As the fall sports season comes to an end, and many teams from SBHS making it to CIF, it’s time for winter sports to hit the slopes. The winter season is many student’s favorite time of the year as boys basketball, boys soccer, wrestling, girls water polo, girls soccer, and girls basketball come to play. As we wait for the season to play out let’s recap how the winter season went last year for these teams and their captains.

The boys basketball team had an outstanding season last year. The team won League 1, went to the semi-finals of CIF, and went onto the first round of state playoffs where they lost by just two points. Not only did they reach these phenomenal achievements, they also set a record of winning 24 games and losing only nine, which caused them to become co-champions in their league. After being out last season from an ACL injury, Carter Battle is back on the court as shooting guard and ready to face Oxnard and San Marcos High School in his third year as team captain alongside Luke Zuffelato. The all state player for all of CIF, MVP Luke Zuffelato is currently only 60 points away from the all time record with his amazing play last season and continues to be point guard for the team. This season will also be his third year being captain. He says, “We’re looking really great compared to last year and my grandpa says this is the best team we’ve had in a really long time. We couldn’t do it without our star players, Carter Battle, Owen Horn, Cayleb Miller and our freshman Brent Sharpton, alongside myself.” Battle says, “Everyone only sees the games, but there is a lot of stuff that we do to prepare for these games, like the amount of time we put into training.” Head Coach Greg Zuffelato piggy backs by saying, “Obviously we are looking forward to winning our Channel League and winning our CIF section this year, but our ultimate goal is to win state championships and I’m really hopeful of that. I don’t think I know any other team that works as hard as our guys do. We have six a.m. practices and shoot six days out of the week, and a lot of our guys already play club; not only that but we play 40-50 games in the offseason, so it’s just a ton of basketball all around.” The boys have managed to gain the power of communication and chemistry on the court, which makes them a phenomenal team with half of them working together since their freshman year. We can expect nothing but the best for the basketball team this season.

On the other side of the field, the Nosotros boys soccer team is ready to shoot in those points and make a comeback this season. Last season the Nosotros team made it to the second round of CIF and went to the Mater Dei Tournament. They were only one point from winning all of their CIF section last season, but this year the boys are hoping to turn the tables around. Captains Yahriel Heras-Mazantini and Pietro Nascente discuss their strategy for this season as captains and reflect on the last. Yahriel, who plays center mid and is in his first year of being captain, says, “Even though our rivals are Dos Pueblos and San Marcos High school, we lost to Animo Venice Charter High School last year and we’re hoping to compete against them this year. The difference between this year and last is that this year I believe our team has really good chemistry and have been running drills nonstop.” Nascente, who is also in his first year as captain and plays center back says, “I think me and Yahriel bring experience to the team. We’ve been on varsity for three years now, but also have really great players like Juan Pablo Montes , myself, and Yahriel. All of our players are really skillful, which is why I have no doubt in my mind that we could make it to playoffs like our goal has been from the start.” As the boys continue to train for their season, we can expect to see them in the playoffs once again.

The wrestling team is ready to tackle down yet another year with newly fresh athletes and a strategy for this season. Head Coach Chris Hamman has worked intensely with his team, as well as working with some football players in conditioning and establishing consistency in the program. Last season, Austin Dye, Tristan King, Jonathan Corona, and Zhen Liu made it to CIF. Austin Dye, who’s in weight class 113 and in his second year of being Captain, says, “individually we did really good last season with players such as myself and three others qualifying to CIF. I know as a new team we can beat San Marcos this year. They’re pretty beatable, and based on all our physical conditioning and the captains like King, myself, and Corona establishing discipline, our technique will allow us to perform well.” Jonathan Corona, who’s in his second year as captain and in weight class 175, went to CIF last season and was on his last match to qualify for regionals. Unfortunately, Corona lost the match, and according to his teammates he’s been working the hardest this season to make it past state. Corona says, “Based on the training we’ve been doing and all the technical drills, plus making training a little longer this year, I would say it’s what’s bettering our team this season. As captain I need to be more responsible and make sure everything is being done right, and showing them all they need to know about wrestling and with all that we hopefully win some duos. ” Coach Hamman says, “We want them all this year. Our main goal is to hopefully make it to masters, which is the recruitment of pulling in all great wrestlers in Southern and Central California and possibly send some to states. The boys are really competitive and all relatively close to one another, which is something not a lot of teams have; the captains have the work ethic to start things and get it done and outwork everyone. They have a level of meanness that a team needs and they show that in a motivating way.” The boys are looking remarkable and ready to take down matches coming up with a new mental strategy and a great level of meanness. 

As for the girls water polo team, they made a splash last season that took them to CIF playoffs. The girls strongly believe that having a friendship in the pool is what creates the strongest team. Players of the team from last season mentioned that there was a lack of communication, but based on the friendships established this season it will bring them to the playoffs once again. Currently the team does not have captains, but player Audrey London says, “We all work together and motivate each other in the pool and outside of it. Our star player, Rose Nelley, is one of our strongest and technical players we have, so I know she will bring the team to playoffs one more year like we’re hoping to achieve and go farther than that.” The girls are non-stop swimming and ready to compete against SBHS rivals Dos Pueblos and San Marcos in the season to come.

The boys soccer team isn’t the only one ready to shoot those goals in; the girls soccer team is back and ready to take the lead with their new team this season. Speaking on last year, Head Coach Willie Sims says, “It was a rough patch last season, but we’re rebuilding with our program. We graduated seven of our best seniors who were our starters, but now that I see our young players, I know that they can develop with our players from last year and I’m excited to see where these girls can go, and I know they’re excited to compete against our rivals San Marcos.” The girls soccer team does not have captains until mid season, but their plan is to work to be better in the season and attend league channels. The team has “talent, every player brings different attributes but because they’re all different they outshine other teams,” Coach Sims says. 

Lastly, the girls basketball team is preparing for their season with returning player Dayzia Mendoza back for yet another year as captain, and Head Coach Andrew Butcher who has been coaching since 1982. The team last year placed sixth place in their league and Mendoza accomplished a three-point record. The girls have built a team with great tempo and finding people who play hard and put in the work. They’re competitive girls and won their last game of the season in 2024. Mendoza says, “There are a lot of new people and a few of them graduated last season, but I think a lot of them have dedication, which is why I think we’ll do better this season.” Everyone wants to know the strategy on how they get ready to compete against other teams, but Coach Butcher says, “It takes a lot of focus and maturity to do what we do, but the biggest competitor we have is ourselves. The girls train for themselves, which is what makes them bright and reliable to carry the team to leagues and make a comeback.” 

As we eagerly wait for the winter season to begin, we can expect nothing but the best from the SBHS winter sports and see them hit the slopes at CIF and State Championships!