The 2022-2023 school year is flying by and as the high school winter sports season sits in the playoff portion of their seasons, the preseason for spring sports is getting underway. With that said, the CIF Southern Section offices released their preseason watchlists for some of the spring sports programs last week and only a handful of local teams find themselves as “teams to be watched.”
On the baseball field, Vista Murrieta (No. 2) finds themselves being one of the top teams to beat in Division 2. The current Southwestern League defending champions will be guided this season by interim coach Michael Tousignant, who was an assistant the last few years and is a Vista Murrieta Baseball alum.
Other local teams that have eyes on them as selected by the CIF-SS Baseball Advisory Committee include:
DIVISION 3
No. 5 – Tahquitz
Top 15 – Temescal Canyon
DIVISION 6
No. 3 – Lakeside
DIVISION 7
No. 1 – Cornerstone Christian
Top 15 – Santa Rosa Academy
On the softball diamond, last year’s Southwestern League co-champions, Murrieta Mesa, are definitely a team to watch in Division 1, as are league foes Vista Murrieta, who are Division 2. Great Oak, who split the league title last season, are nowhere to be found in the preseason watchlist, but a handful of other local teams did garner a “team to watch” nod and they are listed below. These teams were selected by the CIF-SS Softball Advisory Committee.
DIVISION 3
Orange Vista
Temescal Canyon
DIVISION 4
Elsinore
DIVISION 7
California Lutheran
Tahquitz
On the lacrosse fields, Chaparral (No. 9) is the only local boys’ team with their name on the “watchlist” in Division 2, and for the girls’ teams, the Pumas are also high on the Division 2 list at No. 1, while Murrieta Valley is coming in at No. 5 in the same division. Last Year’s CIF Southern Section Division 2 runners-up, and back-to-back Southwestern League champions, were not on the radar for this release.
As for the new girls’ beach volleyball season, selected by the Girls Beach Volleyball Committee, no local teams have been identified for this release. The Boys’ volleyball preseason watchlist will be released Monday, Feb. 13, and Track and Field will release a preseason poll Monday, Feb. 20.
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