by Director of Athletics Anthony Thomas

So many talented student-athletes having graced the fields, courts, and waters this year so far—playing hard, posting impressive records, and generally imposing their wills on the competition. You may feel as if you’ve read this sports wrap-up before. But rest assured that you haven’t: This being my first year at Parker, I am happy to share that the spirit of the School is energized and proud to tell the story of the 2018 fall athletic season thus far (Teaser: it’s not over yet!)

August brought back the cracking of pads, the smashing of volley and tennis balls, the splashing of water, the driving of golf balls, and the endurance of cross country. In the heat of the San Diego summer, before school even started the Lancers were preparing for the upcoming season.

Football

Parker Football returned to its winning ways starting the season with a 7-0 record and dominating their opponents outscoring them 263-29. After dropping the next game, the Lancers won their last two games to finish 9-1 on the year. That earned them the number 3 seed in the CIF section playoffs and we will host a quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 pm. The success of this season has been a true team effort. The hard work and determination of our players and coaches have been inspirational and truly energizing to the community.

Cross Country

The team began with their annual training trip to Julian. This trip is always a highlight of the season and really gets the team off to the right start. Traditionally, our girls, have been a powerhouse competing at the State Championships several times over the years. This year it is our boys who have led the way with dominating performances throughout the season. The team is gearing up for the league finals this Friday, Nov. 9 in Escondido, section finals following that, and it appears that the boys team will punch their ticket to State finals this year.

Girls Volleyball

Playing arguably the toughest leagues in the County left little room for error for our girls volleyball team. The athletes played well throughout the season and battled through numerous injuries by key contributors. Nevertheless, the team was battle tested and played a quality schedule that qualified for the Division II CIF playoffs.  Sadly, their season came to an end in Escondido with a tough 3-2 defeat.

Girls Golf

Our girls golf team was one of the best in the County again led by seniors Brooke Seay and Caroline Garay. Brooke began the season by playing in World Junior Girls Championship in Canada. She was fully sponsored by the USGA and was one of three girls invited to represent the USA in this international tournament with teams from around the globe. The team followed her lead and dominated their field and won the Coastal Conference Championship again. In the CIF Tournament Caroline represented Parker and finished with a two day total of 147, 3 over par. She finished tied for seventh for all of San Diego County. Caroline advances to the state competition on Thursday, Nov. 8 as she plays in the first round of the SoCal Regionals at Brookside Golf Club in Pasadena. Caroline has advanced to the SoCal Regionals every year since she began high school.

Girls Tennis

Our girls tennis program continues to make strides to compete with some of the top teams in San Diego. The team earned impressive wins and made a strong push to qualify for the Division I CIF Tournament. They were ultimately defeated by La Jolla in round one but with a young nucleus, the team has an exciting future ahead of them.

Water Polo

The water polo team has taken the division by storm this year. Only in year two and in our first year of eligibility to make the playoffs, the Lancers did just that! After a stellar season that earned them a number six seed in the Division III CIF playoffs, the Lancers defeated Oceanside 13-4 to advance to the quarterfinals and then pulled off the upset over favorite Bonita Vista 15-13 in a dramatic overtime thriller. The Lancers propelled to the semi-finals on Monday, Nov. 5 vs. Helix and finished with an 8-6 win. The team advances to the CIF Championships vs. Classical Academy on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 11 am.

Boys Sand Volleyball

Boys sand volleyball finished the season with a 5-4 overall record. Senior Nick Gustafson played on the No. 1 doubles team all year. 

In the County Championships, our team lost to Westview 3-2 in the Division I semi-finals. Westview went on to defeat Carlsbad in the finals to win the title. In the County Pairs Championship, senior Nick Gustafson and junior Ben Sheres came in second in their pool and ended up in ninth place. Seniors Bijan Sagart and Spencer Thoene came in third in their pool and finished in third place in the silver division finals.

For quite a few of our boys, this is their first experience playing on the sand. As a group, this team improved more than any of our previous sand volleyball teams.  The strength of the team was the number of talented players we have in the program. Other standout players on the varsity team were juniors Rodrigo Gallardo, Billy Harrington, and Alex Hernandez.

Click here to view the Fall Athletics program.