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It was a championship calendar year for athletics in San Juan Capistrano highlighted by sectional, regional and state championships in every sports season.
San Juan Hills, JSerra, St. Margaret’s and Capistrano Valley Christian each tasted some level of title-winning success in 2023.
Here is a look back at some of the memorable San Juan Capistrano sports moments of 2023:
FEBRUARY
JSerra Boys Soccer Posts Shutout for CIF-SS Division 1 Title
The Lions endured a 45-minute lightning delay in the first half of the Division 1 Final and scored twice in the first two minutes after the restart to shock Sunny Hills, 2-0, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. Angel Reyes and Tanner Casey scored to support the clean sheet in net by Noah Nesson. It was JSerra’s second CIF-SS boys soccer title.
St. Margaret’s Girls Basketball Uses Second-Half Burst to Capture First CIF-SS Title
The Tartans went on a 10-0 run out of halftime of the Division 5AA Final to triumph over Gahr, 44-33, at Edison High School and win the program’s first CIF-SS championship. It was St. Margaret’s first CIF-SS girls basketball final. Kaitlin Tam led the Tartans with 12 points, and Taylor Francis scored 11 points.
JSerra Girls Water Polo Rolls to First CIF-SS Championship
The Lions capped a dominant run through the Division 3 playoffs with a 13-5 win over Sunny Hills for the program’s first CIF-SS title. JSerra outscored its five playoff opponents by a 70-goal margin. Zoe Gabriel, Sloan Paulson and Sayre Duran each scored three goals in the final.
MARCH
JSerra Boys Soccer Caps Season with Regional Title
Reagan Heslin scored twice, and goalkeeper Noah Nesson posted another shutout as the Lions won their first CIF Southern California Regional Championship. JSerra finished as MaxPreps’ No.1-ranked team in the country for the winter season.
APRIL
Capistrano FC Competes in First-Ever U.S. Open Cup
In only its third season of fielding a senior men’s team, Capistrano FC qualified for its first U.S. Open Cup and advanced to the second round. The local amateur side took on professional USL squad Orange County SC in the second round and fell, 5-0. Capo FC was founded as a youth program in 2006.
JSerra Track Sweeps Orange County Championships
The Lions girls dominated on their way to back-to-back county titles, and the JSerra boys edged their way to their first county championship. Throwers Siena Lambert and Brendon See were the girls and boys field athletes of the meet, respectively.
San Juan Hills’ Fox, CVC’s Schneider Win CIF-SS Diving Titles
The Stallions’ Taylor Fox won her second consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 girls diving championship, and the Eagles’ Grant Schneider captured his first in the CIF-SS Division 4 boys diving final. Both Fox and Schneider posted the top scores across all divisions.
MAY
JSerra Girls Track Dominates for First-Ever CIF-SS Title, Boys Runner-Up
The Lions girls set a divisional record for team points with four individual champions and 16 Masters qualifiers to capture their first CIF-SS crown in Division 3. Georgia Jeanneret won the 800, Anna Elise Packard won the 1,600, Maya Woolforde won the 400, and the Lions won the 4×400-meter relay. The boys got two individual championships from Brendon See in shot put and Jake Stafford in high jump to finish as the team runner-up.
St. Margaret’s Boys Volleyball Takes CIF-SS Runner-Up
The Tartans did not drop a set in the Division 3 playoffs or suffer a loss in over two months until a four-set defeat in the CIF-SS Final. St. Margaret’s was playing in its second consecutive CIF-SS Final and did not lose a single set through league play.
JSerra Baseball Wins Dramatic Back-to-Back CIF-SS Titles
The Lions played their best in their biggest moments, including a walk-off, extra-innings victory over league rival Santa Margarita, 1-0, in the CIF-SS Division 1 championship. Ben Reimers and Matt Champion pitched a combined eight-inning shutout, and Dmitri Susidko hit the walk-off single to score Jackson Summers. It was JSerra’s second consecutive Division 1 title.
JSerra’s See Wins Double State Throws Titles, Stafford High Jump Title
The Lions earned team CIF State runner-up honors on the backs of individual titles from Brendon See and Jake Stafford. See won his second straight state discus championship and the state shot put title. Stafford captured his first state championship on his final high school high jump attempt.
CVC’s Powell Wins State Golf Championship with Near-Record Round
Eagles senior Luke Powell sank birdies on five of six holes to catapult into the lead and win the CIF State Championship. Powell’s card of a 7-under-par 64 was one shot off the state championship record set by current PGA Tour pro Rickie Fowler (8-under-par 64 in 2006). Powell shot a combined 25-under-par across four CIF postseason events.
AUGUST
Girls Flag Football Kicks Off First CIF-SS Season
San Juan Hills and JSerra were two of the 114 schools across the CIF-Southern Section to participate in the inaugural season of girls flag football. San Juan Hills had hosted a club program in recent seasons, but this was the first season as a CIF-sanctioned sport. Both San Juan Hills and JSerra played full league slates, but CIF-SS playoffs won’t start until next season.
OCTOBER
San Juan Hills Football Posts Best Start in Program History
The Stallions opened with an 8-0 record for the first time in program history, including a big win in their Sea View League opener over El Toro. San Juan Hills also posted a dramatic Battle for the Bell victory over Tesoro in their opening run. The Stallions finished second in the Sea View League.
NOVEMBER
JSerra Girls Volleyball Wins First CIF-SS Championship
The Lions swept Trinity League rival Orange Lutheran to capture the program’s first-ever CIF-SS championship in the Division 2 Final. It was JSerra’s first official trip to the CIF-SS Final, after the Lions were removed from the playoffs ahead of the Division 3 Final in 2021. JSerra set a program record for wins this season.
CVC Girls Volleyball Wins First CIF-SS Title in 31 Years
The Eagles swept El Dorado to win the CIF-SS Division 4 Final and capture the program’s first CIF-SS championship since 1992. Capistrano Valley Christian lost just one set in the CIF-SS playoffs following a sparkling run through the San Joaquin League.
JSerra Boys Water Polo Completes Perfect Season with CIF-SS, Regional Titles
The Lions went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in Southern California, winning their first CIF-SS Open Division championship and their second straight CIF SoCal Regional Division I championship to complete a perfect 30-0 campaign. JSerra was paced by superstar Ryan Dodd, who rejoined the Lions in the playoffs after leading the U.S. Men’s National Team in goals en route to a gold medal in the Pan American Games in Chile.
St. Margaret’s Girls Cross Country Wins Third CIF-SS Title in Five Seasons
The Tartans won a title battle in Division 5 to win their third CIF-SS championship in five seasons. Joyce Li was just off championship pace in second, and Sarah Bendzick came in sixth. The St. Margaret’s girls and boys teams both qualified for the CIF State Championships for the seventh consecutive season.
JSerra Girls Cross Country Wins Third Straight CIF-SS, State Championships
The single most-dominant group of athletes in San Juan Capistrano was the JSerra girls distance runners, from their track championships in the spring to their cross country titles in the fall. The Lions girls placed three runners in the top five and four in the top seven to win the CIF-SS Division 4 title, and a week later, JSerra placed four runners in the top 10 to capture the CIF State title. It was the Lions’ third straight CIF-SS championship and their second CIF State championship three-peat. JSerra’s boys finished as runner-up at both CIF-SS and CIF State.
