defense and is one of only three seniors on the team.
Both Cougars’ teams provided tough competition—the boys finished 13-13 overall, the girls 14-12. The boys JV team touted a 19-3 overall record and with several of those players moving up to varsity this year the future looks bright.
“The talent is there; we’ve worked on ball handling everyday,” boys coach Paul Wells said. “The guys’ ball handling is just superior; it’s probably as good as most Division III teams. At this point, the fundamentals are there, we’ve got some esoteric things. I’m excited about this group of guys.”
There will be plenty of new faces joining the girls squad, too. Coach Jim Shuster said he’s hoping that lightening strikes twice and the Cougars will have back-to-back players named Freshman of the Year. There’s one player in particular he believes could achieve this feat, but refers to her only as their “secret weapon.”
Expectations remain high for the current title holder and she’s working hard to avoid the sophomore slump. Santos said she wants to earn the Sophomore of the Year honor while taking a bigger role on the team, but Shuster has even bigger plans for her.
“Every girl at any school can score a goal, but when you consistently bring the entire team’s abilities up then you become something more than just a shooter—you become a valuable asset to the entire team,” he said. “One of the things we’re working with Malaya on is being able to structure the team on offense, putting people in the right places and creating stuff. I’m fairly confident that by the time Malaya is a senior, she will have the ability to become Christopher’s first All-American—she’s that good.”
But Santos won’t be expected to carry the team. She’ll be joined by offensive powerhouse Ashley Irby and captain Sabrina Seery who, along with Santos, will give the Cougars a jolt of speed in the pool. Hannah Marquez will move into the 2-meter position, providing strong and aggressive play in the middle. The key to the season lies in making all the parts work as one.
“(I want them to communicate) without having to ask, without having to talk and just being able to look and know what they’re thinking and what they’re supposed to do. That takes years of experience and they’re growing into that,” Shuster said. “We’ve got a lot of challenges, there’s a lot of good teams out there, but we just need to keep our focus—nose to the ball.”
The boys also have their share of key returners. Chris Spohr will join Papalias at 2-meter defense, while Jesse Calderon and Zach Gallardo will play 2-meter offense. The Cougars did, however, graduate one of their strongest offensive weapons in Matthew Higgenbotham who scored 106 goals in the regular season.
“We have a lot of really good defensive-minded players as well as offensive-minded players,” Papalias said. “It’ll be more of a team role on offense rather than one guy. He was like a safety blanket last year for the group. I plan on this year instead of having one guy, having five. They may not score as many goals as Matt, but together they’ll be able to make up for what Matt was.”
Wells isn’t worried about the offense, saying he’s confident in his plethora of stellar shooters. The boys display superior balance in that they have both 2-meter and outside shooters which makes them dangerous any time they’re on offense.
And they’ve got things covered on defense, too.
“I’m throwing very sophisticated defenses at these guys—college-level stuff—and very sophisticated 6-on-5s and they’re just sucking it up like sponges,” Wells said. “That tells me their heads are in it and their hearts are in it.”
The boys start play against Harbor at 5 p.m. Sept. 4 at CHS—Harbor will be the home team, however. Papalias said they’re looking forward to their traditional rivalry games against Gilroy and starting new ones with San Benito, which is in their league this year.
The girls will also begin with Harbor at 4 p.m. Sept. 4 at home. For the Cougars, their race to a MBL banner starts the very first game.
“To become league champions, you’ve got to think and play like league champions and that’s what I’m hoping to instill in these girls,” Shuster said. “If not this year, then next year—we won’t stop until we get it. We want a flag in the gym.”
Both Cougar teams kick off their seasons against Harbor on Sept. 4 at home.
The girls play at 4 p.m., the boys at 5 p.m. Harbor will be the home team for the boys match.
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