Charlotte Riches 2023 18’s MVP
The Princeton-bound Laguna grad was named the top player at this year’s USA Water Polo Junior Olympics held last weekend in Irvine. Charlotte led her team, composed of many players from Laguna, to the title. The squad was the final event coached by outgoing Laguna coach Claire Sonne, who is leaving the Breakers to attend graduate school at Chicago. Jesse Alcheh/Laguna Beach Water Polo
2023 18’s JO Champion SET Squad
Back Row (L-R): Cleo Washer, Kamryn Barone, Ashley Wallin, Valerie Wraith, Coach Drew Netherton, Lauren Short, Sophia Bunnell, Sofia Umeda, Allie Cohen, Ava Knepper, Head Coach Claire Sonne, Coach Austin Hoff
Front Row: Emerson Hensley, Jordan Schneider, Kate Sloman, Lauren Schneider, Charlotte Riches, Presley Jones, Kara Carver, Coach Katie Teets (New Laguna Head Coach). Jesse Alcheh/ Laguna Beach Water Polo
SUMMER NOTES:
Football
Practice begins this Monday, July 31, for the 89th edition of Laguna football, with the opening game at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17, at Chino High School. Laguna will be on the road at Dana Hills on Aug. 25 and Northwood on Sept. 1. The first home game is Friday, Sept. 8 against Santa Ana.
For more information, including the Football Record book, visit the team website at www.lbhsathletics.com.
Girls Flag Football
This is the first season that Girls Flag Football is a CIF-sponsored sport, and many leagues will be participating in the inaugural year, including the Sunset League. Veteran coach Mitch Olson will be the Laguna head coach and comes with 21 years of experience and a CIF title football with Kennedy/La Palma and six seasons as the head football coach at Loara. Assisting Olson will be Hunter Braun, who also serves as the defensive coordinator for the Breakers Football team. John Selbe has been serving as a volunteer coach for the team. With the declining enrollment at Laguna, volleyball and tennis players have been encouraged to help field the flag team, and efforts will be made so their primary sports will not be impacted by their participation.
So far, the schedule is just the 14-game league play, and no non-league contests have been arranged.
The season can start as early as mid-August, with league play beginning in September. No SSCIF playoffs this season, but a championship tournament is expected to be arranged for the top teams at the season’s conclusion.
Girls Volleyball
The summer pre-season concludes next week with the 2023 team tryouts and the Queens Court tournament at Foothill High School on August 5 and 6. The tournament schedules and results for all three levels can be found at fhsqueenscourt.com. The team will scrimmage Aliso Niguel on Aug. 10 and open their season at home on Tuesday, Aug. 15 with JSerra.
Girls Water Polo
Breaker girls complete a successful summer with the JO’s Title.
The SET (Saddleback-El Toro) 18-black squad went 7-0 to win the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics last Sunday at the Woollett Center in Irvine. Coach Claire Sonne’s final event with Laguna players easily defeated five teams and survived two one-goal contests with Los Alamitos to capture the title. Laguna Beach provided nine of the squad’s 16 players, including MVP Charlotte Riches (Princeton) and goalie Lauren Schneider (USC). Incoming senior Ava Knepper led the team in the championship game with three goals.
New Coach Announced
Laguna Beach High School Athletic Director Denise Selbe announced last week the appointment of Katie Teets as the new head coach for the celebrated Girls Water Polo program, becoming the sixth head coach in the 27-season program history. Coach Teets is originally from Murrieta and attended Riverside City College and the University of Hawaii, where she was the captain of the 2013 Big West Conference champion Rainbows. Teets earned her master’s in coaching at Concordia in 2015, and her coaching resume includes six seasons as Hawaii’s associate head coach. This summer, she was the head coach of the SET 16’s team, which included many Laguna athletes finishing third at the Junior Olympics, as well as helping with the champion 18’s squad.
Laguna Beach High School Athletics Summer Camps: Go to the link.
Camp activity for some sports continues into mid-August.
Looking for the 2023-24 High School statistics, schedules and scores? Check Laguna Beach High School on the Max Preps website. Got a Summer sports note? You can reach Frank at [email protected].
