Eagles took flight with fall sports

The fall months were unseasonably warm on the Estancia High campus, due in large part to how the Eagles’ girls’ athletic teams fared.

All four teams advanced to the postseason, with the golf, tennis, cross country and volleyball squads outdoing their predecessors.

It took an at-large berth but the cross country team made it to the CIF Southern Section finals on Nov. 19 at Mt. San Antonio College for the first time since 2000.

The Eagles were carried by junior Sydney Barloon’s third-place finish in a time of 19 minutes, 23 seconds. Sophomore Paula Negrete finished 13th in 20:28 and sophomore Magali Onofre was 17th in 20:59.

Of the top five finishers, Barloon was the oldest, boding well for the Eagles to improve upon their 2005 performance next fall.

The Eagles were third at the Golden West League finals. Their 60 team points were 10 behind Santa Ana.

Barloon was third (18:57) and Negrete sixth (19:15) at the league meet.

The Eagles’ tennis team also surpassed the previous season with a trip to the CIF Division V quarterfinals.

Estancia, with nine seniors on the team, nearly advanced to the semifinals, but lost on games, after playing to a 9-9 tie against visiting Morro Bay on Nov. 15. Morro Bay edged Estancia, 73-71, in games.

The Eagles exited in the second round of the playoffs in 2004.

In a glimpse of the future, freshman Ellie Edles won all three of her singles matches, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0. Edles posted a 44-1 record in singles, losing in the first round of the Southern Section singles tournament.

With the success came accolades. Edles was named to the Newport-Mesa Dream Team.

Of all the fall teams, the golf team made the biggest leap. Two years prior to 2005, many of the players were picking up golf clubs for the first time.

The entire team showed savvy last fall, bringing Coach Art Perry his first league title in his seven years at the helm.

The team was led by the junior tandem of Bridget Gleason and Lina You. Gleason won the league individual tournament, while You finished second and Caroline Clements finished fourth.

Both You and Gleason qualified for the CIF individual tournament but did not advance.

Estancia finished 12th at the Southern Divisional on Nov. 7 at El Prado Golf Course in Chino.

The volleyball team also made a sudden turnaround. The Eagles went from consistently being a league cellar dweller to second place.

They finished 15-7, 9-3 in league and advanced to the Division III-A playoffs.

Estancia lost to Orange Lutheran in the first round.

It was the Eagles’ first trip to the playoffs in six years. After barely scrounging up league victories the previous five years, Estancia won nine matches in 2005.

The Eagles even had eyes on the league title after racing to a 12-4, 6-1 record, culminated by a season sweep of rival Costa Mesa on Oct. 15.

The difference was partially due to Coach Jim Huffman, who finished his third season in 2005. Prior to Huffman, the Eagles had four coaches in a five-year span.

Five Eagles were named All-Golden West League. Junior middle blocker Jaye Hellmich, junior setter Stacie Watson, and senior outside hitter Taylor Brown were first-team choices.

Sophomore middle blocker Olivia Schow and sophomore outside hitter Sara Braunsdorf were second-team picks.

The winter months also brought some change.

The soccer team made the Division III playoffs for the first time in 11 years, posting a 7-8-4 record.

The Eagles fell to La Mirada, 4-1, in the first round of the playoffs, but the future of the program appears bright.

Sophomore midfielder Stacy McDaniels and junior defender Bridget Gleason were first-team all-league selections.

Sophomore forward Jennifer Thomas and junior midfielder Avery Williams were second-team all-league picks.

The team only loses one starter for next season.

It was Steve Crenshaw’s first year back on the sideline after resigning as coach of the boys’ soccer and track and field teams in September of 2004.

Crenshaw led the boys soccer team to a section title in the 1999-2000 season. He was the girls’ team’s seventh coach in seven years.

The water polo team also made strides, qualifying for the Division VI playoffs for the first time after finishing 14-9, 4-2.

The Eagles tied for second place with Costa Mesa in league.

It was a trying year for the team, which could not use the campus pool that was being refurbished.

Estancia practiced at night and played its matches at Costa Mesa High.

Estancia was led by Dream Team honoree Melissa Buchmann. The junior scored a team-high 70 goals in 20 games.

Senior co-captain Carolina Barnes contributed on offense as well with 60 goals.

Sophomore Meagan Kunert scored 23 goals despite missing half of the season with a shoulder injury.

Senior goalkeeper Katie Mahan, also a co-captain, made 171 saves.

There were only a couple of sports in which Estancia girls did not excel.

The basketball team won its first two games, but that turned out to be the highlight of the season.

Ernie Wright resigned as coach after two seasons and Girls’ Athletic Director Jeff Perry hired Estancia graduate Tommy Rausch to take over the program.

Rausch, a long-time assistant in the boys’ basketball program, said he is prepared to inject energy into the program that has dipped in recent years after a lengthy stretch of success.

A bright spot was the play of 5-foot-2 speedster Be Diep who made the Dream Team after averaging 10 points, 4.6 assists and 2.6 steals a game.

The swim team remained dominant, winning the league championship with its fourth straight unbeaten league dual-meet campaign.

Signs point to this team being just as strong in the near future, as sophomores Meagan Kunert and Shea Kopp continued to reign atop the league.

Despite not having a home pool until the final dual meet of the season, the team continued to roll.

Kopp won league titles in the 100-yard freestyle (56.09) and the 100 backstroke by breaking her own league record in 1:00.01.

Kunert won the 200 free and the 500 free.

Kopp and Kunert were named Co-Swimmers of the Meet at league finals.

Kopp finished third in the backstroke with a personal-best time of 59.99 at the CIF Division III finals. She also was fifth in the 50 free at the section meet, where Estancia was 13th as a team.

Kopp was 14th in the backstroke at the CIF Masters Meet.

Although the softball team did not make the playoffs, it beat Costa Mesa, something recent Estancia squads had been unable to do.

The Eagles, in fact, topped the Mustangs twice to complete a season sweep of their league and crosstown rivals. It was the first time any of the team’s seniors had defeated Costa Mesa.

The second time around came at Costa Mesa, where the Eagles breezed, 15-3.

Senior Allyson Wyman and junior Kiele Brown were first-team all-league performers, while sophomore Taylor West and freshman Courtney Ulrich were second-team picks.

Brown, a first baseman, hit .404, scored 15 runs and drove in 12 in 52 at-bats. She was also named to the Dream Team.

Wyman, a center fielder who was second in the league’s Most Valuable Player voting, was also named to the Dream Team. She hit a team-high .448 while driving in 19 runs and scoring 14.