Yorba Linda is known for their athletics in all sports on campus. Needless to say, after an eventful Fall season of league championships, countless wins, and memories that will be cherished for a lifetime, it has been a great start to the school year for the Mustangs.
Now that the Fall season is coming to an end, new teams emerge. The Yorba Linda High School Winter sports season is close to beginning. Basketball, wrestling, soccer, and water polo will take the main stage. As the Mustangs look to continue the success they started the year off with,
Last year, the boys’ basketball team had an all-time great season. With multiple broken records, a league championship, and the highest CIF placement in team history. However, the team will look very different, as 7 seniors graduated from it last year. Now, with a new group of boys stepping up, they are looking to regain the success the team had last year.
When asked about the upcoming season, James Makridis (12) revealed, “It was tough to see all of the guys have to leave from last year, but we are ready to step up and continue the success of last season”.
The boys will start their season next week in the Santa Ana High School tournament, followed by other tournaments at El Dorado and Western High School. Then, on December 18th, the boys will have their home opener against Esperanza at Yorba Linda.
Boys’ Basketball is not the only team taking on the hardcourt this winter. The girls’ basketball team is also looking to find success this season. After a rough start to the season, starting 0-3, the girls rallied and finished 2nd in league standings.
Just like the boys, the girls have also lost some important players from last year . With Co-MVPs Serina Patel and Giana Mejia, the team is looking for new faces to step up. With Senior leadership from 4-year varsity player Kelsey Ikemoto, the team is looking to have an even better year than last year.
The girls also have several tournaments booked to start the season. After those are finished, the girls will play on December 17th, in which they will have their home opener against Valencia.
Basketball is not the only sport Mustang fans can expect to see in the gym. This winter, the wrestling team is gearing up for another season. After multiple dual wins and podium finishes in tournaments last season, it culminated with an individual CIF champion in Santiago Salas, competing in the 215 division.
After such a successful season last year, the bar is set very high for the Mustangs. When asked about the pressure, Robbie Smith (12) said, “Honestly, it feels just like last year. Yeah, we lost some guys, but we are also getting some guys back from injury, not to mention the talented guys we brought back. With the help of our coaches, I believe we will achieve great things this year”.
The wrestling season will start with a dual against El Toro High School on November 12th. The first home dual will be against Troy on January 7th.
Just by the gym, the pool is expecting some high-intense action this winter as well. While the boys’ water polo season came to an end last month in a tough defeat to Damien High School, the girls’ season is just about to begin. After finishing 2nd in the league last year, the girls have the league championship in their sights.
The girls will start the season with 2 matches against Garden Grove, then they will have their home opener on December 2nd.
Down at the field at Shappell Stadium, football season may be over, but “futbol” season is just about to start. Both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams are kicking off this winter. The women’s team is coming off an impressive run in league, going 7-1 and winning the league championship last year.
Now the girls are eying another league championship. With the help of D1 commits like Erin Ha (12) committed to Pepperdine and Bella Silvestri (11) committed to Texas A&M, the team is looking to improve on last season’s success.
The girls will kick off the season at home against La Serna High School on December 2nd. After that, they will be right back at Shapell on the 4th, going against Irvine High School. With those 2 games at home, the girls are looking to start their season on a fiery note.
While the girls had major success last season, the boys seemed to struggle. Despite starting the season 6-5-1 in the league, the Mustangs went winless against league opponents.
When asked about the disappointment of last season, Caden Johnson(12) said, “It was rough last year. We have a lot of talented guys, but the results were not what we wanted. However, we know what went wrong last year, and we are ready to make some big improvements”.
The boys will face their first challenge at Costa Mesa High School on November 21st. Their first home game will be against Crean Lutheran on December 3rd.
The winter season is almost upon us, Mustangs. Sports can change on a dime and are very hard to predict. However, from the looks of it, this winter season is looking to be full of excitement and success for the mustangs.
