Boys’ Cross Country
While most are still wrapped under the warmth of their blankets, Larry Zhou (‘26) is putting on his HOKAs and massaging his sore calves for morning practice.
Boys’ cross country has switched to only morning practices during the wave of the early September heat, but now that the temperature has returned to normal, morning practices are back to only Tuesday.
“I like morning sessions better,” Larry said. “Although you need to wake up early and it’s not pleasant, you get to run in the cool of the morning, and as a bonus, you have the entire afternoon to yourself.”
On September 12th, the cross country team hosted the San Joaquin League Cluster meet on Webb’s campus at their infamous trail, Mongo. With a couple hundred feet of steep incline, it was a loop that even the runners at Webb dreaded.
“We have teams coming all the way from New Port Beach: Samueli from the Valley and some local schools like Western Christian,” said Helga Zambrano, humanities department faculty and boys’ cross country assistant coach. “We were glad for the home court advantage because Mongo knocked out a lot of the visiting runners.”
While the loop was close to three miles of dust kicking up from the steep incline, many Webb cross country runners smashed their personal records in the recent league race, motivating them to continue pushing themselves through challenging practices every day.
“I finished the loop in just over twenty minutes, which is my fastest time, so that was really memorable to me,” Larry said. “My goal is to get the time under twenty minutes by the end of this season.”
The race was encouraging to coaches as well.
“For me, it was seeing our JV runners encouraging each other and really having the attitude to finish the race that made it so unforgettable,” Coach Zambrano said. “They were not the first, and they definitely weren’t the last, but as a pack, it’s very clear that they know what they’re doing, that they’re strong athletes.”
The boys’ varsity team took second in the recent San Joaquin league race, with JV claiming third. With a team of dedicated runners and unconditional support from their coaches, the boys’ cross country team is off to a great start to the year. Get ready for some trophies to be lifted!
Girls’ Cross Country
The girls’ cross country team is doing just as well. Returning from their last race, which was the Woodbridge Invitational at Great Park in Irvine, Sarah Trobaugh, mathematics department faculty and the girls’ cross country head coach, was proud of the performance of her players.
“There were almost 500 runners in the race the girls competed in, and I think just about every runner on the team [who] ran got a personal record,” Coach Trobaugh said.
The runners were proud as well.
“I had a really good time at Woodbridge,” Dorothy Ma (‘25) said. “It is quickly becoming one of my favorite courses to run. It was wonderful seeing huge improvements from everyone on the team.”
While the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams both compete during the fall, they are distinct teams despite often being grouped together.
“Our teams are pretty different,” Dorothy said. “Although we practice on the same loops, we run them on different days. The boys’ team might run Mongo on Monday, while we do it on Tuesday.”
With a smaller roster than the boys’ team, the girls are able to drive to more distant running locations as well.
“It’s really nice that we have a small girls’ team, so we’re able to take vans to different spots to run,” Coach Trobaugh said. “Last Thursday [Setempter 26th] we went and ran Marshall Canyon Trail in La Verne.”
The girls did exceptionally well in the recent 43rd Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Race, with Kaitlyn Metz (‘25) ranking 14th out of 524 competitors and Linda Meng (‘26) ranking 60th. The overall team ranked 9th. Looking ahead to the CIF championships, Coach Trobaugh wants her runners to stay focused and confident.
“It would be lovely if we would have a team that is achieving altogether enough to go to state,” Coach Trobaugh said. “But it matters more to me that students are growing in their running and constantly challenging themselves to get better.”
Girls’ Volleyball
Girls’ volleyball is ready to dominate this season with morning practices, multiple tournaments, and spirit days for every game.
Despite losing so many talented players, the younger generation of Webb volleyball has already stepped up to play.
“The team is really young, but we are getting better fast,” said Gianna Rabida (‘27), co-captain of the varsity team.
The team’s acceleration seems to be driven by the coaches’ ambition to take the team to another level.
“The coaches are fun, but they have a tough-love kind of way of coaching,” said Kate Cook (‘27), co-captain of varsity. “It makes me and my teammates get better.”
The intense game and long practices are the perfect ingredients for success.
Apart from practicing day and night, the team also preps for games with dress-up days and team bonding. Whether it’s tie-dyeing matching shirts, having team lunches, or wearing coordinating face paint, the girls take team spirit to another level.
“We all have [the] understanding [that] we’re playing volleyball, and we all want to win,” Kate said. “We’re all trying to work together to reach that goal.”
Spirits are high, knee pads are tight, and this team is powering through with a 5-13 record and a three-win streak.
Boys’ Water Polo
“We don’t have a league, so we’re freelance, meaning we must win at least half of our games for a chance to go to CIF,” said Sawyer Belville, science department faculty and water polo head coach. “If we want to go to CIF, we have to win 80%, so that will be a challenging part of this season.”
Boys’ water polo is known not only for its impressive winning record but also for its team dynamic.
“At first, I joined because of prior experience, but right now, the main thing keeping me looking forward to water polo is the team dynamic,” William Koo (‘25) said. “I think water polo will be one sport I will hold deep in my memory even in future years.”
With a tight league record of 9-9, the boys’ water polo team might be able to go to CIF but must win more games to secure a spot. Nevertheless, their strong comradery and ambitious goals will undoubtedly power them through this season and help them achieve their goals.
Girls’ Tennis
After having performed well in both league and CIF for the past two years, the girls’ tennis team is ready for another successful season. However, they do face some challenges.
“My favorite part about being on the team is finally being an upperclassman and seeing new freshmen and the change in team dynamics,” said Anna Park (‘26), varsity co-captain.
In addition to the new team, the team has also been facing some other challenges this season.
“With Webb, everyone’s so busy that it makes it hard for everyone to attend practice on time, and the fires recently made it extra difficult to practice,” Anna said. “This also affected our team spirit because not everyone is in a good mood or physically ready to play.”
Saira Bhagat (‘25), varsity co-captain, agrees as well.
“I think the weather definitely affected our team dynamic and made it harder to focus, but I am still really looking forward to a successful season of playing and winning league,” Saira said.
Despite the recent loss against Fairmont (7-11), girls’ tennis still has a probable chance of going to CIF. They hold an impressive record of 4-1 in league and are ready to combat any challenges they face and win league this year.
Football
Kicking off the football season with excitement and passion for upcoming games, the Webb football team welcomes lots of new, young players this year. However, along with the contributions that these new players bring to the team comes challenges. As a substantial number of leaders graduated last year, the Webb team faces the obstacle of getting new leaders ready in their positions as soon as possible.
“Our biggest challenge this year will be finding our 2024 identity,” said Amahl Thomas, head coach of football. “Every year, a new group of players have to figure out what their team identity is.”
Additionally, the team also must work around the heat during practice.
“We’ve had less opportunity to be out on the field this season,” said Anthony Flucker, humanities department faculty and assistant coach. “However, we’ve been able to do well despite these harsh weathers.”
The team is powering through with a record of 1-3 so far, as they adjust back to practices under better weather conditions.
Hoping to unite as one big team by the end of the season, the football team looks forward to playing and valuing each game and the time they spend together as they take home as many wins as possible.
Girls’ Golf
With both new and returning athletes, the girls’ golf team starts off the season with only two defeats so far, a record not new to the team following their league title last year. Yet, maintaining this record is not easy, especially under long exposure to the sun.
“A challenge was to keep practicing in the sun despite the weather because it is always really hot at the range,” Mia Li (‘27) said.
Yet, even under these conditions, many players on the team are forming tight connections.
“We have a lot of new people this year,” Mia said. “We are really bonding through these tournaments and matches.”
With their confident performances, abilities, and strong relationships, the girls’ golf team hopes to finish out the season maintaining their record of 7 to 2.
