Page 4 September 26, 2019 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
School Spotlight
ESUSD Sports
Hochberg Leads Eagles to First Win
By Gregg McMullin
The El Segundo High School football team
has been licking its wounds after opening
the season with three consecutive losses to
ranked teams. Those wounds healed when the
Eagles dominated Torrance 38-0 to get their
first win of the season. The poor 0-3 start
was the worst in head coach Steve Shevlin’s
26 years guiding the Eagles. “Good to get
our first one,” he said.
To shore up some defensive challenges
in the first three games, senior quarterback
Nick Villa went back to his natural position
of defensive back. That meant the Eagles
would turn the offense over to the future and
sophomore Conor Hochberg. It didn’t take
long for Hochberg, who scored El Segundo’s
only TD against Mira Costa, to toss his first
touchdown pass.
On Torrance’s first possession, the Eagles
forced a fumble recovered by Jose Hurtado
at the Tartar 25-yard line. On the first play,
Hochberg connected with Scott Melton for
a touchdown. On El Segundo’s next possession
after a Torrance punt, Hochberg found
Melton open on a 32-yard touchdown pass
and a 14-0 lead with 5:28 remaining in the
first quarter.
Torrance employs a run first option and
consumed the remaining time in the first
quarter on a 14-play drive that stalled out
on El Segundo’s 34-yard line. Later in the
second quarter, the Eagles let senior running
back Arman Sayson take an inside handoff.
He scooted through the line and outran Torrance’s
secondary for a 30-yard touchdown
run. The Eagles had one final possession
before halftime. With good use of the clock
Hochberg completed five passes, including a
12-yard touchdown strike to Melton as time
ran out, for a 28-0 lead.
To start the second half, James Fraelich
took the kickoff near his own 5-yard line. He
made two Torrance would-be tacklers miss,
stiff-armed another to get by and found his
way racing down the sidelines for a 72-yard
return. Sayson then did the rest with a punishing
23-yard run to the end zone. Sayson
would hit a 29-yard field goal later on for
a 38-0 win for the Eagles.
It was a much-needed win for the Eagles.
It should give them momentum as they host
South Torrance Friday night. Then it’s on to
start their farewell Ocean League schedule
next week. This will be the final season El
Segundo plays in the Ocean League before
heading to the Pioneer League next fall.
Cross Country Teams
Impressive in First Meet
Both the boys and girls cross country teams
have been snubbed by the CIF-Southern
Section ranking committee to start the season.
Neither team was mentioned in early
season polls, but that should change with
their impressive showing at the Woodbridge
XC Classic. Both squads finished second
in their divisions, which had several ranked
teams competing.
The boys team ran an incredible race paced
by four-year standout Arend Verfaille. He
not only came in third out of 191 runners,
but he broke 15 minutes. In the process of
running a 14:54, he set a new school record
that makes him the fastest cross country
runner in school history, according to head
coach Marcos Bolanos.
Lucas Lux was a top 15 finisher with a
15:48, with Niall Glynn 16:07, Ryu Iguchi
16:20, Marcus Ortiz 16:28 and Jonny Felker
16:39. Each bettered his times from last season
and had personal records. Cobi Rifkin’s effort
was his best race in two seasons.
The girls team has high expectations this
season. With five returnees that helped the
Lady Eagles to a podium position at the California
State CIF meet, there are high hopes.
Two of those returning are seniors Sophia Zago
and James Matlosz, who led their team to a
second place finish at the Woodbridge XC
Classic. Zago finished 12th overall in 18:08
while Matlosz (18:19) came in 17th just ahead
of her sister Tyler Matlosz who finished 18th
(18:30). Sophomore standouts Isabella Mai
and Ami Jacobson each ran personal bests
and freshman phenom Makaela Fujimoto
finished with a burst at the end to give the
Eagles a second place finish.
Each team is poised to make a statement
this coming weekend at the Nike XC Invitational
in Portland, Oregon. The Eagles will
be facing some of the top high school cross
country teams from Oregon, Washington,
Idaho and California. It is a challenging
course that should bode well for the Eagles,
who have stepped up their training.
Mark your calendars to watch El Segundo
host the program’s first Ocean League cross
country finals on Oct. 30. The meet will gather
each Ocean League school to compete for
the league title at Rec Park.
Girls Volleyball Off to Quick
Ocean League Start
The Lady Eagles took care of Hawthorne
in three games 25-10, 25-3 and 25-15 in the
Ocean League opener for each team. Addy
Abrams, Ryan Bochner, Megan CdeBaca
and Marly Smith were dominating at the net.
Kaia Breeden and Leafa Juarez were impressive
with their kills and making points for
their team. In the third game Katie Croxall,
Bridgett Dorr and Audrey Maloy led their
team to the victory and three-game sweep.
The Lady Eagles faced Culver City on
Tuesday and travel to Lawndale on Thursday.
They’ll host Santa Monica next Wednesday
at 3:15 p.m. •
Marly Smith pounds one of her 14 kills.
El Segundo School Board Works
Overtime in Its Tuesday Meeting
Hollywood Park from page 3
SoFi’s selection as the Hollywood Park
stadium corporate partner triggered Google
searches about the company and what is sells.
SoFi, which is short for Social Finance, won’t
become known overnight, based on GMR’s
fan research. Staples Center is an example
of what a successful naming deal looks like:
long-term, stable and multipurpose. The Lakers
and Clippers of the NBA, the Sparks of the
WNBA, and the Kings of the National Hockey
League all play there. More home teams equal
greater exposure.
Staples Center opened 20 years ago with a
concert by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street
Band. Longevity hasn’t been the case with the
former Home Depot Center in Carson, though
it currently fills up its 27,000 seats with NFL
and pro soccer fans.
The stadium was completed in 2003 and has
been the home to the L.A. Galaxy the entire
time. The venue, which featured international
superstar David Beckham on the pitch for the
Galaxy, became the epicenter of the Major
League Soccer action. The stadium opened as
The Home Depot Center, which had a 10-year
deal for the rights. Ticket reseller StubHub
followed with a shorter six-year contract that
ended in 2018. This year, the field became
the Dignity Health Sports Park with a 10-year
commitment from the healthcare provider that
runs clinics and six hospitals between Long
Beach and Northridge. The financial terms
of the Dignity Health stadium deal were not
disclosed. •
By Duane Plank
The El Segundo School Board members
did some double-duty work Tuesday evening,
convening not only for their regularly
scheduled open session at 7 p.m., but also
gathering a couple of hours earlier to participate
in a workshop that featured a facilities
update that focused on finances and projects
from the first phase of the implementation
of Measure ES – the bond measure passed
by local voters nearly one year ago.
El Segundo Unified School District Superintendent
Dr. Melissa Moore helmed the
early presentation with administrators Dr.
Dylan Farris, Kim Linz and Telacu’s Preeti
D’Souza. The initial meeting was entitled
“Bond Program Management 101,” and
informed the Board of the nuts and bolts of
implementing the initial phase of the District
upgrades attached to Measure ES.
“What it comes down to,” Moore said
before the Tuesday evening meetings, is that
“construction costs and escalation are going
through the roof.” She spoke of the need for
the special session and that the District’s
intent is to bring a recommendation to the
Board in October about the necessity to add
personnel, and then possibly move up the
timeframe and issuance of bonds relating
to Measure ES. Moore also said the Board
may be tasked with reprioritizing the upgrade
projects.
Center Street School (CSS) Principal Dr.
Martha Monahan and Assistant Principal
Grace Long led the main special presentation
of Tuesday’s regular meeting with support
from school coach Poonam Leonard. It
highlighted the shift the school has made
towards a “distributed leadership model”
implemented to build teacher effectiveness
as well as increase student achievement. The
presentation delineated how, over the past
three years, grade level lead teachers have
been tasked with embracing a higher level
of responsibility for utilizing analytics and
integrating the available data into collaborative
planning to improve comprehension of
student instruction.
The presentation additionally noted how
the “collective focus” of teachers at CSS
affiliated with the English Language Arts
program has helped to significantly boost the
test score results in state-mandated exams.
Monahan and company pointed out the
uptick in school testing results. Moore gave
kudos to the “total teacher efficacy” happening
at Center Street.
Next the Board tackled consent agenda
items, including District internship agreements,
a couple of items to benefit the Eagles’ Nest
students, and adoption of a money-saving
“piggyback” construction agreement.
Action items addressed included adoption
of a resolution touting Custodial Workers
Recognition Day, which will occur on Oct.
2. Custodial workers, often taken for granted
unless the toilets overflow on campus or the
trash bins bulge with garbage, typically show
up earlier to work and continue the job after
the classroom day has ended.
Moore emphasized how important the
custodial workers are to running the District
efficiently. “They are there every day,” she
said. “It is not just about emptying trash.
They interact with the kids and keep a keen
eye on any type of safety issues that may
arise. They are here for all the right reasons.
We really appreciate what they do for us.”
Director of Operations Ali Rabiei also gave
kudos to the custodial workers as did Board
member Tracey Miller-Zarneke “Grateful
how hard they work,” she said.
Also approved was an agreement with Actus
Consulting to present safety information at
a town hall meeting that will take place on
Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the El Segundo High
School Performing Arts Center. Community
members will be invited to quiz Moore, Assistant
Superintendent of Educational Services
Marisa Janicek, Actus security expert Dave
Klug, and El Segundo Police Department
Chief Bill Whalen on the efforts the District
is making to enhance campus security. Klug
has been working with the District for more
than a year, counseling on safety options that
could be implemented in these tumultuous
times on school campuses.
Also passed was the annual Advancement
Via Individual Determination (AVID) college
tour, which this year will encompass a visit
to four Oregon colleges. The trek is slated
to allow the AVID crew and chaperones to
tour the University of Oregon, Oregon State
University, the University of Portland, and
Linfield College. Students will have the opportunity
to not only spend a bit of time on
the campuses in the Beaver State, but also
get a quick look at what the next step in their
educational journeys could entail.
During reports, Board member Emilee
Layne cited above-average attendance at
the Back-to-School nights, and also asked
residents to support the upcoming October
Skechers walk. Moore then thanked the El
Segundo Kiwanis Club for sponsoring The
Fair on Richmond Street last Saturday.
Upcoming District events include town
halls to discuss bond expenditures and how
those are doled out, as well as school-site
safety. These special events will take place
in the next month.
The next regularly scheduled El Segundo
School Board meeting is calendared for
Tuesday evening, Oct. 8. •