As the 2023- 2024 school year kicks off, Sierra Vista High School sports teams prepare for a new fall season. From cross country, tennis and football to volleyball and soccer, the Mountain Lions look forward to a successful fall season filled with challenging games, championships and division rankings.
Jerome Streets, the men’s cross country coach, feels very confident moving into the new season explaining, “The team is feeling good about the upcoming season, we have several returning runners and some new ones that should help the team be competitive this season.” One of these returning runners, Nathan Nations, is a star senior, team captain, defending regional champion and state runner up. With a confident feel to the season and strong runners, the men’s cross country team finds new tactics in order to prepare, Streets explains, “We practice every day running on the track or around the neighborhood as a group to get ready to race.” With all of the preparation the men’s cross country team looks forward to many competitions including all Southern Nevada teams such as Southeast Tech, Basic, and Skypoint.
Along with the men’s cross country team, Streets coaches the women’s cross country team as well. Streets explains, “The team is feeling excited about the upcoming season. We have several new runners on the team this season, and it is the largest team we’ve had in several years.” Although no seniors run for the women’s team the team still manages many runners including team captain, Abrianna Lopez. With strong runners the women’s team looks forward to many competitions, many of these competitions are the same as the men’s team such as Basic, Skypoint, and Southeast Tech.
Along with cross country the women’s tennis team continues to work hard and feels the positive effects of that work, Jessie Medellin, the women’s tennis coach explains, “We had summer intramurals and ran fun and effective practices to get ready for the season… The team is very optimistic about the upcoming season. We return all players from last season and have added a few new faces. Our attitude is very positive and we look forward to a good season.” Some of these returning players include star seniors, Kelliya Keodara, Jeslyn Cho, and Aaralyn Saria who all look forward to a great season full of competition, Medellin elaborates, “We are looking forward to playing Desert Oasis and Centennial because they were 5A last year and are now playing 4A so we want to see how we match up with them. We also look forward to competing against Doral Red Rock. They have an outstanding team and return everybody to their roster like we do.” By the end of the season the team hopes to reach their goals of league championship then working for a Regional Championship and going on to win a State Championship.
Additionally, the men’s tennis team continues to work hard as well. Coach Jeffery Poirier explains, “We go out everyday looking to get better as individuals and a team. We have had some early roadblocks, but things are starting to look positive.” As the team continues to work hard and improve they begin to look forward to future games, Poirier elaborates, “We most look forward to beating the crap out of Desert Oasis, because who doesn’t want to do that. Also look forward to playing Doral Red Rock because they are probably the best team we will face, and I want to see how we do against the best.” The team moves forward with high hopes and strong players including star seniors and team captains, Dillon Barborka and Trey Bunker. As the season progresses the team and coaches are working hard to achieve their overall goals, Poirier discloses, “I hope to win a division title as a team. I also hope to do well in the playoffs as a team and as individuals.”
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A new school year means a new football season. Football’s new head coach, Zachary Carlson shares, “The team is feeling ready to compete. It has been a long off season, and they can’t wait to be able to show how hard they have been working.” The team continues to focus on “getting a little bit better each day.” Some of these players are a part of the “mighty men” also known as the team captains, each one of these players are chosen based on their ability to represent the F.A.I.R. Values. These players include Adonis Vaughn, Jerron Baker, Tarrance Masnica, Chansten Torres, JJ Kim, Connor Mamon, Cameron Mamon, Adrian Holmes, Isaiah Misailegalu, and Jordan Mendez. Each and every player works hard this season to achieve their goals which include beating Spring Valley and Durango. Carlson further clarifies how to achieve these goals explaining, “The only thing we can do is to focus on getting a little bit better each day, and controlling what we can control. If we can do that, we should be able to meet any challenge that comes our way.”
The women’s volleyball team looks forward to the upcoming season. Varsity’s head coach, Camille McComas, shares, “The team has a positive outlook about being able to play competitive teams consistently since our move to 5A. We welcome the challenge” After last season’s success of moving up from the 4A to 5A division, McComas shares the volleyball program’s thoughts and goals on this drastic change in competition, “Our goal is to make the playoffs and we think that is absolutely achievable.” A large factor in the teams success revolves around their players, Nicole McManus (captain) , Lanna Ong (captain), Hope Powell, Madisen Rhein are all star seniors in this program and help lead their team to success alongside their other captain Ariella Maika (junior). McComas helps prepare the girls for this season explaining, “We believe in preparing all of our girls to play multiple positions and be ready to fill when needed. We already have faced three injuries that have affected playtime and our bench has chrome in and made plays happen and helped us get some wins.” Despite these setbacks the team continues to reach for their goals of post-season playoffs and finishing top eight in the south.
Sierra Vista’s women’s soccer team moves into the new season with an optimistic attitude and looks to make a “deep run in the playoffs this year.” With their optimistic attitude and hopes for the future of the season the team’s star seniors, Nadya Williams, Jolie Bautista, Makaiylah Devere and team captain, Averi Costa hope to assist their success. Ryan Quinn, the womens and mens soccer coach shares their goals for the season, “We hope to win our league and make a deep run in the playoffs.” Along with these the team looks forward to certain games such as Doral Red Rock. To achieve these goals the women’s team continues to work hard, Quinn elaborates, “We are working hard in practice, and developing a mindset of competing hard and winning.”
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The men’s soccer team shares many of the same aspirations as the women’s team. Some of these aspirations include their goals to make a “deep run into playoffs” and winning their league. Both teams continue to work hard in practice in order to reach these goals. Dominic Portale (captain), Riley Galloway (captain), Leo Sanchez, Elijah Leon, the team’s star seniors actively help achieve this goal along with their other goal of beating Desert Oasis. Throughout all of this hard work Quinn shares the most rewarding part of his job which is “working with all of the kids and seeing them grow as players and young adults.”
The women’s golf team goes into the new season with a positive attitude looking forward to the challenges of the upcoming season. In order to prepare for the upcoming season the team continues to work hard, the women’s golf coach Arthur Besser further explains, “They have been practicing and playing since our last season ended.” As the new season begins the team looks forward to competing, Besser shares, “Our team looks forward to competing against Gorman and Clark. They both bring very experienced golfers to our matches. Although most of the girls compete against each other on the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association tour, having a school next to a player’s name adds a little bit more to the competition level.” One of Sierra Vista’s star golfers, star senior, and team captain, Jayda Sidney is one of these experienced players. Besser further clarifies some of their goals for the upcoming season, “they don’t have an offseason. They take it very seriously. If they are not playing in tournaments in town every weekend, then they are out of town playing…Since we only have three players on our team, we cannot compete for a state championship so we focus on trying to win the individual championship.”
