The book has closed on 2021, which means it is time to look back on the year in local sports. Obviously, everyone came into the new year on a cautious note as the world continued to deal with 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic. However, sports programs and the athletes that play them, were committed to prevailing in our local communities. They were able to do what they love to do this past year, which is compete on area fields, courts, mats and in pools. They did so in front of friends, families and fans again as the return of the loud and rowdy student bodies was a welcomed sound wherever they could be heard.
The most memorable moment of 2021 came right at the beginning of the year, 10 months after high school sports were shut down in California due to the pandemic. Student-athletes, families, coaches and supporters held rallies statewide Jan. 15 to support a return to play, which absolutely paved the way for government and CIF-SS approval.
Cross country was the first sport to return Feb. 6, and the rest of the outdoor sports were eventually given the OK to return Feb. 26 and indoor sports March 5. In this edition of the Valley News, we take a chronological look at the top 25 local sports moments of 2021.
- Local student athletes honored on signing day
With masked-up, on-campus ceremonies or at-home photo ops, student athletes from around the area got to take part in “more normal” National Letter of Intent signing day ceremonies for the first time during the pandemic. They were recognized for committing to play sports and further their education at the next level. In all, over the course of the 2020-2021 school year almost 100 local high school athletes signed their National Letter of Intent.
- Delayed prep football season finally got underway
Nearly 16 months after the last city football game had been played, local high school football teams took to the field to open their 2020 football seasons in the spring of 2021. Unfortunately, it was the shortest season ever, with no playoffs, or aptly named league champions, but school officials did an excellent job navigating an ever-changing sea of health and safety guidelines.
- Soles resigned from Great Oak cross-country program
Doug Soles, one of the most winning high school coaches in Riverside County history, stepped down as head coach of Great Oak’s cross-country and track teams after 17 seasons. Also stepping down was coach Daniel Noble, who is one of Soles’ top assistants. Both finished out the pandemic-altered cross-country season and did not coach track and field. Soles, 45, left after Great Oak’s boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams won a county-record 14 state championships, a national title in 2015 at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon. The boys’ team are the reigning Division I state champions and have won each year since 2014 and the girls’ cross-country team won its first state title in the CIF-State Championships and had seven consecutive state titles between 2012 and 2018 before Clovis (Buchanan) won in 2019. Despite the news of Soles resigning, Great Oak High School finished their season by sweeping both the boys’ and girls’ races, in the final meet of the shortened high school cross-country season in 2021, wrapping up yet another unbeaten season as the top program in the area. Wolfpack seniors Brianna Weidler and Austin Montez took first place and top honors leading the way for their programs in the Southwestern League.
- Lancers NCAA Championship debut included Elsinore’s Gabe Thorne
California Baptist University men’s water polo became the first program in school history to compete at the NCAA Championships Thursday, March 18, and former Elsinore High School standout Gabe Thorne was in the water for the Lancers. CBU made history at the Western Water Polo Association Championship when it won its first-ever conference title, then the sixth-ranked Lancers went up against third-ranked national power UCLA but fell 19-14. Thorne had a 6-3 record in goal and maintained a 53.0 save percentage, 10.46 goals-against average, 105 saves, 11 steals and two assists.
- Area football players joined NFL ranks
The 2021 NFL Draft featured several college players with ties to the Inland Empire, plus other area players continued their careers. Demetric Felton Jr. (Great Oak High School; UCLA) made the 53-man roster for Browns as a hybrid talent. Felton joins Sione Takitaki, a former Heritage High School standout. Lorenzo Burns (Linfield Christian; University of Arizona) was picked up by the Jaguars off the waiver wire after he spent the offseason and part of training camp with the Arizona Cardinals. Dwayne Johnson Jr. (Vista Murrieta; SDSU) was picked up as an undrafted free agent and placed on the practice squad to start the 2021 season by the Atlanta Falcons. Former Paloma Valley High School football standout Matt Orzech was claimed by the Los Angeles Rams off waivers from the Tennessee Titans and made the 53-man roster. Vista Murrieta High School graduate Javelin Guidry, who played for the University of Utah, signed with the New York Jets in 2020 and worked his way into the role as one of their top cornerbacks. Curtis Bolton, a 2014 graduate of Vista Murrieta, is now playing for the Indianapolis Colts.
- Nichols, Cooper won the AMA Supercross season championships
The 2021 AMA Supercross season concluded May 1 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City and the season champions included Murrieta rider Colt Nichols and Menifee’s Justin Cooper. Nichols won the 250SX East season championship. Cooper was the 250SX West champion. Both are part of the Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha team. Jo Shimoda of Menifee, who is with the Monster Energy ProCircuit Kawasaki team, was second in the final 250SX East standings.
- Murrieta Mesa on top of their game in a number of spring sports
The Murrieta Mesa girls’ basketball team made the most of their time on the court during this pandemic ridden season, which was moved to the spring instead of playing out their normal winter-based schedule. In 2020, before COVID-19 taking its course, the Lady Rams won their first league title going undefeated 10-0 in the Southwestern League, making it to round two of the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs. In the 2021 year, with only a 12-game schedule, they went 8-2 in league to win back-to-back titles.
The Murrieta Mesa girls’ lacrosse team won the school’s first ever Southwestern League title when they defeated Vista Murrieta 18-4 Wednesday, May 19. This team went a perfect 10-0 in league during the 2021 season and wrapped up with an 11-game winning streak and were undefeated at home during the course of their year.
Murrieta Mesa’s baseball team only needed to win one game after going 10-0 in league to clinch an outright Southwestern League title for the second time in school history. After dropping games to Murrieta Valley, and Temecula Valley, Murrieta Mesa got the win they needed at home Friday, May 21, taking down the Golden Bears 10-5. Five RBIs and two home runs from senior Makana Olaso (All CIF), and 9 strikeouts in 6 and two-thirds innings on the bump from Southwestern League Pitcher of the Year, Jhayden Raineri (All CIF), sealed the deal in the Rams’ win.
On the softball field, the Lady Rams beat Vista Murrieta to clinch their second-ever Southwestern League title as well. Jaelynn Eaves wasted no opportunities at the plate Wednesday, May 26, driving in six runs on three hits to lead Murrieta Mesa (16-7, 13-2) past Vista Murrieta, 11-3. Eaves drove in runs on a single in the first, a double in the second, and a home run in the sixth.
And finally, Saturday, May 29, the Murrieta Mesa girls swim team traveled to Rancho Santa Margarita for the CIF Division 3 Championships where they won the school their first section title in program history. Of course, they did it in dramatic fashion. Murrieta Mesa won the final event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay, in 3 minutes, 41.38 seconds. Coming into the final event, the Lady Rams were in second place in the team standings, behind Viewpoint, with Chino Hills and Crean Lutheran not far behind.
- Lakeside softball won the CIF-SS Division 7 title
The Lakeside Lady Lancers had no trouble rolling to a 14-0 victory over St. Monica Catholic in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 championship game Saturday, June 19, at Barber Park in Irvine. With a familiar face in the coaches’ box, Austen Urness, who was once a standout catcher at Lakeside High School, the Lady Lancers’ winning culture was something to be expected.
- Linfield won the CIF State Division 5 Regional soccer championship
One week after falling to St. Bonaventure in the 2021 CIF Southern Section’s Division 6 championship match, the Linfield Christian girls’ soccer team returned to Ventura College to win the school’s first-ever CIF State Regional championship. Sinclair Francescon scored the winning goal and the Lions recorded their third consecutive shutout in the regionals. Dani Williams delivered a corner kick into the penalty area during the 11th minute of their CIF State championship match. There was a scramble in front of the net, but Francescon was able to get her foot onto the ball and booted it into the net.
- Top high school athletes competed in California track and field State championships
The CIF track & field State championships were not held for a second straight season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that did not prevent the sports community from preparing a stage for the top prep athletes to compete. The California track and field State championships came about in response to that development, and some local athletes who received the invitation took full advantage of the opportunity. Top individual accolades went to: High Jump – 1st place – Darius Hill (12; Vista Murrieta); Shot Put – 1st place – Cade Moran (11; Murrieta Mesa) and Triple Jump – 1st place – Summer Stevenson (12; Great Oak).
- Temecula’s Gavin Johns named Tennessee Tech Athletics Man of the Year
The passion to play baseball at the highest level is something that countless children dream about from an early age, and Temecula’s Gavin Johns is no exception. The recent Tennessee Tech graduate has been playing the game since he could swing a bat and he has played the game well. From his days in youth baseball in Temecula, to playing high school baseball locally, to National championships in Junior college, playing for UCLA and then Tennessee Tech, Johns has been on a mission to play professional baseball for as long as he can remember. In 2021 Johns was named the Tennessee Tech Athletics Man of the Year. He feels blessed, honored and stated that he wants to thank his family, friends, coaches, mentors, trainers and everyone in his life for molding him into the man he is today.
- Area players selected in MLB draft
The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place in July. In total, 612 college and high school players were drafted, including three local players from the Temecula Valley: Andy Thomas, a 2016 graduate of Murrieta Mesa high school, who went to play at Baylor University, was selected in round 5 to the Seattle Mariners as the 144th pick; Carson Seymour, a 2017 graduate of Great Oak High School, who played at Dartmouth and Kansas State, went in round 6 to the New York Mets as the 172nd pick; Tyler Hardman, a 2017 graduate from Temescal Canyon High School, who went to play at Oklahoma, went in round 5 to the Yankees as the 153rd overall pick; and Andre Granillo, a 2018 graduate of West Valley High School, who went on to play for UC Riverside, was taken in the 14th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Temecula’s Evan Mobley goes to Cleveland Cavaliers with No. 3 overall pick
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected former Rancho Christian and USC standout Evan Mobley with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft Thursday, July 29. Mobley flourished in the Pac-12 last season by averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game for the Trojans. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and an All-American in the process. As a junior at Rancho Christian, Mobley averaged 19.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game and was named the California Gatorade Player of the Year. In his senior season, he averaged 20.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.2 blocks and 4.6 assists per game, leading Rancho Christian to a 22–8 record. He repeated as the California Gatorade Player of the Year, joining Jrue Holiday as the award’s only two-time winners. Evan was also named Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year and was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit, but all three games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Temecula’s Kelsie Whitmore named Big West Softball Field Player of the Year
Kelsie Whitmore added Big West Field Player of the Year to her resume. The former 2016 Golden Bear graduate was the 14th Fullerton Titan to ever be named and had one of the best offensive seasons in school history in 2021. This was the second straight year Fullerton has claimed the award. Her 12 home runs were second in the Big West and tied for the 10th-most in program history for a season. It was her first time being named to the All-Big West First Team as she was a member of the second team in 2019. Whitmore’s past includes being a two-time USA Women’s National Baseball Team gold medalist at the 2015 COPABE Pan American Game qualifier in La Vega, Dominican Republic and at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada and a USA Women’s National Baseball Team silver medalist at the 2014 WBSC Women’s World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan.
- Murrieta’s Michael Norman won track and field gold in Tokyo
The U.S. men’s track and field team struggled at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, however, in the last track and field event of the games, Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin got redemption in the finale. Norman, who was raised in Murrieta, won an Olympic gold medal, running the second leg on the U.S. 4×400 men’s relay team at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. The two overall gold medals are the fewest number of gold medals for a U.S. men’s track and field team at a single Olympics.
- Murrieta’s Kingsley topped Colorado tournament for Toreros
Former Murrieta Valley Nighthawk and current redshirt junior for the University of San Diego, Harrison Kingsley, won his first tournament as a Torero Tuesday, Sept. 28, taking home the first-place trophy at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational. The Murrieta native also helped San Diego golf to a fourth place finish out of 17 teams.
Kingsley put together a tournament-record 15-under 201 (67-68-66) to earn the victory at the Colorado National Golf Club (Par 72, 7,705 yards), beating out 99 other golfers for the first-place spot. As a team, the Toreros got out to a one-stroke lead (268) after the event’s first round of play, then shot 291 and 274 to finish in fourth place overall with a 31-under 833.
- Temecula’s Evan Mobley posted historic stat line for NBA rookie debut
Temecula native and Cleveland Cavaliers rookie, Evan Mobley, got his NBA career started off with a bang Wednesday, Oct. 20, after posting a rare final stat line in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Mobley, who earned the start, produced 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists, one steal and had one blocked shot in 38 minutes of work in the 132-121 loss. He converted on 7-of-13 shot attempts from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Mobley is just the second rookie in history to record at least 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in a debut game. The other player to reach those numbers in a debut was Deandre Ayton, who plays for the Phoenix Suns.
- Murrieta Valley won the Southwestern League football title
For the Southwestern League, Murrieta Valley (7-3, 5-0) won their first league title since capturing back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017 behind the arm of Hank Bachmeier, who is now at Boise State. The Nighthawks title this year came at the hands of another Bachmeier sibling, as well as the steadfast arm of senior Brandon Rose. Rose threw four touchdowns on the night, two of which went to Tiger Bachmeier, as well as two to J.T. Saenz, and also scored on his own eight-yard run. The Nighthawk QB completed 11 of 20 passes for 229 yards, while running back Travis Karg added 119 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Elsinore (7-3, 3-1 in league) was the only other team in the area to win a title but shared their league championship with Heritage.
- MSJC volleyball claimed second straight conference volleyball title
The MSJC women’s volleyball team swept Cerro Coso and San Bernardino Valley to claim their second straight Inland Empire Athletic Conference championship. Cerro Coso played tough, but the Lady Eagles fought off the Lady Coyotes 25-20, 26-24 and 25-21. The Lady Eagles then traveled to Chaffey Monday, Nov. 15, for their final match of the regular season where they put an exclamation point on their second straight conference championship.
- Temecula senior wins 10th world championship at Pole Art Italy
Temecula’s Greta Pontarelli, 71, captured her 10th world title at the Pole Art Italy World Championship, Nov. 15. The Temecula resident has graced the covers of numerous international magazines, performed on national and international television and has been featured with Miley Cyrus in her videos and ad campaigns. Pontarelli has also been on American Ninja Warrior twice and was the oldest person to attempt the course. She trains at least five days a week in her home pole studio where she also teaches private lessons.
- Area teams run through CIF Southern Section Cross Country finals, all the way to state
Cross country teams from the Inland area recently competed in the CIF Southern Section Cross Country finals at Mt. San Antonio College with hopes of advancing to the CIF State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno. The lone Inland team champion was Linfield Christian in Division 5, which secured a 14-point victory thanks to three top-10 individual finishes. Senior Ryley Burns (second with a time of 18:38.6), Emma Lakatos (8th) and Scarlett Welsome (10th) all set new personal records on the day. The Lady Lions defeated both St. Margaret’s and Viewpoint, two teams that entered the day ranked higher than that of Linfield, who won their school’s first-ever CIF Southern Section cross country title. A few other prep teams that also had standout performances without claiming titles included the Great Oak boys and girls, as well as Vista Murrieta. Great Oak’s boys entered the finals having won five consecutive section championships, and the girls had won eight. But, back in top form was Newbury Park, who had some historically great performances this year. Newbury’s boys’ team had runners place 1-6, scoring 15 points to the Wolfpack’s 96; and Newbury’s girls outscored Great Oak, 43-110.
- Murrieta’s Tyler Wade headed back, back, to Cali, in Yankees/Angels trade
Murrieta Valley High School alum, Tyler Wade, enjoyed a career year in 2021 for the New York Yankees. The 2013 Nighthawk graduate posted career-highs in batting average (.268), on-base percentage (.354) and plate appearances (145) while leading the team with 17 stolen bases. Wade, 27, played second base, shortstop, third base, left field, center field and right field for the Bronx Bombers and in 402.2 defensive innings, Wade’s only errors in 2021 came at second and third base, where he committed two each. On Monday, Nov. 22, Wade was officially traded to the Los Angeles Angels by the Yankees who will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations.
- Temecula’s Isaiah Mobley named tournament MVP for USC
Temecula native and former Rancho Christian standout, Isaiah Mobley, scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds as No. 24 USC’s stifling defense earned a 58-43 victory over San Diego State in the title game of the Paycom Wooden Legacy. Drew Peterson scored 16 points and Chevez Goodwin added 10 as the Trojans improved to 6-0 at the start of the tournament.
- MSJC Football won the American Division Championship
The MSJC football team put together a big defensive effort against Antelope Valley on their way to a 17-6 win in the Hemet Sportsman’s Club American Championship Bowl at Carl Quandt Stadium. The Eagles scored the first 14 points of the game and never gave up the lead as they won their first ever American Division Championship, finishing the season 9-1 on the field. The Eagles, who were co-champions of the American Mountain Division, beat Antelope Valley, the champions of the American Pacific Division, for the second time this season to claim the crown. Sherod White, who was named the game’s MVP, rushed for 60 yards, and added 83 more receiving. On defense Kelvin Davis earned Defensive Player of the Game honors after recording 11 total tackles, 8 solo and 3 assists. The win put a bow on a huge season for MSJC as they claimed their first conference title since 1999 and now claim their first bowl win under Head Coach Casey Mazzotta, who is in his 14th season at the helm.
*The full versions of these sports stories can also be found online at www.myvalleynews.com.
**We had so many contributing writers this year, including many of our own readers, who helped with not only the stories in this issue, but so many more. As the sports editor, I want to send a heartfelt thank you to my photographers as well staff writers, editors and the many others who contributed to the sports section. I cannot wait to see what sports stories we can share with you in 2022. – JP Raineri
***Local sports tips can be sent to the Valley News Sports Department by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
