By Zach Cavanagh
For in-game updates, news and more for all of the San Clemente High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports.
Games on Thursday, April 24 and track and field league finals on Friday, April 25 mark the end of the 2018-19 high school sports regular season, with the CIF-SS playoffs beginning next week.
Several San Clemente teams were involved in league title races with results ranging from impressive to surprising. Let’s check in on the Tritons as the regular season comes to a close.
Boys Volleyball Reclaims League Title over Tesoro
The South Coast League title came down to the final league contest for San Clemente and Tesoro.
San Clemente and Tesoro had each torn through league play, with San Clemente’s lone blemish a five-set loss to Tesoro on March 19.
The Tritons welcomed the Titans into the San Clemente gym for the rematch on Thursday, April 18, expecting another knock-down, drag-out battle to the brink. This time, however, San Clemente was more than up to the task.
The Tritons breezed through the first set, 25-21, and overcame Tesoro challenges in the second and third sets, 25-22 and 25-23, to earn the sweep and secure a share of the South Coast League championship.
“Our goal was to win league,” San Clemente coach Ken Goldstone said. “Ever since we had our first class in the fall, that’s what we’ve been talking about. It’s really good for the guys to get the win. We didn’t want to let them (Tesoro) get back into it.”
The title is San Clemente’s second league title in three seasons, the other coming in 2017.
Marc Monier and Wolf Beeuwsaert led the way with 14 kills each for San Clemente. Nathan Streuter contributed 12 kills. Monier collected three blocks, and Streuter and Eli Crane each had two blocks.
San Clemente could have taken the outright title if Tesoro had lost their league finale at Aliso Niguel on Tuesday, April 23. The last-place Wolverines almost pulled off the major upset to help out the Tritons by pushing to match to five sets and the fifth set beyond the normal 15 points. Tesoro beat Aliso Niguel, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 26-24, 23-21, to claim its half of the league title.
San Clemente wrapped up its season by going 5-1 at the Redondo Classic on Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20.
In the last CIF-SS Division 1/2 combined poll on April 15, Tesoro was No. 8 and San Clemente was No. 9. The league results won’t be factored in until the final poll and the release of the CIF-SS brackets on Friday, April 26.
Whether it’s San Clemente or Tesoro, the No. 8 team will be slotted as the final team in the Division 1 playoffs, with the No. 9 team taking the No. 1 seed in Division 2.
FINAL: San Clemente def. Tesoro, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23, and captures at least a share of the South Coast League championship. Beeuwsaert and Monier each with 14 kills for @SCHSTritons. @ocboysvolley @SCTimesNews pic.twitter.com/BmlTHLQKKg
— South OC Sports (@SouthOCsports) April 19, 2019
Softball Tied for First on Final Day
The San Clemente and Tesoro softball teams were tied atop the Sea View League standings on the final game day of the season, Wednesday, April 24.
San Clemente played at El Toro, and Tesoro hosted Trabuco Hills. The results were not available at press time. If both teams earned the same result, they would split the Sea View League title.
San Clemente shut out El Toro in its first game, 9-0, on March 19. Tesoro won at Trabuco Hills, 4-1, on March 19. San Clemente and Tesoro split their two games, with wins on each other’s field, 7-5 for Tesoro on April 9 and 3-0 for San Clemente on April 12.
CIF-SS softball brackets will be released on Monday, April 29, with wild-card games contested on Tuesday, April 30 and the first round on May 2.
Boys Tennis Clinches Ninth Straight League Title
The run of dominance continues for the San Clemente boys tennis team.
The Tritons won their ninth consecutive league title with another undefeated league record of 8-0. San Clemente has won 76 consecutive league matches over the past 10 seasons.
At this week’s individual league finals, Griffin Wolfe and Corey Angeli were the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in singles play, respectively. The Tritons doubles teams of Lance Ding/Blake Ursem and Chase Culp/Nathan Kelley were the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.
The CIF-SS brackets will be released on Monday, April 29.
Varsity Update – San Clemente Tritons defeat TBHHS Mustangs 9-6 at Trabuco Hills @MaxLaxinc @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/hmup5oaoEc
— San Clemente Boys Lacrosse (@schs_lax) April 23, 2019
Boys Lacrosse Upsets Trabuco Hills for First-Place Tie
When San Clemente and Trabuco Hills first met on March 26 at SCHS, it wasn’t pretty for the Tritons. The Mustangs thoroughly controlled the possession and ran away with a 13-7 win.
Trabuco Hills has been the better team all season, while San Clemente has struggled with injuries and tough results.
However, none of that mattered in each team’s penultimate league game on Monday, April 22.
San Clemente went to Trabuco Hills and upset the Mustangs, 9-6, to tie for the top spot in the South Coast League standings and a likely share of the league title.
San Clemente and Trabuco Hills each have one league game remaining on Thursday, April 24. The Tritons host Mission Viejo, which San Clemente defeated, 19-2, in their first meeting, and the Mustangs host El Toro, which Trabuco Hills defeated, 27-4, in their first meeting.
San Clemente has a final nonleague game at Corona del Mar on Friday, April 26, before learning their CIF-SS Orange County Playoff draw.
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