As the rain ended, so did the soccer season. Sadly, the ending wasn’t what FVHS had expected for their infamous soccer teams.

The boys ended their season with the record of 8 wins, 13 losses, and 1 tie overall. The girls ended their season with 9 wins, 9 losses, and 2 ties.

The boys and girls started off their season determined to go to CIF playoffs. While others were probably curled up on the couch drinking hot coco, the boys and girls soccer teams were outside training and practicing vigorously in order to reach that goal.

Coach Spencer was extremely proud of the girls’ year and acknowledged their hard work. “We had a good group of girls this year. They stayed determined and didn’t back down. The defense and keeper especially did a great job.”

Some boys who played exceptionally well were Senior Captain Josh Garcia, Senior Captain Rafael Contreas-Geck, and Freshman Derek Huynen. On the other spectrum, some girls who performed extremely well were Senior Captain Makenna Henry, Senior Jessica Parker, Freshman Madison Gomez, and Freshman Dakota Greggs.

These Barons kept their head up high and didn’t back down, playing the true role of a good sport. This year’s season was exciting, kept the spectators on their feet, and left them with vivid memories of amazing plays, regardless of the score or season outcome.

Through the dunks, shots, rebounds, blocks, and fouls, basketball isn’t much of an easy sport. The season may not have ended the way the Barons would have liked it, but the effort that was
shown in all the games was tremendous.

“I loved my team and I am going to miss all the seniors. I just wish we could have made CIF. Still, it was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had,” says Judd Chamaa (’11).

Coming in halfway into league at 0-4, they had an outstanding win over Esperanza which
put them 1-4, bringing in more spirit and hopes. Yet, they did not qualify for the CIF playoffs.

Senior Nam Pham comforts junior Brandon Moss on the bench, while senior Adam Renth lovingly stares.

“As the season came to a close, the varsity team ended the season with a bang. The Barons,
1 and 8 were determined to win this game. Both Nam and Robbie had stellar games,” says
Michael Perri (’12).

Although the season wasn’t as they wanted it to turn out, it only leaves room for improvement. FVHS has high hopes for next year’s team, considering the many talented underclassmen varsity such as juniors Judd Chamaa, Brandon Moss, and sophomore Nathan Moss.

Their games were fun for everyone and the Baron spirit was there to help the boys.

Narrowly winning by four points against Esperanza, our boys’ basketball team overcame a losing streak and wrapped up the season with a fairytale ending. Chris Gray, the varsity head coach, has been rigorously training the team to enhance their performance on the basketball courts.

Among these players is senior Nam Pham, the team’s most valuable player. Although Nam Pham’s entire high school basketball career is now over, he still cannot seem to wipe off his broad grin.

During an interview, Nam expressed his excitement and joy over his team’s last victory. Pham has been tirelessly practicing since the age of seven, which accounts for his impressive basketball skills and excellent game strategies.

Before his basketball games, Pham soothes his nerves by listening to music, relaxing, and stretching out his muscles. Pham doesn’t eat a lot before the game, and contrary to most athletes, he doesn’t have a big appetite.

Pham was nervous before his last game, but as he got on the basketball court, there was a rush of adrenaline and excitement that seemed to wipe away any lingering nervousness.

Although Pham is undecided on his future career, he has a definite goal: to be a positive influence on others and spread his message “Do what you do and never give up.”

This week, the Baron Banner had a chance to catch up with Fountain Valley’s 4 CIF Southern Section Master’s qualifiers. The four will be wrestling in Temecula this weekend, where the top 9 of each weight will advance to the State Meet.

Jake Castroreale (’10)

Jake is a senior wrestler who placed 1^st in Sunset League and 3^rd in the CIF Inland Division for the 112 lb. weight class.

Baron Banner: So when did you first begin to wrestle?

Jake Castroreale: I was first recruited during PE freshman year. Coach Woodbury set up a mat in the cafeteria and had his best wrestlers duke it out. I thought, My dad was right, wrestling is pretty cool! I’ve been wrestling since then.

BB: What do you attribute your success to?

JC: Working extremely hard at every practice, especially the practices before the CIF tournament.

BB: Who would you say is your inspiration?

JC: My dad. He wrestled in high school and placed in league, so I kind of carry the Castroreale legacy. He’s at most of my matches too.

BB: What’s been the most memorable moment of your wrestling career?

JC: Taking 3^rd at CIF. I wrestled my butt off last weekend.

BB: Do you have any favorite wrestling moves?

JC: Anyone who has watched me wrestle knows my favorite moves are the sweep single leg and the Chicken Wing Arm Bar.

BB: What do you do in your free time?

JC: You mean Sunday? (laughs) I just lay around, eat food, and sleep while my TV is set to Spongebob. I love Spongebob, but I don’t care much for Squidward.

BB: What’s your favorite food?

JC: Definitely ice cream. I love all the flavors, but right now, I could really go for some Chocolate Malted Crunch from Rite Aid. Every time I’m out running and cutting weight, I crave Papa John’s. Is that weird?

BB: Thank your for your time Jake.

JC: My pleasure.

Sean Pitoniak (’10)

Sean Pitoniak is a senior wrestling captain who placed 2^nd at Sunset League and 3^rd in the CIF Inland Division Tournament at the 135 lb. weight class.

Baron Banner: So when did you first start wrestling?

Sean Pitoniak: I first started wrestling in November of my sophomore year after football season. My brother told me that he thought I’d be good at wrestling even though he’d never wrestled. After that, I joined wrestling.

BB: What’s been the most memorable moment of your wrestling career?

SP: Winning in triple overtime to take 3^rd in CIF. It was my first ever triple overtime and it was exhausting, but it made the win that much better.

BB: Who would you say your inspiration has been?

SP: Last summer I met Dan Gable in Iowa, and he was pretty inspirational but my brothers and my dad have been a bigger inspiration. My dad is at all of my matches and my brothers come to as many as they can.

BB: What’s been the key to your success?

SP: Learning from coaches, hard work, and determination.

BB: What’s your favorite move?

SP: (Looks at Jake) I really like the sweep single and Chicken Wing Arm Bar. (laughs) No, I’m kidding. My favorite move is the Crossface Cradle. If I can lock it, my opponent is done.

BB: What do you do in your free time?

SP: I like to hang out with friends and snowboard up in Mammoth. There’s not really a lot of free time during wrestling season.

BB: What’s your favorite food?

SP: I like Chicken Parmesan with a lot of fried rice.

BB: Thanks for your time.

SP: Not a problem.

This week, the Baron Banner had a chance to catch up with Fountain Valley’s 4 CIF Southern Section Master’s qualifiers. The four will be wrestling in Temecula this weekend, where the top 9 of each weight will advance to the State Meet.

Edgar De La Torre (’12)

Edgar is a sophomore wrestler who placed 2^nd in Sunset League and 5^th at the 103 weight class in last week’s CIF Inland Division Meet

Baron Banner: When and why did you first start Wrestling?

Edgar De La Torre: I first started wrestling in the seventh grade through FV’s kid’s club program. My brother was actually the first to try it out. He was the one to get me into it. He used to come home wanting to quit and I’d wonder why. I saw how hard he worked and I wanted to be a part of that.

BB: What has gotten you to this point?

EDT: A lot of hard work and a lot of learning. I’m constantly learning new moves. I like what you get out of wrestling; it’s a lot of work but in the end, it’s worth it.

BB: What would you say your favorite wrestling move is?

EDT: I definitely like double leg take downs and granby rolls.

BB: What’s been the most memorable moment of your wrestling career?

EDT: Placing fifth at last week’s CIF meet. I was pretty excited to get on the wall of fame*. Munching out at the buffet after the Las Vegas classic was also pretty fun. The food was bomb.

BB: What do you like to do in your free time?

EDT: If I’m not cutting weight, I like to eat and get ready to sleep a pound off.

BB: You talk a lot about food. What’s your Favorite Food?

EDT: I like Subway and ice cream, especially Coldstone’s. But not at the same time.

BB: Thanks for your time and good luck!

EDT: Thanks.

Barry Gee (’10)

Barry Gee is a senior wrestler at Fountain Valley. Barry placed 3^rd in Sunset League and 5^th in the Heavyweight class at last week’s CIF Inland Division meet.

Baron Banner: When did you first start Wrestling?

Barry Gee: I first started wrestling in my freshman year, right after football season had ended.

BB: What do you think has gotten you this far?

BG: Definitely coaches. Coach Vasquez pushes me a lot. Hard work too. We’ve all put in a lot of hard work this season, even though it might not look like it (laughs).

BB: Who would you say your inspiration is?

BG: Not to sound cheesy, but Coach Vasquez and Francois McGhie. I’m exactly like Coach Vasquez was in high school, except he was a better wrestler. His senior year he placed in league and then he went on to place 2^nd in CIF. He didn’t make it past Master’s because of an injury, but he managed to defeat a state qualifier before getting injured.

BB: What’s been the most memorable moment of your wrestling career?

BG: Placing fifth in CIF. It wasn’t first, but I was still pretty happy.

BB: What’s your favorite wrestling move?

BG: My favorite move is actually the fat man roll (laughs). I also like to crossface people.

BB: What do you do in your free time?

BG: I eat a lot! I like to kick back and hang out with my friends Fran, Sean, Kyle, and Cory. We like to throw water balloons at people.

BB: Speaking of food, what’s your favorite?

BG: You’re going to need a lot more room on that paper.  Those who know me know that this is a hard question for me to answer. Straight up, I like New York Style Cheesecake best, followed by Buffalo wings at a close second. But they have to be big and juicy with a delicious sauce and ranch dressing.

BB: Thanks for your time!

BG: No problem, but now I’m hungry.

This weekend, Fountain Valley High School will be hosting the Inland Division CIF wrestling tournament, which includes over 40 schools.

Each wrestling weight class will consist of a 32-man bracket; the top 5 wrestlers will advance to the CIF-Southern Section Masters Tournament.

FVHS’ own wrestling team qualified 11 wrestlers for the CIF tournament. Of those 11 wrestlers, four are seeded; that is, expected to place.

Jake Castroreale (‘10) and Cortland Drummond (‘11) are seeded third in their respective weight classes, 112’s and 215’s. Sean Pitoniak (‘10) and Barry Gee (‘10) are seeded fifth in their respective weight classes, 135’s and 285’s.

The wrestling begins at 10:00 AM on Friday.

CIF Qualifiers:

Edgar De La Torre (‘12) at 103’s

Jake Castroreale* (‘10) at 112’s

Cory Porter (‘10) at 119’s

Brian Hoang (‘10) at 125’s

Steele Escobedo (‘13) at 130’s

Sean Pitoniak (‘10) at 135’s

Amir Hotak (‘12) at 140’s

Sean Roberts (‘11) at 152’s

Joey Knaack* (’10) at 171’s

Cortland Drummend* (’11) at 215’s

Barry Gee (’10) at Heavyweights

* Placed first at Sunset League Finals

Photo Credits: Mrs. Dawn Basquez

Girls water polo wrapped up a season of ups and downs with a wild card playoff birth. After beating both Marina and Esperanza, and fighting hard, yet losing against Edison, Newport Harbor, and Los Alamitos, the girls were ready for the pressure of CIF playoffs.

The Lady Barons faced and overcome a lot of adversity this season. The girls went into their Edison game ranked number nine in Orange County, arguably the most competitive area to play water polo at any level. They also lost one of their two senior captains mid-season, and had to struggle through to incorporate a new starter into their lineup.

Luckily the girls are lead by their other senior captain and senior of the month, Danica Fascella. With her leadership, and the girls talented youth, they were able to earn their second straight playoff appearance. Sophomore Kayla Robert and junior Marissa Young have have taken initiative and are now a huge part of the teams success this season.

Tuesday they played Long Beach Millikan and won by a dominating score of 13-1. Robert (’12), Fascella (’10), and Goherring(’11) were all huge parts of the Barons win along with goalie Lindsey Catron(’11).

Wednesday the girls played one of the best teams in the country and the reigning CIF champion, Dos Pueblos. The girls were over matched in talent, but not in competitive spirit as they lost 3-15, but two of their goals came in the final quarter of the game.

When asked about her goals for next season, junior Marissa Young said, “I would like to get to third in league so that we can make it to CIF without having to resort to the wild card round.”

Senior Danica Fascella commented about her thoughts on the season and her final days as a part of the team, “We went from having no coach at the beginning of the season to finishing the season surpassing everyone’s expectations and being the first girls water polo team in the history of FVHS to win a playoff game. I’m extremely proud of all the girls and I am sad that my time with them is up.”

The girls had a great season making Baron history and sharing moments that they will remember for a very long time to come. Good luck next year.

Friday, January 22, was a great day– not only for the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, but also for our Varsity Boys Basketball team who played Esperanza.

The boys were down by one when there were only four minutes left. Luckily, they stepped up their game to bring it up by one with only 50 seconds left.

The boys were worried when they entered the game because the Junior Varsity team had previously lost by 25 against the Aztecs. However, throughout the match, they continued to hold about the same points as Esperanza, slightly lagging behind. With 6 seconds remaining on the clock, two free throws put the Barons up by 2 and led to a victory against the Aztecs.

“Although they came into this game 0-4 in league, Varsity pulled through to win an exciting game against Esperanza 47-45,” says Michael Perri (’12), who plays on the JV team.

“The crowd was on the edge of their seats as the game progressed; seconds went by like hours. The game was very emotional for both sides and extremely tense,” continued Perri. “These are the games I want to see; the Barons deserve every victory with their hard work!”

Now with a record of 1-4 in the season, the team hopes to enter a winning streak.

Adam Renth concluded, “We came out strong by setting the tone early and Ardalan came through in the clutch. This was a great win in a hostile environment. It was a true Nam Pham Friday!”