SMALL SCHOOL YEAR IN REVIEW
Santa Clarita Christian School, Santa Clarita Valley International and Trinity Classical Academy have each sent a powerful message with the way its sports teams performed.
The Knights boys and girls cross-country teams swept Heritage League finals with senior boys runner Shane Linteruer and senior girls runner Keili Butler both finishing in first place at the meet.
With both teams advancing to the CIFSS Division 5 prelims, Lintereur was the only Knight to advance to the finals finishing seventh out of the 174 runner field to qualify for the CIF State Cross-Country Championships. At the State Meet, Lintereur climbed a couple of spots and finished fifth in the 5,000-meter race with a personal record of 16 minutes, 8.0 seconds.
“I feel great about PR-ing, especially on this course,” Lintereur said after the State Meet. “I’ve never really done well on hilly courses and this course has a lot of them so I’m really pumped about that. I didn’t really register how well I did until I was done, I just noticed that there weren’t very many people in front of me when I finished.”
Trinity’s girls volleyball team finished with a .500 winning percentage squeaking into a CIF-SS Division 8 wildcard game against Bishop Diego. Down 2-1 in games, the Knights fought back to win the final two games to advance. The Knights beat Calvary Murrieta in four games to reach the quarterfinals, falling to the eventual Division 8 runner-up Rancho Christian.
Losing their first Heritage League game of the season to Faith Baptist in four games, the SCCS girls volleyball team used the loss as motivation and won the last nine league games going 14-of-17 regular season games, including a 3-2 win at Faith Baptist to avenge the early season loss to finish atop the league standings.
The Cardinals swept each of their first three opponents, defeating Littlerock in a wild-card game and Eastside Christian and Pacifica Christian in the first and second
rounds, but fell in the quarterfinals to Villanova Prep.
Dealing with some adversity throughout the season, the SCCS boys basketball team forfeited 13 regular-season games due to an ineligible player but rebounded in a big way. Finishing fourth in the final Heritage League standings, the Cardinals led by seniors Justin Collins and Kevin Stone, along with juniors Caden Starr and Kaleb Lowery fought their way to the CIF-SS Division 3AA title game falling to Rolling Hills Prep.
“I’m going to be with them 24/7, you know, even through the ups and downs with injuries and everything,” Lowery said before the CIF-SS Division 3AA semifinal game against Highland. “We’ll stick together as a team and fight through everything that’s been going on and we’ll stay together because we’re all brothers and we all love each other.”
With their runner-up finish in the CIFSS title game, the Cardinals earned a ticket to the CIF Division 2 State playoffs knocking off Poway in the first round and falling to Rancho Cucamonga in the second round.
Capping off an undefeated Heritage League season with a win against SCCS, the Trinity girls hoops team set a new precedent losing seven of it’s first eight games to rebound winning 11 of the final 12 regular-season games including an eight-game winning streak heading into playoffs.
“We locked up league a week ago, but this was so special not just because we’re undefeated but the way they fought and played,” Trinity head coach Daniel Hebert said after the regular-season finale win over SCCS. “They fought through a lot of adversity, that’s hard on 16, 17-year-old girls. It was really special to see how they did it, more than them doing it.”
In the CIF-SS Division 5A playoffs, the defeated Pilgrim and Nuview Bridge in the first and second rounds, falling to Western Christian in the quarterfinals.
With a loaded 2018-19 roster, the Knights baseball team, similar to the 2017-18 season finished Heritage League play in second place behind Faith Baptist with one major difference, they handed Faith Baptist it’s only league loss of the season in the season finale, winning 2-1.
Down 5-3 in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 6 first round against Gladstone the Knights battled their way back earning a 6-5 win to advance to the second round where El Monte awaited. The Knights fought tooth and nail, leaving everything out on the field, but succumb to the Lions 6-5 to end the season.
“I’ve been a part of a lot of ball clubs, but this club is senior heavy and they are all special individuals,” said Trinity head coach Mike Franchimone after the loss to El Monte. “I’m just honored to be a part of their lives and their futures and I know that they will all come back and visit and tell me about their lives. You can’t put a price tag on the relationships after the game. That’s what I’m about.”