athletes improve scores
While the times and distances of almost every Culver City High School track and field athlete fell short of qualifying for the prestigious Arcadia Invitational, results of competition in the Mustang Relays show improvement scores in preparation for Ocean League finals, slated for May 2.
Many athletes started off their seasons well in the Third Annual Redondo Nike Track Festival with wins by the 4×100 relay teams in their heats. The entire squad finished seventh overall with 44.5 points
The boys varsity 4×100 team led with Stanley Norman, Brandon Hassan, Miriel Paschal and Jonathan MonizThe other 4×100 foursome included Norman, Hassan, Isaiah Jewett, and Moniz.
Junior Kyndahl Carter won Junior Lauran Kelly (12:54.74) led Centaur runners in the girls 3200 meter run. Sophomore Esmeralda Sandoval (13:13.19) and junior Violeta Rodriquez (15:39.48) also covered the long distance.
Carter (16.84) scored well in the girls 100 meter hurdles.
Freshman Destinee Agustus (12.80) finished third in the freshman –sophomore girls 100 meter dash.
Sophomore Arlene Valdes (2:45.71) was the leading Centaur in the girls 800 meter run.
Seniors Paschal (11.24) and Akili Skannal (11.57) paced the Centaurs in the boys’ 100 meter dash.
Centaurs respond to
pre-season change
Culver City High School head coach Rick Prieto is retooling the middle of the varsity defense in the early season and the team has responded, winning five of its last six games as the Centaurs (10-3) prepare to open the Ocean League, Tuesday, Apr. 9, at 3:15 p.m., against rival Beverly Hills in Culver City. The Centaurs travel to Beverly Hills two days later
Last month, The Centaurs stopped Lawndale, 4-3, blanked Lennox Academy, 21-0 and 14-0, beat Lawndale, 9-1 and defeated Torrance, 6-4. Their only loss was to lost to Mira Costa, 6-3.
Speed and smart baseball will propel the Culver City High School baseball team to a second straight league crown after going 10-0 last season if the pieces fall into place, according to Prieto.
Prieto has a converted third baseman behind the plate, a freshman at second, a seasoned varsity player in Darian Sylvester at short stop, and a new center-fielder. Timothy Stewart is playing his first full year in center field and has emerged one of the team’s best outfielders, according to Prieto.
“We worked hard on getting as many reps as we could for those players. It comes down to our practice plan of taking ground balls, rolling double plays, and taking fly balls to the middle,” said Prieto.
Prieto is changing line-ups, seeking the perfect fit as the team rounds into league play.
Sylvester has led off, batted second and even fifth. Sterner has also led off.
“Darian bunts well and that can open up some situations for us. Getting the leadoff man on can lead to scoring real quickly. I don’t know yet how I will play my two lefties in the lineup. I could go righty, lefty, righty, and lefty or if I wanted, I could flip-flop them. It depends on who is hot. At this level, the hitting can be inconsistent,” said Prieto.
“We’ll have to manufacture runs. We are going to hit-and-run, bunt and run, and delay steal. We are going to do things to keep the defense off balance by moving it around and putting the ball in play.”
