The Vikings win top honor for third straight year

The success is vast and varied. The explanation, if you ask Brian Stiman, is quite simple.

During the 2016-17 school year, Valencia High won a Foothill League-best eight league titles, a CIF sectional title and three individual CIF crowns.

With 291 points, according to The Signal’s award formula, Valencia is The Signal’s Program of the Year for the third year in a row.

Anyone hoping for the Vikings’ athletic director to reveal secrets to sustaining a successful athletic program, however, will be at least mildly disappointed.

“The commitment of the coaches,” Stiman said last month. “It’s been a longtime expectation at Valencia High that if you’re going to be coaching or playing there, there is a very high expectation to be successful. The coaches handle

They relish the opportunity to coach in that environment. They work hard. The kids work very hard.”

Brian Stiman,

Valencia athletic director

it very well. They relish the opportunity to coach in that environment. They work hard. The kids work very hard.

“With that said, we have been fortunate enough to have some great success. The players and coaches are out there, and they buy into the whole environment that has been created for many years.”

In 2016-17, no Valencia team was more successful than the girls basketball squad. The Vikings won a share of their fifth straight Foothill League title, captured the program’s first CIF title and won two state playoff games.

In all, girls basketball accounted for 60 of Valencia’s 291 points, according to The Signal’s formula (see B2 for details).

The Vikings received an additional 50 points for winning the most league titles this year. They earned 10 points each for Nikol Popov’s two swimming CIF titles, and 10 more for Julia Wolf’s CIF crown in the same sport.

West Ranch, which secured seven league titles, finished second in The Signal’s standings with 142 points (see the chart on B2 for the formula details).

Hart was third with 124 points; Saugus was fourth (103), followed by Canyon (51) and Golden Valley (10).

Katharine Lotze/The Signal Valencia’s Gabby Fundora (10), left, celebrates teammate Kyla Hardy (2) game-winning walkoff hit over West Ranch following a softball game on Tuesday.