Now first in the league, McClatchy’s varsity baseball team is on a winning rampage, winning 12 of the 20 games played so far this season. In a riveting game against the Kennedy Cougars on April 18th on our home field, the Lions pull a victory with a score of 11-1. The win over the Cougars gives the Lions a ride to the Metropolitan Conference. Frankie Castillo, a senior on the team, hit two home runs, guiding the team to the victory it has.
Category: Sports
In a brutal game against the Canyon Crest Ravens, McClatchy Lions Varsity Baseball team took the lead in the game with 3 runs in the second inning. Held in San Diego on April 6th, the Ravens suffered a massive loss on their home field with a 9-2 end. Jack Smith, with a batting average of 0.467 batting average and a 0.636 on base percentage, continues to shake the competition. McClatchy’s next game on April 11, will be against the Burbank Titans who have a current standing of 4-4. Burbank won a recent non-league game against Sacramento with a 10-4 win. The next game the Lions will face will be an interesting one to say the least.
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McClatchy vs. Monterey Trail
The C.K. McClatchy High School Varsity Boys’ Volleyball team lost their home conference game against Monterey Trail on April 10. The ending game score (3-0) had the Lions feeling defeated after their previous win against Chico High School. C.K. McClatchy still has some fight left in them. Star player, Nathaniel Steele, has become an asset to the Lions. Steele and his contributions to the team have helped the Lions to keep their winning spirits up.
McClatchy’s tennis team added another 9-0 victory to their undefeated season after their match against Kennedy at John F. Kennedy High School on Thursday, March 30. Senior Trevor Fong leads this victory without losing a single point in both of his sets. Continued by further victories for each player in singles and doubles without going to a third set. The McClatchy Tennis Team continues to perform and bring in amazing results for the season.
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Winter Sports Wrap Up
Winter sports season at McClatchy recently came to a close, and spring sports are now in full swing. As the sports seasons transition, it is important to recognize the incredible success that the winter teams reached over the past several months.
The girls soccer team made it further in the playoffs than ever before, advancing to the Division 1 Section-Finals against Franklin on February 23rd – a feat no CKM soccer team has accomplished in the last 25 years. Though they lost that night at Cosumnes River College, they still made it to the first round of the state championship after taking down Inderkum, Lincoln of Stockton, and #1 seed Davis High School.
The boys’ team beat #3 rank Inderkum when they were ranked 14th and advanced to the second round of playoffs. They earned themselves a Metro League title as well.
Girls’ basketball was a super thrilling season, with the Varsity girls making it all the way to State. The highlight of the season in my opinion was the night they demolished St. Francis in the quarter final game (February 16th). This victory, by a margin of 38 points, came from a strong and spirited performance on our home court, where the Legion definitely ‘brought the ruckus’. They were taken down by Folsom in the semi finals, but it was not without a fair fight. Besides, McClatchy was already beyond satisfied with the things that unfolded leading up to that point for our women’s basketball team.
In other news, numerous members of our Wrestling team advanced to the Section-Masters Tournament, including Austen and Ahmad. Both Brianna Hernandez and Maylan Bevens made it all the way to the competitive CIF State Championships. The wrestling athletes repped the ‘Clatch with impressive tournament victories for individuals on both the girls’ and boys’ side.
Overall, McClatchy could not be prouder of the student-athletes who represented our school in the winter sports. I look forward to seeing what our athletes can do in the spring, as teams such as Boys Volleyball, Track and Field, Softball and Baseball, Men’s Tennis, and Swim and Dive enter the scene.
As far as McClatchy’s girls’ volleyball team goes, they have a 65% overall win ratio and are sitting at 2nd in the league. Their last game was on October 10th, 2022. The game occurred at CK McClatchy; the Lions lost 0-3 to the Oak Ridge Trojans. The kill ratio was between Comfort of the Lions and Weaver of the Trojans with a 15-370. For blocks, it was between Williams of the Lions and Anderson of the Trojans at a 2-56. And serving was between Abdul-Rahman of the Lions and Fagundes of the Trojans. The overall kill ratio stood at 54-1235.
On Wednesday, March 8th, the McClatchy Lions Varsity Baseball team experienced a dominating loss to the Lincoln Trojans in a 1-4 outcome at Lincoln High. After the game, the two teams upgraded their record for the season. With McClatchy’s season now1 and 3, and Linocln moving to 3 and 1.
By the time the game was over, the Trojans had much higher percentages in all aspects of the game. With the Lion’s batting average of .235 and the Trojans with an average of .316, it is clear that the Trojans had this game wrapped up in the scoring column. Although the Lions ended with a fielding percentage of .963 and the Trojans ended with a .898 percent, showing the C.K. McClatchy Lions put up a fight on defense.
With the scores coming later in the 5th and 6th innings for the Lincoln Trojans, the Lions showed heart and resilience to try and win this game, but the Trojans were too much. The C.K. McClatchy Lions did hold the Trojans to only 6 hits and the Lions were held to 5 hits throughout the game. It was a hard-fought game by both teams but the Lincoln Trojans came out on top in the end.
On Friday, March 10th, McClatchy’s men’s varsity volleyball team played a riveting match against Mesa Verde High School. The players fought hard in this non-league game, winning with a score of 3-1 and Nathaniel Seale earned the player of the match for preventing a majority of the blocks from the other team and saving the ball from Mesa Verde’s master spikers. McClatchy will face the Grant Pacers in the next game in an attempt to better its 2-4 season record.
By Taryn Yee, Staff Writer
McClatchy’s beloved basketball program has officially started the winter season, clocking in late night practices on campus and competing in local tournaments.
Starting off the season strong, all teams won their first games, with the exception of the boys’ freshman team who lost a close game (37-40). Both varsity teams have impressive records so far: the men’s varsity team has a 6-1 record, while the women’s varsity team has a 4-1 record. The varsity teams have each lost one game in their respective leagues, using the tournaments as preparation for Metro League.
Both junior varsity teams are working on building a sense of community. Mainly composed of underclassmen, the coaches are working hard to encourage team bonding to strengthen the program for future years.
“Winning is nice but building the skills to be successful at the next level — that’s important,” Assistant Coach Justin Kumamoto said.
Varsity men’s basketball had their first win against Hiram Johnson on November 19 and will be involved in various tournaments over winter break. Their first league game is against Monterey Trails on January 5.
Jeff Ota returns as head coach for the varsity women’s team, as well as Assistant Coach Carlos Vicente who coached the 2015 CIF Championship team. This year, the varsity women’s team is split between seniors and underclassmen. Senior Caila Chappell admitted “We have a lot of young players, so it will be a learning curve.” Despite the makeup of the team, Chappell explained “Our games have been going really well. We’ve been winning by a good margin.”
Senior Jameel Pongyan agreed, crediting wins to the persistent and supportive nature of the coaches. The ultimate goal is to advance to Metros, but they face tough competition.
Grant, Burbank, and Folsom high schools pose the biggest threats this season. Varsity thus far shows potential, confident that their continuous practice and driven mindset will give them a fair chance at advancing further into the season.
As of now, in-district games are limited to household members only. Per SCUSD COVID-19 mandates, each player is allotted four tickets to distribute to household members. Spectators without tickets are not allowed to attend games. Players are also tested weekly for COVID. However, some out-of-district games allow more attendees.
Coaches and players alike miss the energy of the crowd. “It’s really sad how COVID is making a mark on our season. It’d be great to get Legion back in the gym. They totally change the whole atmosphere,” Coach Antawn Greer said.
Chappell and Pongyan can testify to the difference the crowd brings too. They hope students can return to the stands soon. Until then, spectators can only watch McClatchy compete at out-of-district games. “We just need the crowd,” Pongyan remarked.
By Juliana Castro, Staff Writer
McClatchy’s annual rivalry game versus Kennedy, known as “Hell Bowl,” approaches this Friday. This year it’ll look significantly different. No spirited student section or chants from the crowd will be present.
Though the game will still be happening, the stands won’t be full. On Tuesday October 5, athletic director Rob Feickert announced that district policy will not be changing for the game. Only players, cheerleaders, dancers, and immediate family members will be allowed to attend.
It’s a disappointing development for students and the football team alike. Hellbowl is a massive McClatchy tradition, and student sections at games shift the energy tremendously. When asked about how crowds influence games, head football coach Zachary Cuda said, “We loved having a larger crowd against Valley, it definitely provided a boost for us.”
The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) has interpreted county guidance for COVID more strictly than other school districts. Hell Bowl is just one among many games that haven’t looked normal this year due to SCUSD’s rigid protocol.
Principal Egan is still hopeful for exciting events in place of games for students. “I definitely want students to have a much more realistic, normal experience this year and get to do all those fun things, but I want to do it in a way that is safe,” she said.
If stricter guidance around regular testing is maintained she predicts that in the next month or so greater numbers of students will be able to attend more school events. However, indoor activities still seem uncertain. Events like packed rallies or basketball games remain unlikely.
COVID protocols are subject to change at any time. Stay alert for district or school updates.